Humidor Issues... I think!?

[Kahnighticus]

Hi All,

I'm new to this board and new to "stocking up" on my own cigars. I've always smoked cigars, but I would run to the cigar shop to by a couple for the weekend. Last Monday a friend gave me an old humidor because he got a new one. The same day I ran to my local shop to buy a digital hydrometer and a humidifying device. The guy at the store sold me a drymistat. I took it home and did some research about it online and it seems like it should do the trick. Naturally, I bought a couple of cigars to go along with the box.

So I seasoned my humidor by leaving the drymistat and a small bowl of distilled water in the box overnight. (I also left the cigars in the box because I didn't know what else to do with them). The next day, there was plenty of water left in the bowl and my hygrometer (which I had salt calibrated for 4 hours the night before)read 70% at 72 degrees. Over the next couple of days my humidity dropped to 68%, which shouldn't be a big deal from everything I've read so far. I was excited because the box seemed stabilized. So I jumped online and ordered a mix of cigars (Macanudo cafe's, 2 different sizes, and Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve belicosos). The cigars finally arrived yesterday, and seemed a bit dry (some felt hard when I squeezed them). I opened my humidor and realized the three cigars I had left in there also felt kind of hard(these were Macanudo cafe as well). I was kind of confused becasue my humidity was pretty good, but I put my new cigars in the box anyway. Today, I came home from work to check on them and was surprised to find that the Romeo y Julieta's felt much softer than they did 24+ hours ago, while the Macanudos still felt kind of hard.

Does anyone have an explaination for this? I have the Romeo's on one side of the box and the Macanudos on the other side with the drymistat in the middle. The only variable is that I have 13 Macanudos and only 5 Romeo's. Both "stacks" are equidistant from the drymistat.

Thank you in advance for the help and dealing with a newbie question.

 

[Joebiech]

Welcome Kahnighticus

In regards to your post, take a quick spin through the humidor section. I believe it usually takes much longer than 1 day to season a humidor. Was your friend using the humidor right before giving it to you? In which case it is already seasoned and you can ignore my first point. A variance of a few % is nothing to really worry about. What was the rh% at the b&m you go to? Maybe they over saturate? How are the "dry" Macanudos smoking? If they taste fine I don't think it is something you need to worry about. Also don't forget to calibrate your hygrometer. I think the most important thing is that if the cigars are tasting fine, you don't have anything to worry about.

Also please take a swing by and post an intro. :thumbs:

 

[Kahnighticus]

Thank you for the response, Joe. So my story got a little crazier over the past couple of days. My friend who gave me the humidor saw how excited I was to get it going, he actually went out and bought me a bigger, better humidor for a present. I've been seasoning the new humidor for about 24 hours now using PG solution in a humidifier under the lid, a shot glass of distilled water, and a jar of crystals sitting on the bottom. My salt-calibrated hygrometer is currently reading 83% humidty. Does the seasoning process bring the humidity up and then back down? I always thought the process would raise the humidity gradually and then just stable off at 70% (because of the crystals that are rated for 70%).

I'm not really sure what the rh% is where I bought the cigars, but to be honest, they always seem a little over humidified (like when I reach in the cabinet to pick out a couple of sticks, my hand gets really wet). The Macanudos smoke (or I should say smoked because I had a gathering last night and my buddies were happy to test them out for me) really well. There was some slight coning, but the taste was good and the smoke wasn't really dry or harsh. I see your point, if the sticks are smoking fine I shouldn't try to be a perfectionist and just enjoy the darn things.

Going to post my intro now... thanks again!

 

[Pugman1943]

You mention it is a digital unit. Also, you will find that a Boveda is the recommended way to season a humi, takes about 14 days according to Boveda. In the meantime, put the smokes in a tupperware container and are sure your humi is ready for the smokes.

 

[Connor]

Whenever I got my humidor, I was told to not put the cigars in it until it was seasoned. I seasoned mine for 24 hours (24-48 hours is what my local tobacconist told me for seasoning) and then put my cigars in after making sure my hygrometer was calibrated and the humidor was properly humidified and whatnot. I didn't have a cigar out of the humidor for a good few weeks, so I had no idea if my cigars were doing fine. My cigars smoke just fine out of them. I think what I'm trying to say is, don't put your cigars in until you're sure the humidor is ready to have cigars put in it lol.

 

[Nickc]

Hey Kahnighticus,

Seasoning a new humidor can take any ware from 5 days to 2 weeks depending on the way you season it and other variables. Some just get a couple of seasoning packs and throw them in there for 2 weeks and bang it's done. Others put a shot glass of distilled in there with their humidification device and also wipe down the cedar inside with a cloth dampened with distilled. In this matter there isn't a particular way that is really better. However, I will say in my dealings with digital hydrometers I prefer to use the Boveda calibration kits and usually leave them in the calibration bag from 12 - 24 hrs. With that being said, I have stepped away from the adjustable hydrometers and have traded up to Savoy pre-calibrated units and Caliber III Hygrometers. They are a little more expensive but I have had the Savoy for 2 years now, and I am still using the same battery and it has been dead on since the day I received it. I have also been running 3 Caliber III Hygrometers and they have all been within 1% right out of the box. The Caliber III have gotten good reviews on multiple forums and are a little cheaper then the Savoy. Below I have included links to both Hygrometers and also the link to seasoning a humidor properly.

Also most cigars that will be shipped in will be very dry, and will need to sit for a couple of days or longer to come up to your desired humidity. Keep that in mind when you place them in your humidor and when you go to smoke them. On another note, if you are buying them from your local B&M and they were stored in a walk in, they should be good to go right when you buy them.


Caliber-III-Digital-Hygrometer

Savoy Hygrometer

http://www.cigarpass...ew-humidor.html

 

[Kahnighticus]

Hey Nick,

Thank you for the tips! I will definitely check out the Savoy because I'm really starting to think that the xikar digital I have is inaccurate.

 

[Stogie ZM]

I've been seasoning the new humidor for about 24 hours now using PG solution in a humidifier under the lid, a shot glass of distilled water, and a jar of crystals sitting on the bottom. My salt-calibrated hygrometer is currently reading 83% humidty. Does the seasoning process bring the humidity up and then back down? I always thought the process would raise the humidity gradually and then just stable off at 70% (because of the crystals that are rated for 70%).

Just to answer your question here. Yes, the process with the crystals is to raise the humidity then stabilize it at 70%, but if you also have an additional humidifier as well as a shot glass of distilled water, there is the chance that both humidifiers are saturated and the hygrometer is reading correctly at 83%. The cedar could still be absorbing the humidity in the box, so you would still want to wait for a couple of days and give the wood time to soak it in.

 

[tundrahi]

I read somewhere that RH is best observed in increments of days, weeks, and months instead of minutes and hours.
Don't know if it's true or not but that's what I keep telling myself to avoid checking the humi every 10 minutes!