I LOVE My New Humidor

[Boricua]

It's finally here. My humidor arrived yesterday afternoon. I am just setting it up today.

I ordered the Starter Kit from Tampa Humidor. Great kit for those that, like me, are just starting out in the world of cigars. It has everything: humidor, hygrometer, humidifier, ashtray, and double guillotine cutter. I added some engraving and a digital hygro. I have two right know, since I ordered one for my best friend (and best man at my wedding) who's becoming a Doctor in a few weeks.

Anyways, the construction is solid. The wood is beautiful. I strongly recommend Tampa Humidor. I ordered the humi late thursday night and received it wednesday. Very fast, IMHO.

I also ordered their Mega Mild Sampler to have something to put in the humi. Can't wait to start smokin'!!!

Anyways, I have a few questions that I hope other BOTL/SOTL can answer:

1. The humidifier has no instructions. Does this come prefilled? Do I need to fill it? I noticed that it turns about a 1/4". Is this for humidity adjustment?
2. To get the humidity in place before storing my smokes, I placed a damp distilled water paper cloth inside. Is this ok? What would you recommend?
3. Is there a way to make my own activator solution? I read that its 50/50 distilles water and PG (propylene glycol). Can you buy this PG somewhere and then mix with the dist. water?

Thanks to all!

Boricua

 

[StogieFarts]

That humidifier looks a lot like mine, in that it only turns a small degree to "open" or "close" the device. I can't take it apart to expose the entire sponge, but when you twist the humidifier, you can expose the sponge through tiny holes and this is how I fill the device up.

Mine didn't seem to come prefilled with any solution, so I just filled it with distilled water. You leave it open when you want to maintain the humidifier in your humidor. If it gets too humid for some reason, you can close the device so the sponge isn't exposed.

Before storing your smokes, you should season the humidor. You will find TONS of information on this by doing a search. But in a nutshell, here is what I did and it worked like a charm:

1. Wiped down all the interior wood with a wet sponge/paper towel. Note: Only use DISTILLED water. Don't use tap or mineral water.

2. Once the wood is wet (not drenched or soaked), put a shot glass of distilled water in the humidor.

3. Fill your humidifier with distilled water as well (or a 50/50 PG solution) and put that in there.

4. Now the hard part --- wait 24 hours. At first, the humidity should spike to 90% or more, but by the end of 24 hours, it should rest around 70%-75%.

5. Some people will say your humidor is now seasoned, but I repeat steps 1 thu 4 again. That is, I rewet the wood, and wait ANOTHER 24 hours to make sure the humidor is good and seasoned.

After the second day, you should be good to put the cigars in there.

I wouldn't recommend leaving a damp cloth or sponge directly on the wood. Put it on something else so it doesn't stay in constant contact with it to avoid damage. Just wiping the surface down and then leaving a shot glass full of distilled water in there (along with the humidifier) should be enough.

 

[Shooter]

I wouldn't wipe the wood down, it can raise the grain of the wood, and sometimes cause warping. I would just set a small bowl of water in there for a week or so, not opening the lid the whole time. Easy does it.

 

[Boricua]

Well although I did leave the damp cloth in there, luckily the wood wasn't raised. I left it there 24 hours.

I also bought some solution for $8 bucks and filled the humidifier. I left it 24 hours more with my now calibrated hygro. This morning it was reading 76%, so I decided to put my smokes in. I hope it wasn't too fast. I guess if things don't work out I'll do the shot glass method.

The only problem I have is temp. It's always running hot! It goes from 85 F to 90 F, but there is nothing I can do about that. I mean this is Puerto Rico and its in the middle of the Caribbean. Hope that doesn't damage the smoked too much.

On a side note, my hunt for the activation solution led me to discover a new Cigar Shop which has a very, very good selection of smokes. I had seen the place before, but had not entered. Now I'm going to switch shops. The new one although smaller in size is bigger in cigar selection and you can smoke in the store. They also have drinks!

Thanks for the help.

Boricua

 

[monteclaro]

I typically have wiped the wood down, but not too wet. I would then use the same cloth and get it moist with distilled water and leave it sitting in the humidor for a day sitting on plastic so its not directly on the wood. Repeat at least 2 or 3 more times wiping down the wood (but not leaving the cloth in) until the RH gets up to where it should be.

BTW...they sell PG mixtures with anti-mold, which is a nice touch.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I wouldn't wipe the wood down, it can raise the grain of the wood, and sometimes cause warping. I would just set a small bowl of water in there for a week or so, not opening the lid the whole time. Easy does it.

Shooter speaks the truth. Getting your new humi to regulate and hold humidity takes time. Wiping it down sorta "feels" like the right thing to do but it really doesn't speed up the process that much, if at all. Put a shot glass of distilled H2O in there and....wait. I'd plan on a week and then you can load in the humidity device that came with the humi, and probably some smokes as well. My desktop took a month to really start to work like it is supposed to, but now it's a dandy. Guys that don't understand this seasoning process seem to "chase" the humidity of their humidor for a while....until things equilibrate. YMMV but the point is it will take some time and patience....

Good luck and have fun - B.B.S.

 

[MiamiCubano]

The only problem I have is temp. It's always running hot! It goes from 85 F to 90 F, but there is nothing I can do about that. I mean this is Puerto Rico and its in the middle of the Caribbean.

I have a house in La Romana, Dominican Republic and I generally leave all my sticks there without a humidification unit in my humidor. They always stay roughly between 65-68% without any humidifier in place. I generally find that, down in those parts, such units aren't necessary unless you are really running the hell out an a/c unit.

Edited to add -

Congrats on the new humi! :thumbs: