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Looking for Advice

ConDaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
1,164
I want to start this off I've been reading a ton of posts in here, the tagged how to season post, and I've been watching endless youtube videos and different online sites. However I'm still confused as hell and not 100% sure what I should do.

I'm new to cigars (Since July of this year) and have already decided the 50 and 25 cigar humidors I ordered were just not going to cut it (Extremely cheap and cannot hold humidity at all). So I went ahead and ordered myself the 300ct Audew Coolidor and it arrives tomorrow. So basically what i'm trying to figure out what is my best bet for getting it setup or maintained.


First: I've read about wiping it down with water (distilled), using the supplied water cup, or tossing in 84% boveda packs and waiting 2 weeks. I'm just confused because some of the information seems like heavy marketing from Boveda, some of it seems outdated, and it can be a little overwhelming. Thoughts on this?

Second:

Info about me: I'm in Eastern Phoenix AZ. So its dry, very very dry. So from what I've been told storing in the 69-70% range is best. One person told me to use 72% boveda, and another 69%. And then again I had people told me to not use boveda and go with beads. So if i do that should i go 65 or 70%? While I know allot of this comes down to personal preference I'm just concerned since i'm so new I really have no idea what my preference should be haha. I really want to do everything I can to make sure the cigars I've purchased and I'm sure will be purchasing in the future are well taken care of. Up to this point my wife has been extremely supportive, however if she caught me tossing out thousands of dollars in cigars because I ruined them. Well, I dont want to think of what would happen then.....

I'm already reading about dryboxing too thanks to this page (damn and I just joined today), but I better not get ahead of myself.



If this helps: We keep our house a constant 75-76 degrees year round. The humidor will be stored in the bar area of my house which has no direct sunlight etc.
 
Had to google what you said you bought so I had a better idea what we're talking about here. One thing that has me concerned, on their website they interchangeably use "Spanish cedar" and "cedar." Spanish cedar is not a type of cedar. Also - 13.2"x 20"x 25.4" sounds a hell of a lot smaller than what they show in the picture.

For anyone else reading this, it looks like a small wine fridge with some shelves.

First - do *NOT* wipe down the wood with water. That's a lazy way to try to speed up the seasoning that could end up doing more harm than good. And obviously you don't have to do anything to the plastic interior components, they won't "season".

Yes, the 84% packs are marketing from Boveda. But it's a more foolproof way to help you get going. If you want the packs to season, get them. Otherwise fill the cup with some water and wait for the shelves to soak it up. Two weeks might be long enough, but that's a lot of surface area to cover and you live in a dry environment. It might take longer and you might want to add a couple bowls throughout it.

As far as humidity goes, like you said, that's going to be personal preference. The only one you mentioned that I would eliminate immediately is the 72% boveda. Too high for me. You could start with boveda packs (as opposed to the beads) while you figure out what humidity you like. The boveda all have to be replaced eventually regardless. Beads are forever(ish). If you buy 65% beads and don't like 65%, you're screwed. My suggestion - start in the middle and get 65% boveda packs. It's right in the middle and you can then play Goldilocks and decide if they're too dry, too moist, or just right. And if you do like 65%, you can get beads and supplement the packs or replace the packs. Or just stay with the packs if you like them.

One final thing - do not pay one bit of attention to that hygrometer that's installed. It's been a while since I've looked at buying new equipment, but those things have NEVER worked well. Get yourself a good digital hygrometer and calibrate it. You'll never have any idea if your box is holding the proper humidity if your hygrometer is not calibrated.
 
Read this thread and pay close attention to Bill's post #17... Basically, your humidor should be considered long storage, then use another container/box for dry boxing for ready to smoke cigars...
 
Had to google what you said you bought so I had a better idea what we're talking about here. One thing that has me concerned, on their website they interchangeably use "Spanish cedar" and "cedar." Spanish cedar is not a type of cedar. Also - 13.2"x 20"x 25.4" sounds a hell of a lot smaller than what they show in the picture.

For anyone else reading this, it looks like a small wine fridge with some shelves.

First - do *NOT* wipe down the wood with water. That's a lazy way to try to speed up the seasoning that could end up doing more harm than good. And obviously you don't have to do anything to the plastic interior components, they won't "season".

Yes, the 84% packs are marketing from Boveda. But it's a more foolproof way to help you get going. If you want the packs to season, get them. Otherwise fill the cup with some water and wait for the shelves to soak it up. Two weeks might be long enough, but that's a lot of surface area to cover and you live in a dry environment. It might take longer and you might want to add a couple bowls throughout it.

As far as humidity goes, like you said, that's going to be personal preference. The only one you mentioned that I would eliminate immediately is the 72% boveda. Too high for me. You could start with boveda packs (as opposed to the beads) while you figure out what humidity you like. The boveda all have to be replaced eventually regardless. Beads are forever(ish). If you buy 65% beads and don't like 65%, you're screwed. My suggestion - start in the middle and get 65% boveda packs. It's right in the middle and you can then play Goldilocks and decide if they're too dry, too moist, or just right. And if you do like 65%, you can get beads and supplement the packs or replace the packs. Or just stay with the packs if you like them.

One final thing - do not pay one bit of attention to that hygrometer that's installed. It's been a while since I've looked at buying new equipment, but those things have NEVER worked well. Get yourself a good digital hygrometer and calibrate it. You'll never have any idea if your box is holding the proper humidity if your hygrometer is not calibrated.

Thanks so much I really appreciate it. Yeah I think for seasoning I’ll just got the water dish and see where it ends up in a few days. I’ve purchased several Tupperware containers that I have setup with 69% boveda packs for temp storage until I can get this ready to go.

no worries about the hygrometer, I’ve already purchased several of the boveda butlers and a couple digital hygrometers with digital displays to keep an eye on.
 
First of all, Never buy a cheap humidor. They don’t hold humidity. This is where you don’t skimp. And don’t buy one with glass.

The best way to season a humidor, in my opinion, is to put a shot glass of distilled water in it. When the water stops evaporating, then you are ready.

For a beginner, I usually recommend a 25ct or bigger, travel humidor. They don’t need to be seasoned. But do use Boveda. Choose the humidity that you like.

And always use a digital hygrometer.
 
So a little followup questions. I'm currently in the process of getting the fridgedor seasoned. My goal humidity is around 69% and I think to start out I will be using 69% boveda packs (maybe i'll switch to beads later). Based on the instructions they say to add a container of distilled water or sponge. So I've done this and I'm slowly getting up in humidity currently sitting around 73-74%. I'm thinking about tonight tossing in the 3 320g 69% boveda packs and removing the water.

My real questions is for how long should I let it settle once I add the packs before introducing cigars? I'm assuming this would really apply to any humidor so only curious about best practices here. All of my cigars are in tupperware containers currently sitting at 69% so shouldn't be any drastic swings or at least that's what i assume.
 
Do you have boxes in the fridge? Whether they're empty or full, they'll help to regulate the % as well.
 
This is how it’s sitting right now.
 

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Are you going off the analog Hydrometer?
 
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No, I have 2 boveda butlers (one top and one bottom) and a digital that i calibrated with salt in the middle. Just tossed all 3 in to see if there were any variations from top to bottom but they are all reading the same.
 
Do you have boxes in the fridge? Whether they're empty or full, they'll help to regulate the % as well.
Cedar boxes will help a great deal... Also to speed the seasoning process, get a glass container, wet a clean sponge and put it in the middle of the humidor. Keep it soaked with water. Should only take a few days. The bovida’s are great for keeping the humidity stable, but not so great for seasoning...
 
Cedar boxes will help a great deal... Also to speed the seasoning process, get a glass container, wet a clean sponge and put it in the middle of the humidor. Keep it soaked with water. Should only take a few days. The bovida’s are great for keeping the humidity stable, but not so great for seasoning...
Once I get it to my desired % how long should i let it stabilize before adding cigars? Or am I just overthinking it?
 
Once its stable with the Boveda packs, I would put your sticks in.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Update: Added my 69% boveda packs yesterday morning. Humidity was holding steady all day right at 70% so I started loading it up last night. Now it’s sitting steady right at 68-69% which seems like exactly where I want it. Now to order some 60% beads to setup a dry box.

Now the fun part!! Time to fill it up and to convince the wife I need another one!



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Once you get it set up, don’t worry about the little fluctuations as they will happen. I remember my first “real” humidor, and I was so adamant about having perfect numbers 24/7... Ok, so yeah... it helped me have the best aged cigars on the planet after a number of years... so that’s something 😂
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Update: Added my 69% boveda packs yesterday morning. Humidity was holding steady all day right at 70% so I started loading it up last night. Now it’s sitting steady right at 68-69% which seems like exactly where I want it. Now to order some 60% beads to setup a dry box.

Now the fun part!! Time to fill it up and to convince the wife I need another one!

Take it slow and steady, there will be plenty of time to fill up your new humidor. You don't want to piss off your wife right off the bat, that takes a few years 😂
 
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