Ok i have had my humidor for about a week and have seasoned it with distilled water and followed all of the tips and suggestions i have found on this board and other sites. I have a digital that sits on the tray above the cigars that reads a temp of 68.8 but only 50% on the hygro even with an extra damp sponge. What do i have to do to get it above 65? Thanks for any suggestions.

Are you using a digital hygrometer?

you've only had the humi for about a week. How long have you been seasoning it? Since you mention a tray im assuming you have at least a 75 cigar capacity. With a humi this big it could take 3-4 days for the wood to soak enough water...thats IF you wiped the wood down. If you decided not to wipe your wood then it could take even longer. Also you mentioned that you seasoned it, but just to make sure...did you fill your humidifier properly and is it in your humi?

Also with a big humi the less cigars you have the more air is present, which translates to more dry air entering when you open the lid. Keep you lid closed as much as possible and the basic rule of thumb from what I've read is to keep your humi about 70% full of cigars.

If you have more question do a search, theres a real good thread I think BinDer started which answers a lot of questions

Welcome to CA

found it

http://forums.cigaraficionado.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9426054/m/853102782

thanks chem i guess i should wipe down the inside with a more generous amount of water. I filled the humidifier by the instructions, submerging it for 20 minutes. It sits in the bottom with a divider between it and the cigars, which i assume is ok. Its about 50 percent full so i guess i got to buy some more. darn.

Dont wipe the wood with so much water there are puddles. If the wood takes in too much water too fast it could warp.

Don't ever wipe the wood, bad idea. I have seen boxes ruined by this. A better idea is to put a damp (not dripping) sponge on a small tupperware lid in the box shut it and leave it alone a few days.

After that, remove the sponge, leave just a credo with 50/50 solution for a few days and check back again.

Patience is a neccesity in all things cigar related, so just sit back and wait.

I would say ignore the analog hygro and go by the digi. Also, ignore the actual number on the digi and instead, note what the digi reads when your cigars seem to smoke good. Keep your box at that humidity.

If you decide to wipe it with water it is important to wet it sparingly. A lot of individuals don't think that you should wipe the inside of the humidor with distilled water, but I tend to disagree. I do agree that you should NOT saturate the wood with water or cause puddling. If you slightly moisten a sponge that has no chemicals on it, and wipe the wood lightly so you just see the moisture taken up, then you are fine.

I wouldn't recommend doing this with a very expensive humidor (davidoff, dunhill, etc, etc) since it might raise the grain slightly. If the wood is only moistened slightly there is very little if any chance of causing a change in the structural integrity.

thanks for the advice binder and jmunro. I left a sponge for over 24 hours when i first got the humi. I assume that that i should try and re-season it over like a 5 day span. Also, Ive read that the 50/50 can mess with the cigar so do i want to use 50/50 in the credo all the time or just use distilled in the humidifier and occasionally use the 50/50 when the hygro isnt where id like it to be. Also ive read up on the beads, is it worth it or should i just keep using my current setup?

Just curious -- what is the concern with raising the grain slightly? I've read that before, but don't know the reason why it's a problem.

I may be able to shed some light on this. I have been down this road a few times, with many people. I know a hell of a lot more about wood then I know about cigars, Ha!! Well first, there are many different opinions on if you should wet the inside of a humidor. Does or does it not raise the grain, or ruin the wood.?

Does it raise the grain? Yes, wetting wood will raise the grain, but it wont raise the grain in your humidor. Wetting wood to raise the grain is a trick that dates back to the late 17th century and is still used by woodworkers today. The wood is dampened and allowed to dry, which (intentionally) stands the grain up, which is then sanded off. This is typically done on fine woodworking’s prior to the application of finishes. Even if the piece is finely sanded, the application of any moister (I.E stain, varnish, lacquer, urethane) will raise the grain and produce a rough finish. Since every humidor manufacturer on the planet knows that moister will be instilled and contained within there products, they have already wet and sanded the inside of it. That’s not to say there are not some real cheapo’s out there won’t do it, but any quality humidor will be fine. I have never personally seen any humidor grain raise from dampening the inside.

Does it ruin or warp the wood? NO, it could take hours of standing water to ruin or warp the wood. Spanish cedar (Cedrela), funny enough not Spanish or cedar at all, is in fact Mahogany and not grown on the same continent as Spain. Spanish Cedar-Mahogany is what would be called a closed cell timber. Aside from it’s aromatic and bug repellant qualities, it is not highly susceptible to moister damage and will allow moister to pass through it readily, making it ideal for humidors. The wood will naturally absorb water on contact, as is intended in a humidor application, but will dry in a matter of minutes. That said, as long as you don’t have standing water it will be fine.

I wipe down the inside of every humidor I own with distilled water. It will speed the process of seasoning a lot faster. Even with dampening it, it may take 3-5 days to stabilize the moisture level of the inside of your humidor. I have also went back after years, removed the cigar and wiped it down again when the humidity level drops off and does not come back fast enough ( winter). Hope this helps, good luck.

Great post, elaw, very helpful. Thanks.

elaw

Thanks for the reply - very informative

ct

Great post Elaw.

I tend to NOT wipe down new humidors just because it never seems to be enough water, so you have to keep doing it.

The most simple way, I have found, to properly season a new humidor is to simply place a bowl of distilled water in the new humidor and leave it in for 7-10 days.

Easy enough.

Then, I use the RH Beads or my Puck invention to precisely maintain RH levels (been doing this for years and years now - 16+ years in the hobby) and it works like a charm.

Hope this helps
~Mark

Excellent post elaw. It is always interesting that many swear that you should never wipe down the inside of a humidor. I've done it to three and never had any problems, but I always wondered since many have had issues. I guess one of many things that makes me scatch my head with this hobby.

quote:

Originally posted by BinDerSmokDat:
Don't ever wipe the wood, bad idea. I have seen boxes ruined by this. A better idea is to put a damp (not dripping) sponge on a small tupperware lid in the box shut it and leave it alone a few days.

After that, remove the sponge, leave just a credo with 50/50 solution for a few days and check back again.

Patience is a neccesity in all things cigar related, so just sit back and wait.

I would say ignore the analog hygro and go by the digi. Also, ignore the actual number on the digi and instead, note what the digi reads when your cigars seem to smoke good. Keep your box at that humidity.

He's 100% right you know.

What you find in this thread is exactly what response you are going to get anywhere, about a 50/50 split on weather to dampen it down or not. I have found many humidor manufactures /retailers that say to dampen, but there are just as many that say not to. There is no right or wrong on this issue, as anyone could only input their experience. As wiping it does do not instantly stabilize the interior, one thing is for sure, patience is definitely a necessity regardless of which approach you take

A side question:

Once you've seasoned your humidor and loaded it with cigars is it ok to try to reseason it by putting the wet sponge in with the cigars still in the humidor as long as the sponge is not in contact with the cigars or do you have to empty your humidor?

I wouldn't call it re-seasoning but, yes that’s fine. Seasoning (dampening the inside) a new humidor or not, it will be low on humidity on the inside until the wood has absorbed the proper amount of moisture. The idea is to give it plenty to absorb, which can be done by a sponge. I have used a shot glass of distilled water many times. As long as the moister source does not come in contact with the cigars there is no need to remove them, but it may slow the "season” of the humidor itself down, as humidity will be absorbed the cigars as well as the humidor.

Hijack for a second, i just seasoned my new humidor. For the humidifier it says add Propylene Glycol Solution. Can I use distilled water or do I have to go to some solution?