Conditioning a new Humidor.

[SpyvSpy]

Well...my wife made a mistake of getting me a nice cigar and my fever for buying and collecting nice smokes shot off.

I ordered a nice humidor which will be coming in this Wednesday and I have a few questions which i couldn't find.

1. When conditioning (wipe down interior but not soak with purified water) and letting a shot glass/small bowl of purified water sit in the humidor Do you leave the cedar trays in the humidor?

2. While conditioning the humidor for the first few days do you also fill the humidifier as well? (i have that 50/50 solution) should i soak it in the solution or just use purified water for the conditioning period or leave the humidifier out?

Thanks for taking the time to answer.....I think i'll go relax with a Habana Colorado Xikar Ed. right now.

 

[Price]

Well...my wife made a mistake of getting me a nice cigar and my fever for buying and collecting nice smokes shot off.

I ordered a nice humidor which will be coming in this Wednesday and I have a few questions which i couldn't find.

1. When conditioning (wipe down interior but not soak with purified water) and letting a shot glass/small bowl of purified water sit in the humidor Do you leave the cedar trays in the humidor?

Yes. Wipe them down too. Use a sponge if possible (brand new) or a clean lint-free cloth. Close it up for at least 24 hours.

2. While conditioning the humidor for the first few days do you also fill the humidifier as well? (i have that 50/50 solution) should i soak it in the solution or just use purified water for the conditioning period or leave the humidifier out?

Doesn't really matter. You can just go ahead and leave it out. Once your humidity stabilizes, and you start putting sticks in there, then stick it in - you can use the PG solution. Put your cigars in incrementally. Don't know how big your box is, but about 1/4 to 1/3 at a time, let it stabilize, then add more, monitoring the humidity carefully. If you fill up your humidor immediately after conditioning it you will likely undo all your careful work.

Enjoy!

 

[Commander Quan]

People disagree on whether or not you should wipe down the wood, or just place a container of water in the humidor for a couple days. I've done both, and both methods have worked out fine, although I tend to do it with out the wipe down, so the wood can naturally absorb the moisture. None the less, you should always use distilled water when seasoning and in your humidification device.

Also, make sure you calibrate your hydrometer, you'll need to know if it's correct, or hos much it's off in either direction so your not freaking out if it's too high or too low, or making unnecessary, adjustments if the humidity is correct.

I also filled the humidor up all at once. When you do this you may get an initial spike or drop in humidity, but it will level out after a couple days with your humidification device in place.

As you can see there is more than one way to set it up.

 

[Price]

Also, make sure you calibrate your hydrometer, you'll need to know if it's correct, or hos much it's off in either direction so your not freaking out if it's too high or too low, or making unnecessary, adjustments if the humidity is correct.

Good point, Derrick. Forgot to mention that.

 

[NexlevMM]

Also, make sure to get a digitial hygrometer, and switch over to humidity jellies once the the humidor is seasoned. Both those things make life so much easier. I think Amazon has a Humidor seasoning kit and digital hygrometer for super cheap and they work extremely well.

 

[hotreds]

Indeed- the Boveda seasoning kit makes life much easier!

 

[Josh_WA]

I'm lucky my wife works at the hospital and got me a bunch of distilled water to season the humidor she bought me for our anniversary

Cheers

 

[Price]

I'm lucky my wife works at the hospital and got me a bunch of distilled water to season the humidor she bought me for our anniversary

Cheers

Keeper.

 

[conroygc]

This thread was well timed for me as I am going through the same process. Thanks for all the great info!