03-30-2021, 09:11 PM
6 Cigar Humidification Approaches
Now that you have a solid understanding of exactly what a hygrometer does and everything can occur if your humidity is too high or too low, let's talk about how to really control the humidity in your humidor. Unfortunately, you can't just use a moist paper towel in a ziplock bag...
1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck method was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it stressful. This is the"puck" which is included with humidors most of the time and needs you to soak it in propylene glycol. I discovered it for a little bit of a guessing game because you need to be sure your"puck" doesn't run out of juice. It was mostly stressful since I used the free version from my humidor so results may vary. But once I updated to some Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I just had to re-soak every 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is very easy. It takes approximately 30 minutes and you simply buy the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can cause problems because of chlorine or other chemicals, and bottled water won't stay moist provided that propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very easy to use products that you can merely open and pop it into a humidor such as this cigar humidor. These include a much more controlled way of managing humidity compared to the puck method. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely the majority of the time every 3-6 months completely. I don't advise attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of them, particularly the tubes is that they don't occupy much space in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar arrangement will work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Like the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled method of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification strategy and ones that I use for my tupperdor today. However, they can err a little on the high side in terms of humidity if you use them in a tupperdor. I'd aim to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity as a consequence when you have a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) Otherwise they do a great job of absorbing humidity if it's too high and growing if it is too low. As soon as your package is stiff, you then simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to have the ability to recharge these quite easily by simply soaking them for a few days after they get stiff. Even though this might be a great way to save money, the recharged packs certainly won't be as precise as a first. To discover more about how to recharge, check out this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge because I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I do not want to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a common humidity method that many advocate across cigar forums. This company revolves around these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers to their merchandise. These are popular with larger humidors or even wineadors. These are probably one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do require spraying of distilled water following two or week though so you have to abide by a schedule. This method is a bit more geared towards the advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these a layer at the bottom of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There's nothing better than the set it and overlook an electric humidifier, especially in the event that you've got a big or valuable collection. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
arc-14s but there's the advantage of very little maintenance. The components also work best if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to run a level cable into the exterior of your humidor. However a few of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That could be a good deal of Boveda packs...) You do need to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's relatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable option to control humidity. I have never done this but many swear by it. This is a really similar method to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The key is to get a kitty litter with no odor and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as required. I've seen very positive reviews out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor odor.
Now that you have a solid understanding of exactly what a hygrometer does and everything can occur if your humidity is too high or too low, let's talk about how to really control the humidity in your humidor. Unfortunately, you can't just use a moist paper towel in a ziplock bag...
1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck method was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it stressful. This is the"puck" which is included with humidors most of the time and needs you to soak it in propylene glycol. I discovered it for a little bit of a guessing game because you need to be sure your"puck" doesn't run out of juice. It was mostly stressful since I used the free version from my humidor so results may vary. But once I updated to some Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I just had to re-soak every 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is very easy. It takes approximately 30 minutes and you simply buy the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can cause problems because of chlorine or other chemicals, and bottled water won't stay moist provided that propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very easy to use products that you can merely open and pop it into a humidor such as this cigar humidor. These include a much more controlled way of managing humidity compared to the puck method. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely the majority of the time every 3-6 months completely. I don't advise attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of them, particularly the tubes is that they don't occupy much space in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar arrangement will work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Like the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled method of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification strategy and ones that I use for my tupperdor today. However, they can err a little on the high side in terms of humidity if you use them in a tupperdor. I'd aim to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity as a consequence when you have a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) Otherwise they do a great job of absorbing humidity if it's too high and growing if it is too low. As soon as your package is stiff, you then simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to have the ability to recharge these quite easily by simply soaking them for a few days after they get stiff. Even though this might be a great way to save money, the recharged packs certainly won't be as precise as a first. To discover more about how to recharge, check out this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge because I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I do not want to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a common humidity method that many advocate across cigar forums. This company revolves around these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers to their merchandise. These are popular with larger humidors or even wineadors. These are probably one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do require spraying of distilled water following two or week though so you have to abide by a schedule. This method is a bit more geared towards the advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these a layer at the bottom of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There's nothing better than the set it and overlook an electric humidifier, especially in the event that you've got a big or valuable collection. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
arc-14s but there's the advantage of very little maintenance. The components also work best if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to run a level cable into the exterior of your humidor. However a few of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That could be a good deal of Boveda packs...) You do need to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's relatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable option to control humidity. I have never done this but many swear by it. This is a really similar method to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The key is to get a kitty litter with no odor and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as required. I've seen very positive reviews out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor odor.