03-30-2021, 09:21 PM
6 Cigar Humidification Approaches
Now you have a solid comprehension of what a hygrometer does and everything can happen 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 way to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it stressful. This is the"puck" that is included with humidors most of the time and needs one to boil it into propylene glycol. I found it for a little bit of a guessing game because you need to make sure that your"puck" does not run out of juice. It had been mainly stressful since I used the crummy free version in my humidor so results may vary. I found I had to soak the puck every 15 days or so using a humidor of 30 cigars. However, once I upgraded to some Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I only had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you just buy the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and just replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can create issues because of chlorine or other substances, and distilled water won't stay moist as long as propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very simple to use products which you may merely open and pop it in a humidor such as this
cabinet humidor. These have a much more controlled method of managing humidity than the puck technique. The only bad thing is you have to replace these entirely most of the time every 3-6 weeks completely. I don't advise attempting to"re-soak" them together with the propylene glycol. The beauty of these, particularly the tubes is that they don't take up much room in your humidor. But, depending on the size, the jar arrangement will work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favourite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for my tupperdor today. But they can err a little on the high side in terms of humidity should you use them at a tupperdor. I'd aim to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity for a result when you've got a tupperdor. They do a great job of absorbing humidity whether it is too high and increasing if it's too low. As soon as your pack is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to be able to recharge these quite easily simply by soaking them for a couple of days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a great way to save money, the recharged packs definitely won't be as precise as a first. To discover more about how to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I don't recharge since if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I do not wish to cut corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a frequent humidity method that many recommend across cigar forums. This company revolves around these beads and they've a great deal of diehard followers for their product. These are popular with larger humidors or even wineadors. These are most likely one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do require spraying of water following week or two though so you have to abide by a program. This method is a bit more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of those a layer at the bottom of their wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing greater than the place it and overlook a electric humidifier, especially in the event that you have a large or valuable set. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
wineador but there's the advantage of very little upkeep. The units work great if plugged -- so you will be required to conduct a flat cable into the exterior of your humidor. However a few of these units have a few really cool features like wi-fi capacities and can humidify around 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 comparatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador setup, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The crucial thing is to obtain a kitty litter without a fragrance and spray on distilled water every two to three weeks as required. I've seen very positive reviews from Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor scent.
Now you have a solid comprehension of what a hygrometer does and everything can happen 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 way to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it stressful. This is the"puck" that is included with humidors most of the time and needs one to boil it into propylene glycol. I found it for a little bit of a guessing game because you need to make sure that your"puck" does not run out of juice. It had been mainly stressful since I used the crummy free version in my humidor so results may vary. I found I had to soak the puck every 15 days or so using a humidor of 30 cigars. However, once I upgraded to some Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I only had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you just buy the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and just replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can create issues because of chlorine or other substances, and distilled water won't stay moist as long as propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very simple to use products which you may merely open and pop it in a humidor such as this
cabinet humidor. These have a much more controlled method of managing humidity than the puck technique. The only bad thing is you have to replace these entirely most of the time every 3-6 weeks completely. I don't advise attempting to"re-soak" them together with the propylene glycol. The beauty of these, particularly the tubes is that they don't take up much room in your humidor. But, depending on the size, the jar arrangement will work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the jar or tubes from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favourite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for my tupperdor today. But they can err a little on the high side in terms of humidity should you use them at a tupperdor. I'd aim to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity for a result when you've got a tupperdor. They do a great job of absorbing humidity whether it is too high and increasing if it's too low. As soon as your pack is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to be able to recharge these quite easily simply by soaking them for a couple of days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a great way to save money, the recharged packs definitely won't be as precise as a first. To discover more about how to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I don't recharge since if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I do not wish to cut corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a frequent humidity method that many recommend across cigar forums. This company revolves around these beads and they've a great deal of diehard followers for their product. These are popular with larger humidors or even wineadors. These are most likely one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do require spraying of water following week or two though so you have to abide by a program. This method is a bit more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of those a layer at the bottom of their wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing greater than the place it and overlook a electric humidifier, especially in the event that you have a large or valuable set. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
wineador but there's the advantage of very little upkeep. The units work great if plugged -- so you will be required to conduct a flat cable into the exterior of your humidor. However a few of these units have a few really cool features like wi-fi capacities and can humidify around 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 comparatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador setup, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The crucial thing is to obtain a kitty litter without a fragrance and spray on distilled water every two to three weeks as required. I've seen very positive reviews from Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor scent.