Seasoning

[joshua]

After I got bombed twice I was having a hard time having room in my tiny 10-15 little desktop humidor so I scraped together some money and plunked it down at cheaphumidors.com for their open box "art deco" model. I thought the look of it was cool, and it had a glass top which I liked. I didn't realize the decoration was plastic but at the price they were selling it, it wasn't a big deal.

So anyway, I have been trying to season the thing. I got a big ol jug of distilled water and wiped down the inside of the humidor with a damp wash cloth a couple times, filled up the included humidification device, and a couple days ago put a small bowl of water inside.

I had included with my order a seasoning kit, which is supposed to be an 87% humidity packet. The problem is that one packet is meant for a smaller space, and you are supposed to use more. So far I have the humidity up to 50% and I tested the hygrometer twice to make sure its working and to calibrate it. How long does this usually take? The level of the water is slowly going down and the humi is up to 50% so far, so I guess its a matter of time.

Thank god I got this thing though because I would have no place to put all the incoming sticks!

So anyway, here are some pics:

 

[tripp]

Cool looking humidor.

I am not a fan of wiping the inside of a humi with a wet cloth. I have used the shot glass(es) method with great results. And since I have switched to heartfelt's beads I have not had any humidity problems at all.

 

[Wasch_24]

I have a Vicksburg from Bargain Humidors, a little bigger, and it took almost two solid weeks for the humidity to rise enough to where I felt the cedar was seasoned. That looks pretty close to the same size so I would say around a week of having the water in there.


Might as well order some 65% beads from David at Heartfelt Industries now. That way they will get to you right about the time you are ready for them.

 

[joshua]

I have been meaning to pick up the beads, thanks for reminding me
I was looking for Propylene Glycol at the drug store when I was picking up the water too but couldn't find any. Where do people normally pick that up?

Also, the humidification device on this one came with a stick on magnet instead of velcro which is pretty cool. It took me a bit of pressure to get it to stick well, but now it seems to be working.

 

[Hambo]

I really like the art deco look. I too would recommend not wiping. I was a florist foam guy for a while before I discovered the humidity beads. They really are worth it. As for PG, the internet is the best way to go.

 

[Black Dog]

I'd skip the PG and go right to beads. Just use water until the beads arrive. The only places I've been able to find PG (other than online) are cigar stores. I asked at the drugstore once and they looked at me like I was on drugs so I didn't try again.

 

[40boy]

Seasoning takes patience and time. It WILL come up.
Get the 65% beads, and a better hygrometer ASAP.
I have the exact same hygro that came with my desktop, and it is a total POS.
It will not stay calibrated for anything.

I recommend this one:

http://www.littlehavanacigars.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HY1062LT

These 2 things will save you a TON of aggravation

 

[joshua]

Seasoning takes patience and time. It WILL come up.
Get the 65% beads, and a better hygrometer ASAP.
I have the exact same hygro that came with my desktop, and it is a total POS.
It will not stay calibrated for anything.

I recommend this one:

http://www.littlehavanacigars.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HY1062LT

These 2 things will save you a TON of aggravation

I have already noticed that the one that came with it is a little flakey. It was off on the salt test by like 5% and a pain in the butt to calibrate. Was planning to get digital for an accurate reading and I actually saw that perfecto when I was browsing. The current one I tap on and the needle will move sometimes, its very slow and hard to tell when its reading right.

 

[Black Dog]

I second the Perfecto hygro. I have one of those and it's nice. I also have a couple Western Caliber III's and it's every bit as accurate as those.

 

[Jwrussell]

Skip the PG! If you absolutely must have some let me know and I'll SEND you mine. I went to the trouble of getting some from a very generous BOTL around here and guess what? I've never used a friggin' drop. Get the beads.

 

[Viper139]

Nice looking humidor. As they have said above, the biggest thing is patience. Especially with a humi as large as that one the cedar is going to take some time to absorb its' fill. Patience is the word.

 

[joshua]

The crappy hygro hasn't moved much in the last day or two (stuck somewhere in the low 60s I think, but its hard to tell cause I couldn't get a proper calibration). It has been about a week since I started seasoning. I ordered the beans in the aluminum case to replace the black one (I can use the same magnet).

The jar shaped thing is one of the humification devices similar to a drymistat cigar saver tube with the jelly looking stuff in it. I have some of the sticks from the lottery in bags with a humidification pillow for now. Going to try and hold off till at least the weekend before putting anything in it, or at least till I get the digital hygro and can check it for real. The rest of the few sticks I have are in my little 10-15 humi with my drymistat tube.

 

[tubaman]

Nice looking humi! Slow and steady is the way to go with seasoning the humi. Just put a shot glass with distilled in there and wait a week or so, then it will be rock solid. I also agree with those that said to go straight for the beads. I couldn't believe how great they were when I first got them. TOTALLY worth it!!!


I have a thing about any chemicals near my smokes, so I would avoid PG at all costs!