Dry Boxing in a Humid Climate

[bugbear]

So i was recently trading PM's with another brother on dry boxing smokes for a short time prior to smoking. This is not an issue here in NE where the relative humidity is low the majority of the year but I am curious on what other B/SOTL's do in humid climates when they want to drybox? I would imagine you could use some form of Desiccant but I am unsure what is commonly available and safe for one's sticks. Or is a lower humidity (i.e. 60% Rh) the way to go?

If the answer is posted elsewhere please feel free to point me to it.

What say you brothers?

Thanks

 

[QiCultivator]

Interesting question...I would like to hear what more knowledgeable BOTLs have to say about this. I live in Central NY where it is dry most of the winter but the humidity in my house is creeping into the mid-60s right now. It was 63% last time I checked. Lately it has been fluctuating between the mid-to-high 50s and low-to-mid 60s.

 

[bugbear]

Interesting question...I would like to hear what more knowledgeable BOTLs have to say about this. I live in Central NY where it is dry most of the winter but the humidity in my house is creeping into the mid-60s right now. It was 63% last time I checked. Lately it has been fluctuating between the mid-to-high 50s and low-to-mid 60s.

I personally use humidity beads which will dehumidify if it passes 65 or 70% but some sticks do smoke better at a lower humidity.

 

[Monsterdg]

I have a wineador I keep at 70/70 using beads. I have a small wooden humi that i didn't season and use 65 beads in to dry box. I smoke mostly out of the humi then, and rotate sticks or fill it back up whenever. Works pretty good for me here in Atlanta.

 

[GruntmaN]

Use dry beads or if you have none, use salt. Salt will humidify to 75rh and pull humidity out of the air until it reaches 75. Salt can work quickly so trial and error based on the size of stick and the humidity level it was at.

 

[hawaiian]

I've used them all over the years, pg with crystals, sponge, credo, distilled water, heartfelt beads, hcm beads, cigar oasis... and I have to tell you honestly, the only thing that really worked for me to reduce humidity is kitty litter. Here in Hawaii the humidity are constantly over 70% and with daily showers it can spike into the 90s in few hours. Beads are great at releasing moisture but they suck at removing them. I use combination of kitty litter and damprid to keep my aristocrat at below 65%. My humi is usually at 63% and all my sticks smoke great. Took me a while to convince myself to put 3lbs of crystals that cats take a crap in with my precious smokes but I will never go back.

 

[njstone]

I've used them all over the years, pg with crystals, sponge, credo, distilled water, heartfelt beads, hcm beads, cigar oasis... and I have to tell you honestly, the only thing that really worked for me to reduce humidity is kitty litter. Here in Hawaii the humidity are constantly over 70% and with daily showers it can spike into the 90s in few hours. Beads are great at releasing moisture but they suck at removing them. I use combination of kitty litter and damprid to keep my aristocrat at below 65%. My humi is usually at 63% and all my sticks smoke great. Took me a while to convince myself to put 3lbs of crystals that cats take a crap in with my precious smokes but I will never go back.

I have the same humidity problems here in Japan. What brand of kitty litter beads do you use? I want to be sure I get something that doesn't give off an aroma.

 

[apaniagua]

I get bugbear's question...I live in a country where humidity is usually around 80%!! So, to dry box my cigars is almost impossible.

 

[hawaiian]

I have the same humidity problems here in Japan. What brand of kitty litter beads do you use? I want to be sure I get something that doesn't give off an aroma.

I use ultra trackless pearls from amazon. Others use exquisicat crystals. Make sure you get fragrance free crystals/pearls and you are good to go. 10lbs for around $25.

Few tips I learned over the past year:
1. Use double the bead amount. I use about 3lbs in my 500ct humidor. More the merrier.
2. Out of the bag the litters are about 50%. You can put them dry and let it stabilize then add a bit of distilled water to bring it up if too low. Once you are happy with what you have leave them alone and they will last for months.
3. When my humidity goes over 65% I put some damprid(desiccant) in little containers on my humi shelves for about a day until humidity drops to about 58% then the process starts all over again. I do this about 2-3 times a year.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[bugbear]

Thanks for the replies.

So my next question is what does everyone considered dry boxing? More specifically what %Rh. I personally run around 68%. TY

 

[Gravity]

Dry boxing is putting the cigars in an unhumidified box for a specific amount of time. Each cigar requiring a different amount of dry box time, and some requiring none at all. It's really something you have to play with to see if it helps a specific cigar, or with that specific cigar you're clear to smoke right out of the humi. In my opinion, and others may feel differently, the dry box must have a good seal on it. I use a small 20ct desktop humidor with no purveyance of humidity for my dry boxing.

http://www.cigarinspector.com/cigar-tips/dry-boxing-cigars

 

[njstone]

So the question remains--how do you construct a dry box for a location with a very high ambient humidity?

A sealed box or humi with no humidification will just equalize to the ambient humidity of the room. The humidity here is in the 70s (higher right now). I need something that's good at removing humidity down to like 60% or something.

 

[sonarman]

The fridge if done right would work. Just have to make sure the take out food is not stinking your cigars.