A primer on humidification and seasoning

[ciggy]

All of my humidors recieved a very light wiping of warm distilled water from a clean sponge and then I soked the sponge leaving it in a dish for 24 hours sealed in the humi. When I say light wiping I mean very light. I calibrated my Hydrometer let set it in the humi and let it rest another another 24 hours...75-100ct Humi was ready in two days. My cabnet took about 4 days if I remember right.
FYI...I had no issues with splintering on any of my humi's.

 

[Jwrussell]

FYI...I had no issues with splintering on any of my humi's.

It's probably being overly cautious. Any "splintering" is likely to be hard to see with the naked eye and unlikely to cause problems in most cases. That being said, you can get the job done just as well without wiping the inside of the humi down, so I just don't recommend it. To each their own. :thumbsup:

 

[ciggy]

It's probably being overly cautious. Any "splintering" is likely to be hard to see with the naked eye and unlikely to cause problems in most cases. That being said, you can get the job done just as well without wiping the inside of the humi down, so I just don't recommend it. To each their own. :thumbsup:

Yea...I guess that's possible. I know the ceder is rough to begin with even if it feels smooth. I just didn't have and issues but I was carefull when I did it. And your right...It's really not nessessary, but I just did it to speed up the process. (Atleast in my own mind)

 

[Burning Man]

If you are a newbie like I am follow the directions the brothers outline here and you will have zero issues!!! My first humi was a gift and I seasoned it using the sponge method. Over time I noticed the wood darken in certain areas. This was prior to joining BOTL. I have since seasoned two humis (a 75-100 ct along with a 40ct) and have had zero issues with humidity or aesthetics. Thanks for the good advice brothers!

 

[thatjohnguy]

my first humi is on the way and i am stoked to season it

 

[Treinenwj]

I'm with ya, John. My second humi is on the way, and I'm super-stoked to season it, too! BTW, kudos on actually reading the stickied threads here. Go through each forum and read ALL of them!

 

[Treinenwj]

Ok, I'm curious. I re-read the OP to make sure I remembered correctly that the shot glass method is supposed to take 1-2 weeks. I put a couple small cups of water in my humi yesterday, and today the hygro is already reading 66%. Should I still give it a week, or switch to beads and see how it goes?

 

[Treinenwj]

Anyone got an answer for my question above?

 

[CigarNut]

I would give it at least a week. Also, when you take the water out the RH may drop a few points since the water is the primary source of free moisture. It's good to see what the RH settles down to, as you may need to put water back in if the RH is too low.

 

[Treinenwj]

Thanks. I was considering putting the beads in there and seeing how quickly they dry out, but that would leave my current humi w/out beads.

 

[Jwrussell]

Yeah, I would leave the water in for a bit. Depends on the size of the humi to some degree, but I would wait until it hits 70%.

 

[dpricenator]

Just because the hygro reaches 70% does not necessarily mean it ready yet. You are not trying to season the air, but rather the wood. The water will evaporate as fast or faster than the wood will absorb it. I have heard folks say let the HR get to 80%, remove the water source, and see where it falls to over a day or 2.

 

[Jwrussell]

I wasn't trying to say otherwise, bro, but good points. Lots of, "it depends" with something like this. You can certainly let the RH go higher before pulling the water out, 70-75% is just where I tend to start looking to do so. But that's with adding in a hydration source (beads etc.).

 

[Thecatch83]

I'm seasoning my new desktop barrel humidor now, and I will post up results with pics when I'm finished with the process. Good advice in here!

 

[Jwrussell]

Updated the OP for spelling, grammar, corrected broken links (been so long most were not working, sorry about that) and some updated information.

 

[Twobarrel]

extremely helpful for me!!! Thx:smile:

 

[CigarGuy]

OK, I have a question/problem. I bought a new humidor recently and have followed the steps in the OP to season it, but the humidity inside is currently around 90% after several days. Do I just need to wait longer or do I need to take the sponge out and let the humidity come down a bit then recheck?

 

[Craig Mac]

OK, I have a question/problem. I bought a new humidor recently and have followed the steps in the OP to season it, but the humidity inside is currently around 90% after several days. Do I just need to wait longer or do I need to take the sponge out and let the humidity come down a bit then recheck?

Want to make sure your hygrometer is calibrated and if so then yes, take the sponge out and let the humi settle to the desired level before adding any cigars.

 

[Jwrussell]

90% is plenty high and I would not leave the sponge in any longer. You risk growing mold that way. However, that assumes something very important: that you are using an accurate, recently calibrated DIGITAL hygrometer. If not, you need to get a digital if using an analog and calibrate it (Boveda kit). Analogs are notoriously inaccurate and tend to wander quickly, so if you are using an analog you might as well be throwing darts at an RH chart.

Sorry, always the first question. Really can't begin until we've covered that base. If you are using a calibrated digital then definitely pull out the sponge and see how quickly things drop. If it stays well above 70% I would air it out a tad to keep from ending up with a mold issue.

 

[CigarGuy]

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I'm using a brand new digital hygrometer that I've calibrated, along with another one, to make sure it's accurate. Thanks for the feedback, guys!