New Cigar Trays

[Mr. McSquirelly]

So I have an existing 46-qt tupperdor which contains roughly 250 cigars. The humidity is just where I want it, 68%. It's been rock-solid for months. I just recently purchased Spanish cedar trays from Cheaphumidors.com. I put them in an air-tight tupperware container with my trusty hygrometer and a damp sponge on a saucer. After 10 hours, RH reads 51%! How high should I let the RH climb before putting them in a well-regulated tupperdor at 68% RH? I was gonna let the trays climb to 72% before putting them in the tupperdor. Does this sound about right?

Oh shucks, I meant to post this in 'Storage'! Oops. Please feel free to move. Apologies.

 

[Rupe]

My suggestion would be to run the humidity up to around 75. Then remove the sponge and saucer and see where the humidity is after 24-36 hours. That way you are measuring the RH of the seasoned trays, not the humidity of the sponge. If the humidity drops back down below where you want it, put the sponge and saucer back in again. Repeat as necessary.

Above all remember that patience is your friend. Depending on how dry the trays are this may take a couple of weeks. It's worth it though to get things right and not mess up the RH level that you have worked so hard to achieve.

 

[sofc]

My suggestion is to put them in the Tupperware now.

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

My suggestion is to put them in the Tupperware now.

I thought about it and am still considering that. I just fear that at 51% they'll just suck all the humidity out of the Tupperdor. But I know that after a month they'll probably stabilize where the RH is now at 68%. Thanks, guys, for the advice.

 

[sofc]

Think it takes the same amount is time whether you put it in now or do as Rupe says. Just a matter of preference. But there are people who know way more about this stuff than I do

 

[StogieJim]

i always spray my trays with distilled water, wipe it down and throw it in the cooler Never had an issue!

 

[Sheepdog1394]

Same as above. I bought the same trays and they were bone dry. I sprayed down good. They were good after that

 

[Bruce T.]

I would try to get the trays to the correct RH outside the tupperdor so that your cigars are not exposed to fluctuations as the tupperdor trys to reach equilibrium. The cigars wrappers are most prone to issues when the RH fluctuates.

Bruce.

 

[sofc]

I've sprayed and put in too but here is what the issue with answers to these kinds of questions. Most people do what they are comfortable with. Even experts at times disagree over temperature/humidity/methods.

 

[Zigarro]

My suggestion would be to run the humidity up to around 75. Then remove the sponge and saucer and see where the humidity is after 24-36 hours. That way you are measuring the RH of the seasoned trays, not the humidity of the sponge. If the humidity drops back down below where you want it, put the sponge and saucer back in again. Repeat as necessary.

Above all remember that patience is your friend. Depending on how dry the trays are this may take a couple of weeks. It's worth it though to get things right and not mess up the RH level that you have worked so hard to achieve.

+1^^^^

 

[Conan the Cigarbarian]

My suggestion would be to run the humidity up to around 75. Then remove the sponge and saucer and see where the humidity is after 24-36 hours. That way you are measuring the RH of the seasoned trays, not the humidity of the sponge. If the humidity drops back down below where you want it, put the sponge and saucer back in again. Repeat as necessary.

Above all remember that patience is your friend. Depending on how dry the trays are this may take a couple of weeks. It's worth it though to get things right and not mess up the RH level that you have worked so hard to achieve.

Agreed

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

Same as above. I bought the same trays and they were bone dry. I sprayed down good. They were good after that

LOL, these are BONE-BONE-DRY!!!! I probably could've snapped them in two ROTT. The trays felt like really nice kindling. Just a word to the wise. Great quality, but they have been sitting in storage. I actually found them on Alibaba.com!!! LOL. You can buy 1000 of them for 10 cents each.

 

[Rupe]

LOL, these are BONE-BONE-DRY!!!! I probably could've snapped them in two ROTT. The trays felt like really nice kindling. Just a word to the wise. Great quality, but they have been sitting in storage. I actually found them on Alibaba.com!!! LOL. You can buy 1000 of them for 10 cents each.

Guaranteed formaldehyde free? If so, maybe we should get a group buy together LOL.

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

Guaranteed formaldehyde free? If so, maybe we should get a group buy together LOL.

Hmmm? I can't say about the ones on Alibaba.com. But the ones from Cheaphumidors.com were made in China too. I thought just the flooring wood had the formaldehyde in it. Could the Spanish cedar in these trays have it as well?

 

[Cigarsnjeeps]

Hmmm? I can't say about the ones on Alibaba.com. But the ones from Cheaphumidors.com were made in China too. I thought just the flooring wood had the formaldehyde in it. Could the Spanish cedar in these trays have it as well?

I hope not. I have 4 of them.

 

[Rupe]

Hmmm? I can't say about the ones on Alibaba.com. But the ones from Cheaphumidors.com were made in China too. I thought just the flooring wood had the formaldehyde in it. Could the Spanish cedar in these trays have it as well?

Sorry....didn't mean to cause any drama or anxiety. I was just trying to be funny by making a smartass comment based on the current issues that Lumber Liquidators is having.

I have never heard of any issues with the trays from cheaphumidors.com and wouldn't expect that they would have any problems.

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

Sorry....didn't mean to cause any drama or anxiety. I was just trying to be funny by making a smartass comment based on the current issues that Lumber Liquidators is having.

I have never heard of any issues with the trays from cheaphumidors.com and wouldn't expect that they would have any problems.

No worries, man. Lumber Liquidators should be closed permanently. That is a fraudulent company. I think the formaldehyde is used in the flooring to preserve the wood.

Here's a quote from a report in Men's Journal on formaldehyde in wood from China:

"...the only way to be absolutely certain that your flooring does not contain formaldehyde is to avoid installing composite wood products like medium-density fiberboard, particle fiberboard, and hardwood plywood from China — the only source that appears to be selling illegal flooring. (See the EPA's consumer guidelines for more information). These offenders have been found to use glue that reacts with the flooring to constantly emit formaldehyde.

Most wood flooring is manufactured with some amount of formaldehyde to help hold the wood together..."

So it sounds like we have nothing to worry about. But that was a funny joke!

 

[Cigarsnjeeps]

lol, no worries.

 

[atllogix]

I'd say just give em some time maybe even lightly wipe them down to speed it up a bit. It can take quite a lot of time though.

I also think that if you move the project to a warmer area it more water turns in to vapor then relocate to a cooler area and that vapor turns back into the liquid state and is able to attach itself to the wood.

 

[RickHendeson]

i always spray my trays with distilled water, wipe it down and throw it in the cooler Never had an issue!

This can warp them, however