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Brand New Humidor: Getting It Ready With Conflicting Advice

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I just bought a new Xikar 75 Count Humidor, and hope it will do a good job replacing my old humidor. The old one must have something wrong with the seal, as it just doesn't hold humidity for over an hour. I have a Credo unit in it along with a jar of xikar crystals, but I can't get it to stay above 50 to save my life.

Anyway, now that I have a blank slate, I want to do the right thing so I can avoid having a bunch of dry, brittle cigars. I asked the gentleman at the cigar shop: "what should I do at the beginning to make sure this humidor works perfectly?" He told me to ignore what the instructions say and wipe down the inside with distilled water. The instructions say to avoid that at all costs and to just add the xikar humidity unit and wait a few days.

After a few hours, the hygrometer reads 50. Now, I'm not impatient, and if it takes a few days to get up to 70, that's fine with me. I did the whole salt-in-a-bottle-cap routine to calibrate the hygrometer, so that should be all set.

After having a bum humidor I want to make sure I do this right. Can anyone offer advice on getting a brand new humidor working perfectly? I really, really appreciate it.

Tags: humidor

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Permalink Reply by Wedgekev1 on January 8, 2009 at 10:33pm

this is from cigar advisor .. i did the wipe down on my hummidor , then set sponge inside for a couple of days'
check this out , hope this help's .
http://www.cigaradvisor.com/education.cfm?id=6

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Burke- Not An Expert on January 8, 2009 at 10:40pm

Thanks very much. The only question I have is: my humidor has two "floors". Should I just put the wet sponge on the bottom floor, or should I take out the top floor? I know my terminology is wrong, but I'm guessing you know what I mean. There's a removable inset.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Burke- Not An Expert on January 8, 2009 at 10:46pm

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

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Permalink Reply by ryoga81 on January 8, 2009 at 10:52pm

This is exactly the way I seasoned my humidor, a Humidor Supreme brand 25 stick humidor, and it has *never* dropped or jumped in humidity in the year plus that I've had it. My only recommendation is, like Jimbob said, keep wiping it down with distilled water until it stops absorbing into the wood, to the point that you can have standing water in the bottom. Wipe off the excess and let it sit for a few days, check the humidity levels and start adding cigars slowly. Do it like JB says and you'll have zero problems.

Another thing you can do, and I stand behind these 100%, is get some of those HumiCare water pillows. They will save you a LOT of trouble, as they naturally maintain ~68%RH (like in mine) with minor upkeep. They're infinitely reusable and easy to recharge. One trick I started using with my water pillows is adding one drop of Xicar's Propylene Glycol premixed solution to each pillow when I recharge them with distilled water. With three of those and my puck humidifier, it maintains a constant 68%RH at all times.

Hope that helps! (^_^ )

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Permalink Reply by Wedgekev1 on January 8, 2009 at 10:47pm

put sponge on bottom, leave shelve inside , you want the shelve to cure also . i agree a light wipe down with distilled water . wipe down all spanish cedar inside , shelves , top , bottom , dividers

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Burke- Not An Expert on January 8, 2009 at 10:54pm

Thanks. I figured as much, but after losing a bunch of cigars and a beautiful yet useless humidor, I'm not afraid to ask the details!

Thanks again, I really appreciate the help I've received here. What an amazing site, really.

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Permalink Reply by ryoga81 on January 8, 2009 at 11:05pm

Another thing is, I noticed you said you calibrated your hygrometer with the salt water in a soda cap trick. Is that because it's analog? If it is, dump it and get a digital like Western, Savoy or well...ANY digital, because it'll be far superior to any analog unit. I use a Western Caliber III temperature/hygrometer combo and it's wonderful. They come precalibrated from the factory with a margin of error of +/-1% and it was only $25. The batteries last forever, too as I've had mine running for over a year on the original batteries and when you do need to replace them, they're just CR2032 button cells that are like $2 (and you only need one).

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Burke- Not An Expert on January 8, 2009 at 11:10pm

Nope, it's digital. It's a xikar digital unit that came with the humidor. It still told me to do the trick, though.

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Permalink Reply by ryoga81 on January 8, 2009 at 11:29pm

Xicar, eh? Nice. Yeah, that'll definitely work then. (^_^ )

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Permalink Reply by Randall T on January 8, 2009 at 11:24pm

Nathan,
My humidor varies with the weather here in Southern California. We get very dry winds and our wet times too. I keep two water pillows and four small humidifers inside. It seems to vary between 65-72 depending upon the local humidity. Good luck with your new one. By the way I keep two guages inside and they sometimes vary 2-3 points. Split the difference I guess!

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Burke- Not An Expert on January 8, 2009 at 11:33pm

Thanks.
I might be a little bit obsessed with this, so let me confess something. My first thought was that my apartment was far too dry, so I bought a humidifier meant for a house even though I have a one bedroom apartment! I have one bedroom that is closed off from the living room and kitchen.
So no matter what, our tiny apartment is always at 65+ humidity, even if I have to refill the 20 gallon tank every 3 days (overhead forced heat). We live on the beach, so during the winter it's extremely dry, but in the summer it is insanely humid. I plan to change the amount of humidity based on the season.