How To Pick The Best Cigar Humidors? Reason #238
6 Cigar Humidification Approaches
Now that you have a good comprehension of exactly what a hygrometer does and what can occur if your humidity is too high or too low, let us discuss how to really control the humidity in your humidor. Regrettably, you can not just use a moist paper towel in a ziplock bag...
1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck system was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it trying. This is actually the"puck" that is included with humidors most of the time and requires one to boil it in propylene glycol. I discovered it for a bit of a guessing game since you have to make sure that your"puck" doesn't run out of juice. It had been mostly stressful because I used the crummy free version from my humidor so results may vary. I only had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you just purchase the propylene glycol separately. This solution is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can create problems because of chlorine or other substances, and bottled water will not stay moist as long as propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very simple to use products which you can just open and pop it into a humidor such as this
newair 250. These have a much more controlled method of handling humidity than the puck method. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely the majority of the time every 3-6 weeks completely. I don't recommend attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The beauty of them, especially the tubes is that they don't take up much room in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar arrangement may work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the tubes or jar from Xikar and Drymistat, you can go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for my tupperdor today. But they can err a bit on the large side in terms of humidity should you use them in a tupperdor. I'd like to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity for a consequence if you've got a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) Otherwise they do a fantastic job of absorbing humidity whether it's too high and growing if it's too low. As soon as your package is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to be able to recharge these very easily by simply soaking them for a few days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to spend less, the recharged packs certainly will not be as accurate as a first. To find out more about the way to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge because I'm going to spend hundreds of bucks on cigars, I don't wish to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a common humidity method which many advocate across cigar forums. This company revolves round these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers for their product. These are probably one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do need spraying of distilled water after week or two though so you have to abide by a schedule. This way is somewhat more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these beads or a coating at the bottom of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing better than the set it and forget of an electric humidifier, particularly if you have a large or precious collection. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
wineador but there is the advantage of very little upkeep. The units also work best if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to run a flat cable into the outside of your humidor. However some of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That could be a lot of Boveda packs...) You do have to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's comparatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
To get a larger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined previously. The crucial thing is to get a kitty litter without a fragrance and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as needed. I have seen very positive testimonials out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor odor.
Now that you have a good comprehension of exactly what a hygrometer does and what can occur if your humidity is too high or too low, let us discuss how to really control the humidity in your humidor. Regrettably, you can not just use a moist paper towel in a ziplock bag...
1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck system was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it trying. This is actually the"puck" that is included with humidors most of the time and requires one to boil it in propylene glycol. I discovered it for a bit of a guessing game since you have to make sure that your"puck" doesn't run out of juice. It had been mostly stressful because I used the crummy free version from my humidor so results may vary. I only had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite easy. It takes about 30 minutes and you just purchase the propylene glycol separately. This solution is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can create problems because of chlorine or other substances, and bottled water will not stay moist as long as propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very simple to use products which you can just open and pop it into a humidor such as this
newair 250. These have a much more controlled method of handling humidity than the puck method. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely the majority of the time every 3-6 weeks completely. I don't recommend attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The beauty of them, especially the tubes is that they don't take up much room in your humidor. However, depending on the size, the jar arrangement may work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the tubes or jar from Xikar and Drymistat, you can go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for my tupperdor today. But they can err a bit on the large side in terms of humidity should you use them in a tupperdor. I'd like to go several percentages lower in the preferred humidity for a consequence if you've got a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) Otherwise they do a fantastic job of absorbing humidity whether it's too high and growing if it's too low. As soon as your package is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That being said, many claim to be able to recharge these very easily by simply soaking them for a few days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to spend less, the recharged packs certainly will not be as accurate as a first. To find out more about the way to recharge, take a look at this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge because I'm going to spend hundreds of bucks on cigars, I don't wish to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a common humidity method which many advocate across cigar forums. This company revolves round these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers for their product. These are probably one of the costlier options but continue forever. They do need spraying of distilled water after week or two though so you have to abide by a schedule. This way is somewhat more geared towards the more advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of these beads or a coating at the bottom of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing better than the set it and forget of an electric humidifier, particularly if you have a large or precious collection. These are a bit expensive when compared with the other options such as
wineador but there is the advantage of very little upkeep. The units also work best if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to run a flat cable into the outside of your humidor. However some of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That could be a lot of Boveda packs...) You do have to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's comparatively cheap.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
To get a larger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a really similar technique to this Heartfelt beads strategy outlined previously. The crucial thing is to get a kitty litter without a fragrance and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as needed. I have seen very positive testimonials out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low fructose nor odor.