How To Pick The Best Cigar Humidors? Reason #151

[FrankJScott]

6 Cigar Humidification Approaches

Now you have a good comprehension of exactly what a hygrometer does and everything can happen if your humidity is too high or too low, let us talk about how to really control the humidity in your humidor. Regrettably, you can not just use a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag...

1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck method was my first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy, was it trying. This is actually the"puck" that is included with humidors the majority of the time and requires one to boil it in propylene glycol. I discovered it to be a bit of a guessing game since you need to be sure that your"puck" does not run out of juice. It was mainly stressful since I used the free version in my humidor so results may vary. I only had to re-soak every 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is very simple. It takes about 30 minutes and you just purchase the propylene glycol individually. This remedy is odorless and only replaces water as a pure form of moisture. Using tap water may cause issues because of chlorine or other substances, and bottled water won't stay moist as long as propylene glycol.

2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make very easy to use products that you may just open and pop it in a humidor such as this
whynter arc 14s. These have a much more controlled way of managing humidity compared to the puck technique. The only bad thing is that you have to replace these completely most of the time each 3-6 months completely. I don't recommend attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of these, particularly the tubes, is that they don't occupy much space in your humidor. However, depending on how big the jar format may work better:

3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the tubes or jar from Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled method of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favorite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for the tupperdor today. But they can err a little on the large side in terms of humidity should you use them at a tupperdor. I'd like to go several percentages lower in the desired humidity as a result if you have a tupperdor. (These packs are available in all different humidity levels.) They do a fantastic job of consuming humidity whether it's too high and growing if it is too low. Once your package is stiff, then you simply throw it away. That having been said, many claim to have the ability to recharge these very easily by simply soaking them for a couple of days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to spend less, the recharged packs certainly won't be as accurate as an original. To find out more about the way to recharge, check out this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I don't recharge because if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on cigars, I don't wish to cut corners to save a couple bucks on Boveda packs.

4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a common humidity method which many advocate across java forums. This provider revolves around these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers to their merchandise. These are popular with larger humidors or even wineadors. These are most likely one of the more expensive options but last forever. They do require spraying of distilled water after week or two though so you've got to stick to a program. This way is somewhat more geared towards the advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of those beads or a coating at the bottom of the wineador.

5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There's nothing greater than the set it and forget of a electric humidifier, particularly if you've got a large or valuable collection. All these are a little expensive when compared with the other options such as
bey-berk humidor but there's the advantage of very little upkeep. The units work best if plugged -- so you'll be asked to conduct a flat cable into the exterior of your humidor. However some of these units have some really cool features like wi-fi capabilities and can humidify up to 1,000 cigars! (That would be a good deal of Boveda packs...) You really do need to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's relatively cheap.

6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a bigger wineador installation, many recommend kitty litter as a viable option to control humidity. I have never done this but many swear by it. This is a really similar method to the Heartfelt beads strategy outlined above. The crucial thing is to get a kitty litter with no fragrance and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as needed. I have seen very positive reviews out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low dust nor odor.