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Anyone here use just distilled water?

S

Snoozer

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
192
My first Humidor arrived on Friday. :) Just a 50 ct (yeah I know. always go bigger ;) ) I'm just wondering if anyone here uses only distilled water. As in no beads oasis etc... I forgot to order some beads in time for when my Humi arrived :blush: So I've ordered beads and I'm waiting for them but I'm trying to season with just water since I've just got time on my hands. It's been a couple days and I can get the rh to stay around 60 (It'll go higher but drop steadily after wiping or adding a shot glass of water etc... Is this normal? Should I just wait until my beads arrive?

Thanks guys!
 
I personally don't like wiping down the wood in a humidor. Just take a shot glass of distilled water and heat it in a microwave, not to noiling but hot. Place that in the humidor and close the lid then repeat this the next day. A few days of this and the spanish cedar will get a good fill of moisture.
 
It's not uncommon for a humidor to take two or more weeks to fully season.

I can't recommend "wiping" wood down to speed up the seasoning process. Wood will warp if it gets too wet. Seasoning unfortunately takes time. Patience here will pay off long term.

I'd put a shot glass of distilled water in the humi and wait until you get up to 70% or so. You should be ready to add gars and beads then. It'll "coast" down to the recommended 65% rather quickly.

Also, you really should salt test your hygrometer. Most are at least a point or two off and if that's going to be your gauge into the RH environment, you have to know it's telling you the truth.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
When I got my first desktop I was really eager to get the smokes into it. I lightly wiped the insides down with distilled water (something I probably wouldn't do again... although it didn't harm it or anything), put a shot glass of distilled in it and let it chill for a couple of days. The other thing you should do, if you haven't already, is to salt test your hygro to make sure it is accurate. Like most folks here, I use 65% beads and haven't had any problems. I used the little humidification device that came with the humi for a bit but quickly realized that it wasn't needed with the beads. Also, once you get the humi full of cigars the rh won't jump around so much. A full humi is a happy humi! :D I always use distilled water only.... no solutions or anything.

There are tons of old threads that talk about humi seasoning, hygro calibration, etc. etc. Read some old threads, get the beads in there, smoke a cigar or two and enjoy this wonderful lifestyle! Congrats on the new humi!.... oh yeah... better go bigger....

mac
 
Thanks for the quick replies and advice guys! I had wondered about wiping the inside but I did read around it was mentioned on a few sites. Guess I should have went with my gut. I didn't soak it so I'm hoping it'll be ok.
I'll just be patient and use the shot glass.
Once again, thanks!
 
If your going to heat up the water be careful about condensation specially in the spot right above the glass.
I think tho if you can keep 60% rh without anything your more than fine till your beads come in.

For reference sake...a 50ct humidor that I got in a package deal from holts came w/ the cigars inside...took em out threw in my hygrometer and found out it was pre-seasoned :D saved me the trouble ^_^
 
Hey All,

I'm a newbie and was just perusin' the boards and saw this topic. I just sprung for my 1st humi as a Christmas gift to myself. It says 150-200 but I don't even know if I'll get close to 150 even if I pack'em in like sardines. But.... my experience is that it took me a li'l while to get my humi seasoned. My biggest problem was that I couldn't get the RH at the bottom of my humi into the proper range for a long time. This was my experience.

- Humi came in the mail and first night I calibrated hygrometer with salt test and put the shot glass of water in the humi.
- Fast forward about 4-5 days with shot glass still in humi and can't get above 60% RH.
- Everyday, 2x a day, for the next 3-4 days I substitute a shallow dish with higher surface area for the shot glass. I heat it in the micro until steaming then place in the humi. RH obviously spikes high, but once steam dissipates and wood absorbs moisture, after 4 days of this still can't get the RH above 64%. (As a side bar, at this point after a second calibration of the analog hygrometer I realize they're not worth a damn and reluctantly spend the $20 on a digital - should've done it from the very beginning.)
- So.. I go to local B&M, talk to one the guys about my problem. He says Boveda humipaks are the way to go. I get 4 packs, stick'em in the humi, after 3 days still can't get above 64%. (Now through this entire process, I am using the humidification device the humi came with in conjunction with everything else.)
- GO BACK TO MY B&M and talk to the owner. He says, you gotta wipe it down. I told him I was reluctant because a lot of websites I researched discourage it for several reasons. He says as long as you make sure your cloth is clean and you use dist. H2O, you should be fine.
- I remove all my cigars and pack'em in tupperware. I take a clean cloth, rinse it a few times in dist. H2O, then moisten it well and wipe down the entire interior of the humi. I let it sit for 1 day and repeat the process. Take the reading the next day..... 78%. Close the humi, let it sit another day... 78%. I let it sit open for about 15 -20 min. to drop the RH a bit, close it and wait until the next day and take another reading.... 72%....FINALLY! :thumbs:
-I proceed to monitor RH for next 2 days and it remains a steady 72%. No problems since. I put all my sticks back in and it's read between 69% and 72% ever since. I'm currently using the Boveda humipaks(just cause I have'em), and the humidif. device the humi came with. Once the packs run out in a few months, I'm confident I can maintain the current RH with the device the humi came with. But I won't know until then.

The funny thing is.... before I got my humi I (can't believe I'm admitting this) kept my cigars in a large Christmas themed cookie tin with one of those little jars with the absorbent crystalsin it..... and never had a single problem! Go figure! :D

DeVonn


disclaimer: The opinions and experiences expressed herein are the sole opinions of said newbie. Any attempt to duplicate such actions are so done solely at your own risk. Said newbie can not be held liable for any adverse situations that should arise as a result of duplicating actions described in any of the content outlined above or forthwith. Yada yada yada! ;)
 
I've had 4 desktops....all of which I wiped down (lightly)

and

place a small (tiny) bowl of water in it (oh - I put a piece of paper towel in the bowl - it acts as a wick and prevents 'sloshing').

The next day, I wipe it down again and replenish the bowl....within a couple days humidity is spot on...only once did I have to add water a 3rd day...it was a LARGE humi.

This is how I was told by my B&M, it's worked everytime!
 
the beads are good but distilled water can work, if you wanna do it right. the shot glass can make things easyier but beads are not so bad they do it too.
 
As for the humi question, my first 150 desktop took 4 weeks to season with beads and water.
 
Wipe away! If you're anything like me you'll quickly outgrow that 50ct humidor after breaking your cherry. Hanging around cigar boards has that affect on people. I now use a converted wine cooler as a humi but I still have fond memories of the old 50ct babe that made me a man. Warped wood and all. :)
 
What's wrong with 60 RH? Load the humi up with sticks, ive it something to work on, it will soon stabilize.

Brian
 
Still a newbie here, but these are some of the things I have noticed,

once I wiped my humi down lightly, it seasoned in no time and I have not had a problem since, before I did this, i could not get it to stabilize at all.

and two

Those basic round humidification devices that come with almost EVERY humidor suck, they are usually not big enough for the box. I purchased a savoy box that is the same size as a box I bought online and the savoy box humi device is three times the size of the box i got online. I have since added a second device to the online box and bam, perfect humidity.
 
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