New to humidors and need advice

[Preston]

Hello everyone,
So, I'm new to cigars and all things humidor. I have a cheep 50ct that I purchased at a local shop. Nobody bothered to tell me about seasoning and I just recently found out my hygrometer was stuck at 70% and not actually reading that. Needless to say I'm starting over. I have read a lot of previous posts and still have some questions. I’m looking at this humidor.
Tampa Humidor
I read a few places that say glass is bad for cigar flavor over time, is that true?

Has anyone dealt with Tampa Humidor before?

They have a good deal on a Cigar Oasis XL and XL Plus. I have seen several places where people have had problems with the original over humidifying, but I haven’t found anyone with a XL version. Does anyone have any experience with these and would you recommend the XL, XL Plus, or beads?

If I did use beads in a humidor with this much empty space would you recommend placing them in one location or multiple?

Finally, What are your thoughts on the best way to season this unit considering the quantity of glass in it?

I really appreciate your help.
Thanks.

 

[natejustice]

Preston,

I have never heard that glass is detrimental to cigar flavor, but I have heard differing opinions on glass because of the ease of sunlight hitting your sticks, which can raise the heat level, and also dangerous UV light could have some detriment to your sticks over time which can be easily fixed by placing it in the proper location and monitoring the amount of sunlight it gets.

As far as the humidification method, I would go for the beads, I have had them and absolutely love them, they make everything so much easier as far as maintenance and making sure your rh stays solid. In the unit you posted the link for you could get a pound or so of your desired rh level beads, and place them on the different shelves to get a little better coverage. Also the beads would be a lot cheaper than the Cigar Oasis unit, if you were looking to save some money.

As far as seasoning that humi, I would imagine it would be exactly the same as seasoning any other humi. Place your humidification method in the humi, and wait till the RH reaches your desired humidity level. There was a few good posts about seasoning humi's so i would do a search on that to get you a little more information pertaining to that..

Hope this helped!

 

[theorangeman]

Yeah, Nate provides very good advice and I agree, for a humi of this size I think an Oasis is an overkill and not necessary. As for TampaHumidor; yeah, I have dealt with them before. I didn't buy the humi you're looking at, but I did buy one that had a door like that and it had a horrible seal. I lost all confidence with TampaHumidor after that humi so I returned it and got my money back. I ended up buying a MUCH bigger humi instead, so it all worked out (except for the fact that now I need a bigger humi) - does the insanity ever end?

 

[theorangeman]

One thing I should mention, I don't mean to imply that all humis from TampaHumidor have issues (I would have no idea). However, I'm not the only person on this board who has had issues with a poor seal from them. The good news is that they do honor returns for defective products, and although they were very slow about refunding my money, they eventually did.

Good luck and let us know if you end up getting that humi (I'd be interested to hear how it is since the price is right and it look very nice)

 

[Preston]

Thanks for the advice Natejustice and the heads up on Tampa Humidors Orangeman. If anyone else has any experience with them I’d love to know it now so I don’t have to deal with the return thing. I think I’ll give the beads a try (financialy the Oasis just doesn’t seem to make sense). Any thoughts on the RH level to go with?
Thanks again.

 

[natejustice]

The consensus seems to be that 65 % RH is the ideal humidity level for your smokes.