Purchasing a New Humidor...

[TGM_6]

Alright, first of all this is my first post on here. Looking forward to hearing all of your advice and reading through posts to become more knowledgeable.

I have browsed this site alot for recommendations on a humidor and have set my path with the Diamond Crown Berkeley (http://www.pipesandcigars.com/dicrbe.html). Yes it only holds 70 but I am new to this scene and want to experience tons of different cigars before I go about purchasing boxes a few years down the road. Therefore I won't have large amount of cigars on-hand for at least 2-3 years when i graduate from college and masters degree. I have a few questions though that I hope you can help me with.

I have a very accurate hygrometer and have decided to go with 65% beads. I like a good draw with my cigars.

1) I am going with heartfelt beads, how many ounces do i need? I would guess 2 ounces.
2) How often do i need to add distilled water to the beads on average?
3) The more additional beads that i have, does that mean that i need to add distilled water less?
4) I hear that a humidor will need to be re-seasoned if it is not holding 80% cigars over an extended period of time, is that true?
5) How do i prevent my cigars from cracking?

 

[SouthsideCigar]

First, welcome. You may want to post an introduction in the intro forum so that we can learn a little about you.

Unless you have your heart set on that humidor for some reason, it is pretty pricey for a humidor that size. If you look at my site, there are many humidors of that size or larger for quite a bit less money. And I can give you a discount as a member of the site. (No obligation to buy from me, there are other sites that you will see similar price range). With the savings, you can buy more cigars :whistling:

On a humidor of that size, I would say 1 - 2 ounces should be fine. The frequency with which you need ot add water depends on the temp/humidity conditions of your house, how many cigars you have and how often you add cigars, how often you open the humidor, etc. Certain times of the year when it is drier, you may need to wet the beads every 2 weeks, other times of the year they may last 4 - 5 weeks or even longer.

You should not have to re-season a humidor once it is seasoned. If you leave it totally unattended for a long period of time, you will need to get it up to the proper RH before putting sticks in.

Dave

 

[TGM_6]

I am actually getting this humidor from my local cigar store and the price is around $80. I don't think that's so bad to pay. I just found the humidor I wanted on the internet and used that as the link to show others what I am getting.


Is there such a thing as having too many beads? As in I use 3 or 4 ounces in this humidor?

 

[Kingantz]

I won't have large amount of cigars on-hand for at least 2-3 years

Now that...is funny. GO BIGGER!

And like Southside said...need to post in the introduction thread...tell us a little something about yourself...

 

[TxAgVern]

First, welcome. You may want to post an introduction in the intro forum so that we can learn a little about you.

Unless you have your heart set on that humidor for some reason, it is pretty pricey for a humidor that size. If you look at my site, there are many humidors of that size or larger for quite a bit less money. And I can give you a discount as a member of the site. (No obligation to buy from me, there are other sites that you will see similar price range). With the savings, you can buy more cigars :whistling:

On a humidor of that size, I would say 1 - 2 ounces should be fine. The frequency with which you need ot add water depends on the temp/humidity conditions of your house, how many cigars you have and how often you add cigars, how often you open the humidor, etc. Certain times of the year when it is drier, you may need to wet the beads every 2 weeks, other times of the year they may last 4 - 5 weeks or even longer.

You should not have to re-season a humidor once it is seasoned. If you leave it totally unattended for a long period of time, you will need to get it up to the proper RH before putting sticks in.

Dave

When I am ready to purchase my first, I'll will get in contact with you for some help. If you don't mind.

 

[SmokinInCanada]

Yeah TGM a word to the wise. I'm in college myself and I thought to myself "Hey I would pick up a 25 count humi and pick up 10 or so cigars every couple months"

I dont even have a humi yet and I've been going to my local B&M buying a couple cigars every week, so I would say just be prepared when that humi is exploding at the seems

P.S. Throw an intro post up, let us get to know ya abit more.

 

[TGM_6]

I wrote up my intro post. I am very happy this site has good repliers. A few others sites I looked through were scarce with member replies.


A big concern I have is that I live in an apartment and temperatures can reach 80 degrees F. I am thinking that maybe if I put my humi in a cooler with an ice pack for a a few months that this would be fine. Can anyone chime in on that?

 

[Bsneed51]

I am actually getting this humidor from my local cigar store and the price is around $80. I don't think that's so bad to pay. I just found the humidor I wanted on the internet and used that as the link to show others what I am getting.


Is there such a thing as having too many beads? As in I use 3 or 4 ounces in this humidor?

Two things, first I would recommend you check out what Southside has to offer, or check out cheaphumidors.com. For $80 you can pick up a larger humidor, or you can pick up a humidor of the same size for half that price. As someone who has already upgraded in size once, and is looking to do so again, I would always buy a humidor twice the size of what you think you will need.

As far as having to many beads, really there is no harm in going over on beads. With more beads it will help your humi recover faster after it's been opened, and you will have to wet them less often.

 

[flamchop]

4) I hear that a humidor will need to be re-seasoned if it is not holding 80% cigars over an extended period of time, is that true?
5) How do i prevent my cigars from cracking?

From my past searches and postings on this board I've learned that a humidor should be at least half full of cigars in order to maintain proper RH and have the climate of the humi working properly and stabilize.

By cracking do you mean peeling? Or literally splitting? I would think as long as your sticks are being kept between 60%-70% RH and 65-70 degrees temp, they should be good to go.

As far as the apartment thing I'm not sure what to tell you. Definitely get a digital hydro that tells you the temp if the humi doesn't already come with one, and try to keep it in a place that won't get up to 80 as that's very bad.

 

[SouthsideCigar]

TxAgVern,
Any help you need, just let me know.

As far as the temp, you may want to consider the Wine Refrig route. You can usually pick up VinoTemps or the like on eBay for $100 or so. This will give you a sealed unit that is also refrigerated and much larger than a desktop humi. Buy some more beads and you are good to go.
Many people on this site have done this. If you search you can find pictures and descriptions.

Dave

 

[Kingantz]

Check out the link and read up. Not sure if there's any left, but to keep the temps cool, this is great. Pick up some empty boxes (local B&M), get some beads, and fill'r up!

LINKY

 

[TGM_6]

Check out the link and read up. Not sure if there's any left, but to keep the temps cool, this is great. Pick up some empty boxes (local B&M), get some beads, and fill'r up!

LINKY

That's a very good deal but unfortunately it is sold out! I am still thinking about just throwing my humi in a cooler with an ice pack when it gets to hot out. If it gets too bad, I will just take my humi down the road to my parents house and just store it in the basement.

You are all very helpful and I thank you for that!

Now if I only have 15 cigars in this humidor but use 3 ounces of beads, will that help properly regulate the RH level? Or should I just bounce up to more cigars and keep the 3 ounces? Is there that much of a difference between the amount of cigars I have on-hand?

 

[souldog]

Now if I only have 15 cigars in this humidor but use 3 ounces of beads, will that help properly regulate the RH level? Or should I just bounce up to more cigars and keep the 3 ounces? Is there that much of a difference between the amount of cigars I have on-hand?

Here's some info. from Viper's website (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/default.asp):

"Important: You can use more Hearfelt Beads in your humidor than the minumum amount recommended. The additional Heartfelt Beads will give you more moisture storage and help the humidor recover quicker when it has been opened. The extra Heartfelt Beads will also help compensate for seasonal changes and a less than perfect seal on your humidor."

 

[Bsneed51]

Here's some info. from Viper's website (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/default.asp):

"Important: You can use more Hearfelt Beads in your humidor than the minumum amount recommended. The additional Heartfelt Beads will give you more moisture storage and help the humidor recover quicker when it has been opened. The extra Heartfelt Beads will also help compensate for seasonal changes and a less than perfect seal on your humidor."

Yeah, that's what I said.

 

[souldog]

Here's some info. from Viper's website (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/default.asp):

"Important: You can use more Hearfelt Beads in your humidor than the minumum amount recommended. The additional Heartfelt Beads will give you more moisture storage and help the humidor recover quicker when it has been opened. The extra Heartfelt Beads will also help compensate for seasonal changes and a less than perfect seal on your humidor."

Yeah, that's what I said.

Meh...just figured I'd give him the quote from the site.

 

[twood]

trust me, as a newbie who has already filled up a 50count and a small cooler, you will be much happier initially buying a $20 cooler and making it into a cooler-dor. Plenty of walkthroughs on how to do that available on this site. You will instantly regret not buying enough humidor! (spend the extra money on cigars instead, you need to try a few different smokes before you decide what you like).
-tw

 

[TGM_6]

trust me, as a newbie who has already filled up a 50count and a small cooler, you will be much happier initially buying a $20 cooler and making it into a cooler-dor. Plenty of walkthroughs on how to do that available on this site. You will instantly regret not buying enough humidor! (spend the extra money on cigars instead, you need to try a few different smokes before you decide what you like).
-tw

just out of curiosity, how would I keep the cooler cold? I don't think it would be a good idea to throw in an icepack within the cooler as that will throw off a good bit of moisture.

 

[Gonz]

One tip if you are worried about heat is to try and find the coolest spot in your apartment, which most likely during the summer would be an interior closet, where the sun can't heat it up during the day. The apartment doesn't have AC?