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New member, hello!

A little about myself, I am 25 years old, will graduate college in May with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I am married and I have a 3 month old daughter. Just got out of the military after spending 8 years in the Reserves, the year of 2004 was spent in Kuwait.

I've always enjoyed cigars, but have never smoked them except on rare occasions with friends in social settings. My wife asked what I wanted for Valentine's Day and it popped into my head, a humidor! Anyways, I got my gift earlier today...a 25-50 count glass top humidor and am seasoning the humidor and calibrating the analog hygrometer as we speak.

I purchased a few deals I found on the website...a 15 count DPG sampler, a 3 pack ACID sampler, and a 3 pack of mild cigar sampler. I've never had any of these cigars before so I'm really excited. I hope to spend a good bit of time asking questions and learning from the pros.

Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.

Comments

  • stephen_hannibalstephen_hannibal Posts: 4,317
    Yo... welcome to the fam.
  • firetruckguyfiretruckguy Posts: 2,522 ✭✭✭
    Welcome to the forum my friend! Get you post count up so you can get into the fun and games. Great information here.....and a damn good bunch of BOTL's.
  • kingjk729kingjk729 Posts: 2,579 ✭✭✭
    Welcome to the forums make sure you poke and prod ......... we love it and feel free to ask any questions, you're always guaranteed a good educated response from one of the many resident know it alls
  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Thank you everyone. I guess my first question would pertain to my humidifier.

    I don't have any activator solution and there are no cigar shops or anything around here. I read that I can just use regular distilled water (what I'm currently doing), I just have to keep a closer eye on the humidity....is that true?

    Thanks.
  • HaysHays Posts: 2,337 ✭✭✭
    Welcome to the forum brother! Great group of guys we have here, and I'm sure if you stick around you'll have plenty of fun.

    About your question, you can indeed use distilled water in your humi puck - I think the majority of us do, versus the different solutions they have available; it's just a lot easier. The easiest thing for ya to do, though, would be to buy some Heartfelt Beads; makes it a cinch to maintain humidity.
    ¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen

    ¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Thank you Hays, I will do that. My cigars aren't here yet....they just shipped from this website on Friday via Priority Mail so hopefully all will be set by then. I'll see tomorrow if my salt test turned out ok.
  • Sandman1amSandman1am Posts: 2,567
    Gauge welcome and hold on to your shorts. It won't take you long to fill that humi that you got oh and you should really invest in a digital hygrometer. They tend to be much more acurate then analog once they have been calibrated or salt tested.
  • mrpillowmrpillow Posts: 464
    Don't forget, do NOT put your Acid cigars in your humi with your other sticks. They are infused and will have adverse effects on the humi and your other cigars.
  • firetruckguyfiretruckguy Posts: 2,522 ✭✭✭
    mrpillow:
    Don't forget, do NOT put your Acid cigars in your humi with your other sticks. They are infused and will have adverse effects on the humi and your other cigars.
    Not even in the same humi??........... Crap! I thought it was just not next to other sticks.
  • Welcome Brother!!! I'm sure you will have a blast on here and meet alot of good people and develop alot of friendships... I know I have!
  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Thanks again. I only have 1 humidor...can't I separate the acid with a divider? I doubt they will stay in there more than a month or two.

    Also, my salt test has been going about 15 hours and it reads 64% on my analog....should I calibrate it to say 75%?
  • kingjk729kingjk729 Posts: 2,579 ✭✭✭
    Gauge as far as the acids go ..... if you ordered from ccom you should have a humidity pillow in the shipping package .... i'd suggest maybe putting the acids in a ziplock with the humidity pillow or maybe creating a little tupperdor ..... just take an average sized tupperware container add the acids and the pillow and you should be ok.
  • KriegKrieg Posts: 5,188 ✭✭✭
    gauge:
    Thanks again. I only have 1 humidor...can't I separate the acid with a divider? I doubt they will stay in there more than a month or two. Also, my salt test has been going about 15 hours and it reads 64% on my analog....should I calibrate it to say 75%?
    Yes, you will need to store them totally separate than your other sticks. And I can't recommend this enough, go to walmart and get that $7 digi hydrometer. Oh, and welcome to the forums.

    "Long ashes my friends."

  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Alright...will do! Where is the best place to get those heartfelt beads?
  • letsgowithbobletsgowithbob Posts: 677 ✭✭
    Hey gauge, welcome to the forum. I hope you stay one here, and bs with everyone. It's a fun place. I am new here as well. I would really recommend getting the heartfelt beads, and the digital hygrometer. My wife got me a 25-50 count humidor about 8 years ago, and I spent literally years trying to get everything set up. I used the sponges, and the analog hygrometer. I got the digital hygrometer and the beads, and my problems went away overnight. They are totally worth the money.
  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Great ideas.

    I saw on wal-marts website where it has the $7 hygrometer but it says it is not sold in stores, but from what everyone is saying I'm guessing it is...what department is it in normally?

    Do you order those heartfelt beads directly from the manufacturer? They have quite a few different options, I have a 25-50 count glasstop...any suggestions to which one I should get? I have the habit of getting really into a hobby if I like it so I may need a bigger one that just my box or a way to split them up if possible.
  • Welcome Gauge I'm a newbie myself and you'll find all the folks on these boards to be very helpful, I know I have.
  • HaysHays Posts: 2,337 ✭✭✭
    gauge:
    Great ideas. I saw on wal-marts website where it has the $7 hygrometer but it says it is not sold in stores, but from what everyone is saying I'm guessing it is...what department is it in normally? Do you order those heartfelt beads directly from the manufacturer? They have quite a few different options, I have a 25-50 count glasstop...any suggestions to which one I should get? I have the habit of getting really into a hobby if I like it so I may need a bigger one that just my box or a way to split them up if possible.
    First of all, unless you quit NOW you WILL need a bigger humi lol.. I started with a 20ct, thinking I wouldn't be getting something bigger for years. 2 months later I have a 300ct humi.

    Yes, get the Heartfelt beads directly from the manufacturer - I recommend the loose beads, because it's pretty easy to find ways to hold em and it saves a lOt of money.

    The $7 hygro at Walmart is in the Indoor/Outdoor Thermometers section, located in DIY. Its biggest downfall is that it's not adjustable, so if it's off you have to make a note of the discrepancy. Mine has been spot-on accurate since I bought it, but several others have had issues with them, so it seems rather hit-or-miss.
    ¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen

    ¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
  • YankeeManYankeeMan Posts: 2,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    gauge, to echo what Hays just said, plan now on getting a bigger humidor! I too started with the 20 count and that is now my storage for infused cigars. I have two 200 counts, one for smoking and one for aging.

    On Hays' advice, I got my hygrometers at Walmarts and they work great. They are not adjustable, but when you do the salt test, just mark down the difference. As it turned out, one of mine tested out at 75% and the other at 74%.

    I got my beads at Conservagel. They are the same things, a little cheaper and they don't charge you for the mesh bags. I bought one pound and got two half pound bags and put one in each large humidor. They have held steady for the past two months.

    Welcome aboard and you will find some really great people here.
  • gaugegauge Posts: 14
    Excellent advice everyone...thanks! You have all been super supportive!
  • Poker_SlobPoker_Slob Posts: 1,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome to the Forums at Ccom. Lots of great guys and info here.
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