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Apparently humidors are more confusing then i thought

KewchKewch Posts: 1
in Cigar 101
So I have been smoking for a while but usually just would go to the local shop buy one and smoke it that day. I finally decided to cave in and got the cigar.com humidor and 20 cigars. I realized once i got it I have no idea what im doing. I have the humidor itself and the most likely cheap humidifier it came with. What exactly do i still need to buy and do in order to get the cigars in the humidor ASAP. I would prefer to spend as little money as possible being that I am a poor college kid. Also how long can the cigars sit wrapped in plastic in the box they came in and still be good. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • The CankThe Cank Posts: 799
    for now... Put cigars in fridge and do some searching on the forumz on how to set up your humidor. just use the search engin
  • The CankThe Cank Posts: 799
    damn I can't spell today
  • Pacman84Pacman84 Posts: 2,807 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Season it with distilled water. Like The cank mentioned use the search engine on here and see which method you like best.
  • kaspera79kaspera79 Posts: 7,257 ✭✭✭
    I have to disagree here with the fridge idea. You dont want to treat your cigars like left over meatloaf, or tasting like it either. Cigar will pick up the smells and tastes of ther container, ( your Fridge) I would keep the cigars in a large ziplock bag along with some sort of humidity source.

    If they came with a water pillow that is a good start. If not, take a wet paper towel.. not dripping, fold it up and place it in a small plastic sandwich bag and cut off a corner and leave the bag unsealed. Place the small bag with the paper towel in the bigger bag with the cigars. You have a temporary Humidor. I have kept cigars this way for a week or so. Or Tuperware with the same humidity source works well too, just give the cigars a breath of fresh air every day or so until you get that humidor seasoned. There are tons of postings on how to season your humidor but try and keep your cigars at 65-70% humidity. Don't stay awake nights worrying about 2% You will learn alot here if you search around
    Before I did research, I filled that green puck with water took a damp towel and wiped the inside of the humidor down, put the cigars in and was done with it. Those cigars were some of the best cigars I remember. As your hobby develops so will your knowledge. ( or is it the other way around ?) : )
  • TatuajeVITatuajeVI Posts: 2,378 ✭
    Something to add to Kaspera's post above - Distilled water! Regular water is not good for humidors. You can buy a gallon of distilled water at your local Wally world or Kmart for about $1. I use a shallow bowl or small plate for the distilled water and let it sit in the humidor for 4 days or so.

    Other than that, welcome to the forums! Stick around!
  • xmacroxmacro Posts: 3,402 ✭
    As for seasoning your humidor - there are two ways to do it. One is to put a bowl of distilled water in it and leave it there for a few days (2-4 should be about right) - this will allow the wood to slowly and carefully absorb the humidity as it evaporates from the wood.

    The other method is to wipe down the wood with a damp sponge - this is faster but riskier since you can warp the wood and ruin the seal of the humidor if you do it wrong.

  • RampMonkeyRampMonkey Posts: 1,808 ✭
    For starters, Welcome! +1 w/the posts above. Time is the key. Before you know it you will have that humi filled and looking for a larger box. Tons of knowledge here. Poke about or if you can't find what your looking for, feel free to ask. Lots of great folks here that are willing to help out.
  • The CankThe Cank Posts: 799
    kaspera79:
    I have to disagree here with the fridge idea. You dont want to treat your cigars like left over meatloaf, or tasting like it either. Cigar will pick up the smells and tastes of ther container, ( your Fridge) I would keep the cigars in a large ziplock bag along with some sort of humidity source.

    If they came with a water pillow that is a good start. If not, take a wet paper towel.. not dripping, fold it up and place it in a small plastic sandwich bag and cut off a corner and leave the bag unsealed. Place the small bag with the paper towel in the bigger bag with the cigars. You have a temporary Humidor. I have kept cigars this way for a week or so. Or Tuperware with the same humidity source works well too, just give the cigars a breath of fresh air every day or so until you get that humidor seasoned. There are tons of postings on how to season your humidor but try and keep your cigars at 65-70% humidity. Don't stay awake nights worrying about 2% You will learn alot here if you search around
    Before I did research, I filled that green puck with water took a damp towel and wiped the inside of the humidor down, put the cigars in and was done with it. Those cigars were some of the best cigars I remember. As your hobby develops so will your knowledge. ( or is it the other way around ?) : )


    The fridge was just a quick fix while he got his humi seasoned. I have put mine in an empty keeper in ziplock bags before I had humidors. I had no problems with taste but they were only in there long enough to get my first humi set up. I never thought of using a paper towel in a zip bag though.... This way would be better than a fridge, you are guaranteed to get humidity this way
  • DiamondogDiamondog Posts: 4,171 ✭✭
    TatuajeVI:
    Something to add to Kaspera's post above - Distilled water! Regular water is not good for humidors. You can buy a gallon of distilled water at your local Wally world or Kmart for about $1. I use a shallow bowl or small plate for the distilled water and let it sit in the humidor for 4 days or so.

    Other than that, welcome to the forums! Stick around!
    Even more so than not good for humidor, not good for sticks, they will absorb the minerals from the water....
  • leonardleonard Posts: 359
    The Cank:
    for now... Put cigars in fridge and do some searching on the forumz on how to set up your humidor. just use the search engin
    NEVER put cigars in the fridge! Refrigerated air is very dry.
  • Dustin1981Dustin1981 Posts: 412 ✭
    leonard:
    The Cank:
    for now... Put cigars in fridge and do some searching on the forumz on how to set up your humidor. just use the search engin
    NEVER put cigars in the fridge! Refrigerated air is very dry.
    +1 on never the fridge. The first duty of any refridgeration unit be it central air or a fridge is to de-humidify the air. Unless you have your sticks in an air tight container with a humidifier never put them into a fridge.
  • aron325aron325 Posts: 158
    Welcome and definitely listen and search topics in the search bar. i used a boveda seasoning kit for mine and it worked great. never regretted that a day in my life.
  • bigbgballzbigbgballz Posts: 283 ✭
    +1000 not in fridge ,ziplock with any humidifiying device is the best solution in your case,the only time you should put cigars in a cold place like that is if you trying to save your cigar from bugs!
  • KriegKrieg Posts: 5,188 ✭✭✭
    bigbgballz:
    +1000 not in fridge ,ziplock with any humidifiying device is the best solution in your case,the only time you should put cigars in a cold place like that is if you trying to save your cigar from bugs!
    FYI...humidity levels in a fridge could reach as low as 10%, which would be death to your smokes. Heed the warnings from the other fellas and NEVER put your smokes in a fridge. (or freezer) unless u get a beetle infestation (freezing the sticks for a day or so will kill the eggs). You might also want to get rid of the green foam puck that the humi usually comes with and get some beads. You can either order them online or I'm pretty sure your local B&M (brick and mortar store) will have them. They look like little white pebbles and become clear when your add distilled water to them. (only use distilled). They will regulate your RH alot better than foam and the decrease your risk of mold.

    "Long ashes my friends."

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