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Catfish: How to season or reaseason a humidor using Kitty Litter or Beads

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  • jeep edsonjeep edson Posts: 826
    JDH:
    Dear Catfisher,

    You’ve really got to quit posting stuff like this. I read your original post and got to looking at my humidor just a little too critically. I have a 400 count box with one 11” x 18” x 2.5” tray on top and a lot of cigar boxes stacked in a jumbled mess below that so, after reading your do-it yourself instructions for recharging, I decided to do that and to make myself a better organized box. Besides, it was about time to re-charge the box anyway.

    So, I mosey on down to the woodworking store – the one with more tools than it should be legal to have in one place, - and I spend too much time there looking at the tools and the hardwoods – and end up spending waaaaaaaaaay more than I had planned ‘cause they had so much good stuff that I know I’ll put to good use someday. Anyway, I got some very nice 4” x ¼” stock of Spanish Cedar and spent the whole weekend making precision cuts and dado joints and miter joints and a new tray and several built – in compartments for my humidor and my wife isn’t speaking to me ‘cause we were supposed to go do something else that she wanted to do.

    And it’s all your fault, you know.

    lets see some pics
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    jeep edson:
    JDH:
    Dear Catfisher,

    You’ve really got to quit posting stuff like this. I read your original post and got to looking at my humidor just a little too critically. I have a 400 count box with one 11” x 18” x 2.5” tray on top and a lot of cigar boxes stacked in a jumbled mess below that so, after reading your do-it yourself instructions for recharging, I decided to do that and to make myself a better organized box. Besides, it was about time to re-charge the box anyway.

    So, I mosey on down to the woodworking store – the one with more tools than it should be legal to have in one place, - and I spend too much time there looking at the tools and the hardwoods – and end up spending waaaaaaaaaay more than I had planned ‘cause they had so much good stuff that I know I’ll put to good use someday. Anyway, I got some very nice 4” x ¼” stock of Spanish Cedar and spent the whole weekend making precision cuts and dado joints and miter joints and a new tray and several built – in compartments for my humidor and my wife isn’t speaking to me ‘cause we were supposed to go do something else that she wanted to do.

    And it’s all your fault, you know.

    lets see some pics
    +2 come on now!
  • JDHJDH Posts: 2,107
    work work work work work work work that's all I ever do
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077
    ehehat:
    DCarp2005:
    So there isn't a Petsmart any where close to me and i have not found the exquisicat crystal KL that most everyone is using, but i did find this at Kroger
    imageimage It looks very similar to the Exqusicat, just wanted to hear your guys' thoughts.
    I dont use Exquisicat either. As long as its 100% silica and odor free you should be fine.
    +2 but that does look like the right stuff. Mine is a different brand also and just has a few of the blue crystals, but no odor/perfumes or anything. So if that is what this one is like you should be good.
  • DCarp2005DCarp2005 Posts: 140
    Roberto99:
    ehehat:
    DCarp2005:
    So there isn't a Petsmart any where close to me and i have not found the exquisicat crystal KL that most everyone is using, but i did find this at Kroger
    imageimage It looks very similar to the Exqusicat, just wanted to hear your guys' thoughts.
    I dont use Exquisicat either. As long as its 100% silica and odor free you should be fine.
    +2 but that does look like the right stuff. Mine is a different brand also and just has a few of the blue crystals, but no odor/perfumes or anything. So if that is what this one is like you should be good.
    Thanks guys, yeah this is odor/perfume free and looks like the exqusicat stuff catfish mentioned earlier in the thread. I'm currently seasoning two desktop humidors using the aforementioned method and the KL. I hope this method works, i struggled to maintain my rh with the wipe method.
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    catfishbluezz:
    WaterDemon:
    catfishbluezz:
    Bro, if it is only 47rh in there, you need to put multiple sponges in there IMO. That's extremely dry
    Yea it was 47% because the doors were open while weather stripping. I checked everything and now I'm sitting at 63% in the cabinet part and 58% on the top part....I'll let it sit a little longer, but I'm slowly losing faith in this kitty litter product. O.o Should I take the Kitty Litter out and put the water w/ the sponges in there again and start back from scratch?
    yeah, that's what I would do. What kind did you get??? I'd be really surprised honestly. There are thousands of guys that use it and have reported no issues.
    I got the 8lbs of Exquisicat. So I did what I thought would be best, I wiped down my whole humidor with distilled water. I also wiped down all the cigar boxes that are sitting inside of it with no cigars in them. I then placed a bowl of distilled water in the top humidor, as well as one big bowl of distilled water in the bottom cabinet part. Right away both meters shot up to 85% humidity. This was on thursday night. Last night I took a quick glance at them, they were settling around 68-72%. So I said "Screw it" and put the KL back in. I gave it a good spritzing of water...like a really good spritzing. I checked this morning before I left to work, the cabinet is at 69% and the humidor top is at 71%. I'll post pictures when I get home, if this stays like this, then tomorrow I will place the sticks in. If all I had to do was lightly wiope down the walls then that's what I had to do I guess. I wouldn't recommend doing it, but I was out of ideas.
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    No worries man, this way is what worked for me, and I do not want to debate what works and what does not. Do what works for you. Typically when you wipe down, you see the large spikes over 80% and then gradual dropping. So as you keep wiping you get rh spiking high, then coming back down. The idea is to gradually bring it up in the atmosphere, that way the wood holds it. Many times when I've had stability issues, or others have, that is the main reason. Let us know how it works out, I am here to help in any way I can.
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    No problem! This seems to work for me and most of my humidors, but it's usually the last resort. I never had any problems with the wood warping on me, so I guess I do it right. I think the main reason was that the wood wasn't getting the moisture in it. Since most of it isn't spanish cedar, it probably has a harder time getting somewhat moist(lol). Hopefully this works, if it does then I can't wait to get this thing filled!
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    So here are the pics, I put a new meter on the top one to double check, it's around what my other one was at. The cabinet is still rocking good humidity: imageimage
  • VisionVision Posts: 8,487 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What about PG Solution in Kitty Litter? If its regulated at 70RH shouldnt that be a good thing?
  • VisionVision Posts: 8,487 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Vision:
    What about PG Solution in Kitty Litter? If its regulated at 70RH shouldnt that be a good thing?

    No. I would NOT use PG. PG will clog the Kittly Litter making it difficult to regulate RH. I would just use DW
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    Vision:
    Vision:
    What about PG Solution in Kitty Litter? If its regulated at 70RH shouldnt that be a good thing?

    No. I would NOT use PG. PG will clog the Kittly Litter making it difficult to regulate RH. I would just use DW
    Answering your own questions? O.o
  • VisionVision Posts: 8,487 ✭✭✭✭✭
    WaterDemon:
    Vision:
    Vision:
    What about PG Solution in Kitty Litter? If its regulated at 70RH shouldnt that be a good thing?

    No. I would NOT use PG. PG will clog the Kittly Litter making it difficult to regulate RH. I would just use DW
    Answering your own questions? O.o

    I started doing a little research and then asked the question. Then I kept reading on beads and silica and found an old post stating what I found above.
  • VisionVision Posts: 8,487 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What is the proper way to clean the smell out of a cooler/wineador. What type of cleaning product should we use/not use? Do you put news paper in there moist to suck out the smell? Thanks for the help
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    I used dish soap and distilled water. Then put newspaper in overnight.
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    I just added some of my cigars to the big humidor...Hoping they will be fine! I feel like a damn parent seeing off his child go on the school bus for the first time. :|
  • DCarp2005DCarp2005 Posts: 140
    I followed catfish's guide to seasoning for my two desktop humis and was well on my way to fill them with cigars and noticed on day 7-10 my rh started to drop in both. I put sponged back in both and sprayed the KL a couple of times. I'm so anxious to fill them!! I hope they are ready soon
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    Just spraying them a bit should bring it up, let me know if you need any help. How much KL is in them? How big are they?
  • DCarp2005DCarp2005 Posts: 140
    I have two 50ct glass top humidors that are seasoning as we speak. I took one of my 4oz gels and took the beads out and put KL in that. Is that enough? I know some of the guys used over a pound with their wineadors so I figured 4oz would be enough.
  • VisionVision Posts: 8,487 ✭✭✭✭✭
    DCarp2005:
    I have two 50ct glass top humidors that are seasoning as we speak. I took one of my 4oz gels and took the beads out and put KL in that. Is that enough? I know some of the guys used over a pound with their wineadors so I figured 4oz would be enough.

    I am looking to use 3-4 LBs... maybe more.
  • Shaun.Harrison87Shaun.Harrison87 Posts: 1,971
    Vision:
    DCarp2005:
    I have two 50ct glass top humidors that are seasoning as we speak. I took one of my 4oz gels and took the beads out and put KL in that. Is that enough? I know some of the guys used over a pound with their wineadors so I figured 4oz would be enough.

    I am looking to use 3-4 LBs... maybe more.
    I have 3lbs of beads in my cabinet, stays steady for me but I still might add in another lb because I have some new trays coming in and want to make sure I have enough to regulate it quickly and consistently.
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    DCarp2005:
    I have two 50ct glass top humidors that are seasoning as we speak. I took one of my 4oz gels and took the beads out and put KL in that. Is that enough? I know some of the guys used over a pound with their wineadors so I figured 4oz would be enough.
    IMO, it takes a little more KL then normal beads. 4oz is not enough IMO which is why the drop probably took place. you should be able to fit a decent amount in there. I would fill up a decent container, something lengthwise to save space.
  • DCarp2005DCarp2005 Posts: 140
    Alright sounds good, thanks for the input would one pound work?
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    One lb would be overkill for a 50, but more beads=better stability.
  • DCarp2005DCarp2005 Posts: 140
    I doubled my quantity for KL so probably around 8 oz in each humi. I also sprayed them and put sponges back in for a day hopefully tomorrow i can take the sponges out and see if the rh stabilizes over the next couple days
  • blurrblurr Posts: 962 ✭✭
    If you have any old cigar coffins around they work pretty well as bead or litter pearls holders. Tend to be cigar shaped so you can fit a lot of cigars in with them. Just a rough example but use whatever works for you.
    Bead Holders
  • ddubridgeddubridge Posts: 3,978 ✭✭✭
    Finally had a weekend I wasnt sick to go out and get some more KL
    image
  • WaterDemonWaterDemon Posts: 269
    My humidor is rocking a strong 70% humidity still with the KL. It was deff. a seal issue!
  • brianetz1brianetz1 Posts: 4,134 ✭✭✭
    BUMP
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