Originally Posted by dwoodward (Post 911094)

I have my first humidor coming in the mail, should be here on Tuesday from Tampa Humidor's. It's a brand new Salerno 300ct humidor. (I ordered imperfect but they were out apparently, so they cut me a very respectable price discount for a new one, very pleased.)

Anyhow, when it arrives, what should I do to start seasoning it? Everything that I know about seasoning comes from the internet, and ideas are very mixed between websites. Some people say to wipe in interior, other people say not to etc...

I would never wipe the interior of my humidor, but like you say, people's opinions vary...Mine is "never:.

Some say to use a shot glass of water for a few days, others say to use a bowl of water. I will probably use a shot glass myself, but as a fine spirits aficionado I have many sizes of shot glasses on hand. What is the best size for this job? I have anything from 1/2oz glasses up to 3oz shot glasses. Will any size work?

I boiled a glass of distilled water in the microwave, then put something rubber on the bottom of my humi (like a mouse pad for instance) to keep it from scorching the wood, and set the glass in my humi and closed it up. Worked great on more than one humi for me, but you will get lots of opinions of this too.

Next, should I purchase the RH Beads, or the Shilala Beads? RH Beads are shown all over the internet and seem very popular, while people here swear by the Shilala it seems. What is the difference between the two? How are they better than strip humidifiers? Should I put the beads in during or after seasoning?

Shiala beads are humidity beads. He could explain any differences to you but they are basically the same principle as I understand it. Absorb humidity when needed, emit humidity when needed. Strip humidifiers? If you mean the foam inserts, they can mold over. If you mean Boveda type packets, they won't last as long as the beads.

I know it is a lot of questions, but I have asked some of my buddies about these things, and they are pretty blunt, the all say just wipe the interior and then put your cigars in, but they also complain from time to time on how dry their older cigars are.

I basically just want to be sure that my cigars keep for as long as I need them to, after all the point of a humidor is to keep them fresh forever. A lot of questions, sorry. I am just a very cautious person, and want to be sure I do everything correctly.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by dwoodward (Post 912966)

Lighters and Cutters? What do you all use?

Originally Posted by Ogre3239 (Post 912970)

Another million answer question. That is all personal preference. I use the Xikar cutter and an Alex Bradley Table lighter and love them both.

Originally Posted by Ogre3239 (Post 911102)

I have done the shot glass of water for a few days, and am now using Shilala beads now. You will get as many responses to your questions as there are members. Good luck.

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 913155)

Palio for a cutter.

Blazer for a nice torch...Ronson for a reliable cheap one.

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 913168)

I have big fingers, and absolutely no problem using the Palio. Never heard the "fat finger" complaint until I saw it on another thread a couple days ago.

Originally Posted by Ogre3239 (Post 913171)

I hope someone at EPIC HERF in November has one. Would like to try before buying. Cant find a B&M here that sells them.

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 913168)

I have big fingers, and absolutely no problem using the Palio. Never heard the "fat finger" complaint until I saw it on another thread a couple days ago.

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 911112)

This should help, Derrick. :)

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=618

Originally Posted by dwoodward (Post 913567)

I think I know everything I need to know now. Thanks.

Just one final question... When I season my humidor, should I try to get the humidity up to 70-80 percent and then put the shilala's beads in to drop the humidity? Or what is the best way to get the humidity up and then level?

Originally Posted by CigarNut (Post 913889)

It is all about having as much surface area of the beads getting exposed to air as possible. Instead of having one bag crammed into a tight space two smaller bags that have better exposure would be better. If you have plenty of room then one bag would be fine.

Originally Posted by dwoodward (Post 914162)

In typical UPS fashion, my humidor was delayed by a day on its arrival. Not surprised tbh. You pay an extra 5 dollars for 3 day shipping to speed things up and get about the equivalent of ground in the end anyway. Figures.

I am getting really antsy waiting for all this. I know I need to season the thing and then order my cigars, but I am getting bored waiting. But I guess that is what you get when you live in the middle of nowhere like I do.

I have learned a lot about the industry tho. Each smoke shop here marks up their prices by 200-300% over what the price is online. I'll probably never buy from a local store again unless its just a single to try something new that I can't find online.

Originally Posted by waffle (Post 917046)

You did buy one roughly 3x the size you thought you'd need right? My 150 one is about to be met with a coolidor under the desk as the humi is now full (well, was, freezing the sticks after having the A/C go out, I didn't want to take any chances). I couldnt believe how quickly I filled it... its a sickness I tell ya!

Originally Posted by OLS (Post 917090)

Also nut up from the get go and buy you several pounds. You will not be in a
300 ct for long. Or maybe you will be the first to actually pull it off. We'll see.

Originally Posted by icehog3 (Post 913155)

Palio for a cutter.

Blazer for a nice torch...Ronson for a reliable cheap one.

Originally Posted by dwoodward (Post 916823)

After letting my humidor try to collect humidity overnight and watching the analog hygrometer sit at 50% RH for 12 hours, I decided I would wipe down the inside with a slightly damp clean rag to try to get the process going. The RH shot up to 80% on the dial and quickly dropped to 50% within an hour.

I figured I had a leak so I made a run to the hardware store. I got some 100% silicone sealant and made a ring around the gap between the wood and the Hygrometer, used a stack of books to keep pressure on it for 3 hours to allow it to set. I put my bowl of water back in the humidor for an hour and the RH went from 50% up to 60% on the hygrometer and kept climbing slowly. Looks like the leak was fixed. It is now hovering at around 80%, but who knows how accurate that thing is anyway.

My digital hygrometer is currently being tested in a bag, its been 9 hours at it reads 73%. I am going to let it sit overnight to finish.

So, that's all that I have for now. My story of the day lol.