Humidor/Beads Question

[OHRD]

Fellas - got a question...

Posted a thread a couple weeks ago about humidifying a mini cabinet and decided to go with 2 lbs of Heartfelt beads. The beads came in Monday and the humidor came in tonight!

In the past w/ my humidors I've wiped them down with distilled water, let it dry, repeat...usually do that 3x or so. Always been told that lets the water seep into the cedar so it doesn't steal the humidity from the cigars.

Do I need to do this for this new humi, since I'm using beads? Or can I put my smokes in tonight?

[688sonarmen]

I would only wipe it down to remove the loose cedar dust. To much moisture could warp the wood. I put 3 plates of distilled water with fresh sponges in them plus my charged beads. Took mine about 4 days to be at 65%, but my cabinet came at 62% Rh.

[icehog3]

There are two schools of thought here Matthew, but I am definitely NOT a fan of wiping down the wood.

I actually filled a glass with several ounces distilled water and brought it to a boil. Then I set the glass in the humidor, on a piece or rubber (or something like a mousepad material) to prevent it from scorching the wood. I closed that up in my cabinet for a while, then added my beads after the water cooled a bit....had my cabinet at a steady 65% within a couple days.

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by icehog3

...I actually filled a glass with several ounces distilled water and brought it to a boil. Then I set the glass in the humidor, on a piece or rubber (or something like a mousepad material) to prevent it from scorching the wood. I closed that up in my cabinet for a while, then added my beads after the water cooled a bit....had my cabinet at a steady 65% within a couple days.

That is a great idea Tom!

[jmsremax]

Originally Posted by icehog3

There are two schools of thought here Matthew, but I am definitely NOT a fan of wiping down the wood.

+1

I simply leave a bowl of distilled water in an empty humidor for 2 weeks. once the two week has come and gone I then put back my beads and cigars and i'm good to go (my loose cigars go in my cooler for during the process). I've done it twice in 2 years I've owned my humidor and humidity has been steady between 63-67%. If it helps, I have a 150 ct humidor.....which isn't that big.

[neoflex]

Originally Posted by icehog3

There are two schools of thought here Matthew, but I am definitely NOT a fan of wiping down the wood.

I actually filled a glass with several ounces distilled water and brought it to a boil. Then I set the glass in the humidor, on a piece or rubber (or something like a mousepad material) to prevent it from scorching the wood. I closed that up in my cabinet for a while, then added my beads after the water cooled a bit....had my cabinet at a steady 65% within a couple days.

This is pretty much my routine except replace the glass with a bowl.

[DennisP]

Originally Posted by icehog3

There are two schools of thought here Matthew, but I am definitely NOT a fan of wiping down the wood.

I actually filled a glass with several ounces distilled water and brought it to a boil. Then I set the glass in the humidor, on a piece or rubber (or something like a mousepad material) to prevent it from scorching the wood. I closed that up in my cabinet for a while, then added my beads after the water cooled a bit....had my cabinet at a steady 65% within a couple days.

This is what I do. I had my Aristocrat ready to go in 2 days (one bowl on each shelf).

[OHRD]

This is what I was hoping to hear! I wanted to load that big bad boy up tonight! With my first few humidors I did the wipe down method and never had any issues; but, on my last humi, the cedar on the bottom must have been thin or either it was just a sheet of cedar, and the water caused it to warp.

This is why I was hesitant to do it with my new humi, plus the first time using the wonder beads, I thought I'd check!

Thanks for chiming in fellas!

[Eleven]

Shallow plate with a brand new sponge soaked with distilled water works too. Although in cramped areas, you have to make sure that the water/sponge isn't too close to any wood, I had a shelf warp and crack on me due to that.