Caring for humidor/cigars in Afghanistan

Was gifted a humidor from a buddy out here, it's around a 50 ct. I have two Boveda 84% seasoning packs that I will use and I would like to use distilled water after the process in complete. Problem is, I can't find any distilled water here and wanted to know if placing a shot glass on "drinking water" would have any ill-effects on my sticks. Thanks for any input...

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[emopunker2004]

You could try distilling your own my

[BlkDrew]

Ask your Medic for a bottle of sterile water, it is made sterile by process of distillation

[Taki]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

Ask your Medic for a bottle of sterile water, it is made sterile by process of distillation

Couldn't say it any better...

[Silound]

Technically, placing a shotglass of "drinking" water in the humidor is the same process as distillation. The water will evaporate into the air and be absorbed by the wood. The major downside is any impurities that impart flavor (chlorination, water softening, fluoridation, etc) could all potentially leave a lingering flavor.

If you have some trouble getting any suitable water for your humidor (I bet it uses a LOT in that dry environment too!), you can make your own.

If you have the time and a place to put it and store it, you can make a simple solar still device using a bowl, some plastic wrap, a small object to use as a weight, and some relatively clean water.

Place the empty glass in the bowl, pour some water around it in the bowl about halfway up the side of the glass. Be sure NOT to get any in the glass! Now cover the bowl as airtight as you can get it (hello duct tape!) with the plastic, and set it in the sun. Place the small weight in the center of the plastic over the cup, just enough to make the plastic sag slightly! Metal bowls or black ceramic bowls work best, but any bowl will work if it will absorb heat from the sun.

As the water in the bowl evaporates, it condenses on the plastic, and eventually runs down the plastic (since it is sagging slightly) into the glass. Presto, distilled water! The setup works most efficiently with a shallow layer of already relatively clean water in a larger bowl, because there is more heat absorption with the larger bowl and a larger surface area to condense on for a small amount of water.

Over the course of a hot day, you can use this method to distill up to about two cups of water per 24 hours with an optimum setup. The dirtier and more impure your source water, the less you can distill out per day.

[bobarian]

Evaporation is not the same as distillation. Seek out the sterile water as suggested previously.

[Silound]

Originally Posted by bobarian

Evaporation is not the same as distillation. Seek out the sterile water as suggested previously.

Technically, this is true.

Evaporation happens at any temperature below boiling point under atmosphere pressure (every liquid exhibits vapor pressure on it's surface), and condensation of various types forms as the result of atmospheric humidity generated by evaporation. It is a very efficient process since it relies on the core properties and ambient variables to generate results.

In case of distillation, heat is applied to "speed up" the process, whereby liquid is boiled to produce vapors (boiling happens when the vapor pressure equals to the pressure of the system) that are condensed and collected. It is a very inefficient process because energy in the form of heat is consumed during the process.

The net result is actually the same process, the difference is the application of a heat source and controlled condensing of the vapors. Also, distillation is more useful to remove volatile toxins and living organisms, something evaporation is less effective at doing on a small scale.

Physics aside, since we were talking about water deemed fit for consumption, I wasn't worried about any sorts of volatile organic compounds or other potential contaminants, merely reducing the mineral and chlorination content of the water, which can be done by the evaporation process, rendering water fit for a humidor.

[bobarian]

The problem is mold spores which do not just disappear. Evaporation is fine if you are making drinking water, but why risk things when sterile water is easily obtainable?