Seasoning Humidor ceday trays.

[Bubbleheaddiver]

I just had 5 new trays arrive, what is everyone's method for seasoning them?

[AdamJoshua]

Other people will have better answers, but can I ask did you order custom trays for a vinotemp set up, or are they the small trays from one of the online sites?

I had custom trays and I wasn't sure what to do with them, I ended up taking them to my local B&M and asking if I could put them on a top shelf in their walk in humidor, which they let me do, I left them there for a few days then picked them up (tossed them in a trash bag and tied it up good and tight) and then put them in my winador, I actually don't know if it did any good or not, but I was (and am) pretty much a noob anyway.

Edit: the only reason I did that was I didn't know if that was "too much" wood to season using a couple of damp sponges, so I am sure I will learn quite a bit from this thread as well.

[Sweet_Leaf_PDX]

Like Adam said, it depends on how big the trays are. I purchased smaller trays from my coolidor and just seasoned them in the cooler with sponges for a couple weeks before putting my cigars in. If the trays will fit in a Tupperware or large zip lock bag you could just put them in with a damp sponge and let them season for a couple weeks.

wipe the dust off with moist (not wet) lint free and enjoy! No seasoning required!

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by thecatch83

wipe the dust off with moist (not wet) lint free and enjoy! No seasoning required!

What evidence do you have to make this statement? If the wood in the trays is dry it will may take a week or more to raise them to an acceptable Rh. Otherwise they will take their moisture from your cigars and you will have a bunch of dry leaves.

How would the failure to use a lint free cloth affect your cigars?

[AdamJoshua]

I was also say make sure that "link free cloth" is used with purified water rather than tap water

(not sure if this makes a huge difference here but since it does when seasoning a humidor I would always ere on the side of caution).

Originally Posted by bobarian

What evidence do you have to make this statement? If the wood in the trays is dry it will may take a week or more to raise them to an acceptable Rh. Otherwise they will take their moisture from your cigars and you will have a bunch of dry leaves.

How would the failure to use a lint free cloth affect your cigars?

my evidence is first hand experience...lint free won't snag on rough surfaces or imperfections in the wood. Your cigars will not dry out and turn to dry leaves if you dont season your trays....I think you are over thinking this process

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by bobarian

What evidence do you have to make this statement? If the wood in the trays is dry it will may take a week or more to raise them to an acceptable Rh. Otherwise they will take their moisture from your cigars and you will have a bunch of dry leaves.

How would the failure to use a lint free cloth affect your cigars?

Originally Posted by thecatch83

my evidence is first hand experience...lint free won't snag on rough surfaces or imperfections in the wood. Your cigars will not dry out and turn to dry leaves if you dont season your trays....I think you are over thinking this process

I beg to differ. Bob is correct and you are not. Wood is wood. Dry wood will dry out your cigars. This is exactly why you need to season a wooden humidor and do not need to season a (plastic) cooler (where there is no wood).

The point of seasoning is to saturate the wood with moisture -- this applies to any wood.

[dvickery]

geeze guys ... trying to create a problem where one doesnt exist ... myself ... i would just put the shelves in .

from a guy who has NEVER calibrated a hygrometer
derrek

Originally Posted by CigarNut

I beg to differ. Bob is correct and you are not. Wood is wood. Dry wood will dry out your cigars. This is exactly why you need to season a wooden humidor and do not need to season a (plastic) cooler (where there is no wood).

The point of seasoning is to saturate the wood with moisture -- this applies to any wood.

but I have a bigger penis......let it go! I won't even go into RH depending on where someone lives, what your levels are in your existing humidor or the fact that more and more companies are selling trays and humidors that are already pre-treated (certainly you know that). But I digress.....pissing contests are more entertaining.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by thecatch83

but I have a bigger penis......let it go! I won't even go into RH depending on where someone lives, what your levels are in your existing humidor or the fact that more and more companies are selling trays and humidors that are already pre-treated (certainly you know that). But I digress.....pissing contests are more entertaining.

Continue this one and find out what happens (again).

[icehog3]

But who has the biggest nutz?

[MrClean]

I seasoned my drawers and shelves, but mine are in a cooler so the only moisture in it are the cigars and beads. When they arrived, they were very dry, you could tell just by touching them. I wiped them down with distiller water, which basically just got the dust remnants off. I put 2 bowls of distilled water in the cooler with clean sponges. I did remove my cigars. Humidity dropped to the low 50's for a few days, then climbed to 80% and stayed there for a week, whole process was about 12 days. The wood had a difference I could feel, I was actually surprised. That was just my experience, but the humidity the shelves will absorb has to come from somewhere.

Originally Posted by pnoon

Continue this one and find out what happens (again).

yes grandpa

[equetefue]

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by thecatch83

yes grandpa

Glad to hear we are on the same page.

[markem]

Humidity, like pressure and temperature, will travel from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. Trying to get your trays to roughly equal RH with your humidor and cigars is good since once the cigars are in contact with the trays, a lower RH tray can draw humidity away from the cigars and leave a 'dry side' which leads to bad burns, etc. Also, if the dry area of the tray is covered, less ambient humidity can make it to that spot (or makes it much slower) and so it takes longer to reach equilibrium in your humidor.

Don't forget that if you periodically reseason your humidor that you should take care of your trays at the same time, but don't have excess moisture on the trays when you put the cigars back in.

What I do is wiped the trays down with a moist rag with distilled water first. Then I do one of two things:

1. Spritz the trays and put them in a humidor empty (I use my cabinet humidor) and wait 1-2 weeks for them to reach ambient RH.

2. Spritz the trays and put them in a large enough zip lock (I find the 1.5 gallon ones work best for me) along with a meter and wait until every thing stabilizes where you want it for at least 48 hours. You will likely have to add additional water. some people use a moist sponge, paper towel, shot glass with distilled, etc. but the key is to ensure that you get to the best RH. If you get the RH too high, let the trays sit out a bit.

Properly prepping and maintaining all parts of your humidor is important. Heck, even MRN will agree to that.

Hope that you have years and years of loyal service from those trays.

[icehog3]

Thank you Gleason and grandpa!

[stearns]

Originally Posted by thecatch83

...or the fact that more and more companies are selling trays and humidors that are already pre-treated (certainly you know that).

Trays pre-treated with what? water and then shipped air tight, or some other chemical? It would be nice to know which companies are doing this so I can avoid them

[massphatness]

Ben - you pack the trays in kitty litter, and ship them in a big zip loc bag