6 Cigar Humidification Approaches
Now that you have a good understanding of what a hygrometer does and what can happen if your humidity is too high or too low, let's talk about how to actually control the humidity in your humidor. Unfortunately, you can not just use a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag...
1. The Hockey Puck Humidification Method
The unofficial hockey puck system was my very first means to control the humidity in my humidor and boy was it stressful. This is the"puck" that is included with humidors most of the time and needs you to soak it into propylene glycol. I found it for a little bit of a guessing game since you have to make sure that your"puck" does not run out of juice. It was mostly stressful because I utilized the crummy free version in my humidor so results may vary. However, after I upgraded to a Xikar puck, it was smooth sailing. I only had to re-soak each 30-45 days and found it to be more consistent. Soaking a humidor puck is quite simple. It takes about 30 seconds and you just purchase the propylene glycol separately. This remedy is odorless and only replaces water as a more pure form of moisture. Using tap water can cause issues because of chlorine or other chemicals, and distilled water will not stay moist as long as propylene glycol.
2. The Tubes or Mini Jars Cigar Humidification Method
Xikar and Drymistat make quite simple to use products that you may just open and pop it into a humidor such as this
arc-14s. These include a much more controlled method of handling humidity compared to the puck method. The only bad thing is you need to replace these entirely most of the time each 3-6 weeks completely. I don't recommend attempting to"re-soak" them with the propylene glycol. The attractiveness of these, particularly the tubes is that they don't take up much space in your humidor. But, depending on how big the jar arrangement may work better:
3. The Boveda Packs Cigar Humidification Method
Similar to the tubes or jar out of Xikar and Drymistat, it is possible to go with a very controlled system of Boveda humidity packs. These are my favourite cigar humidification method and ones that I utilize for my tupperdor today. However, they could err a bit on the high side concerning humidity if you use them in a tupperdor. I would aim to go several percentages lower in the desired humidity as a result if you've got a tupperdor. (These packs come in all different humidity levels.) They do a great job of consuming humidity if it is too high and growing if it's too low. As soon as your package is stiff, you then simply throw it away. That having been said, many claim to be able to recharge these quite easily simply by soaking them for a few days once they become stiff. Even though this might be a terrific way to save money, the recharged packs definitely will not be as accurate as a first. To discover more about the way to recharge, check out this YouTube tutorial. For me personally, I really don't recharge since I'm going to spend hundreds of bucks on cigars, I don't wish to cut any corners to save a few dollars on Boveda packs.
4. The Heartfelt Beads Humidification Method
Heartfelt beads are a frequent humidity method which many recommend across java forums. This provider revolves around these beads and they have a lot of diehard followers for their product. These are popular with larger humidors or wineadors. These are probably one of the more expensive choices but last forever. They do require spraying of water after two or week though so you've got to abide by a program. This method is somewhat more geared towards the advanced cigar collectors. Normally, cigar collectors will have a pouch of those beads or a layer at the base of the wineador.
5. The Electric Cigar Humidification Method
There is nothing greater than the place it and forget of a electric humidifier, particularly if you have a big or precious collection. These are a little expensive when compared with the other choices such as
large humidor but there is the advantage of very little maintenance. The components work best if plugged in -- so you'll be asked to run a flat cord to the outside of your humidor. However some of those units have some really cool features like wi-fi capacities and can humidify around 1,000 cigars! (That could be a lot of Boveda packs...) You do have to replace the cartridge every 6 -- 12 months but it's comparatively inexpensive.
6. The Kitty Litter Cigar Humidification Method
For a larger wineador setup, many recommend kitty litter as a viable choice to control humidity. This is a really similar method to the Heartfelt beads strategy outlined previously. The crucial thing is to obtain a kitty litter with no odor and spray distilled water every two to three weeks as required. I've seen very positive testimonials out of Exquisicat Crystals with very low dust nor scent.