Tell him to buy a drymistat tube and put it all in a tupperware container while he seasons his humi.

scottie

 

Go get a cheap tupperware or ziplock plastic container for cheap. Put the humidity device in it with the cigars. That will not hurt them for the seasoning period. Heck , plastic ziplock baggies will work.

 

Tupperdor... its the cheapest and easiest. Use a Tupperware container.

 

Zip lock bag, a little PG, somewhere out of the way to put it all. They'll be fine unless one is so fragile as to be marginal at the outset.

 

if his humidity in the humi is consistently sitting between 68-70, there is no need to season the humi IMHO (if it's holding sufficient humidity it's already seasoned)...........otherwise, a couple of days sitting just about any place shouldn't hurt anything, as long as it's cool and you don't live in an abnormally dry area.........if so, a zip lock baggie for a couple of days is fine; there shouldn't be any need to humidify the baggie.

:z

 

if his humidity in the humi is consistently sitting between 68-70, there is no need to season the humi IMHO (if it's holding sufficient humidity it's already seasoned...........otherwise, a couple of days sitting just about any place shouldn't hurt anything, as long as it's cool and you don't live in an abnormally dry area.........if so, a zip lock baggie for a couple of days is fine; there shouldn't be any need to humidify the baggie.

:z

That's what I originally thought, but the thing is, despite his stable humidity levels, his smokes show signs of drying out. Upon inspection I noticed small cracks and wrinkles around the veins in several of his cigars. I started asking questions and this is how I learned his humidor had never been seasoned.

I only started smoking cigars in March (to get off Skoal), so I'm hardly an expert, but I thought that the Spanish Cedar in an unseasoned humidor will suck the moisture out of the stogies, even if the humidity is at the proper levels. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Is there anything else that could be drying them out?

Thanks to all of you for the prompt and courteous replies.

 

That's what I originally thought, but the thing is, despite his stable humidity levels, his smokes show signs of drying out. Upon inspection I noticed small cracks and wrinkles around the veins in several of his cigars. I started asking questions and this is how I learned his humidor had never been seasoned.

I only started smoking cigars in March (to get off Skoal), so I'm hardly an expert, but I thought that the Spanish Cedar in an unseasoned humidor will suck the moisture out of the stogies, even if the humidity is at the proper levels. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Is there anything else that could be drying them out?

Thanks to all of you for the prompt and courteous replies.

I imagine that's true to a point, but I would think if it was sucking the life out of his cigars, he would have difficulty keeping the humidity up (i.e., having to add moisture more often than is usually necessary). His hygrometer may not be functioning properly too........or it's dry in his area and the seal on the humi isn't good. It's hard to say. Seasoning definitely can't hurt but it sounds like he has a different problem. Let us know how it goes.

:z

 

I would be under the impression that if the rh is truly 68/70, then the humi doesn't need to be seasoned. I would make sure that the hygro is reading correctly. I don't think that a humi holding the correct rh needs to be seasoned. The cedar would pull moisture out of the air, before it pulled it out of the cigars. Get a decent digital hygro. (Do a search on here for suggestions.)

 

I have to agree that at this point seasoning is not necessary, since the humidity is aparrently stable and at a correct level.

Possibly your friend loaded the new and dry humi up to full capacity, put the humidifying agent on top, and left it like that. If that is what happened, it would have taken a couple of weeks for the cigars below the top layer to absorb the humidity. The dry cedar could have absorbed moisture from the lower layers, making the cigs crack.

Another possibility is that the cigars were not properly stored before they were put in the humi. Larry:hn

 

I agree, no need to season it anymore if it's already maintaining 65-70%... if it maintains that without much fuss, then it is pretty much seasoned... in your friend's case, it just happened to get seasoned with cigars in there at the same time... I would be suspicious of the condition of those sticks that were initially placed in the humi.

as already mentioned, your friend should check his hygrometer. calibrate it and/or get a calibrated digital one with temperature. that should give a better indication of the actual RH in the humi... and also with the max/min memory function of most digital hygrometers, he can check to see that there isn't any major shifts in RH and temp while he was away... assuming the max and mins weren't from having opened the humi...


good luck.

 

Gone in the blink of an eye if I walk by!

Seriously though, the ambient conditions of temperature/humdity will determine the result. Around here at the moment the enviromental conditions of 65°F at 10%RH turns the sticks into bombs that swell and split as they are being smoked, or just sheds the wrappers off like snakes sloughing off their skins. All the excellent advice given should stand your buddy in good stead.

 

I'm with those who believe that a) his hygrometer is way off, or b) the sticks were in bad condition from where he purchased them to begin with. No way I could picture a humidor sucking moisture out of a cigar when all it has to do is suck it out of the ambient air.....much easier!

 

tell your friend to stop staring at his smokes for hours at a time with the lid open:dr

seriously, please keep us updated on what he finds to be the problem.

 

i agree with others. no need to season the humi. I would check if it is reading accurately. are the cigars in an area that is not getting humidified?

 

Are they in the cello?

If the cello is on too tight, it could hamper the humidity from getting to the sticks. I have gotten into the habit of either taking the cello off or cutting the end of the cello to allow better air circulation to the cigar.

Or it could just be your friend thinking his smokes are dry when they are in fact just right.

Or if he is buying from a source that does not store the cigars properly prior to sale, they could be arriving in an already dry state and just need more time in the humidor to recover.

If you were a true friend, you would offer to smoke all his cigars to see if they are indeed dry or if they are just right.

 

now that I don't have a couple glasses of bourbon in me and can be serious.

If it is a concern, why not set your friend up with a small coolidor next time you visit and season the humidor for the week untill you return. Might not solve the problem but can't hurt.

 

Ditto. If it's holding RH, it is seasoned. So why are the cigars dehydrated? Perhaps it's hold to low of a RH. Calibrate the Hygrometer. Instructions can be found all over the web and here.

Best of luck.

 

Are they in the cello?

If the cello is on too tight, it could hamper the humidity from getting to the sticks. I have gotten into the habit of either taking the cello off or cutting the end of the cello to allow better air circulation to the cigar.

Cello is air permeable, so that's not the problem. Cigars can be stored at low humidity for a long time without cracking, at least until you cut em. If they're cracking in the humidor it's probably because they're OVER humidified, or have been underhumidified for a long time and then moved suddenly to high humidity.