I recently bought a box of Rocky Patel Nicaraguan Reserve off Thompson that came with a bonus 20 ct RP Humidor. It's white with an orange design and the Rocky Patel label.

I seasoned it using a standard method: wiped down interior with distilled water, let sit, wipe down again, let sit, insert boveda 84 seasoning pack + shotglass of distilled water and let sit for a few more days. Being overly cautious I let it sit for a week in the last step. Then I tested the RH and it seemed good (~ 68%-70% RH) so I pulled the boveda pack out and put 1 drymistat tube (good for 25 cigars right?) and put the RP sticks in there. After a few days I checked and the RH had dipped to 58%. At first I thought the sticks may had been a little dry so sucked up more than normal so I added another drymistat tube and left the humi alone. After a couple more days the reading hadn't changed one bit!! So I put the sticks in my trusty 100 ct glass top and went to reseason the RP humidor. This time I put it in a tupperware container with a glass of distilled water heated in the microwave and let it soak for 48 hours. Since then the humidor seems to be holding steady at 72% RH for the past few days but I'm afraid to add any sticks back.

 Some food for thought:

1. It may not have been the best time to try and season a new humidor. This winter has been extreme in temperature and sporadic. Temperature in the teens  one week and the 70's the next so I expect the RH to be dancing some.

2. It may just be a crap humidor. I don't really hear the "whoosh" when I close the lid. There is also a crack on the back corner of the lid where the hinges are (BINGO right?) but to me it just seems like its the outer paint layer and the wood seems fine.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Should I trust it or use it as storage for my lighters/cutters etc....?
 

Put a flashlight in it and close the lid. If you see light forget it.

Quotesjn1117 - 2/21/2014  1:08 PM

Put a flashlight in it and close the lid. If you see light forget it.

Yep.

I am not a fan of 20 count humidors.  Anything less than a 50 or so, seem  to always keep needing water additions to the humidifier.  I have some of those little CI band humidors and a little mahogany humidor that CI gave away as freebies, and they are more trouble than they are worth.

Excellent idea with the flashlight Sin. Didn't even occur to me. I'll let you all know when I try that tonight.

I can see the issue with 20 cts Jackal. They seem to be made out of cheap wood lined with spanish cedar. I bet the other wood (plywood?) is always thirsty and the cedar just can't keep up.

I have a 100 ct glass top and a 50 ct that my dad had for YEARS (oddly from Thompson and still going strong!!). Those 2 are very reliable so at least I can play around with the others and not risk my cigars.

I got 2 more Thompson 20 ct cherry humidors as bonuses. I was planning on giving one to my brother-in-law for Christmas. I thought it'd be cool to give him a humidor filled with sticks aged from now till then. Since all are from TC and if the RP humi is worthless then I would be hesitant to trust the other 2. Balls.

I'm pretty sure they weren't thinking high quality cigar storage when they made the marketing decision to throw in a "bonus humidor."

If you're not in the market for a good, quality humidor then use one of these.

Thanks Longhorn, I'm aware of tupperdors. That's what I used to use before I got my glass top and herfador for travel. Now I use the container to recharge my boveda packs.

My first thought would be that if you could get it up to 70 during the seasoning and it was holding leaking would not be major issue.
Once you add the cigars there should be a natural drop in RH as the cigars will begin to pick up some of the moisture.  This might be especially true if you receive this unsealed. You don't know how it was stored. I would add the distilled water back in with the cigars and we if the RH bounces back. Once it gets to where you like pull it out and see where the RH lands

Thanks Cfickter. If it passes the flashlight test I will use your suggestion.

Yeah, 20 count humidors are pretty much a waste of time except for the odd stick or two and maybe better serve as a repository for spare change, lighters, cutters and all. The dollar bill test works pretty good...shut the lid on a bill and tug it out. It should have a good resistance if the seal is tight.

One trick you might use if you want to to keep the humidor in service is to build up the lip with scotch tape. That will work after a fashion and tighten the seal up a bit.

It's fairly common practice for the cheaper humidors to be made with an MDF body covered with a thin sheet of wood veneer. That usually lends for a fairly stable humidor if the veneer covering the MDF is well applied with a water resistant glue and the overall construction of the box is up to par. I'm always suspicious of Spanish cedar veneer on the inside because it doesn't have enough mass to hold moisture all that well.  I far prefer the Rubbermaid containers with sheets of cedar inside, or, even better, my own homebuilt humidors to hold moisture.

To each his own though.

Quotesjn1117 - 2/21/2014  2:08 PM  Put a flashlight in it and close the lid. If you see light forget it.

 I did this with my glass top humidors, I can still see the light

Quotebmac7754 - 2/21/2014  3:06 PM  

Quotesjn1117 - 2/21/2014  2:08 PM  Put a flashlight in it and close the lid. If you see light forget it.

 I did this with my glass top humidors, I can still see the light

Then they're no good. Just send them to me, and I'll get rid of them for you. I would assume the cigars inside are all ruined, so just leave them in there too. 

I agree with the sentiment of "cheap" humidors as they are a gimmick more often than not.  Now, not to say you won't find a decent humidor that is the one you received because I got one about 3 years ago...it was also a RP humidor that is a 20 count and the thing works great...who'd a thunk?  The light test...tells you a lot and I hadn't heard of the scotch tape trick to build up the front part and like Ken said about tupperadors...I find that RubberMaid is the better way to go since I've tried just about every brand there is....RubberMaid is just a great product for tupperadors.

It passed the flashlight test and RH has been sitting steady for the past few days. I think the re-seasoning worked. It was probably so cold during the first seasoning that I should've waited longer or till it was warmer.

Just keep an eye on it pretty steadily over the next few weeks..  RH in the winter will likely drop in the dryer air.  Also adding in more cigars, depending on their condition when you get them, may draw it down a little

Mama mia! Can't believe the crack on that puppy... what a bummer.

I have the same one and would not trust it at all, much safer using Tupperware until you can afford a decent one. Just my 2 cents