I've smoked the occasional cigar but am starting to get a bit serious about it so I purchased a small desktop humidor that holds about 25 cigars. I want to get a better humidifier than the one that comes with it. What is everyone's thought on the DryMistat sticks? Are they fairly accurate and reliable? Is there a better option?

Welcome John.  Get your self a couple of boveda packs, the large 60 gram ones. All you'll ever need in a small desktop humidor.  Around these parts most people prefer the 65% packs

I second the Boveda packs, although I use the 69%.

Hi Silver. Thanks for the welcome. The Boveda packs were the other option I was considering. I was thinking of getting the 84% seasoning pack then the 69% packs. Do you think 1 Park would be sufficient for that size humidor?

You can also wipe the inside of your humidor with distilled water to season it.The Boveda paks are great,and you can recharge them so don't throw them away.

I didn't know they could be recharged Appollo.  How do you do that?

69% is probably better for a wood humidor, I like my cigars a little on the drier side so I go with 65%.  

I would get 2 packs, they will last longer and do a better job of recovering after you open the lid, plus there's no harm in putting too many.  

I've never used the seasoning pack for my desktop, you can certainly go that way....I'm sure other's can tell you how to do it.  I just put a dish of distilled water in there and kept the lid closed for a week or so to let all the wood inside absorb the water slowly.  Once it is saturated (consistently over 80% for a few days), I take the dish out. Then check daily, once humidity gets down to about 70%, put your 69% boveda packs in.  If it's holding around 69% (+/- 1%) for a couple days, then put your sticks in.  The seasoning process should take about 2 weeks, there's no shortcut here.  Get yourself a reliable digital hygrometer too, this is key.

I appreciate the input Silver. I did get a digital hygrometer and was debating on whether to get the Boveda calibration kit also. I've also heard arguments on both sides concerning wiping the inside with distilled water. What are you thoughts?

QuoteChefjohn - 6/1/2018  2:24 PM

I didn't know they could be recharged Appollo.  How do you do that?

Before they get to hard,put them in a air tight container with some container of distilled water and over a few weeks they will recharge themselves.

Great to know. Thanks so much appollo.

QuoteChefjohn - 6/1/2018  1:32 PM  I appreciate the input Silver. I did get a digital hygrometer and was debating on whether to get the Boveda calibration kit also. I’ve also heard arguments on both sides concerning wiping the inside with distilled water. What are you thoughts?

I know some people do it, some don't. I never have.  If you are too heavy handed with it there's the chance you can warp the wood and I never wanted that to happen to me.....consider it active seasoning (putting the water directly on the wood) vs passive seasoning (allowing the wood to soak up water from a dish).  

That was kind of my thought as well. BTW I noticed you're from LI. I live inKY now but grew up in Suffolk.  Always great to see someone from back home. I really appreciate you advice. I'm most anxious to learn all I can.

Always nice to see a fell NY'er.  Good for you for getting out, we are being taxed to death here.

There will be growing pains.  It's all part of the learning process but there are a lot of great people here and great info to help you along the way.  My 2 biggest pieces of advice:

1) Smoke a little bit of everything for a year before you go and load up on a box of anything particular.  Buy 5'er and samplers.  Tastes change, and things you think you like in the beginning will not be your favorite after a year of trying new stuff.

2) Get more storage capacity than you think you'll need.  Take what you think you'll need and double it.  Tupperware containers work great and are cheap too

I know about the taxes. My brother is still there. A Tupperware container? That never occurred to me.

QuoteChefjohn - 6/1/2018  2:14 PM  I know about the taxes. My brother is still there. A Tupperware container? That never occurred to me.

Google "Tupperdor" it will blow your mind.  Cheap, effective, and lots of space. Nice to have a nice looking wooden desktop, but a big ole Tupperware is gonna be your friend 

I've been "recharging" Boveda packs since about 2011.  Like appollo said, just put them in a airtight container with a glass of distilled water in the center and seal the container (see the pic below).  It generally takes a week or two to bring them back up to snuff.  I've even brought back some that were "crispy", but of course that takes longer..  I haven't noticed any loss of effectiveness or longevity.  I use the 69% packets in some of my humidors, and they tend to hold around 65%.  I wouldn't recommend using the Boveda packs with other forms of humidifiers, as I think they tend to fight against each other.

I also use the Humicare Black Ice pie-jars in several humidors and they work well.

I went through my days of using beads and/or kitty litter, and virtually every other type of humidification.  I think the Boveda and Black Ice are the simplest and easiest to deal with.  Some folks swear by the beads and kitty litter, but I had a problem getting them stable.  And if you had them in a top-mounted humidifier, they tended to shed dust.  



   

Tom has you pretty much covered. I will also back up the Boveda suggestion. Nothing is easier. They suggest 1 for the humidor and 1 for every 25 cigars, I would suggest that as the minimum.

As for wiping down the inside with distilled water, it works. Just dampen a paper towel and wipe with that. you definitely do not want standing water on any wood. I seasoned mine the same way Tom did, dish of distilled water left sitting in it.

And Tupperware is the way to go, airtight seal, holds humidity like a champ. Cheap and easy, just not very pretty.

And welcome to the group!

Here are some pics of my tupperdor setup. I use the 69 boveda and have placed Spanish cedar planks in the bottom of every one. They stay at 68 without needing the boveda changed for a long time. How many packs you will need depends on size of humidor and amount of cigars as previously stated. I like to keep my cigars around 68 percent and 66 degrees in my wine cooler. It is all personal preference though. Play around and have fun doing it. Don't be too serious about it as is not as big of a deal as some make it out to be IMHO.

Wow, that's pretty cool. It never occurred to me to look at plastic containers. The naivety of a rookie.

QuoteChefjohn - 6/1/2018  1:10 PM

Wow, that's pretty cool. It never occurred to me to look at plastic containers. The naivety of a rookie.

Nor did I ever think of it before here. I used too have 1 small and 2 medium to large wood desktop humidors that was a pain to keep up on as Utah has very low humidity. Then I started researching better alternatives with the help of fellow geeks and came across 2 options that I really liked; Tupperdors, and Winedors. I thought the wine fridge would be great as my wife doesn't let me keep the house as cold as I want. Something about it costing to much and it was too cold for the kids. But I also enjoy wine so I mixed the two ideas and came up with what I have been using for a couple years or so now. Like I stated before; play around and find out what works for you. Personally I don't sweat the small stuff like my RH being rock steady at 68% and 66 degrees. That just happens to be where my setup sits as is "most" of the time. A couple degrees or % in RH are not going to kill you from my experience. However, I have learned for me that my cigars start having burn issues at 70+% RH and have had a couple sticks start to fuzz with mold in higher temps before I got the fridge. Like anything else it will take time, trial and error to figure out what best suits your needs. But your going to need a bigger humidor then a 25 count   Sorry for the essay.

QuoteSilverstix - 6/1/2018  2:18 PM

QuoteChefjohn - 6/1/2018  2:14 PM  I know about the taxes. My brother is still there. A Tupperware container? That never occurred to me.

Google "Tupperdor" it will blow your mind.  Cheap, effective, and lots of space. Nice to have a nice looking wooden desktop, but a big ole Tupperware is gonna be your friend 

      120 Qt. Igloo Marine Coolers on sale at Bass Pro Shops for $49.97 right now

I've got two 300-ct Empire/Windsor/El Diablo style humidors, three Tuscany-style 100-150ct humis, and fifteen or so 40-50ct humidors.  Oh, and a couple of tupperdors, too.  If I worried about constant humidity perfection, I'd go crazy!

And John, I started out with just one small 40-ct humidor ten years ago.  You might as well go ahead and buy you another big one now and get it over with...

     

I have one humidor but the rest of my cigars are in Tupperdors. I have large ones, but singles work great in a shoe box sized Tupperdors I picked up at Walmart for $1.98. Like Cam, I line the ones containing singles with Spanish cedar sheets that come with cigar boxes. I found that one Boveda pack in these is sufficient. Works great.

maybe i missed it. can't see too well. but if re hydrating boveda just don't let them get too dry or they won't plump back up. beads are that way as well. once they get crusty they are done in my experience

i use active with fans with beads as the media in my large boxes and the large boveda in the coolers.

Quotegitfiddl - 6/1/2018  5:55 PM

I've got two 300-ct Empire/Windsor/El Diablo style humidors, three Tuscany-style 100-150ct humis, and fifteen or so 40-50ct humidors.  Oh, and a couple of tupperdors, too.  If I worried about constant humidity perfection, I'd go crazy!

And John, I started out with just one small 40-ct humidor ten years ago.  You might as well go ahead and buy you another big one now and get it over with...

     

Listen to what Dave said. He got me started a few moons ago and I haven't looked back since! Now I have my wife complaining about what I spend on cigars