Struggling to get your humidor in shape? What’s going on inside or outside your humidor can be affecting your relative humidity (RH). (Think cigar humidity challenges like dried out wood, too little humidity control, faulty hygrometer, climate, altitude, season changes, and more.) To make sure your cigars are smoke-ready, strive to store sticks between 65 and 72% RH. If you’re unable to maintain the ideal RH range for cigars, here are five reasons why you could be struggling with RH in your humidor and how to solve them. Good luck!
Have you calibrated your hygrometer?
Maybe the RH is right in your humidor, but your hygrometer is wrong. Over time, both analog and digital hygrometers fall out of calibration. Just because a hygrometer is registering readings doesn’t mean those readings are accurate.
If you don’t calibrate a hygrometer, its readings can be off, way off. A properly calibrated hygrometer gives you an accurate account of the relative humidity (RH) in a humidor. Storing cigars at the right RH protects the sugars and oils of the tobacco.
We recommend:
- Calibrating a new hygrometer before you put it in your humidor—even if that new digital hygrometer says it’s been pre-calibrated (If you have a new hygrometer for your humidor, learn about calibrating it here.)
- Calibrating a hygrometer every six months
It’s easy when you use a Boveda One-Step Hygrometer Calibration Kit to make sure you’re getting accurate RH readings. Here’s a guide to find the right place to put your hygrometer in a humidor.
Did you inadvertently add dry cigars to your humidor?
Transferring dehydrated cigars from another humidor or storage container without conditioning them first, whether they’re new or old, will definitely affect the RH in your humidor. Dehydrated cigars will absorb more moisture than properly hydrated cigars, which decreases humidity in your humidor.
A good practice is to acclimate dehydrated cigars in a Boveda Humidor Bag for at least four weeks before placing them in your humidor with the rest of your collection.
(No humidor bag? You can also acclimatize new cigars with a B69 packet in any airtight container, like Tupperware®.)
“Every time I get a new box of cigars, I’ll throw them in a large Boveda Humidor Bag with 4 Boveda 69% RH. I check my cigars with my HumidiMeter to make sure they’re ready to smoke.” – Rob G.
Before filling it with cigars, did you season your wooden humidor properly?
The wood in a cigar humidor contains bound water and free water. Bound water is deep in the wood’s cell walls. It is what it is—you can’t affect bound water.
It’s the free water you can control. Free water is the moisture inside of your humidor. Think of seasoning with Boveda as “ultra-filling” the free water.” The Boveda maintenance packs that you’ll add after seasoning keep that tank “full”. Without a “full” free water tank, your cigars will provide the moisture. This dries out cigars, which makes them burn hot and fast.
By conditioning a wood humidor with Boveda seasoning packets, you’ll:
- Protect your cigar investment
- Prevent moisture from evaporating from your cigars
- Help Boveda maintenance packs work more efficiently and last longer
Are you using enough Boveda in your humidor?
Base the number of Boveda you use on the capacity of your humidor. Verify how many cigars the manufacturer said your humidor can hold, then check the chart below to make sure you’re using the right number of Boveda. A drafty humidor and/or extremely dry ambient conditions can adversely affect your RH. If you’re having trouble maintaining the right RH, you can always double up on the number of Boveda in your humidor. Use more Boveda will never overhumidify your cigars. Boveda’s smart technology stops adding moisture once the ambient humidity level reaches the number printed on the packet—no matter how many you use.
Are you using the right RH for your cigars and your humidor?
Check the chart below to find out which Boveda is right for your cigars and how you store your cigars. Or watch this video to learn more about RH levels. If storing cigars for long periods of time, or aging, serious collectors have been known to adjust these levels.
