Using Boveda but your relative humidity (RH) level is still bottoming out? Correct your humidor’s humidity problems with creative solutions from Boveda’s Rob Gagner and Luke Chase.
In Boveda’s Box Press Episode 2, Boveda’s Rob Gagner and Luke Chase reveal:
- 3 internal factors that cause low RH levels
- 3 ways to overcompensate for low RH levels
- 1 superpower that could get you a job in the Boveda Innovation Center
BONUS: Hear how a cigar newbie shared a smoke (and a lift) with legendary cigar entrepreneur and blender, Litto Gomez himself.
Explore cigars, cigar life and cigar enjoyment with Rob Gagner, host of Box Press, Boveda’s cigar podcast.
Subscribe to the Box Press podcast on the Boveda Cigar YouTube Channel or on iTunes.
What are Rob and Luke smoking in Box Press Episode #2?
La Flor Dominicana #3 from the Series 2000 AKA “that cigar that Litto smokes”. LFD is known for some pretty powerful stuff, but this one’s a hidden secret. The binders and fillers are grown on LFD’s La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic. The Cameroon wrapper is a bit sweet. A bit nutty. Both Litto and his son, Tony start each day with an LFD #3 and a coffee.
HOW TO FIX A Humidor’s LOW RH WITH BOVEDA
1. Acclimate new cigars before you put them in a wooden humidor
Never put new cigars in a wooden humidor. Stabilize new sticks with Boveda in a non-porous environment, like an acrylic humidor, lidded plastic container or the Boveda Humidor Bag. Get those new cigars up to your preferred RH level and then move them to your wooden humidor.
Every time I get a new box of cigars, I’ll throw them in a large
Boveda Humidor Bag with FOUR Boveda 69% RH.”
-Rob Gagner, Boveda
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIPS
- Get to know your humidor. Glass-topped humidors are leaky little devils. Overcompensate for their moisture loss with Boveda 75% RH.
- Go ahead and showboat with a fancy glass humidor. But only store perfectly humidified cigars in a wooden humidor. So whatever you’re ready for will be ready for you to smoke.
2. UP YOUR Boveda RH LEVEL
The condition of your humidor—the wood and the seal—might be causing you to lose moisture. What RH do you want to hit? With a Boveda 69% RH, you’re rarely going to hit 69% RH in a porous wooden humidor, especially if it’s leaky. In fact, you might be off by 2-5% points. Remember your cigars are also taking in moisture–but that’s not a bad thing.
You have to adjust for the natural moisture exchange that is taking place inside your humidor. If you’re trying to hit 69% RH, go with Boveda 72% RH. Looking for 72% RH? Switch to Boveda 75% RH.
3. DOUBLE UP ON Boveda
Boveda humidifies the space inside your humidor. How much Boveda you use depends on your humidor’s total capacity. If your humidor holds 50 cigars, humidify for 50 cigars, whether you have 5 or 35 cigars inside.
How many cigars does your humidor hold?
“These are minimum guidelines,” Rob said. “Your humidor may be leaking a little more than what we averaged out in the Boveda Innovation Center.”
Struggling with low RH levels? Double the number of Boveda in your humidor to compensate for a leaky humidor seal. Boveda will never over humidify your cigars. Using more Boveda allows its 2-way humidity control to work more efficiently.
box press to the rescue!
#askboveda: real-life RH challenges & solutions
A cigar lover from 10,200 feet up in Colorado is wrestling with cigar humidification.
DILEMMA: Used the wet sponge method to season a new wooden humidor but it’s still dry
SOLUTION: Don’t bother seasoning your humidor with distilled water—it’s inexact, potentially damaging and a pain in the ash. Season your wooden humidor with Boveda 84%RH–it’s easy and precise.
How to season your humidor in one step with Boveda.
“If you can tell me how many grams of moisture your wipe down method results in,
I’ll give you an A+ and have you come work for us in the Boveda Innovation Center.”
-Rob
DILEMMA: Battling hygrometers give conflicting readings
SOLUTION: Stop playing rock ’em, sock ’em hygrometers. To ensure accurate RH readings, get yourself ONE good digital hygrometer . Watch Rob calibrate a hygrometer.
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIP
Don’t trust a humidor’s inlaid analog hygrometer. What looks like a swanky add-on is really just gold-plated inaccuracy. Skip the heartache, go digital.
DILEMMA: Lives in the Colorado Rockies–a dry climate with high elevations
SOLUTION: Move. (But not before you invite the Boveda crew over to shred some fresh pow.)
Both internal and external factors as well as humidor quality dictate whether or not you should adjust the number of Boveda you use and its RH level.
“The problem with the Rockies is that high altitude. We do see a lot of people using the Boveda 84% RH because of that high altitude,” Rob said.
There’s a huge vacuum of dry air that wants to absorb all that moisture out of your humidor, he explained.
For that cigar lover in Colorado, “If he wants to stick with that humidor, I’d recommend using a 320 gram Boveda. Get the big one in there and stick with Boveda 84% RH if that’s what’s giving you the best results.”
“Which is crazy because you’d never want to store your cigars at actual 84% RH,” Luke added. “But he just has to compensate so much for the dryness and the leaking of his humidor.” How do external factors affect RH readings?
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIP
Live in a dry climate? Ditch the wooden humidor and switch to a closed or airtight system, such as a Boveda Humidor Bag.
Have a cigar humidity issue of your own? Use #AskBoveda on Social Media
Try the humidor tune-up kit, which includes a humidor bag, One-Step Calibration Kit and 3 Boveda at 84% RH.
