Using Boveda but your relative humidity (RH) level is still bottoming out? Correct your humidor’s low humidity, troubleshoot what’s going on with your cigars in this Box Press excerpt. Learn:
- 3 internal factors that cause low RH in a humidor
- 3 ways to overcompensate for low RH in a humidor
- 1 superpower that could get you a job in the Boveda Innovation Center
HOW TO FIX A HUMIDOR’S LOW RH WITH BOVEDA
1. Acclimate New Cigars Before You Put Them in a Wood 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 into your wood 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, Host of Box Press Podcast
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIPS
- Get to know your humidor. Glass-topped humidors are drafty little devils. Overcompensate for their moisture loss with Boveda 75% RH.
- Go ahead and showboat with a wood or glass-topped humidor. But only store perfectly humidified cigars in that fancy wood humidor. That way, whatever you’re ready to smoke will be in perfect condition.
2. Up to a Higher Boveda RH
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.
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIPS
Don’t trust a humidor’s hygrometer—unless it’s well calibrated. You should recalibrate a hygrometer every six months to get accurate readings of what’s going on in your humidor. Learn how to calibrate your hygrometer here.
3. Double Up On Boveda
Boveda humidifies the space inside your humidor. How many Boveda do you need to use in your humidor? 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.
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.
| HUMIDOR CAPACITY |
QUANTITY OF BOVEDA |
| 25 CIGARS | 1-SIZE: 60 or 1-SIZE 320 |
| 50 CIGARS | 2-SIZE: 60 or 1-SIZE 320 |
| 75 CIGARS | 3-SIZE: 60 or 1-SIZE 320 |
| 100 CIGARS | 4-SIZE: 60 or 1-SIZE 320 |
| 125 CIGARS | 5-SIZE: 60 or 1-SIZE 320 |
| 150 CIGARS | 6-SIZE: 60 or 2-SIZE 320 |
| 200 CIGARS | 8-SIZE: 60 or 2-SIZE 320 |
| 250 CIGARS | 10-SIZE: 60 or 3-SIZE 320 |
| 300 CIGARS | 12-SIZE: 60 or 3-SIZE 320 |
| 350 CIGARS | 14-SIZE: 60 or 4-SIZE 320 |
| 400 CIGARS | 16-SIZE: 60 or 4-SIZE 320 |
“These are minimum guidelines for how many Boveda to use based on humidity capacity. Your humidor may be leaking a little more than what we averaged out in the Boveda Innovation Center.”
-Rob Gagner, Host of Box Press Podcast
BOVEDA HUMIDOR TIPS
Living in a dry climate or at high altitude affects how you store cigars. Switch from a glass-topped or full wood humidor to a non-porous or airtight system, such as a Boveda Humidor Bag, tupperdor or acrylic humidor.
