What should the relative humidity (RH) be in my humidor while I season with Boveda?
The relative humidity (RH) inside a humidor doesn’t matter while you’re seasoning with Boveda 84% RH packs. Just ignore your hygrometer for 14 days.
Why? A hygrometer only measures the amount of moisture in the air inside your humidor. While Boveda for Seasoning packs are in your humidor, they increase the moisture within the cell structure of the wood, not the air. We call that the free water space. A hygrometer can’t measure the moisture in wood, so forget about the RH readings for now.
Just so you know, Boveda scientists have tested how much moisture it takes to “fill up” a wood humidor’s free water space. To fully season a 100-count wood humidor, it needs about 100 grams of moisture. Each Size 60 Boveda 84% RH releases about 35 grams of moisture. That’s why we recommend using four seasoning packs for a 100-count humidor (35 grams x 4 = 140 grams).
After 14 days, those Boveda 84% RH packs will raise the RH in your humidor to about 65%:
- Remove the Boveda for Seasoning packs and discard them—they’ve given up all the moisture they can.
- Immediately add Boveda 72% RH packs to maintain the moisture a wood humidor requires.
- Move your cigars back into your seasoned humidor.
Seasoning is a Great Time to Re-Calibrate Your Hygrometer
FYI: Make sure your hygrometer is giving you accurate results post-seasoning. Day 12 is the perfect time to calibrate your hygrometer with the Boveda One-Step Calibration Kit. It’s a salt test just like the pros use to recalibrate laboratory hygrometers. Read more about Why You Need to Calibrate a Hygrometer.
See What’s Going On In Your Wood Humidor When You Season it With Boveda