Advice on Humidifying a Tower Cabinet

[brianhewitt-cl]

As an early Christmas present to myself and my wife I picked up a tower-style humidor. (What did the wife get out of it? I'm getting rid of half a dozen little humidors I kept all over the house!) And tower is an accurate description for it, this sucker's probably six feet tall.

But I need some advice to other large cabinet owners out there. How do you regulate the humidity in your cabinet humidor? Do you use the Cigar Oasis I've seen around? Do you use a big ol' bowl of humidity beads? I've been a big fan of the Puck, but I'm not sure that it's going to do the trick anymore... it just isn't large enough.

What do you guys think?

[karmaz00]

well, you could use beads, less expensve. but the oasis works pretty good, better way to go if you can afford it. i use beads, bt i also dont have 6ft humi. good luck

[Itsme-Speedy-G]

The Oasis is good for upto 8 cf. Measure the interior and determin if u need the Oasis or Oasis 2.

I love my Oasis. I placed it on one of the middle shelves. I also placed two small tupperware containers of water on other shelves. I replace the the free standing water with beads, sooner or later.

If you have any questions let me know.

Mike

[Itsme-Speedy-G]

and congrats on the Tower of Power!

[brianhewitt-cl]

Originally Posted by Itsme-Speedy-G

The Oasis is good for upto 8 cf. Measure the interior and determin if u need the Oasis or Oasis 2.

I love my Oasis. I placed it on one of the middle shelves. I also placed two small tupperware containers of water on other shelves. I replace the the free standing water with beads, sooner or later.

If you have any questions let me know.
Mike

Originally Posted by Itsme-Speedy-G

and congrats on the Tower of Power!

Thanks Mike. Unless my math is bad, I'd probably need the Oasis 2. If I go the Oasis route, I'll probably use pucks I have throughout the unit to keep the humidity as stable and consistent as possible.

Right now I have every available humidification device I own (sponges, pucks and a couple of cups of distilled water) in it just to get it seasoned.

[Itsme-Speedy-G]

I have been tempted to add the Hydra due to additional fans.

Here is the link to my Humi
http://www.cigarlive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9229

[BigBuddha76]

make sure you season it ( do not WIPE IT DOWN), and put the humidification devices in the top..., humid air is more dense than unhumid air

[guado]

I have the hydra and it works well in my 8ish cubic feet. The additional fans help to circulate the air alot easier for max coverage.

[brianhewitt-cl]

Originally Posted by BigBuddha76

make sure you season it ( do not WIPE IT DOWN), and put the humidification devices in the top..., humid air is more dense than unhumid air

No wiping happenin' here!

I had been considering where to put whatever humidification device I do finally get for it. I have heard people say that humid air tends to fall, and others have said it tends to rise. I'm believing it tends to fall, like you're saying (thinking rain and fog here). I think those other people are thinking about water when it's heated to the point of evaporation.

In short, good point.

[Itsme-Speedy-G]

Originally Posted by brianhewitt

No wiping happenin' here!

I had been considering where to put whatever humidification device I do finally get for it. I have heard people say that humid air tends to fall, and others have said it tends to rise. I'm believing it tends to fall, like you're saying (thinking rain and fog here). I think those other people are thinking about water when it's heated to the point of evaporation.

In short, good point.

I heard the humid air rises at first then falls. Hell I dont know

That is why the extra fans in the Hydra make sense. Again, my Oasis does the trick very well. I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Peace out
Mike

[Mtmouse]

I would suggest you use both, an electric humidifier and beads. I use the beads as my main source and the electronic humidifier as a backup.

I use 65% beads and I set my electronic for 63%. If the beads start to dry out the electronic humidifier kicks in and charges them up. I find this method keeps the maintenance down.

[DOZER]

I have the Oasis II with the extra fans as of now and plan to add some beads soon. Pics available just click my sig.

[karmaz00]

sweet collection dozer

[Shelby07]

Humid air is just like any other air. It rises when it's warm and when it cools it falls (think of what happens with a thunderstorm or a microburst.) Since the temperature will more than likely be pretty constant inside your tower, I'd say you should put it wherever it is most convenient and use a couple of fans to move the air around. If you think about it for a minute you will realize that even if there is some truth to moist air being heavier or lighter, the air inside your humidor will eventually result in the same distribution no matter where you put your humidifier unless there is something to constantly move the air.

I would like to say one more time that you really don't have to worry too much about different humidity levels inside of your humidor. The key to keeping a cigar in good shape is to make sure that the humidity and temperature are fairly constant, even if it differs somewhat throughout the humidor. Cigars are a lot more resilient that we want to think and are not as easily damaged as most would have you believe. Just make sure they aren't too wet or too warm.

[Shelby07]

One more thought here, Brian...

Use one or two of your old desktop humidors to condition the cigars for smoking. Resupply your desktops occasionally with a nice assortment from the tower. The tower should really be used to store your stash until you're ready to move them to a desktop. This way you will avoid opening and closing the tower every time you want a cigar.