Curious humidor question......pine lining??

[loudee]

I'm just curious how poor of a choice would it be to line a humidor with yellow pine. I know spanish cedar and mahogany are the best wood to use but would it be that bad to use pine?

Lou

[TU09]

Per my somewhat limited experience..... Yes. There are two reasons to use Spanish Cedar:

1. Spanish Cedar helps regulate humidity by absorbing and releasing moisture within your humidor. (Don't know how yellow pine would compare but I would assume poorly since it is far cheaper and would already be widely used to line humidors if it had comparable qualities.)

2. Spanish Cedar contributes to the flavor of the cigar as it ages but does not overwhelm it. (Your cigars would likely take on a yellow pine flavor)

I'm sure that some of the higher primates will be along shortly to expand on this, but I hope this offers some help.

Pine is too prone to rot from the constant humidity. Also, it it too prone to "seep" resin, which would make a "mell-of-a-hess" inside the humidor. Obviously, you could use treated pine........ Except that the chemical used to treat pine for water resistence are mostly lethal, and I would not want to be inhaling them into my mouth! Heart pine would stand up to moisture better, but then again, the resin problem, and heart pine has a significant odor (wouldn't be a bad thing if you like your cigars tasting like pine sol cleanser!!)

[Dogwatch Dale]

Yes! Don't do it. Your cigars would never forgive you.....

[loudee]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm not going to use pine Is there any other type of wood I can use as a liner or is spanish cedar and mahogany the only ones?


Lou

[caskwith]

if youre not going to line with spanish cedar or mahogany then you are best off not bothering to use wood and just make do with a tupperdor/coolerdor, palstic is the next best thing to these woods, i have been using a tupperdor for ages now and it has served me very well.

[Hammerhead]

Originally Posted by loudee

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm not going to use pine Is there any other type of wood I can use as a liner or is spanish cedar and mahogany the only ones?


Lou

Lou, I'm far from an expert, but I'd say any non-aromatic wood would do as a liner, or use no liner at all. In times past, humidors were lined with inert materials like glass, tin or copper until Spanish Cedar (which is really a variety of mahogany in the first place) began becoming in vogue.

With all the advances in humidification, such as active units (Cigar Oasis) and new materials like RH static beads (www.heartfeltindustries.com) the need for a moisture absorbing liner to buffer is decreased dramatically. Remember also that the cigars themselves help buffer for RH.

So, what do you make your box out of? Heck, if you could afford it, you could make a humidor out of Gabon Ebony. Lacewood is nice. Birdseye Maple? Go wild, but take some pictures when you're done to share on the board here.

[loudee]

I didn't start it as of yet although after reading the replies I'm leaning towards oak with a spanish cedar lining. Once I start I will post pictures.


Lou

[JezterVA]

Spanish Cedar is also reported to help control Beetle outbreaks.

[Kennmon]

Originally Posted by JezterVA

Spanish Cedar is also reported to help control Beetle outbreaks.

imo, if the conditions are right for beetles to hatch (your cigars have eggs in them, and the temp is above 75 degrees for a day or more) they will hatch, spanish cedar or not.

its fine to line them with any non-aromatic, or spanish cedar.
avoid woods such as shoe-tree cedar and other strong aromatics.

no worries. .

[zamco17]

Cedar baby, Cedar!

[audio1der]

I much prefer my mahogany lining to cedar; I find spanish cedar too fragrant.
My $.02
(African Mahogany luan is cheap. too!)