Can a humidor be almost empty and keep seasoned?

[Schecter30]

Is it true that you should keep a certain amount of cigars in the humidor to keep it working properly? If so, whats around the limit in a 50ct desktop?

[Rubix^3]

Perhaps an anal retentive cigar physicist will chime in with an approximate number, but my answer is that cigars do help hold the rh in the box, and the more the merrier. I also use this as a reason to give my wife for why I'm ordering more cigars again...

[Nurse_Maduro]

Originally Posted by Schecter30

Is it true that you should keep a certain amount of cigars in the humidor to keep it working properly? If so, whats around the limit in a 50ct desktop?

Yep, it's true. General rule of thumb is to keep it at least 3/4 full at all times. So for a 50count humi, you'd want 38-40 sticks in there.

[Schecter30]

Only got 15 right now, if the hygro reads 70 whats the biggy though?

[Nurse_Maduro]

Originally Posted by Rubix^3

Perhaps an anal retentive cigar physicist will chime in with an approximate number, but my answer is that cigars do help hold the rh in the box, and the more the merrier. I also use this as a reason to give my wife for why I'm ordering more cigars again...

OMG!! This post wasn't here when I wrote mine...lol
Oh well...I suppose I've been called worse things than an anal retentive cigar physicist.

[Schecter30]

haha

[Rubix^3]

lol! I never intended to call names either without someone knowing they would bear the title. haha.

I have heard of that 3/4 rule though...

[JCK]

theoretically your humidor is empty while it is being seasoned and becomes seasoned, so yes, you can maintain an empty seasoned humidor.

Like others mentioned, cigars help your humidification device maintain the humidity in the open available airspace.. i.e., there is less air to maintain.

If your humidor is empty, you just may have to charge your humidification device more often.

[Schecter30]

Originally Posted by JCK

theoretically your humidor is empty while it is being seasoned and becomes seasoned, so yes, you can maintain an empty seasoned humidor.

Like others mentioned, cigars help your humidification device maintain the humidity in the open available airspace.. i.e., there is less air to maintain.

If your humidor is empty, you just may have to charge your humidification device more often.

Yea I think I've noticed that having to recharge more is all it does. I don't believe you need to keep it 3/4 full. I knew i heard it before, but it doesn't make sense.

[CheapHumidors]

JCK hit it on the head. "Cigar Particle Density" :P only matters because it makes it easier for your humidification mechanism to maintain the smaller air space at the right humidity. if you're humidor is at the right humidity anyways, don't worry about it.

(unless you're looking for me to justify buying more cigars to the wife, in which case I'm more than happy to explain how the G-Diffuser and the flux capacitor only work when the humidor is at 99% capacity... I'll tell a white lie to help you out lol...)

[madurolover]

I had a small 25 count that I wasn't usiong and it stayed properly humidified for nearly 2 years before I got rid of it. As long as you have your humidification medium in there and keep it charged then the box will remain "seasoned".

[Nurse_Maduro]

Originally Posted by madurolover

I had a small 25 count that I wasn't usiong and it stayed properly humidified for nearly 2 years before I got rid of it. As long as you have your humidification medium in there and keep it charged then the box will remain "seasoned".

Bah. Now I feel like such a sheep. Maybe the 3/4 rule comes from the cigar distributors?
In any case, this is good to know.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by Nurse_Maduro

Bah. Now I feel like such a sheep. Maybe the 3/4 rule comes from the cigar distributors?
In any case, this is good to know.

John, having your humi 1/2 full to full will make the maintenance to keep the humidity easier. As was stated earlier, if the humi is empty you will undoubtedly have to charge your humidification device more frequently.
I had beads in the empty one and had to charge them monthly as opposed to once every 2 - 3 months.

[RobustBrad]

I think that's the problem with my Tivoli. I have about 30 cigars in there right now and the Cigar Oasis XL plus kicks on every 3 minutes. Sounds like I have to load it up a bit

Cheers,
Brad

[e-man]

So long as you're not opening it very often, you shouldn't have any problems. That's a lot of air for your humidifier to re-hydrate.

You can fill that void space in your humidor to reduce the amount of air lost when you open it. Some people use cedar boxes or blocks, others insert sealed tupperware containers. Kinda like the ol' brick in the toilet tank trick.

However, out of PRINCIPLE, a humidor should always be kept 3/4 full, AND should be accompanied by a cooler containing at least 3x the capacity of the humidor. I'm not sure why people bother with anything less.