Humidor setup/calibration

[Danimal]

OKay, So i bought my first humidor from Thompson cigar because it was a good deal. Anyways, they didn't send me directions on how to set it up and calibrate the hydrometer. ( I will never order form them again due to difficulties ).

Does anyone have links/advice on how to:
1) Calibrate the hydrometer (I've heard of the salt test but do not know how exactly to do it)
2) Do I wipe down the inside? ( It is spanish cedar )
3) Do I use simply distilled water or some other solution or a combination of both?
4) How often do I have to re-wet the humidifier?

I saw a great link last week (lost it) on how to set up the humidor.

Thanks a lot guys.

Daniel

[galaga]

go to this site and look under the humidor section. Cigar nexus

http://www.cigarnexus.com/counsel/ci...age/index.html

Slip Slidin' away --

[UpInSmoke]

Hope these tips help:

1) For hygrometer calibration:
Pour some salt into a shallow dish or some sort of small container. Then add a few drops of water (not enough to dissolve the salt). Put your hygrometer and the salt dish into a ziploc bag or tupperware container, then seal it up. Let it sit for a good few hours or overnight. The humidity should then be 75%. If your hygrometer deviates from this, just note the deviation and take it into account when taking readings in the future.

2) As for wiping down the inside, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I've been told that the cedar can warp/stain/etc. if you moisten it too much. You're better off leaving your humidifier in it for a couple of days until the humidity stabilizes at 65%-70%, depending on your preference. Personally, I would recommend no higher than 68%. To speed up the process, you can also place a shot glass of distilled water or 50/50 solution in the humi.

3) / 4) Distilled water in the humidifier will do the trick, but you can get propylene glycol to mix with it. This is available at most pharmacies. Cigar shops will sell what they term 50/50 solution or activator solution - this is basically 50% propylene glycol and 50% distilled water. Propylene glycol will regulate the humidity at near 70% so it's a good idea to "charge up" your humidor with this solution once and then add distilled water regularly (monthly is best).

[KingMeatyHand]

I found a lot of information here as well:

http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=jrcu_storage

[coppertop]

) As for wiping down the inside, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I've been told that the cedar can warp/stain/etc. if you moisten it too much. You're better off leaving your humidifier in it for a couple of days until the humidity stabilizes at 65%-70%, depending on your preference. Personally, I would recommend no higher than 68%. To speed up the process, you can also place a shot glass of distilled water or 50/50 solution in the humi.

I would recommend wiping down the inside. Use distilled water and a clean soft cloth or t-shirt. Barely get the cloth/shirt wet and wipe down everything that is Cedar. Thats what I have done for all of mine. And I haven't had a problem.

[kscotty]

I also have had good experience wiping down first (not too much). One other thing that seems to make sense to me was suggested by another LLG on a different posting last year: when adding new cigars to the humidor, you may want to space out adding the box in thirds over a period of days since so many new cigars in the humidor environment will really throw the box's humidity out of whack.