Xikar Crystal Humidifier Jar Question

[Tarks]

Hi all,

I paid a visit to my local tobacconist last week to purchase the Xikar crystal product for my 150 ct humidor (That is currently full). The fellow that was working told me that I would need to purchase three jars for my humidor. I'm no expert, but three jars sounded a bit much so I decided to only purchased two. Besides, I don't have room for 3. When I got home I went to the Xikar website and found the following information.

Crystal Humidifier Jar:

• Slow, steady release of constant Humidity of 70%
• Lasts up to 90 days before re-fill
• Regulates humidity for up to 150 cigars
• Safe, effective, and very easy to use!
• Just unscrew the top and place in your humidor!
• Re-fill with our pre-mixed PG solution

My questions are:

1) Was the guy at the tobacoonist full of it, trying to over sell the product or was he correct to tell me that I would need three jars?

2) My humidor has been sitting for two full days with the Xikar product and is at 75% RH. Will two jars last longer than one or should I remove one of the jars? Common sense tells me to keep them both in the humidor but expert advise would be reassuring.

Thanks.

[MKR160]

I currently have a Savoy 100ct humidor that is full. In it I have a Puck 65%-100ct, and 2 Xikar Jars. I keep the jars in there for the winter months as it gets dry here in the Northeast in the winters. I usually take one of them out in the summer. Hope this helps.

[docruger]

sounds good but i dont have ant trouble with using the old 50/50 in mine

[Tarks]

Originally Posted by docruger

sounds good but i dont have ant trouble with using the old 50/50 in mine

So, might be a dumb question but here it goes. When my Xikar jars run out can I just fill them with 50/50 solution rather than purchasing the refills from Xikar? Would this be the same?

[XIKAR]

Hey guys,
Jacob from XIKAR. Good questions and comments.

First to answer Tarks' question. Three jars sounds a bit excessive, but there are many factors to consider. Do you live in an arid environment? How often you open your humidor? And how full do you keep your humidor? They all effect your RH. If you live in the dessert, smoke all day, and only kept a couple of days supply then you would need more humidification, because you would be constantly losing it.

I hope your retailer is not trying to over sell you. He may just be working from his experiences. Just keep an eye on the RH. If you are holding constant with two jars leave them both in, but if you are curious you can always take one out and monitor closely.

As for the great 50/50 question. Any talk about PG (Propylene Glycol) is an interesting one. PG naturally absorbs moisture just like salt, to keep the humidity at 70%, no more no less. BUT, too much PG with not enough distilled water will clog your humidifier. Think of it as PG = a Churchill and Distilled H20= a Robusto. If you buy 4 of each every week, but you smoke the Robustos twice as often. Soon your humidor won't have room for Robustos because it is full of Churchills. At that point you have no moisture.

On the other hand, too little PG and you will have humidity spikes that can harm your cigars. The reason being is that PG biodegrades at a specific rate. The PG and Water don't actually make a solution (it's a mixture like an egg yoke where the PG is the white part). If you don't have enough PG, you end up with just distilled water in your humidifier before your refill, and your RH levels spike before plummeting.

We recommend our premixed PG because its mixture was tested to allow PG to biodegrade at the same rate as moisture dissipates.

There you go. If you guys want the long version on any topic feel free to ask me anytime.

[friz]

Originally Posted by XIKAR

Hey guys,
Jacob from XIKAR. Good questions and comments.

First to answer Tarks' question. Three jars sounds a bit excessive, but there are many factors to consider. Do you live in an arid environment? How often you open your humidor? And how full do you keep your humidor? They all effect your RH. If you live in the dessert, smoke all day, and only kept a couple of days supply then you would need more humidification, because you would be constantly losing it.

I hope your retailer is not trying to over sell you. He may just be working from his experiences. Just keep an eye on the RH. If you are holding constant with two jars leave them both in, but if you are curious you can always take one out and monitor closely.

As for the great 50/50 question. Any talk about PG (Propylene Glycol) is an interesting one. PG naturally absorbs moisture just like salt, to keep the humidity at 70%, no more no less. BUT, too much PG with not enough distilled water will clog your humidifier. Think of it as PG = a Churchill and Distilled H20= a Robusto. If you buy 4 of each every week, but you smoke the Robustos twice as often. Soon your humidor won't have room for Robustos because it is full of Churchills. At that point you have no moisture.

On the other hand, too little PG and you will have humidity spikes that can harm your cigars. The reason being is that PG biodegrades at a specific rate. The PG and Water don't actually make a solution (it's a mixture like an egg yoke where the PG is the white part). If you don't have enough PG, you end up with just distilled water in your humidifier before your refill, and your RH levels spike before plummeting.

We recommend our premixed PG because its mixture was tested to allow PG to biodegrade at the same rate as moisture dissipates.

There you go. If you guys want the long version on any topic feel free to ask me anytime.

If I have had mine for a year should I replace it with a new one. What if the life span on these

[defcon3]

Very interesting post Tarks... I have three 2oz. jars of the regular gel and a 100 count vertical humidor...

I have been using the large foam element "distilled water only - no pg" as I am uncertain how many jars to put in there... I keep the foam element on the bottom and a drymistat tube on the top shelf to suck up any extra moisture. For some reason that defies logic, the humidity seems to rise to the top hence the drymistat tube up top...

[sodomanaz]

Distilled water in the jars is just fine. Don't over-think or over-spend on these things. General rule of thumb is 150 to a 2oz. jar, but it varies with location humidity, what you have in your humidors, etc etc (like what was already mentioned). I like to keep my humidors as close to 65% as possible, so I play around taking jars out and checking to see where the humidor is sitting without any humidification, then add as I see fit.

But really, don't drive yourself nuts with this. If your humidor is properly seasoned, you could probably pull out all of the jars and go without any humidification for possibly 2 good weeks.

[defcon3]

Originally Posted by sodomanaz

But really, don't drive yourself nuts with this. If your humidor is properly seasoned, you could probably pull out all of the jars and go without any humidification for possibly 2 good weeks.

Agreed sodomanaz...

But my mind wonders if the jars maintain 70% humidity, wouldn't it be impossible to technically use too many jars? It would merely provide more time before having to freshen them up with distilled water?

[Tarks]

Just an update since this thread is 4 months old. I now use 65% Heartfelt beads for my humidification. Nothing else made sense compared to these beads and personally I do not understand why a person would not use these. They are flawless!

[fiddlegrin]

Ya Buddy!

Me too!

They are the only way to fly!!!

[defcon3]

Wow!!! I had no idea the thread was that old...

I guess I will at least look into the hype that everyone is saying about these "Hearfelt Beads" being the greatest invention since sliced bread...

I say use apple cores like in the old days...

[Tarks]

Originally Posted by defcon3

I say use apple cores like in the old days...

muahahahahaha!!!