Hey all, I recently got a 7-drawer (210-capacity) humidor as a gift, and I have a lot of questions about how to prepare it for use, and its upkeep. I was hoping to 'chat' with someone who really knows a lot about humidors and the upkeep of them. Ideally, I'd like to chat 'real time' with someone on aol instant messanger, my e-mail address is [email protected]. If you can IM me when you see me on so that I can pick your brain. Thanks-Joel

thanks laxman!

Anytime!!

Anytime!!

Damn double post

Joel ... sending you an e-mail

... you're barking up the wrong tree ... you won't find any in here ... we just cut and paste opinions we copy off of the internet ... it's like owning a Harley and not riding it ... we just let them sit in the garage and admire it ... our wives would leave us if we ever really smoked a cigar ...

Can someone post a a general answer to this question?
I not real swift with chat.

Whoops, a little sensitive today?

That's right jimmy. It's always best to defer to the real experts rather than the wannabes on this board. Have you ever read the cigar storage primer on the CA website? Says that a cigar can be destroyed if you take it out of the humidor for one hour--I kid you not. Whoever wrote that masterpiece REALLY knowed what he was talking about.

Here's a "copy & paste" of the best advise I've ever seen ... it comes from the Website of a humidor distributor and is consistent with all that I learned about wood and moisture while working some years ago for a manufacturer of high-end wooden business furniture

How To Rehumidify a Humidor
When most people get their new humidor home, they are anxious to fill it up with their collection of smokes. If you do this without first re-humidifying the wood, you may ruin your cigars. Why? The wood has not had a chance to reach its equilibrium. So when you put your cigars inside, the wood will absorb their moisture and you will be left with dry useless cigars. Not exactly the reason you bought a humidor, huh?

To solve this problem, all humidors should be re-humidified before their first use. Re-humidifying your humidor is easy, just follow these simple steps:

* Place a shallow container filled with distilled water in the humidor

* Place calibrated hygrometer inside humidor

* Charge your humidification device

* Place humidification device inside humidor

* Check the relative humidity regularly. Depending on a number of factors rehumidification can take a few days to a few weeks. When you get in the 70 range it is safe to store you smokes inside. As long as you constantly recharge your humidification device you will never have to wait to store your cigars again.

SteveS,

Damn, what took you so long to answer that question? Free advice should come much quicker!

};{>