new guy looking for my first humidor

**buzz** · 08-12-2013, 05:47 AM

I fall in the tight seal camp because I think I get enough of an air change by opening the humidor 2-3 times a week to select a cigar.

**ashauler** · 08-12-2013, 07:12 AM

Yep, I view air leakage from a humidor as a bad thing. Don't give too much of a shit whether you moisten the wood or not. I moistened both of mine when new....no warpage in 6+ years of continual use. Both of them were made in China though.....and were nowhere near $400. That's probably why.

**kingbeefy** · 08-12-2013, 08:03 AM

$400 for a humidor doesn't seem "very affordable". I'm sure they are nice and if your hobby is humidors it may make some sense.

I'm more of an "it's what's on the inside that counts" kind of guy. And being that kind of guy has me thinking that the ugly blue cooler in my closet in an absolute work of art.

**Mizicke5273** · 08-12-2013, 11:44 PM

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but try to stay away from desktop humidors with "glass". I did not head this advice, because well, I liked the look too much when I was first starting out. They can do the job just fine, but the one I have is a pain in the ass to keep at a consistent humidity. It requires a lot more babysitting than my coolidors; they only require maintenance every so often.

**CptnBlues63** · 08-13-2013, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by Mizicke5273

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but try to stay away from desktop humidors with "glass". I did not head this advice, because well, I liked the look too much when I was first starting out. They can do the job just fine, but the one I have is a pain in the ass to keep at a consistent humidity. It requires a lot more babysitting than my coolidors; they only require maintenance every so often.

Wifey bought me a 500 count a few years back that has glass on it. Both on the lid and on the front. It's also a "cheap Chinese" humidor. But, it seals well and actually stays pretty darn stable with minimum effort on my part. Had I know better at the outset I would have bought Heartfelt Beads but instead got an electric humidifier. If/when that humidifier dies, I'm going beads for sure!

It's been an unusually humid summer up here so I haven't actually added any water since before my fishing trip in June and it's holding nicely around 63-65% RH. Come winter when it gets really dry, I only add water about once every two or three weeks.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it although I would have never bought that particular one for myself had it been up to me. I'm hoping to outgrow it and build a coolerador. I mentioned doing so to the wife and she was all "Don't freaking Alberta engineer that when we can buy you a humidor" I tried explaining about the cost difference as versus storage capacity but she got all obstinate so when the time comes, I'm just going to build one and forget to mention it to her.........LOL

**gogotron** · 08-13-2013, 11:41 AM

Daniel Marshall

**buzz** · 08-14-2013, 03:37 AM

When I had a humidor it had a glass top and glass front. I didn't notice significant leaking due to the glass, and liked having the ability to decide what to smoke without opening the humidor. You just have to keep it out of sunlight. When my cousin lived with me it would have been nice if my fridge had a viewport so he wouldn't stand there with the fridge door open for 20 minutes deciding what salsa to use for his burrito.