Humidity

There are several different ways you can manage RH in your humidor. Most humidors come with a little sponge. This is the most basic (and least effective) method of humidification available. Basically, you saturate the sponge and put it in the humidor. Yeah, not for me.

Large walk-in humidors, like the ones you find at your local cigar shop, have active humidification. Cigar Oasis makes a full line of active humidifiers for home humidors. Their top of the line is shown below:

These units have built-in hygrometers and release water vapor into the environment when the humidity drops below your specified level. Although some models can take batteries, they run much more efficiently when plugged in. They can be found here (http://www.cigaroasis.com/products/humidifier-products.html)

The newest and most popular option nowadays is humidity beads. These beads both absorb and release moisture into the air depending on the environment. If humidity drops below a certain level, they will release moisture into the air. And if the levels are too high, they will absorb it. Just charge the beads with distilled water and they are good to go. Depending on the environment, they need to be recharged every few weeks. These beads are pretty amazing and I highly recommend them. For the wineador build, I stuck with the same brand I have been using successfully in my desktop humidor for a year.

This is the "Humidity Bead System" by Cigar Sciences (http://www.cigarsciences.com). The other popular option is Heartfelt beads (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=14). Both types can be purchased in either 65% or 70% RH versions, depending on your preference.

Hygrometers

I started the calibration process on my hygrometers. I tried using the calibration kit (seen below),

but the bag was small and I didn't like that the hygrometers were in direct contact with the humidity pack. Plus, these things are really touchy and the instructions on how to calibrate were not the most clear. But after some futzing, I think I got the hang of it. I transferred them into a bigger ziplock bag, added the standard salt cap and threw in my Xikar hygrometer for good measure.

After letting them sit overnight, the Xikar (which I haven't calibrated since the day I first purchased it) was dead on at 75% - making me wish I had just purchased 3 more instead of trying out the HygroSet model. But I think I've figured out the calibration process, so we'll give this another 24 hours and see if it works.

If you happen to go with the HygroSet hygrometers, I'll clarify the calibration instructions for you. Once the hygrometer has been in a controlled environment for 24 hours, it should read 75% RH. If it doesn't, you need to turn the knob up or down to adjust. If your hygrometer reads 73%, you need to turn the knob 2 clicks clockwise. This will NOT change the display. Just turn the knob 2 clicks and then hold the set button. THIS will make the adjustment and the new reading should be 75%. That is where I got confused. I was turning the damn knob all over the place and the display kept reading 73%. After a lot of trial and error (and removing the batteries to reset the units) I figured out what was going on. So now all the hygrometers are reading close to one another and we'll see what they all say after another 24 hours in the bag.