Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Interesting question. Say you have two identical 20ct humis. One you wipe with distilled water and then slightly heat your container of water before putting it in and closing the lid. The other you simply put the glass of distilled water in and close the cover. What do you think the seasoning time difference would be?

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

The active seasoning may be quicker, but it shouldn't be about quick. Some things should not be rushed. I am not a fan of wiping down the humidor with water. Let nature take it's course.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Corrected.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I am not a fan of this either.

If I have had difficulty getting a humidor to season, I have boiled a few ounces of distilled water in a glass, then set it inside the humidor on a piece of plastic (to avoid direct wetting or scorching the wood). This has worked well for me several times without warping the wood.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Usually I've gotten a new sponge, RO water, made it damp, wiped the inside, made it turn colors.....and then left the damp sponge on a plastic bag in the humi for 24 hours, take it out, replace with humidity maker *beads* and let it sit another 24 hours, add water / wet sponge as needed.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Too each his own, Dan....as I said, I am not a fan of wiping the wood down with water. ;)

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Do you happen to recall any seasoning timings? I am sitting on a 20ct that has had water in it for about 7 days, currently sitting at 61% and seems to rise every 2 - 3 days.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Using the boilng water method and then 65% beads, I was able to get a small cabinet humi to hold 65% within a couple days, Jeff.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Thanks Tom, I didn't boil the water, just have a cup in there with beads. I am starting to question the seal a bit... but what do you expect for a 20ct from a Cuban flea market for 10 pesos!

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Dave suggested boiled water when I first set up my new cabinet. It worked very well.
If you suspect the seal, do the dollar-bill (or Canuck fiver) test.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Why boil the water?

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I think that's your problem. Almost every one I've seen uses a thin ply top (1/8") with solid edging to make the top appear thicker. The outside of the top is varnished while the inside unfinished. This will always cause thin material to warp.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

This whole cigar thing is about patience.
I go with whatever takes forever. It's good for me. :)

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I'm guessing evaporation. Boiling water forms a vapor and permeates the wood inside the humi. And boiling also gets rid of organisms residing in the water.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Yeah but if the water is in a bowl inside the humi it is the vapors that absorb into the wood. And when water in the bowl evaporates it is pure (no organisms or minerals). At least that is what I thought! :confused:

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I'm a wiper on the cabs.. but they are solid cedar and Mahogany. Probably always preferred to let it be done through evaporation. Difference in time would be a big variable based upon the starting point. The drier the wood the longer the difference would be.

Putting waded up paper towels on a dish soaked in distilled is a way of getting more evaporative suface area ... decreasing the seasoning time. It's much faster than just a container of liquid.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Bingo.
Evaporating water is essentially, distilled water.
I personally take a slightly damped lint free cloth and give the insides a sparse wipe. Toss in dampened beads and you're done.

1-3 days and you should have stable humidity.
Granted I'm a rookie and I've only done this with 2 smallish humi's, but it worked perfectly each time. I live in Calgary where it is -27 C right now, and the RH in my house is about 20% if I'm lucky.

Good luck!

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

:tpd: Did this with my 400qt and it works beautifully! Just need more smokes now:dance:

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I've used the Boveda 84% seasoning packs for my three humidores... Worked great

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

:tpd: Me neither. I'm afraid it will lift the grain and warp it.

I've always used the passive method, but I might have to try boiling water next time.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I am guessing the steam permiates the wood without warping it. Not sure of the exact science, I just know it has worked for me several times, James. :)

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Whatever works, works!

Despite the risk of warpage, I must admit that I have used distilled water in a little spray bottle followed up with a soft towel to spread the moisture more evenly. No warpage found and the humidors all came around very well. That worked for me.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

It can and will warp the wood if you do it enough. I never recommend this. Seasoning time may be much longer when you don't wipe down the wood but its worth the extra time to do it right.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

:tpd: Plus when I got my humidor I was far too excited to wait...guess I am too impatient.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I have LIGHTLY wiped all 3 of my humidors down along with a couple shoot glasses of distilled water during the seasoning process. Have had virtually 0 issue with them holding humidity even during the freezing cold months here. Who is to say what is right from wrong, isn't it all prefered methods anyway? I say find which way you like best and do it that way.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

First rule of the nut house is never, ever post in public about needing more smokes. Your mailbox may not be able to stand the onslaught.:D

For my first humi, the 300 ct footlocker, i used the boveda packs. Left them in for a week because I was worried. All future humis I have placed one or two bowls of DW in for 2-3 days, then beads for another day or two and then good to go.

Reseasoning my "chairside" humi now. The dry, winter air killed it.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I don't think anyone in the thread has said that others' methods are wrong, just what they themselves prefer and why.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I've kind of went with a active/passive hybrid method. I had a new humi in the basement that I decided to pull out of the box and play with a bit.

I did the whole wipe down thing. After a couple days when the RH started dropping and leveling out, I put a small bowl of steamy hot water in it. I left that in there for about 24 hours until it peaked and maintained a constant level. Now I have a half pound of beads in it. I'm just watching the RH slowly drop. It's been about 12 hours since the beads went in and it's dropped about 3% already.

It's probably overkill, but it's kind of fun to experiment.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Sofaman pees in his. I'm not gonna sign off on that.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, just north of CigarusMaximus. Here it is also many digits below freezing with RH well below 20%. I have done this method with my two new humidors and it worked so wonderfully that I have started to question the need to season a humi at all.

1. Open new humi
2. Fill humi with cigars already aclimated to 65-70% RH (but don't let then touch walls/floor of humi)
3. Fill spaces with little jars of water (I mean as many of those as you can fit in)
4. Throw in digital hygrometer
5. Walk away

When I come back to check (from 1 hr and then randomly throughout the next few days) I find that the RH on the hygros drops to about 60% and then slowly drifts up to 65%. Then, I alter the water containers/bead containers as I see fit vs the weather (with frequent sudden drops in temperature, and concommitent drops in environmental RH...to like 10%, this can be very frequent).

My theory on the matter is this:

The air is by far the easiest element to humidify, then the cigars are probably next easiest, followed by the wood. If I keep the cigars from directly contacting the wood, I have all wood surfaces and all external cigar surfaces equilibrating with the air. The hygrometer will measure the air RH. The cigars and the wood will independantly drift towards the RH of the air. So, keeping the air at or near a proper RH (by the hygrometer), and preventing the cigars from directly equilibrating with the wood, I allow the cigars to be stored in the new humi and the humi to drift to its proper RH all with almost no hassle.

As an aside, I did use the boiled water trick this last time (started about 3 days ago without knowing this thread was started, only boiled the water twice and let sit in humi for about 5 minutes each time), and my new 300 ct humi went from 60% to 65% in about 2 hours and has stayed there, rock solid, since.

Cheers

Cy

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Sorry for any confusion I was not directing that at or toward anyone just simply stating. Thats what it is all about is learning and trying different methods to see which works best for you.

Re: Active vs Passive Seasoning?
 

Agreed, true in many areas, and not just cigar related ones. :tu