Humidor

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A humidor is a humidity-controlled box or room used primarily for storing cigar, cigarette, or pipe tobacco. Too much or too little moisture can be harmful to tobacco products; the main function of the humidor is to maintain a stable and desirable humidity level within; secondary protects its content from physical damage and deterioration from sunlight. For personal use, small wooden boxes that hold several dozen cigars or less are common, while a cigar shop may have wet room. Many humidors use a hygrometer to monitor moisture levels.

Another interesting use for humidor is to control the moisture level in a baseball, which can have a noticeable effect on the response when hit with a baseball bat. This phenomenon was so great that to end much controversy, in 2002, nine years after joining the league, the Colorado Rockies started storing their game balls in a big box in their home stadium, thus negating the effect. Low humidity is primarily due to the famous mile-mile mileage of Denver about 5,280 feet above sea level. After the changes, various offensive and defensive statistics on the Rockies home game, especially the number of home runs, were found to be more in line with the rest of the league. In 2018 Arizona Diamondbacks, whose home in Phoenix is ​​influenced by the arid climate of the Sonoran Desert, became the second Major League Baseball team to use humidor.

Video Humidor

Jenis

Running at

Most common in cigar bars or shops. One room is built as or converted to a humidor where all the cigars are stored.

Kabinet

Usually placed on the floor as a piece of furniture. Usually store 1000-5000 cigars.

Desktop

The most common type of humidor. Usually a box sized with a lid on top or with one or more drawers. The size varies from 25 to 500 cigars.

Travel

Portable, usually holding 2 to 20 cigars.

Maps Humidor

Construction

Commercially made humidor boxes are usually made of wood, although materials such as acrylic glass and metal are also used. Carbon fibers, silicon carbide, and polyethylene are rare. Apart from the pleasing aesthetics, the purpose of the casing is to protect the interior and create a closed environment, so that any durable and airtight material can be used.

The interior is usually a Spanish cedar veneer, which has some of the desired characteristics for cigar storage:

1. Contains more moisture than most wood, thus helping to keep moisture away.
2. Not easily curved or cupped in high humidity.
3. It instilled the aroma to the cigar. For the same reason, some cigars are wrapped with Spanish cedar sheets before they are sold.
4. Can expel tobacco beetles, needle-sized pests that can destroy the entire supply of cigars by eating tobacco and laying eggs, causing further infestation. They can also be discouraged by making sure the humidor does not get hotter than 20 ° C (68 ° F). Beetle eggs usually hatch only at 25 ° C (77 ° F), although there are also instances where they will hatch at cooler temperatures if the moisture is too high.

Humidors are usually commercially produced, although most walk-ins are built specifically and some humidors are homemade. They vary greatly in matter, size and complexity. Capacity is determined by reducing the space required for humidification elements and some extra space between elements and cigars. It can also be calculated online for the most popular cigar format.

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Maintenance

A humidor needs to be spiced when new or unused for a while. Wood in undated humidor will absorb moisture from the inside, drying up the stored cigar. A preferred technique for bringing the wood closer to a relatively optimal humidity level where it will support moisture is to place a small container of distilled water in the humidor for 1 to 3 days.

Humidity

All humidors contain a permanent moisturizing system that keeps the air humid, which in turn keeps the cigar moist. Without humidor, within 2 to 3 days, the cigar will quickly lose moisture and level up with the general moisture around them. The ideal relative humidity in the humidor is about 68-72%. Although it may vary slightly depending on the preferences of cigar smokers, it should never be higher than 75% because of the possibility of hatching a tobacco beetle. The more empty the space, the easier the humidity level the box will fluctuate.

Most moisturizing elements are passive, releasing stored moisture by evaporation and diffusion. The use of 50/50 propylene glycol and distilled water is recommended to recharge the passive moisturizing element, since it has a buffering effect against air humidity, keeping it at about 70%. Retailers and manufacturers claim propylene glycol also has mild antibacterial and antibacterial properties; distilled water should always be used, due to lack of minerals, additives, or bacteria.

An electronic moisturizer is also available, although it is usually reserved for very large humidors. A sensor measures the outside humidity and then activates the ventilator, which blows air over a damp sponge or water tank into the humidor. Once the preset moisture level has been reached, stop the ventilator. In this way electronic humidifiers can maintain a much more stable moisture level than passive humidifiers. Also they will usually turn on the alarm to let you know when the moisture supply needs to be recharged, to prevent moisture from falling. The accuracy of electronic humidifiers mainly depends on the type of integrated sensor; capacitive type is preferred.

Silica gel beads, familiar for removing moisture from container packaging, is the third alternative. It is "calibrated" with a layer of mineral salt to absorb or release moisture in various RH ranges (including 65%, 68%, 70%, and 72%), giving buffering effect on relative humidity. They only need distilled water when needed, and can be damaged by propylene glycol.

Temperature

A humidor should not be exposed to direct sunlight. To prevent tobacco beetle eggs from hatching and prevent cigar rot, internal temperatures should be kept below 25 ° C, (77 ° F), and below 75% relative humidity. At temperatures below 12 ° C (54 ° F), the desired aging process of the cigar is disrupted, making storage in the wine cellar problematic.

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See also

• Cigars
• The tobacco expert

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia