Expert: James Yee - 5/19/2008

Question
James,
  You recently answered my question regarding a metallic taste in my cigars.  Firstly, thank you very much.  That cleared up a lot of things.  secondly, i was wondering if you give me some advice on where to go from here...
  I put in a new humidification device (one of the porous, aquafoam ones you mentioned) back in September and used relatively new PG solution (Madelaine inc.'s pre mixed propylene glycol).  Everything was find until i let the humidity level drop for an extended period of time, and that is when the funky taste started.  should i get a new humidification device?  also, do you suggest using this pre mixed PG solution every time, mixing my own, or using straight distilled water?  Finally, i assume to cover all bases i should purchase either new distilled water, or new solution?
  sorry for the longwinded e-mail, but i really appreciate your advice.

thanks so much,
Brett

Answer
Hi Brett,

It's best to start over with a new humidification device but if you prefer, you can try to clean your current humidification unit by thoroughly rinsing it with distilled water.  By doing this, you will flush out all the old PG and any impurities that causes the metallic taste in your cigars.  If the green aquafoam core in your humidification device has turned brown, you should replace it.

As for humidor mixtures, it really doesn't matter if you use pre-mixed solutions or buy the ingredients separately and mix the solution at home.  I personally prefer to mix the solution myself because it allows me to fine-tune the mixture by adding more or less PG until my humidity level is absolutely perfect.  (For some reason, one of my humidors prefer a 55/45 water:PG ratio instead of 50/50 so I'll just mix the solution myself.)

If you do buy pre-mixed PG solutions, avoid cheap, generic or "no-name" brand mixtures because they may be of a lower quality which can cause your cigars to taste bad or produce a less reasonable or erratic humidity level.  (Madelaine's is a good brand so you can continue using it if you prefer.)

Also, Propylene Glycol should only be used if you had high humidity in your humidor before and wanted to bring it down.  If you never had any problems with high humidity in your humidor, PG is not necessary and using only distilled water in your humidification device will be just fine.  Try using only distilled water for a week or two to see how your humidity is.  If your humidor's humidity becomes high (more than 74%), use PG.  If it appears fine (around 70%), you don't need any PG.  (The humidity "safe zone" for cigars is between 67%-73% and 70% is considered perfect.)

If you do use PG, remember that one dosage can last a very long time (on average 2 years) so you only need to add PG just once.  After this, simply add distilled water when needed.  For water, you can use either 100% distilled water or "bidest" water which is double-distilled water.  If your current supply of distilled water is fairly old, it's possibly that impurities may have contaminated it so it's best to buy some new distilled water.

I hopes this answers your question.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James