Expert: James Yee - 4/16/2007

Question
Hello James,

My Humidor doesn't hold the quantity of cigars I require.  I want to age my cigars and buy in bulk.

I bought a plastic container today with a view to storing boxes.  The plastic container is not 100% air tight as I didn't want my cigars to sweat.  The lid is held down and I believe that air flow should be minimal.  Upon doing my research on the Internet, every site that talks about this cheaper method of humification, recommends an air tight container and then to open every week or so to allow air flow.

Should I take the box back to the store and purchase an air tight container ?

Second question:

How accurate are digital hydrometers ?  Do they ever require calibration ?  Can you recommend a good one for me to purchase ?

Thanks, I appreciate your help - keep up the great work.

Jon Boyd, CA.

Answer
Hi John

As long as your container has a good seal (to prevent dirt, dust and bugs from getting into your cigars), having a Tupperdor that isn’t 100% airtight is perfectly fine.  Because you’re going to aerate the container periodically anyways, having a lid that’s not airtight can allow air and humidity to naturally vent and this can help prevent your Tupperdor from having too much humidity and causing your cigars to sweat.  Too much humidity is bad for your cigars and in a tupperdor environment, your cigars will constantly be exposed to lots of humidity so it’s important that your tupperdor lets your cigars “breathe” as much as possible.  Having a tupperdor that’s not 100% airtight will help this.

The best containers that most people use for Tupperdors are the disposable Glad or Ziploc lunch containers that you can buy in most supermarkets.  They’re usually 4 or 5 containers to a package, available in a variety of sizes and cost around $5.  Because these containers don’t have a secure, spill-proof “lock down” latch mechanism, very small amounts of air and humidity can seep out when the container is closed and this helps the ventilation process.  What most people with Tupperdors like to do is use these containers and only press down 3 of the 4 corners.  By doing so, the container is still closed but one corner of the lid is not tightly pressed down so air and humidity is able to vent when necessary and your tupperdor will humidify your cigars more properly.

Depending on the brand, digital hygrometers can be extremely accurate and most of them do not require calibration whatsoever.  Obviously a $10 hygrometer may not have the same performance and reliability as a $50 hygrometer so it’s important that you find a unit that is designed for humidors.  (There’s a lot of hygrometers intended for home use that people use in their humidors and though there’s nothing wrong with this, some of these hygrometers are not as accurate as humidor-intended hygrometers.  Because there are lots of hygrometers available in every shape, size and design, my best advice is for you to visit your local tobacconist or electronic gadget store and see what hygrometers will best fit in your humidor/tupperdors.

Hope this answers your question, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask.

Regards,
James