by: Peter Wilson

Those who smoke cigars, take their cigars seriously. For many, it is an indulgence in which they relish; a time to relax or reflect, celebrate or seal the deal. Whatever times or occasions one chooses to celebrate with a cigar, there is one thing they all have in common; their cigars must be fresh or the experience just isn't worth it.

Keeping Cigars Fresh

Humidity control is the primary way to ensure freshness for cigars. A humidor humidifier – a device which adds just the right amount of moisture to the air of a humidor is a must have device for anyone who stores their cigars for longer than a week.

Collectors of fine cigars have invested a great deal of time and money into finding the finest manufactured cigars. To simply store those in a wooden box or jar would never do. These items must be stored in a properly controlled environment – namely the humidor.

Sizes & Styles of Humidor Humidifiers

For a small collection of cigars a small container will do. Humidity still however needs to be properly regulated. Depending on the climate in which you live and the weather conditions, there may be enough humidity in the room air. That's fine, but the enclosed container must also have the right conditions.

There are humidifier models designed to create the perfect atmosphere for any size humidor. Units can be installed in humidors holding between 25-30 cigars, or for those that hold 100 cigars. Even whole room systems are available for rooms holding thousands of treasured cigars.

Small, box sized humidifiers can run for several months without needing to be refilled with enough water to create the right amount of humidity. This allows you to fill the reservoir and basically forget about it for a long time.

For large collections – those held in a full room humidor – a much larger humidifying system is required. These generally hook up to a continuous water source, much like a household hot water tank would. Just as you turn on the faucet in your kitchen, the vaporizer part of the humidifier would turn on when humidity levels get too low for optimal freshness of the cigars. These electric pumps use a hepa filter to act as an internal purifier.

The Role of the Hygrometer

A hygrometer is the gauge that determines if there is enough humidity or not produced by the humidor humidifier. You can have the top, state of the art humidifier with endless and continuous water supply, but if the hygrometer isn't working then it is all for naught.

A hygrometer can be either analogue or digital and can work to control just humidity or temperature and humidity together as in the digital models. The right combination of both will give you the best overall results.

It is important to keep hygrometers well calibrated. A quick check periodically can ensure that you are getting an accurate reading of the true temperature and humidity. If you fail to have an accurate reading from the hygrometer, then too much or too little humidity will destroy your collection.