Before starting on making your humidor, it is time to know what a humidor actually means. A humidor is a kind of box or room which is capable of maintaining a constant humidity and temperature and can be used for storing any article which requires these conditions. In general, it is used for storing handmade cigars and other tobacco related items. Humidors even come with hygrometers to keep the humidity level in check.
There are different types of humidors such as Table humidor, Room humidor, Travel humidor and Personal humidor. Purchasing these humidors for cigars is often not desired as it takes many hundreds of dollars to purchase a well functioning humidor. This is the reason why making one’s own humidor became popular. Everyone cannot afford to invest so much in smoking and also making such a device is not so tough unless you expect it to be very fashionable.
Making a humidor is so simple that it doesn’t need any kind of particular skill or experience. A simple humidor can be made as follows:
Equipment Needed:
1) An air tight cooler box or any other branded product that is capable of holding the required cigars content of your choice. Go for a bigger one if you are very much fond of smoking.
2) An oasis florist. Go for the one which absorbs water and not the dry one which doesn’t.
3) Propylene Glycol (PG). It can be obtained from a pharmacist and if your local pharmacist doesn’t have it then you can get it ordered from him and it does not cost more than $8.
4) A digital thermometer or hygrometer to show you the humidity level in the container.
5) Distilled water - In case you do not trust your tap water to be free from dangerous micro organisms.
6) Scissors and other accessories which can make a hole in your container.
Making Procedure:
1) With the scissor and other accessories, make a hole in the top of the container to the size of the display of your digital thermometer or hygrometer.
2) Also, drill a small hole near the sides of the container in case you fill your oasis a little more than what is required.
3) From the florists oasis, cut a piece so that it is a little smaller than the bottom of the container with a little space to move.
4) Mix the propylene glycol and distilled water in equal amounts and make a solution of it so that it comes to half the size of your tea cup.
5) Soak the piece of the oasis into the above solution and make sure that you thoroughly damp without leaving many dry places. Also, make sure that the oasis is not dripping. Propylene glycol is a food additive so it does no damage to your handmade cigars.
6) Put the oasis on the bottom of the container and attach the digital hygrometer to the lid so that it shows the display on the outside. Remember to remove the clip of it to make the rear part of it exposed so that the calibration is accurate.
7) In case the calibration is not accurate, calibrate it and you can refer the web for this purpose.
Your own humidor is ready and in case the humidity level drops after months, soak your oasis once again and start using it.