Humidification 101

Protect your cigar investment. Regulate humidity with
extreme precision.

XIKAR humidifiers are a two-way system, meaning they 1) emit and 2) absorb moisture to maintain 70% relative humidity. Varying humidity levels in a humidor - too much or too little - can destroy cigars quickly, so consistency is most important in preserving and protecting your expensive cigars. All XIKAR humidifiers employ the use of crystals that can absorb 400x their volume (size) of PG solution. When dry, the crystals look like salt grains. When PG solution is added, the crystals saturate and grow to completely fill the humidifier casing. Thus, you can pack a greater volume of solution in your smaller XIKAR humidifier than you can with older, larger foam units (which are also only one-way systems). Use the extra space in your humidor for more cigars!

Propylene Glycol Solution:
Most PG Solutions today are 50% PG, 50% distilled water. This is horrible, because the PG does not evaporate. It stays inside the humidifier after the water evaporates.  Each refill cuts the available space for distilled water in half, leaving a “plugged up” unit requiring thorough rinsing with distilled water.

To suggest that the PG remains forever inside the humidifier is incorrect. PG does break down into inert sugars and water over time. Through testing, we have found the ratio of PG which will biodegrade at roughly the same rate it’s refilled. This means never over-saturating the unit with PG when refilling.

CrystalHumidifiers:
XIKAR®Crystal Humidifiers use high grade Sodium based Polyacrylamine.  What is that you ask? The same stuff in baby diapers believe it or not.  It is a plastic material (non-biodegradable & non-toxic) that absorbs and holds up to 450 times its weight in fluid. The gel feels dry to the touch and never ever leaks. It is the perfect medium for humidifiers. A couple of grams of dry gel are enough to fill our crystal humidifiers when fully charged with solution. This creates the ONLY humidifier on the market that is 99.8% void of the available space, less than .2% is occupied by anything other than our PG solution, making our humidifiers the most efficient on the market.

If you want to regulate the humidity at 70% with crystal gel you MUST use our PG. With distilled water humidity will spike into the 90% range swelling wrappers and encouraging mold.  50/50 solution WILL NEVER work. It is far too viscous to absorb.

Humifidication Facts

• XIKAR Humidifiers are a Two-Way System
• Emit & Absorb moisture
• Maintain 70%RH (Relative Humidity)
• XIKAR Propylene Glycol - PG Solution Maintains 70%RH
• Distilled water clogs humidifiers & evaporates quickly