beads 65 vs 70
- Thread starter airmikey
- Start date
chippewastud79
Wow, Bengals Suck!
It all comes down to personal preference. Use what you like, don't go off what other people use. Personally I like the 65% because I like my sticks around 63% and that's where they sit with the beads :tu
:tpd:
I started with 70 and they were fine.
I like mine a tad dryer so I switched to 65.
Its all what you prefer :tu
Chas
ronhoffman2
your mom's box
I keep my cooler with full boxes in it at 70% and my humi with loose sticks at about 65-67%
After some experimentation, years ago.......I keep everything as close to 65% as possible.....if anything I use 65% as the upper limit and I am fine if they are anywhere between 62-65%.
IMHO, the cigars just smoke better at this lower RH, than they do at 70%
It is definitely personal preference.....one of my best smoking friends keeps all of his sticks at 70% and is just as convinced of that number as I am of 65%.
One thing for me that has made a difference is keeping all my hygrometers calibrated....I use the digital type that you can reset after the bag test. I numbered all of mine and keep a little notebook log recording the calibration date and setting required to bring it in line. Thanks to my obsession with collecting sticks, I currently have 7 hygrometers to keep track of, so having a set time to recalibrate (every 3 months) and a logbook made things easier for me.
Some will probably think I'm being too anal about this, but it is just the old power plant operator leaking out of me. After spending my entire adult working career (29 years) relying on gauges to tell me what is going on with the generating equipment, I realized the necessity of instrumentation that I know is accurate.:tu
Mark
IMHO, the cigars just smoke better at this lower RH, than they do at 70%
It is definitely personal preference.....one of my best smoking friends keeps all of his sticks at 70% and is just as convinced of that number as I am of 65%.
One thing for me that has made a difference is keeping all my hygrometers calibrated....I use the digital type that you can reset after the bag test. I numbered all of mine and keep a little notebook log recording the calibration date and setting required to bring it in line. Thanks to my obsession with collecting sticks, I currently have 7 hygrometers to keep track of, so having a set time to recalibrate (every 3 months) and a logbook made things easier for me.
Some will probably think I'm being too anal about this, but it is just the old power plant operator leaking out of me. After spending my entire adult working career (29 years) relying on gauges to tell me what is going on with the generating equipment, I realized the necessity of instrumentation that I know is accurate.:tu
Mark
:tpd:
I tend to agree that the cigars smoke much better at 63%-65% RH. It all is your personal preference IMHO.
DoubleTrouble
Young Ape
I also have 70% beads, two pounds in a vinotemp along with a cigar oasis. It's rare for it to get over 67% unless I crank up the oasis.
I wish I would just break down and buy some beads. I think 65% is the best optimal humidity, in fact anywhere between 60-65 for long term storage is fine with me.
Sometimes I will take a few cigars out in advance, put them in a 70% humidor for about 4-5 days and then smoke them on the weekend. They are probably the best.
I would rather do that than store my sticks at 70% for months (years) and briefly take them out and dry box them. That doesn't seem like a very good idea to me.
I prefer to just "maintain" and then boost them at the very last minute, not even to the point of effecting them very much.
Sometimes I will take a few cigars out in advance, put them in a 70% humidor for about 4-5 days and then smoke them on the weekend. They are probably the best.
I would rather do that than store my sticks at 70% for months (years) and briefly take them out and dry box them. That doesn't seem like a very good idea to me.
I prefer to just "maintain" and then boost them at the very last minute, not even to the point of effecting them very much.
I think part of it depends upon where you live & the average relative humidity of your area. For example. I live in AZ, where the RH is REAL LOW most of the year (35% or less). Based on that, I opted for 70% beads, as I figured it would rarely if ever actually hit over 67% due to the dryness. I was right. Normally keeps my goodies at 65-67%.
Can't fight nature, you know.
However, if you live where it's usually pretty humid, I think I'd opt for 60-65% beads.
Can't fight nature, you know.
However, if you live where it's usually pretty humid, I think I'd opt for 60-65% beads.
Kaisersozei
Evolving Lead Gorilla
:tpd:Like smokin5, I planned mine based on my house's general humidity which runs around 55% in the summer and drops to below 20% in the winter.
I've got 70% beads in my cooler (which sits at a rock solid 70%) & 65% beads for the humi. Most of my "smoking stock" is in my humi. If I plan to smoke something from the cooler, I'll drybox. Since my cigar smoking is more of an event, instead of a routine occurence, I can plan that out even a few days in advance. With all the opening & closing of the humi in the winter, I might need to make some changes (i.e., more beads.)
Haven't had any burn problems since doing it this way. Not terribly scientific, but it works great for me. Bottom line is: I don't worry too much about it.
I've got 70% beads in my cooler (which sits at a rock solid 70%) & 65% beads for the humi. Most of my "smoking stock" is in my humi. If I plan to smoke something from the cooler, I'll drybox. Since my cigar smoking is more of an event, instead of a routine occurence, I can plan that out even a few days in advance. With all the opening & closing of the humi in the winter, I might need to make some changes (i.e., more beads.)
Haven't had any burn problems since doing it this way. Not terribly scientific, but it works great for me. Bottom line is: I don't worry too much about it.
It seems like this question is constantly being raised. We need a thread index thread.
There is no right or wrong answer. You should experiment and see what you like the best. I set mine based on the season. In humid months I run them under 65 and in winter months I run them higher like 67ish. That is my preference and it is based solely on my personal preferences and experiences.
There is no right or wrong answer. You should experiment and see what you like the best. I set mine based on the season. In humid months I run them under 65 and in winter months I run them higher like 67ish. That is my preference and it is based solely on my personal preferences and experiences.
Dunno, I started out keeping mine at 70. After months of smoking premium sticks and having burn problems ranging from tunnels, runs and plugged; I suspected that I was having way too many problems to have this be a manufacturer problem. I just refused to believe that so called premium cigars would be f-ing up this frequently (1 out of 10 or so) A silver back here at clubstogie gave a few of us nubblets a good lecture about his years of smoking, the insignificant frequency of plugged sticks and how claims of "plugged" sticks were usually your storage problem.
when i switched to 65% in my cooler, my problems with burn virtually disapeared after about a month of acclimating the stock. Time was less than that in the 100ct humi so, I'm sure it was a RH problem.
just my experience, ymmv.
when i switched to 65% in my cooler, my problems with burn virtually disapeared after about a month of acclimating the stock. Time was less than that in the 100ct humi so, I'm sure it was a RH problem.
just my experience, ymmv.
themoneycollector
Evolving Lead Gorilla
I prefer 65% as well, I hardly ever have any burn issues, so I'll just stick with what has worked for me.