Cigars bursting?

I

IndyRob

Maturing Primate
I have some cheapie smokes, that I actually like, but the most recent batch has had a rash of what I can only describe as bursting cigars...

It's like if I light them up and start smoking them, within the first few draws the cigar will seemingly expands and then bursts all along the wrapper.

Is this is a common ailment for cheaper cigars? Anything I can do (start aging them?) to alleviate the issue or maybe it is my cutting technique?
 
I had this issue in Iraq with all cigars if I did not let them adjust to temp change from my room humi to the outside temps. I found if I waited about 10 minutes sitting outside before I lighted and started puffing away that the cigars would not burst.
 
Yes... they're too moist. When heat and moisture come together, the result is expansion, and that's why the wrappers burst. Allowing these cigars to sit out for a few hours might help considerably. They probably came that way from the factory (probably not the shipper or B&M's doing), and they just need to dry a bit.
 
Rob-What RH is your humidor typically? as others have said this is a typical indication of too much moisture in the cigar.
 
70% RH. But I only have analog hydrometer. I'm going to get a digital one to insure accuracy.

I'll try letting them dry a little before smoking them. I have a second humidor that doesn't seal very well. I might try using it as my staging box. hehe.
 
IndyRob said:
70% RH. But I only have analog hydrometer. I'm going to get a digital one to insure accuracy.

I'll try letting them dry a little before smoking them. I have a second humidor that doesn't seal very well. I might try using it as my staging box. hehe.
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Yeah, 70% on an analog might mean actual RH of 75-80%. If you're in Indy as your names suggests, the summer months may mean taking out your humidifier completely during the most humid summer months or putting in some dry beads to take care of excess humidity. I'm 3 hours north of Indy and only have dry beads in my 4 humidors and am maintaining 65% pretty regular.

MCS
 
70% RH. But I only have analog hydrometer. I'm going to get a digital one to insure accuracy.
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By all means do. My analog was off by more than 30 points. I was running myself nuts trying to get my humidor over 55 percent humidity when in fact it was around 90 percent and I was growing mold in the humidor.
 
I used to have the bursting problem when I was using the foam humidifier that came with my humi. 70% was too high for me. Since then, I have switched to 65% beads and all my problems have been solved! :tu

Buy some 65% heartfelt beads. Trust me! :tu
 
Thanks guys. It was really starting to bother me. I didn't mind so much because they were my cheaper brands, but I was getting a little concerned the same was going to happen to my better cigars.
 
I had a Pepin do that to me last weekend. It came out of a humi that the media had been taken out of because the ambient rh has been so high here. Sometimes mother nature trumps our efforts I guess. :mad:
 
It is probably moisture but one other quick point:

Does your humidor have glass at the the top? If so, remember to keep it away from sunlight coming in through windows. Sunlight (u/v rays) will damage the wrappers and make them lose elasticity.
 
Hey Indy, PM me. I have recently switched over to 65% humidity beads and now I have a bunch of 70% beads laying around doing nothing but collecting moisture. They need a good home. Let me know.
 
I had this happen to me today with an Oliva Serie O robusto. I had about 2 inches left and it burst a little bit. It was still smokable and didn't actually affect much than the appearance. However, I did take the humidifier puck out of the humidor. I do have a crappy analog which I salt tested and marked where 75% actually is. It was a little above the line so I am trying to lower it. I know I need to get a digital hygrometer and some beads but the my budget is limited at the moment. Any suggestions on lowering the RH aside from what I already have done? I think it has a lot of it has to do with it being hot and humid lately and I do live rather close to Lake Erie, which doesn't help at all. lol
 
With the high temps and humidity right now the best storage in the world may not protect you. I think a lot of people around here worry about humidity far too much. I generally find the fewer cigars a person has in storage, the more time they spend worry about RH, rotation, fans, etc.. :2

If you find your parejo cigars have "bell bottoms" or are splitting inside your humi I would say your humidor is too wet. The fact they are doing it while smoking them in July does not say to me you have a storage issue.

Cigars with thin smooth wrappers, especially Cameroon are going to burst in the summer. Stick with cigars wrapped in broadleaf, corojo, and similar when it is hot and humid outside if bursting wrappers bother you.

-Matt-
 
In the summer I run dehumidifiers pretty much around the clock. It has nothing to do with the cigars really it is to keep the house at a warmer temp. I can set the thermostat 3 degrees warmer because the house is more comfortable. On average I pull about 18 gallons of water out of the air each week.

It does help maintain a better level for the cigars too.
 
Bowmore said:
Hey Indy, PM me. I have a bunch of 70% beads laying around doing nothing but collecting moisture. They need a good home. Let me know.
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PM sent!


Rolando said:
Does your humidor have glass at the the top? If so, remember to keep it away from sunlight coming in through windows. Sunlight (u/v rays) will damage the wrappers and make them lose elasticity.
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No glass top but this is good information to know. If I ever pick up a vinotemp I'm going to be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight.
 
I would say it's not so much a question of whether they are too moist or too dry - but more related to uneven moisture content between the middle and the wrapper.

If the inner tobacco is a bit more moist than the wrapper - the inner will expand (heat/moisture as mentioned) but the wrapper leaf is too dry and cannot expand and so it bursts.

Your cigars need more time to balance - maybe the store humi was higher RH than home and had been in there a long time. When they hit your home box - they started to get "more right" - but from the outside/in.
 
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