Couple of humidor questions for a newbie

R

Rev2010

Maturing Primate
Hi all. I'm new to cigars, only been smoking them since February and only about 1-2 a week. I bought a humidor a few weeks ago as I've started buying more at one time and didn't want them to dryout being I smoke infrequently. Anyhow, I've done a heck of a lot of reading on the net about cigars, humidors, etc and have seen some varied information so I figured it was time to find a forum to discuss. I have two main questions:

1. I only have 5 cigars in my box now (small glass top humi meant for up to 50 cigars) and I've read it's harder to keep proper humidity with a mostly empty box. With oly one humidifier (round puck type with internal foam and 50/50 solution) my Western Caliber III held at 68% humidity. I added a second puck filled only with distilled water and now it's holding steady at 69%. Is it true it's easier to mantain humidity with more cigars in the box? I find it odd that with two humidifiers in there and I'm still not exactly at 70% (but yeah, I know it won't matter only one percent lower).

2. I'm having a very hard time trying to lower the temperature in my humidor, my temps have been around 75-76 degrees which I've read is a bit too high. But if I try to lower the temperature by putting the humi near an AC the humidity starts to drop so that's no good. I've tried different placements around the house but the darn thing seems to want to stay at 75-76°. Now I'm wondering what I'm going to have to deal with in winter. So, is there an easier way to drop the temperature without sacrificing humidity, and do I really run a high risk of tobacco beetles at this temp? (I don't have any Cubans, just Arturo Fuente, La Aurora, and Don Donato - local shop brand). Have any of you had beetles?

So, to sum it all up I have been trying to get things to the 70/70 mark that everyone touts as the magic number - though yes I know a lot is personal preference. After reading about the tobacco beetles I'm kinda worried about my temps and don't want to fillup my box until I get the temps down. I wish they sold small electric humi's that plugged into the wall and monitored and controlled both the temps and humidity!
Thanks in advance to all that can help and sorry for the questions. I'm sure it gets annoying after awhile.


Rev.
 
First off welcome to CS. You should head over to the new gorilla forums and post there. Now to give a little comment on your questions. First thing would be do read around the boards and you will find alot of answers but I will give you a quick run down. I would wager to say that most of the feloow gorillas here prefer to keep their stogies at 65 RH. Either way the best way to control humidity in a humidor is to go with beads. you can do a search here on the boards on what they are or heartfeltindustries.com where you can buy them as well. Now the querstion of temperature...I wouldnt worry about the temperature getting below 70, heck thats a good thing in my opinion. As far as above 70 that can become an issue becasue of the the before mentioned beatles. The quality of cigar makes no difference on if the cigar has eggs in it or not. There is a picture floating around here with a box of Padron 1964 fully infested with them. The best, most cost effective way to control temperature is to consider going with a wine cooler, such as the vino 28 bottle on sale at target right now. Agan read up on these and see if that is for you. If that seems like too much storage space, you will never have that many cigars, I can not tell you the amount of fellow members that are here that thought the same thing and are now on their second cooler. Again welcome to the jungle.
 
There are other gorillas more qualified to answer than me, but I think your fine right where you are. I have read that the temperature needs to be much higher for beetle damage (over 80 degrees).

Humidity is subjective. I run around 68% and other like to run lower. You are fine at 69%. If it is working don't tweek it!!!

BTW - More cigars are always better!!!

And Welcome to the Jungle!!!
 
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1. Yes, a full humidor is more stable but that don't mean it won't work just a few in there. If you want higher humidity, get rid of the pg solution.

2. The temps aren't that bad. I wouldn't worry. I havn't had beetles but if you search "beetles" and you will find all the info you need.

3. 70/70 is a myth. I keep my cigars between 60-63% rh. At 70% cigars flavors are quite muted and have burn problems, imo.

4. Welcome to CS! :)
 
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"1. Is it true it's easier to mantain humidity with more cigars in the box? I find it odd that with two humidifiers in there and I'm still not exactly at 70%"


Welcome to Club Stogie Rev. :bl
1.) I believe it is easier to maintain your current humidity with more cigars. I don't think, however, that adding cigars will cause your humidity to increase. This is due to the fact the cigars themselves act similar to the Spanish Cedar lining, absorbing and releasing humidity. Also the more cigars you have the less unoccupied air there is. Less moisture needs to be added to the air once your lid has been opened and closed. My only other advice is to make sure that your humi has a good sealing lid. If you hold the lid up about an inch or two and let it drop it should make a "whooshing" sound rather than a "bang" as it comes down.

I am interested to hear what others have to say about the rest. :ss
 
A lot of people freeze their cigars to reduce the risk of beetles.
Do a search for freeze. There's a procedure of fridge for a few days, freezer for a week, fridge for a few days (or something similar.)
I haven't done this myself, though.
 
I am not sure that anything you described as far as conditions is alarming. I like my cigars much drier than the 70/70 'standard' you describe. 60-70% will cover just about everything, I like 63-65%. Temps could be lower but 75 degrees is not overly high and no real cause for alarm. :tu

Some of the things I would recommend would be beads, ditch the foam and the PG solution, too much hassle and work and storing the humidor in a cooler/darker location (like a closet/basement). :2
 
Hey guys, thanks for much for the feedback! I just took out the distilled water only humidifier leaving just the one humidifier with the Madelaine 50/50 solution as it was holding a 68-69% humidity on it's own and seeing all your responses that's certainly just fine :) I just had a smoke out of my humi and I tell ya... every smoke I've had out of it has been great so far. Just the right amount of moisture. My cigars come out and flex just enough with a slight pinch, aren't too dry, aren't soggy, and smoke wonderfully with no draw or burn problems. So it's definitely doing it's job. My main concern was the beetle. I had done tons of reading on them already and found so much contradictory information. I've read supposed "cigar experts" say, "anything over 75° will spawn a beetle infestation" yet scientific documentation on the beetles says they also incubate at 68° or even lower, just slower. I'd also read that they mainly occur with street sold Cubans in Cuba since they don't fumigate, etc.

So there is a ton of info that contradicts other info out there. I guess I'll just stop worrying about it all. As I said, I'm currently only keeping a small amount of smokes so I'll keep doing that until the fall and winter where temps are lower, then I'll store more, only to be cautious. Or maybe I'll look into that wine cooler.

Thanks again for all your help guys! BTW, I'm going to say something that may not float too well here :D I purchased a Nibo Space 6 (dual jet) lighter even seeing all the bad reviews - as it was the only low cost butane I could get within a moments notice. Anyhow, at first it had problems staying lit so I figured it was junk like everyone said. Well thankfully I tried adjusting the flame height a bit higher and now it's working like a charm! Lights every time and never goes out. Of course, it still may break down in time. I'm still looking at picking up the venerable PB-207! The Nibo just eats up a ton of fuel and has a really small tank. But for now it's working great.


Rev.
 
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