I've been having this problem with my humidor lately. My roomate likes to keep the apartment freezing cold and the temp in my humidor is usually around 55-60 and the humidity is around 65-70. Whenever I smoke soemthing that has been in the humidor for a while, it just doesn't taste right and the ash is very weak and crumbles easily. Should I make more of an effort to keep the temp of the humidor closer to 70?
That's strange...I would think that as long as the RH is around 65-70 the cigars would be fine. Going with a higher RH would do nothing but cause additional problems. Try getting the temp up in the humidor and see what happens. I would think that this is the cause. But WTF do I know 
. Simp
. SimpAs temp. goes down, RH goes up. Cold air doesn't hold as much moisture. Maintaining humidity in a humidor in a cold apartment shouldn't be too tough. Maybe there is a bad seal in the humidor? Or perhaps your problem is a faulty hygrometer?
"As temp. goes down, RH goes up.Cold air doesn't hold as much moisture." Does the first sentence contradict the second or is it just me? I've always thought that as the temp went down so did the RH as the cold air is drier than warm air. Simp
He means as the temp goes down, your RH NEEDS to go up. Add that word and it works.
Use this chart:
http://arlinliss.com/__Humidor_Controls ... 0Chart.jpg
I keep my apartment at about 70 degrees, and my humidors are right at 70 degrees and 67% RH. Yes i know that isn't 70%, but its where i like them. I keep them close to a light that is on from 5pm till i go to sleep around 12. I think it might help them stay warm. Im pretty anal about my humidors and i check them every morning and 2 or 3 times after work. :roll:
Use this chart:
http://arlinliss.com/__Humidor_Controls ... 0Chart.jpg
I keep my apartment at about 70 degrees, and my humidors are right at 70 degrees and 67% RH. Yes i know that isn't 70%, but its where i like them. I keep them close to a light that is on from 5pm till i go to sleep around 12. I think it might help them stay warm. Im pretty anal about my humidors and i check them every morning and 2 or 3 times after work. :roll:
Sorry that was unclear. RH is a percentage of the amount of water the air could hold. So RH goes up in lower temp. air, but it is actually less water.
I try to keep humidity a little lower, I just think they smoke better, I have one box I keep around 62%, and I try to keep my others no higher than 65%.
Although I have a box that refuses to go lower than 71%
I've added some cedar blocks, taken the humidification out, left it open for a while, but it always creeps back up!!!
Although I have a box that refuses to go lower than 71%
I've added some cedar blocks, taken the humidification out, left it open for a while, but it always creeps back up!!!
I am surprised we have not heard from Bloofington on this one yet and his famous church of 70 percenters speech. I love that speech. I printed it out and keep it handy.
:cryinlaugh: :rotflmao: :cryinlaugh:
Yes indeed, I always say beware of The Church Of The Seventy Percenters. I'm referring to humidity. And with all due respect to the rock group spawned by that church called The Relative Humiditys, stick with simple readings. Relative humidity is something that has been discussed quite a bit here and on other web sites going back a long time. There is nothing to suggest that trying to incorporate "relative humidity" into one's thinking regarding their cigar humidors will yield "better" results in the realm of cigar storage. One thing it WILL do is make your head hurt and cause you to spend hours in discussions that will lead you back to Square 1 and with no new or better ideas.
Here's the deal. Beware of The Church Of The Seventy Percenters. Also keep in mind that "normal" room temperature for human comfort is 72 degrees Fahrenheit 911, and that IS in fact what most homes, buildings, domed stadiums, etc. are at, either naturally during summer months or with seasonally assisted cooling or heating systems as may be found in same.
For someone to have a room temperature of 55-60 degrees and still have a humidity level reading 70% makes me suspicious. We had someone bring this up a few weeks ago and I expressed the same suspicions. It is very hard to maintain that high a humidity level at that temperature, but assuming that this is correct, the cigars sound as though they are definitely too cold and this may be the problem. Not much is known about cold rooms reading at 70% humidity levels, so I would suggest a hygrometer salt test just to make sure the hygrometer is accurate. As has also been suggested, try to get the temperature in that humidor up to at least 65-68 degrees.
It is possible that temperatures that are too cold will have a deleterious affect on cigars, if in fact the humidity is at 70%. If it turns out the humidity is not at 70, then we know where the culprit is. As for general rules of thumb, as we have discussed on other threads, temperature should always be around 70, but not more than 72-73, because you will be courting the beetles, and believe me, it ain't Paul McCartney showing up inside your cigars!!!
As for humidity, I and many other cigars smokers have found that Cuban and Nicaraguan tobaccos store better at humidity levels of 62-66%, and that most cigars, even light Connecticut shade wrapped, mild Dominican cigars will burn better if stored slightly below 70%.
The temperature inside my humidors is usually around 73-75 degrees, but my humidity levels range from 60-70% because I simply make it my business not to let them get any higher. Two of my desk tops are difficult to keep that low in the summer, and I just did a study on my humidors this past cold season, which is still on in my area. I usually supplement at least three of my four desk tops with "water dishes" during the cold months to maintain proper humidity levels. This past cold season I did not, just to see how far down they would go on their own. I was therefore able to see which ones would require supplemental humidity next season and just how much observation and resupplementation they would need.
Since I need a room temperature higher than most other people, probably due to my condition, I have to deal with the temperature being as much as 76-78 in my humidors during the summer, because my basement is not air conditioned. When I do get central AC put in this place (somewhere over the rainbow :roll: ) I will probably just keep the basement ducts closed in the summer and have the windows open, because the basement almost never needs cooling, except when it gets to be above 90 outside and very humid. That will also keep my humidors from getting too dry, since AC and heat from furnaces, especially gas heat, will drive down humidity levels. That's one huge reason why mine get so dry in the winter.
So now that the topic proposed to the congregation by Brother Macallan has been expounded on at length, I will advise everyone that the only really relevant paragraph in this whole freight train of bullsh_t that I just dumped on y'all is Paragraph 5, and NO, the top line of emoticons do not count as a paragraph. :cryinlaugh:
Yes indeed, I always say beware of The Church Of The Seventy Percenters. I'm referring to humidity. And with all due respect to the rock group spawned by that church called The Relative Humiditys, stick with simple readings. Relative humidity is something that has been discussed quite a bit here and on other web sites going back a long time. There is nothing to suggest that trying to incorporate "relative humidity" into one's thinking regarding their cigar humidors will yield "better" results in the realm of cigar storage. One thing it WILL do is make your head hurt and cause you to spend hours in discussions that will lead you back to Square 1 and with no new or better ideas.
Here's the deal. Beware of The Church Of The Seventy Percenters. Also keep in mind that "normal" room temperature for human comfort is 72 degrees Fahrenheit 911, and that IS in fact what most homes, buildings, domed stadiums, etc. are at, either naturally during summer months or with seasonally assisted cooling or heating systems as may be found in same.
For someone to have a room temperature of 55-60 degrees and still have a humidity level reading 70% makes me suspicious. We had someone bring this up a few weeks ago and I expressed the same suspicions. It is very hard to maintain that high a humidity level at that temperature, but assuming that this is correct, the cigars sound as though they are definitely too cold and this may be the problem. Not much is known about cold rooms reading at 70% humidity levels, so I would suggest a hygrometer salt test just to make sure the hygrometer is accurate. As has also been suggested, try to get the temperature in that humidor up to at least 65-68 degrees.
It is possible that temperatures that are too cold will have a deleterious affect on cigars, if in fact the humidity is at 70%. If it turns out the humidity is not at 70, then we know where the culprit is. As for general rules of thumb, as we have discussed on other threads, temperature should always be around 70, but not more than 72-73, because you will be courting the beetles, and believe me, it ain't Paul McCartney showing up inside your cigars!!!
As for humidity, I and many other cigars smokers have found that Cuban and Nicaraguan tobaccos store better at humidity levels of 62-66%, and that most cigars, even light Connecticut shade wrapped, mild Dominican cigars will burn better if stored slightly below 70%.
The temperature inside my humidors is usually around 73-75 degrees, but my humidity levels range from 60-70% because I simply make it my business not to let them get any higher. Two of my desk tops are difficult to keep that low in the summer, and I just did a study on my humidors this past cold season, which is still on in my area. I usually supplement at least three of my four desk tops with "water dishes" during the cold months to maintain proper humidity levels. This past cold season I did not, just to see how far down they would go on their own. I was therefore able to see which ones would require supplemental humidity next season and just how much observation and resupplementation they would need.
Since I need a room temperature higher than most other people, probably due to my condition, I have to deal with the temperature being as much as 76-78 in my humidors during the summer, because my basement is not air conditioned. When I do get central AC put in this place (somewhere over the rainbow :roll: ) I will probably just keep the basement ducts closed in the summer and have the windows open, because the basement almost never needs cooling, except when it gets to be above 90 outside and very humid. That will also keep my humidors from getting too dry, since AC and heat from furnaces, especially gas heat, will drive down humidity levels. That's one huge reason why mine get so dry in the winter.
So now that the topic proposed to the congregation by Brother Macallan has been expounded on at length, I will advise everyone that the only really relevant paragraph in this whole freight train of bullsh_t that I just dumped on y'all is Paragraph 5, and NO, the top line of emoticons do not count as a paragraph. :cryinlaugh:
