Memoir of a Novice

Spider66 said:
Man, I am still not happy with instrumentation in my coolerdor! :evil:
I have added about 1/2 pound of heartfelt 65% beads to it, and have the Oasis XL set to 63%. I have a seperate digital hygrometer in there as well (when salt tested read about 3% low) Now my hygrometer is consistantly reading 60-61%, and the Oasis is reading anywhere from 67-73%, why am I having shuch a hard time with this?... I have taken the Oasis out and put the battery pack on it. I am going to salt test it and the digital hygrometer together. Hope this clears up my RH issues. (think I will retest the Diamond Crown Digital Hygrometer I have in my desktop humi while I am at it... I am getting parranoid now) :poke:
Click to expand...

my coolidor I just set up about two weeks ago....I got two digitals in there that are both dead on 64% and my oasis xl pluss reads 71.6

one of my digitals is new I just got and it comes calibraded from the factory and is guaranteed to be within 3% accurate its a humiGAUGE™

http://www.littlehavanacigars.com/prodd ... d=HY1062LT

whats with these oasis..this sucks
 
maybe the digis you have measure the humidity differently than the oasis. i would lean a little more toward the oasis being correct.
 
I understand this can be a frustrating situation but before you guys get all bent out of shape, call 1-877-627-4798 and ask them if there is a way to tell if you got one of the corrected units with a more accurate hygrometer. I you have one I believe there is an exchange program but if not just average out your hygrometers (if they're digital) and adjust your Oasis accordingly.
 
also if you salt test the hygrometer and it is off and you email the company you go it from basically they will tell you the salt test in innacurate and that there hygrometers are correct and if you want them to check the calibration to mail it in and wait (i have the mini one from them) and i email them because it was off by a few % so now i dont know what to belive i think my oaisis is off by a good 10% and that is off by a few im so confused lol
 
Duke said:
also if you salt test the hygrometer and it is off and you email the company you go it from basically they will tell you the salt test in innacurate and that there hygrometers are correct and if you want them to check the calibration to mail it in and wait (i have the mini one from them) and i email them because it was off by a few % so now i dont know what to belive i think my oaisis is off by a good 10% and that is off by a few im so confused lol
Click to expand...

Actually I was referring to the Oasis. The first release had very poorly calibrated hygrometers that were off I believe as much as 18%.
 
SmokePole said:
I'm no pro, but I think you're huffin' 'em way too much at 1-2 puffs/30sec. I also found I get best results with a smooth, long pull than a short fierce puff.
Click to expand...
I agree. Long, smooth, slow puffs also helps from overheating the cigar relative to fast full draws, IMO.

I puff about once per minute or longer. I want to give my cigar a chance to cool down before the next draw.

Overheating cigars makes it taste bitter, IMO.
 
I try to do the same, though I seem to have a bit of trouble with my cigars going out if I wait more than a minute before puffs. Even at a minute, they tend to only be burning in the center, and I often have to relight the outer wrapper. I guess it is possible I am still not getting them lit correctly, but I always make sure I have a full "cherry" before I take the first draw. AHH, the joys of the apprentice smoker....lol
~S
 
mabey they are going out becuase they are too moist? im no pro but that may be the reason seems logical
 
could be... I HAVE had hygrometer issues in the receint past, as I am sure you all know...lol! And, being into cigars for only a month or so, I have not been able to let too many sit for a proper time before smoking.....I think that patients is overrated anyway! :D
 
OK... this evening while driving, I timed myself with my cigar, and found that 1 puff per minute was about what I have been doing. But I decided that i have been "pulling" too hard on them. This time I took very soft, slow draws, and it made quite a difference in the burn quality of my smoke. Thanks for all of your advice. I will have to keep practicing this...over, and over, and over..... :wink:
~S
 
Tonight when I clipped my Monte White, I cut a little more of the cap then I normally do. I am not sure if this was part of the reason or if it was just the stick itself, but the draw was very nice, and the burn was perfect all the way through. Normally I make an opening roughly 1/2 the size of the ring size, maybe a little more. Tonight I cut more like 3/4 the diameter of the cigar. I know not to cut too much of the cap or it will unravil, but how much SHOULD I cut?
~S
 
I try for roughly 1/16 of an inch to 3/32 of an inch. What that translates to diameter wise of course depends on the cigar. Torpedoes are much more forgiving as you know but say on a 50, about 3/8 of an inch.
 
Taken from the JR Cigar website:
http://jrcigar.com/index.cfm?page=jrcu_cutting


quote-
"If you lay a guillotine cutter down flat on a table, then insert the head of your cigar so that it rests against the table's surface, then clip, you will almost always take off the right amount on almost all cigars. ...

If all you have is one of those cheap giveaway cutters, try cutting your cigar while it is still in its cellophane sleeve. This technique will produce a much cleaner cut, with a dull cutter. Don't do this with a sharp cutter though; the cellophane will actually inhibit a clean cut."
-end quote

I use this method all the time. Works great.
 
Big Paintbrush said:
Taken from the JR Cigar website:
http://jrcigar.com/index.cfm?page=jrcu_cutting


quote-
"If you lay a guillotine cutter down flat on a table, then insert the head of your cigar so that it rests against the table's surface, then clip, you will almost always take off the right amount on almost all cigars. ...

If all you have is one of those cheap giveaway cutters, try cutting your cigar while it is still in its cellophane sleeve. This technique will produce a much cleaner cut, with a dull cutter. Don't do this with a sharp cutter though; the cellophane will actually inhibit a clean cut."
-end quote

I use this method all the time. Works great.
Click to expand...

I have used this method in the past with my Xikar, but I tend to be out and about when I smoke (driving) so can be tough to find a good flat survace. But that is how I first started and have guaged my cuts from thos first ones.
~S
 
Spider66 said:
I have used this method in the past with my Xikar, but I tend to be out and about when I smoke (driving) so can be tough to find a good flat survace. But that is how I first started and have guaged my cuts from thos first ones.
~S
Click to expand...
Cut them before you leave the house.
 
I think that my palat it starting to come around a bit now. I have gone back to revisit some of the cigars that I thought were very spicy in the beginning, and did not get that same sensation the second time around. I think that I was mistaking the smoke attacking/burning my virgin palate and tongue for spicy flavor. I am now getting more....woody/earthy flavors...I have no idea what wood or earth actually taste like, but I consent that this is the only way to discribe these types of flavors.... Now I look forward to being able to detect the more subtle flavors.
~S
 
Spider66:
It's been fun reading this post- good job starting it. Now that you have processed a lot of information, it's time to start applying it properly. I was intriqued by your latest statement that you have never tasted wood or earth. Yes you have.The smell of a fireplace or an open campfire.Leaves burning on a Fall day. The earthy smell of a fresh plowed farm field.The sweet smell of the woods after a rain.
Cigars like wine are to be enjoyed by all our senses.
I have a blind friend who has taught me much.
He claims 75% accuracy that he can smell the color of the shirt one is wearing if it is a solid color. He's been right more that half the time.
He sucks picking winners at the race track but we go to Penn National a lot because he loves the sounds and the food. He smokes an occasional cigar- always outdoors- and immediately follows it up with a Marlboro regular.I smoke & stock mostly Maduros( Padron,Oliva & always trying a few others). He is 95% accurate quessing the brand on the Maduros. I've fooled him on occasion with natural wrappers.
Time to wrap this up. I could go on for hours about Walt. Maybe the next time- a few more Walt stories reference eating out.
Keep up the quest for knowledge Spider66.
If you PM me, I'll tell you what my go with is when smoking cigars- I have never seen my go with posted by anyone.
Nails
 
To say that this has been an intersting thread would be a slight understatement. I too am just learning the flavors, I just wish I could smoke more to get more training. That said, I love reading about other newbies and their storys and issues, every bit of knowledge is a good thing to have.

Lets see if we can make this thread a long one to compete with the PIF thread. Keep it coming newbies, you have nothing to lose but your inhibitions!
 
I am noticing that several of the sticks I have taken out of my humi lately have had cracks in the wrapper in places. The foot does not seem to be swelled at all, and I keep the RH at 65% (+/- 2%). Not all of my cigars are this wey, yet it is a cause for consern to me. Is this inevitable to some degree, or could it just be that I have mishandled some of them? I DO try to be careful with them, and most are still in their cello for added protection.... Any thoughts?
~S
 
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