I've had my new tupperdor set up for almost 2 weeks. I seasoned the cedar trays by lightly wiping them with distilled water and setting a Boveda 84% pack in it for just about a week then added 2 Boveda 65% packs. The digital hygrometer was calibrated with the Boveda calibration kit and the RH has been reading 63-64% with some sticks in it. I added about 5 sticks yesterday and changed the Boveda packs for 2 69%. I did have it open a few times over the past couple of days but the RH is reading 60%. Is it normal for the RH to drop that much when adding sticks and is it best to maybe add just a few at a time to give the packs a chance to stabilize the RH? I have a bunch of cigars coming and I want to know how best to add them. Sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks guys.
It all depends on the sticks. If they are under-humidified they could pull down your humidity. I have heard it takes four times as long to humidify a dry stick than it did to dry it out. You could have the build-up of opening the humidor a few times and new sticks. Add 2 or 2 more Boveda packs. More packs inside will help the humidor recover faster. Boveda won't let you over humidify
I agree with Watchman. Your humidity will fluctuate with new cigars, opening/closing, even the temperature in the room.
If you have multiple trays, I'm assuming you have a decent sized Tupperware, 2 Boveda may not be enough to keep up. I think on their website they suggest 1 for every 25 cigars and at least one for the humidor, in your case at least one for the trays. In my opinion you can't have too many, they won't over humidify as Watchman stated and will last longer if there are more.
And keep asking the questions, we all had the same questions when we started out and we're all still learning.
Thanks guys. I have about 2 dozen sticks coming. Is it best to add them a few at a time? I do have a small desktop humidor I can hold them in.
Honestly all I do when I get an order is let them sit on my desk until they cool down/get to the room temp while I enter them into my online humidor here. Then I squeeze them all into my humidor.
Cigars are very resilient. By the time they reach you, they've already trucked across central America, sat in a shipping container for a couple weeks, back into a truck, maybe a warehouse before finally reaching the cigar shop. Most of that trip is made with only the natural humidity, they only get into a humidor once they get to the shop.
Couple days, or a couple % RH isn't going to ruin anything. You don't want to keep them in low or high rh really long term, but a few days or a week isn't going to wreck anything.
QuoteChefjohn - 7/19/2018 10:18 AM
Thanks guys. I have about 2 dozen sticks coming. Is it best to add them a few at a time? I do have a small desktop humidor I can hold them in.
I would still add them all at the same time. Just up the Bovedas as suggested to compensate. Plus even if it drops temporarily, it will recover fairly quickly and certainly not be enough to cause any damage to the sticks.
Quoteninfiction - 7/19/2018 9:05 AM
And keep asking the questions, we all had the same questions when we started out and we're all still learning.
Ain't that the truth!
If you like Boveda, i suggest you subscribe to their YouTube Channel. They have some great stuff on humidification and a monthly video podcast. They do a good job of creating new stuff to watch.
Thanks for all the input guys. I kind of feel like a mother hen watching over her chicks. As Brian pointed out cigars endure some less than optimum conditions in shipping and hold up ok. Oh the anxiety of a newbie. Anyway I've upped the Boveda packs to 4. Also the room the tupperdor is in tends to be cooler than the rest of the house so I've moved it to another room to see what impact that has.
Boveda now has large 320 gram paks which are AWESOME.
Also dependent on the room humidity opening the tupperdor will do a pretty healthy air exchange so don't sweat a few degree swing.
my personal preference would be RH 60 than RH 70...
Remember, RH changes with temperature. Just try to remember the point of humidification and what we want try to avoid, namely, beetles and mold. Both foes become an issue at the upper end of the spectrum. I'd suggest leaving your cigars in the cooler part of the house and see how things smoke at 69 RH. Most of us prefer 65 or 62, which is safer for mold, but ultimately you'll have to be the judge.
The RH is slowly climbing. I think it may have bee a combination of the tupperdor being opened quite a bit, the addition of more sticks, and the cedar trays sitting out of the tupperdor while I was organizing the sticks.
The first couple years I obsessed about the RH in my humidors. I would check multiple times every day and if I thought it was too high or too low I would change things to try to fix it.
Now, even though I have about 5 hygrometers, I typically won't even look at them when I'm grabbing a stick. I'll check once or twice a week and as long as I'm between 60-70% I don't even question it.
I'm not saying that'll work for everyone, but it works for me.
Quoteninfiction - 7/20/2018 10:09 AM
The first couple years I obsessed about the RH in my humidors. I would check multiple times every day and if I thought it was too high or too low I would change things to try to fix it.
Now, even though I have about 5 hygrometers, I typically won't even look at them when I'm grabbing a stick. I'll check once or twice a week and as long as I'm between 60-70% I don't even question it.
I'm not saying that'll work for everyone, but it works for me.
I think thats sound advice and a good approach Brian. There are far more important things to obsess over, like what smoke do I want to try next.
Like many have mentioned the RH can take swings depending on a number of variables
Opening and closing the Humi and the seal of the humi itself
Where the humi sits in your house, the room RH can be influenced by weather and things like if your AC is running
if your concern is adding new sticks to an existing humidor already having sticks in it I would suggest taking the new sticks, put them in a sealing type bag with your preferred RH level bovida for about a week or two, that will adjust the RH of the new sticks and should keep the RH of the humi more constant.
Also many of us freeze any cigars that come in for about a week to kill any possible beetles, but that generally is not a major concern, more a precaution
QuoteCfickter - 7/20/2018 11:18 AM
Like many have mentioned the RH can take swings depending on a number of variables
Opening and closing the Humi and the seal of the humi itself
Where the humi sits in your house, the room RH can be influenced by weather and things like if your AC is running
if your concern is adding new sticks to an existing humidor already having sticks in it I would suggest taking the new sticks, put them in a sealing type bag with your preferred RH level bovida for about a week or two, that will adjust the RH of the new sticks and should keep the RH of the humi more constant.
Also many of us freeze any cigars that come in for about a week to kill any possible beetles, but that generally is not a major concern, more a precaution
I haven't heard about freezing new sticks. Thanks for that info. I like the sound of putting the new sticks ina bag with the preferred Boveda. I have a small desktop humidor that is at 64-65% and holds it pretty well. I may try setting them in there for a week or two. I appreciate the input Chuck.
QuoteCfickter - 7/20/2018 11:18 AM
Like many have mentioned the RH can take swings depending on a number of variables
Opening and closing the Humi and the seal of the humi itself
Where the humi sits in your house, the room RH can be influenced by weather and things like if your AC is running
if your concern is adding new sticks to an existing humidor already having sticks in it I would suggest taking the new sticks, put them in a sealing type bag with your preferred RH level bovida for about a week or two, that will adjust the RH of the new sticks and should keep the RH of the humi more constant.
Also many of us freeze any cigars that come in for about a week to kill any possible beetles, but that generally is not a major concern, more a precaution
I read some about freezing the sticks and a lot of the articles recommend setting them in the fridge after the freezer so as not to subject them to shock. Is that what you guys do?
if someone mentioned it i didn't see it. i find small or desktop type humidors swing very hard with little things like just opening them up for a bit. the larger ones (that have enough sticks in them) absorb the bump without a hitch.
Quotetoby2 - 7/20/2018 12:01 PM
if someone mentioned it i didn't see it. i find small or desktop type humidors swing very hard with little things like just opening them up for a bit. the larger ones (that have enough sticks in them) absorb the bump without a hitch.
I heard the same thing about them Toby and this one hold the RH pretty well. Of course I don't open it more than is necessary but I have 2 Boveda 65% in there and it holds right at 64%. I'm really curious about the freezing new stick that Chuck mentioned. My wife tends t like the house warmer and it may be a good practice for me to use.
QuoteChefjohn - 7/20/2018 10:59 AM
I read some about freezing the sticks and a lot of the articles recommend setting them in the fridge after the freezer so as not to subject them to shock. Is that what you guys do?
24 hours in the fridge, followed by a few days in the freezer, then another day in the fridge is pretty typical I think.
Quoteninfiction - 7/20/2018 2:06 PM
QuoteChefjohn - 7/20/2018 10:59 AM
I read some about freezing the sticks and a lot of the articles recommend setting them in the fridge after the freezer so as not to subject them to shock. Is that what you guys do?
24 hours in the fridge, followed by a few days in the freezer, then another day in the fridge is pretty typical I think.
Yeah that's what I'm seeing from the articles I'm reading. Some bypass the 24 in the fridge before the freezer but the majority seem to favor lowering the temp gradually so as not to put any undue stress on the wrapper. I'd rathe err on the side of caution.
John, have you read this? http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=44
Quotewescat - 7/20/2018 2:50 PM
John, have you read this? http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=44
I have now. Excellent info Kevin. Thanks.
QuoteChefjohn - 7/20/2018 4:57 PM
Quotewescat - 7/20/2018 2:50 PM
John, have you read this? http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=44
I have now. Excellent info Kevin. Thanks.
When freezing cigars to kill Lasioderma serricorne, time to 100% mortality is a function of temp. Acclimated larvae are the hardest to kill.
Acclimated Larval (acclimated at 15 Celsius for 3 months to determine acclimation impact if any)
-20 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1 hr
-15 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 6 hr
-10 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 24 hr
-5 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 504 hr
0 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1176 hr
5 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1680 hr
That data is supposedly from a white paper published by the "Leaf Tobacco Research Center, Japan Tobacco Inc.", referenced here: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7919
Quotewescat - 7/20/2018 3:04 PM
QuoteChefjohn - 7/20/2018 4:57 PM
Quotewescat - 7/20/2018 2:50 PM
John, have you read this? http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=44
I have now. Excellent info Kevin. Thanks.
When freezing cigars to kill Lasioderma serricorne, time to 100% mortality is a function of temp. Acclimated larvae are the hardest to kill.
Acclimated Larval (acclimated at 15 Celsius for 3 months to determine acclimation impact if any)
-20 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1 hr
-15 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 6 hr
-10 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 24 hr
-5 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 504 hr
0 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1176 hr
5 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1680 hr
That data is supposedly from a white paper published by the "Leaf Tobacco Research Center, Japan Tobacco Inc.", referenced here: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7919
I ran across that earlier. Pretty interesting.