Humidity and Temp

Lasabar

I know the Rh is affected by temp... but if my humi reads 70Rh at 70Degrees when the temps fluctuate am I okay? Or does the 70%Rh always want to remain constant?

i.e. if the temp is around 75degrees do I want still 70%Rh or can it be higher and it's all a ratio thingie?
Thanks guys!

jaytothen

70/70 is the given standard, but it's not neccessarily the best. Try to keep the temp below 80 degree's max for fear of beetle's. Humidity, IMO, should actually be lower then 70% except for long term storage and aging. Most cigars smoke their best at a lower RH, like 65-66%. It isn't a ratio, but definitely watch the RH more. To low and your sticks will dry out. Too high and you run risk of mold.

j0z3r

70/70 is some sort of an ideal, though really only the temp part of that is what you want. I have found that a lower RH works better for me as far as how my cigars smoke, I like to keep around 65%, perhaps a touch lower depending on the cigar. There are people out there, I've heard them referred to as 70/70 zealots, who will tell you that is the only way to store cigars, and this is simply untrue. While you don't want to go above those numbers due to an increased risk for beetles and mold, lower numbers will not affect your cigars negatively and will probably give you a better result when it comes time to smoke them. Maybe try for 65%/70, or 65/65 even.

I kinda got off on a tangent there, but did I even answer your question?

Lasabar

j0z3r:

70/70 is some sort of an ideal, though really only the temp part of that is what you want. I have found that a lower RH works better for me as far as how my cigars smoke, I like to keep around 65%, perhaps a touch lower depending on the cigar. There are people out there, I've heard them referred to as 70/70 zealots, who will tell you that is the only way to store cigars, and this is simply untrue. While you don't want to go above those numbers due to an increased risk for beetles and mold, lower numbers will not affect your cigars negatively and will probably give you a better result when it comes time to smoke them. Maybe try for 65%/70, or 65/65 even.

I kinda got off on a tangent there, but did I even answer your question?

Maybe I'm not clear here... I don't have central air and can't afford to run the window air conditioner all day, so here's my scenario

Wake up in morning and Humi is at let's say... 67Degrees... Turn off A/C and go to work, come home and Humi is at 75Degrees so I hit the A/C on to bring it down and then repeat.

What I'm saying is that when the temp falls, so does the humidity and when it rises so does the humidity. I FINALLY caught it at 70 Degrees the other day and noticed it was at 62%Rh. What I'm saying is there a chart that shows at what Temp your Rh should be at to keep a steady 65-68%Rh? (i.e. if my temp is at 75Degrees what should the Hygrometer say? If it says 65%Rh then the humi is too dry!)

dutyje

OK.. first the science part:

If you have a perfectly sealed container at 70 degrees and 70% rH, and you move that perfectly sealed container into an environment where the temperature is 60 degrees, you will see the rH increase. The reason for this is that the air has a reduced capacity to hold moisture at its new, lower temperature. So your rH is inversely related to the temperature -- opposite of the direct relationship you have identified.

Now, the non-science part:

Smoke more, think less. Try to keep your temp somewhere between 60 and 75 degrees, if possible. Try to keep your humidity somewhere between 60% and 70%, if possible.

kaspera79

Duty " Smoke more, think less... That is the most intelligent thing I have ever heard regarding RH/ Temp. Dont lose sleep over it, take reasonable care and know that 70/70 is hard to maintain constantly.

kuzi16

kaspera79:

know that 70/70 is hard to maintain constantly.

thats exactly why i dont do it. I keep RH at 65% and the temp is whatever the house is. I try to keep it lower than 80 but thats about it.

Lasabar

kuzi16:

kaspera79:

know that 70/70 is hard to maintain constantly.

thats exactly why i dont do it. I keep RH at 65% and the temp is whatever the house is. I try to keep it lower than 80 but thats about it.

So do I take any solice in the "Relative Humidity"? or is that if it's 60Degrees or 80Degrees it should always be at 67%Rh???

kuzi16

in all reality there is very little temp change in my humidor. "relative humidity" isnt changing all that much for the 4-5 degrees that my humi my fluctuate through the year.
this does bring up a good point though.

...ill get back to you on that.

madurofan

I'll reapeat whatever one said once again. The only reason you worry about temp is bc of beetles and like was stated above fluctuations in temp cause fluctuations in RH. To be perfectly honest with you if your temp AND RH are anywhere between 60 and 75 you are fine and are not going to do any damage. I like my RH in the 69-72 range bc IMHO they burn slower and cooler that way. Sure it causes them to not burn quite as straight and require a few touch ups but I think that is worth the cooler burn.

Now on to your issue with turning your AC on and off. What has been stated about the temp fluctuations causings RH fluctuations is true. I've experienced this myself, we've had 100*+ day here and the AC just flat can't keep up with that so my house ends up being 80* and then at night drops back down to 72 or so, my solution was I bought a wine fridge that maintains 65*. You could try a couple of things, assuming the wine fridge is out of your price range(I picked mine up on craigslist for $60). First try putting your humi in a closet to see if that maintains temp better. If that doesn't work, try buying a cooler big enough to hold your humidor. Place the humidor inside the cooler and keep the cooler closed when the AC is off and open when its on. If that doesn't help buy a couple of those Gel Freezer Pack things and keep it in the cooler with your humi(as far away from the humi as possible, possibly wrap a towel around it so it doesn't get the humi too cold). I said a couple because you are going to need to rotate them fromt he freezer to the cooler.

These are just ideas I was given or thought about when I was dealing with a similar issue.

kuzi16

kuzi16:

ill get back to you on that.

im back

http://www.cigar.com/cs/forums/12800/ShowThread.aspx#12800

dutyje

kuzi16:

kuzi16:

ill get back to you on that.

im back

http://www.cigar.com/cs/forums/12800/ShowThread.aspx#12800

Made clickable.

kuzi16

ill try to remember that HTML code. im just a cook. im no computer guy.

dutyje

Don't worry about it, we got your back

urbino

I see this month's ccom email endorses the 70/70 rule.

Unrelated but also in the email was this, regarding a new 601: "This is the very first cigar Pepin ever produced utilizing the ‘box-pressed’ shape, which creates a rich flavor and leaves a welcomed sweetness in the aftertaste."

Box-pressing affects flavor?

j0z3r

urbino:

I see this month's ccom email endorses the 70/70 rule.

I noticed this myself, and I don't know, my experience thus far, what little of it there is, tells me that 70 degrees at 65% is a better figure to go with. I'd imagine 70/70 for the distinct purpose of long term aging might be ok, but I have had very few cigars smoke well at 70%.

urbino

Yeah, I have to say I'm darn happy with the 66% my main humi stays at. As for temp, I don't think mine have ever gotten down to 70. They stay in the 73-77 range. No problems so far, knock on wood.

dutyje

urbino:

I see this month's ccom email endorses the 70/70 rule.

Unrelated but also in the email was this, regarding a new 601: "This is the very first cigar Pepin ever produced utilizing the ‘box-pressed’ shape, which creates a rich flavor and leaves a welcomed sweetness in the aftertaste."

Box-pressing affects flavor?

Read about the I-Press... they say the same thing about that crazy shape... that's why they did it - because it supposedly changes the flavor

dutyje

I keep my tupperdors right around 70% rH... My humidor represents my "smoking queue" and I have a system for rotating in new sticks (I won't even go into that here)... I give them at least 10 days of rest in the humi before they're considered for smoking. The humidor stays at 65% dead on. I definitely find they smoke a lot better at 65%. When I smoke one, I bring another out of the tupperdor and add it to the rotation. The system is working really well so far, but it is hard to wait the 10 days for some sticks to have gotten sufficient rest in the humi.

Celtic Rider

I've been havin problems with my temp now as well! I've been keepin my humidors in my kitchen in a cabnit, I looked at the temp last night after dinner it was over 80 degrees!!! Ouch! Looked at it this am and it was upper 70s! My rh is still hittin at 65% thanks to the beads! So I moved it to my bed room this am, in that room it stays pretty cool, so I'll see what happens today! If that don't work I'll put them in basement where it's even cooler!