Home Cigar 101

How much of a drop is normal?

JZerbyJZerby Posts: 122
So I've just set up my new humi. My hygrometer is calibrated. And I've added my cigars. The humidity dropped, as expected, but it is now sitting at 64%. Is this normal? If so, how long will it be before it starts to go back up? It was at 72% when I put the sticks in. Also, I have 75% Boveda packs in currently as those were just what I happened to have on hand at the time being, if this helps. my other question is whether or not this low of humidity is okay if, for some reason, it stays that way. If not, what can I do to bring it up? Or will the higher boveda packs bring it up on their own eventually?

Comments

  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    that is a normal drop. always wait at least 24 hours before saying its an actual drop. recovery time in a humidor is longer than most want to believe especially if the humidor is not even 50% full.
  • RhamlinRhamlin Posts: 9,010 ✭✭✭✭✭
    64 is not bad anyway. It's better than 72. IMO anyway.
  • Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    not to thread jack but for long term aging 70/70 is the way to go. of course, dipping into your aging humidor is a bit more difficult when you do that.

    That may not be a bad thing.
  • kuzi16:
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    not to thread jack but for long term aging 70/70 is the way to go. of course, dipping into your aging humidor is a bit more difficult when you do that.

    That may not be a bad thing.
    I maybe changin my philosophynow bth my humis are stuffed to the brim due to the rape I endured today. Gonna be awhile before I even dip into my aging stock
  • JZerbyJZerby Posts: 122
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    Will they stay fresh at that humidity level over an extended period of time or do I risk them drying out? Cuz I don't want that at all, obviously.

    And I guess along with that is this question: if it stays low, and I just wanna get the humidity up to like 67ish, is there a way to safely do that without having to take all my cigars out of the humi?
  • jgibvjgibv Posts: 9,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    JZerby:
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    Will they stay fresh at that humidity level over an extended period of time or do I risk them drying out? Cuz I don't want that at all, obviously.
    I don't think it will "hurt" them, but I don't think you'll get the same flavors and aging results if they're at the lower RH....maybe Kuzi or someone more knowledgeable can chime in and elaborate, but that's what (I think) I understand about aging.
    JZerby:
    And I guess along with that is this question: if it stays low, and I just wanna get the humidity up to like 67ish, is there a way to safely do that without having to take all my cigars out of the humi?
    EDIT: I would highly recommend that you do not remove your cigars, because once they acclimate to the climate of the humidor they will become the main source of "humidification". If you remove them you're only going to dry things out further....

    So if it stays low for more than 1.5-2 weeks then I would suggest
    1)recalibrating the hygrometer, 2) replacing your Boveda packs with brand new ones, 3)and if that doesn't work then maybe try adding additional humidity sources (like gel or beads)

    * I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *

  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    64 is fine, no hurt at all and I actually like my grab humi between 63-65. You can always add a shotglass of water if you want to bring it up a bit, or add more devices. I wouldn't worry much, going from 72-64 when you add smokes is normal. Start worrying if you drop below 60
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    not to thread jack but for long term aging 70/70 is the way to go. of course, dipping into your aging humidor is a bit more difficult when you do that.

    That may not be a bad thing.
    I'm with Kuzi here 67% is waaay too low for aging, you need it above 70%. I know a lot of guys here say 70 but 72 - 75% is actually the traditional range for aging cigars. HOWEVER, truth be told we worry about this as consumers WAAAAY more than the industry folks do. I've had more than one tell me, ehh somewhere between 60 - 75% is fine.
  • BigT06BigT06 Posts: 3,899
    I keep connies at 72 hr for aging, everything else I age stays at 68-70, and my main storage I keep at 65% (64-67% typically). Never had any issues, and fluctuation is normal when adding/removing large quantities or when the unit is open for a long period of time. Dont sweat it unless it stays 10% outside of what you are comfortable with for a long period of time.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    madurofan:
    kuzi16:
    aeon_spiral@yahoo.com:
    Depending on the gar 62-64% is exactlyy where you want it to get gthe best possible smoke IMO. Now for aging I keep them at 67% and I don't waiver on that. 67%.
    not to thread jack but for long term aging 70/70 is the way to go. of course, dipping into your aging humidor is a bit more difficult when you do that.

    That may not be a bad thing.
    I'm with Kuzi here 67% is waaay too low for aging, you need it above 70%. I know a lot of guys here say 70 but 72 - 75% is actually the traditional range for aging cigars. HOWEVER, truth be told we worry about this as consumers WAAAAY more than the industry folks do. I've had more than one tell me, ehh somewhere between 60 - 75% is fine.
    this comment is very very true.

    cigars are way less fragile than most consumers think. they hold up fairly well.

    humi drops from 70% - 65%
    ok. whatever.
    there is not biggie there.
    dorps to 62? no prob.
    60?
    sure, why not.
    55?
    then you should get a little bit worried, but still not freak out. just ad some distilled to the humidification device. all is right witht he world again.

  • JZerbyJZerby Posts: 122
    catfishbluezz:
    64 is fine, no hurt at all and I actually like my grab humi between 63-65. You can always add a shotglass of water if you want to bring it up a bit, or add more devices. I wouldn't worry much, going from 72-64 when you add smokes is normal. Start worrying if you drop below 60
    If I added a shotglass of water, would I take it out when the humi got to an RH that I was comfortable with? I'm not sure I'm going to, just wondering.
Sign In or Register to comment.