humidors in florida

AFJumper03

I just moved to florida, from eastern washington state, a big move in all respects. I went from struggling to keep my humidors nice and humid in the very dry mountain climate, to now trying to get the humidity DOWN and the temp down. I can't really afford to keep my A/C in the whole house at 70 degrees all day and I don't have a wall unit or anything in one room. Even without any humidification products in my humidor, the humidity is usually around 76-77%. BI assume this will get better in the winter, but until then any ideas?
Any central Florida residents out there already fight this battle?
Thanks!

kingjk729

try and find the coolest location in your home during the day withou having the AC on ..... maybe in inside wall closet or the basement if you have one and or even just a location out of the light with a fan on it during the day ....... as for the humidity what are you using for humidification ????? i live in Buffalo and we had a 2 week heat spell with wicked high humidity and i own a poured slab(no basement) home .... during those two weeks i found the closet closed on the floor to be no warmer than 68 degrees even though the house with windows open and fans blazin was 78 ...... i dont yet have the luxury of central air yet ...... i will its just a bigger investment since i have radiant baseboard heating....... Just my two cents though

AFJumper03

Ya florida humidity is a little level than anywhere else. I was using just a small disc humidifier in washington (I have a small humidor) and it was more than enough, but here I don't need anything and I can't keep it down! This is like THE most humid place in america though...

4bob4

Heartfelt humidity beads. GA is about the same as FL when it comes to humidity. The beads do a great job of sucking humidity out of the humidor. Try not to check you humi too often either. The instructions for the beads state that you can dry them with a hair dryer or in the oven if they fill with water. HTH.

kuzi16

4bob4:

Heartfelt humidity beads. GA is about the same as FL when it comes to humidity. The beads do a great job of sucking humidity out of the humidor. Try not to check you humi too often either. The instructions for the beads state that you can dry them with a hair dryer or in the oven if they fill with water. HTH.

sound advice right there.


i also recommend a thermoelectric wine cooler (like a vino temp) to keep the temp down. the seal is good on those things. just throw a few cigar boxes or buy some spanish cedar trays and put them in there with the beads and you have a good humidor for the deep south.

TatuajeVI

4bob4:

Heartfelt humidity beads. GA is about the same as FL when it comes to humidity. The beads do a great job of sucking humidity out of the humidor. Try not to check you humi too often either. The instructions for the beads state that you can dry them with a hair dryer or in the oven if they fill with water. HTH.

+1 for the beads. Should do the trick for the humidity.

AFJumper03

Thanks for all the advice guys, sorry it took me awhile to respond back. I'll try the beads for sure, but how about my tempurature problems? Short of running the A/C in my house at 70 degrees all day, am I out of luck? I don't have a basement and I keep my thermostat on about 78 when I'm not home and about 74 when I am home, and my utility bills are already more than I would like. How bad will it be for my sticks if I let the temp stay that high as long as I pay attention to humidity?

Lasabar

Really the high temp is to just keep the Beatles out (even though Abby Road was pretty good)

If you are worried about them just FREEZE all your cigars and any new ones

Freeze them for two days, move them to the fridge for another two days and then put them back in your Humi (all while in some sort of airtight container of COURSE!)
Then all the beatle larvae are dead and you won't have to worry about them hatching, then you can have higher temps...

Just watch your humidity for that is what can produce mold, and that's bad!

AFJumper03

So I just put the cigars in a tuperware container with no humidity devices what-so-ever in the freezer and fridge? That won't cause any cracking? How long should I leave them back in my humi before I smoke em?

Lasabar

No humdification device and airtight and you are good! Some have said they have smoked a cigar right out of the freezer, so the time frame would be as long as you can STAND!

gaberox

Living in Tampa I have the same problem my tupperdor stays right at 68-70 rh but the temp is always 75-79 no matter what. Shouldnt be a problem to much longer though as we are entering perfect cigar weather here. The summer was a nightmare as the heat and humidity caused me horrible burn problems with tunneling all summer except in the morning. Its cooling off a bit and my sticks have been smoking awesome perfect the last 2 weeks. Guess Ive been lucky to not have been hit with bugs. Knock on wood.

AFJumper03

well I'm trying the freezer method, I'll let you know how I like it! I live in Tampa too, the weather may make it hard to keep cigars here, but man are there are lot of great cigar stores. Whats your fav?

gaberox

I love the Tampa Humidor less than a mile from my house and great prices on singles. As far as my favorite place to smoke is the King Corona in Ybor. I just love it there but its very expensive though they have a great beer selection if your into craft beer. St.Bernardus ABT 12 always on tap. One of the best beers in the world. I also love just walking around Ybor watching people roll cigars and just checking out all the shops. Im going to be a little bummed when I move.

AFJumper03

Ok well I tried the freezer method and maybe its in my head, but I smoked my first frozen, defrosted, rehumidor-ed cigar last night and it seems a little bland. I smoked a cigar I've had numerous times before so I'd know what to expect. Am I imagining things? Has anyone else reported this?

ScottU

Where were you at in eastern wa?

Lasabar

AFJumper03:

Ok well I tried the freezer method and maybe its in my head, but I smoked my first frozen, defrosted, rehumidor-ed cigar last night and it seems a little bland. I smoked a cigar I've had numerous times before so I'd know what to expect. Am I imagining things? Has anyone else reported this?

It's in your head... if the cigar is more bland then it's the cigar... IF you freeze Hot Sauce it does not become less hot, or you freeze ice cream it does not become less sweet.

Only if you had them in your freezer for YEARS and they got freezer burn (i.e. the moisture left the cigars, than they would taste different...


It's the whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing... if you believe it, then you will taste it

AFJumper03

Spokane, why?

JZ

Lasabar:

AFJumper03:

Ok well I tried the freezer method and maybe its in my head, but I smoked my first frozen, defrosted, rehumidor-ed cigar last night and it seems a little bland. I smoked a cigar I've had numerous times before so I'd know what to expect. Am I imagining things? Has anyone else reported this?

It's in your head... if the cigar is more bland then it's the cigar... IF you freeze Hot Sauce it does not become less hot, or you freeze ice cream it does not become less sweet.

Only if you had them in your freezer for YEARS and they got freezer burn (i.e. the moisture left the cigars, than they would taste different...


It's the whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing... if you believe it, then you will taste it

When I first read the freezer method suggestion I gringed! Everything I've ever been told is that it is very bad to freeze. However, trying not to be stubborn I decided to research it. What I found is that if you do in fact freeze them then you need to put them in the coldest part of the refrigerator or they could burst if put straight to 70 degree air. One thing to consider is that no matter how long you freeze them for, they will not age. I guess your never to old to learn new things!

ScottU

Just curious, I'm 90 min south of spokane...

AFJumper03

Well I just pulled another 10 cigars out of the fridge and they are warming up in the humi now, I'll smoke one later tonight, and hopefully it will be terrific and everything was in my head. I bought that Gurka sampler and I am definitely a fan.

KingT23

Any other tips for keeping temp down?? Gville Florida here and humidity is not an issue but temp is like 75-80 and don’t want to ruin these bad boys.

Rdp77

Stick them in the fridge. That’s what they did back in 2009

Bob_Luken

@KingT23 said:
Any other tips for keeping temp down?? Gville Florida here and humidity is not an issue but temp is like 75-80 and don’t want to ruin these bad boys.

How many are you currently storing and where and in what? Details please.

KingT23

In a mantello humidor (https://a.co/d/5df4DRK) and using humidor beads for humidity which is not an issue. Had it in livingroom then dark closet now trying 3rd room with a fan blowing on it. And currently have about 10-15 sticks

KingT23

@Bob_Luken said:

@KingT23 said:
Any other tips for keeping temp down?? Gville Florida here and humidity is not an issue but temp is like 75-80 and don’t want to ruin these bad boys.

How many are you currently storing and where and in what? Details please.

In a mantello humidor (https://a.co/d/5df4DRK) and using humidor beads for humidity which is not an issue. Had it in livingroom then dark closet now trying 3rd room with a fan blowing on it. And currently have about 10-15 sticks

KingT23

@Rdp77 said:
Stick them in the fridge. That’s what they did back in 2009

Hahaha. Figured there had to be some scientific advances in the field of cigar storage in the past almost 15 years

ShawnOL

Put them in a ziploc with a 65% boveda.

Amos_Umwhat

My question is: you're in Florida, and don't plan on running an air conditioner?

Yakster

You want to keep the temp down to prevent mold and hatching of tobacco beetles.

You can prevent hatching of tobacco beetles by freezing the cigars in a Ziploc bag when you receive them for a week, and then putting them in the fridge to slowly warm up for a week or two, but most of the time you don't need to worry about this. I swagged the times, someone else may have more accurate timeframes.

As for mold, the risk of mold happens when your rH is above 70%, it might be wise to use Bovedas or beads to keep the humidity down around 65% to minimize the risk. You'll have to dry them out once they saturate, but it should be sustainable.

I know someone in Reno who doesn't control the temps in the house with no issues, but the rH there is much lower.

Diver43

Living in Miami and now the Panhandle I have found your indoor temps will not be much of an issue, sealed storage with Boveda packs will keep your cigars just fine. Tupperware/airtight containers with Boveda packs are your friend.

Bob_Luken

@KingT23 said:

@Bob_Luken said:

@KingT23 said:
Any other tips for keeping temp down?? Gville Florida here and humidity is not an issue but temp is like 75-80 and don’t want to ruin these bad boys.

How many are you currently storing and where and in what? Details please.

In a mantello humidor (https://a.co/d/5df4DRK) and using humidor beads for humidity which is not an issue. Had it in livingroom then dark closet now trying 3rd room with a fan blowing on it. And currently have about 10-15 sticks

Thanks for the update. I'm gonna say,... don't worry until you have a problem. Like Chris mentioned above, higher than ideal temperatures are not bad for your tobacco in the short term but would accelerate the speed at which tobacco beetle eggs would hatch if they are present in your cigars already. Most likely they are not present in your cigars. Mold is another concern, but if you can lower your humidity into the low 60s range that might help even out the equation. Moving your cigars into an airtight container might also help if your humidor will not cooperate with your humidity plan. Hope this helps. Ask additional questions if you have any. And welcome to the forum.