Humidity or Temperature

BigDaddy

I've got a question for you guys. What's MOST important, humidity or temperature?

the reason I asked... I came home today and the a/c was not on all day. The room where my humidor is was at 77 degrees but the humidity was at 67%.  Now you see why I am asking. 

Usaf06

67 rh is good. 77 degrees is high.

0patience

Humidity first, temp second.
Too much humidity warm or cold is no good.
It's a whole lot easier to cool down your humi than it is to correct the RH, in my opinion. Moving it to a closet may solve the temp problem in 15 minutes, but RH is a lot more difficult and once your cigars are too moist, it takes quite some time and work to get them back where they need to be.

In fact, my humi I do not keep track of the temp.
It's not likely warmer than my room I keep it in.

Just my opinion.

oops, just saw the 77 degrees.
Yes, you want to correct that. Do you have a closet that is cool?
Or someplace that will cool it?

Remember if you put it near A/C that the humidity will drop like a rock.

BigDaddy

Uh. Yes I know that. But you didn't answer the question. 

Usaf06

BigDaddy said:

Uh. Yes I know that. But you didn't answer the question. 

They are both important in their own way. Cigars stored at high temps are susceptible to beetles. And the rh should be self explanatory 

jlmarta

Below 70 degrees beetles don't move around looking for mates. I try (not always successfully) to keep mine at 70 or less. 

I prefer my RH at 65% but I don't mind if it drops to 62%. 

miller65rod

Heed the words of the swami's. 77 is way to high and as Usaf06 says they are both important especially for people living in warm/humid climates.

Was 77 the room temp or the humi temp? Doubt they are the same. If the humi was 77 degrees you need to correct that for sure. A closet can solve this or the coolest area in the house as OPatience said. 

I worry more about mold more than beetles and at that temp over a period of time you are gonna have a wasted inventory at some point.  

I will say this though and I am sure every humidor is different etc. 

I have experimented with this in various ways. Temp affects humidity at least in my trials. I started out at around 65 degrees and my humidity stayed in the 60% range. That is fine for some cigars I would imagine but I prefer 65%. I slowly started creeping it up till I found my sweet spot. 68-69.5 degrees keeps my humidity right at 65%.. My rule is 65% and 68 temp. My humidity only drops when my fans kick in. Once they shut off right back to 65%. I also air my humi out once a month for about 15 minutes. I use 65% beads and kitty litter. I mist them about once every 2 months if needed and lately it has not been needed. I am running a 4000ct humi as well. I struggled at first getting everything correct but with some patience it paid off. Took me about a week to get it correct before I started adding singles and then I slowly added boxes over time and walla, storage heaven for me. I do have A/C and heat in it though so it really helps simplify things. 

Back to the beetle scares, I am going to sit some sticks out in my garage soon while it is in the 90's, I wanna see if these beetles actually hatch since most manufacturers freeze their cigars. I have no idea, never had them nor do I want them. I am gonna find out though, The cigars used will be some that have been damaged beyond repair. I will document it and post pics if the critters start hatching and chewing away at them. I am gonna say nothing happens. Just a guess so we shall see. 

Usaf06

Only two I know for sure that freeze are viaje and AJ. I know the my Father factory does not so any tat or crowned heads made there are susceptible. I have personally seen two different LAtelier sticks with beetles. I no longer worry about my own stash because I freeze everything in the mail. And I have two winecooler I use for temp control 

BigDaddy

0patience said:

Humidity first, temp second.
Too much humidity warm or cold is no good.
It's a whole lot easier to cool down your humi than it is to correct the RH, in my opinion. Moving it to a closet may solve the temp problem in 15 minutes, but RH is a lot more difficult and once your cigars are too moist, it takes quite some time and work to get them back where they need to be.

In fact, my humi I do not keep track of the temp.
It's not likely warmer than my room I keep it in.

Just my opinion.

oops, just saw the 77 degrees.
Yes, you want to correct that. Do you have a closet that is cool?
Or someplace that will cool it?

Remember if you put it near A/C that the humidity will drop like a rock.

Now that's the one I'm looking for. Thanks @Opatience
My bedroom closet gets warm during the day when no ones home. Which isn't too often. I better find another place. 

peter4jc

You can also drop a freeze-pack into a ziplock and place in your humidor, assuming you have room.

miller65rod

I am gonna try a Diesel first and see what happens.  Good info Usaf06. Only an experiment to see what happens. 

Now back to my humi. Here are some pics of my humi and temp. I also included a pic of what my thermostat is set at in the house. Yeah that is correct 80 f'n degrees. My wife is trying to kill me, but I am about to rectify that issue.

 65% and 69 on one side and 66% 70.5 on the other. The A/C will kick on at 71 and  in a short time both the humidity and temp will be back at 65% and 68.5 degrees. This works for me and probably the best investment I ever made for my cigars.

Crappy pics but thats the best I got for now.

BigDaddy

Usaf06 said:

Only two I know for sure that freeze are viaje and AJ. I know the my Father factory does not so any tat or crowned heads made there are susceptible. I have personally seen two different LAtelier sticks with beetles. I no longer worry about my own stash because I freeze everything in the mail. And I have two winecooler I use for temp control 

I like the winecooler idea. I can't always keep my Houston Texas house at 70 degrees all day. My electric bill would be $1000 a month. 

Usaf06

miller65rod said:

I am gonna try a Diesel first and see what happens.  Good info Usaf06. Only an experiment to see what happens. 

Now back to my humi. Here are some pics of my humi and temp. I also included a pic of what my thermostat is set at in the house. Yeah that is correct 80 f'n degrees. My wife is trying to kill me, but I am about to rectify that issue.

 65% and 69 on one side and 66% 70.5 on the other. The A/C will kick on at 71 and  in a short time both the humidity and temp will be back at 65% and 68.5 degrees. This works for me and probably the best investment I ever made for my cigars.

Crappy pics but thats the best I got for now.

Diesel is AJ so you shouldn't get any beetles

miller65rod

Yeap and we shall see if the thought process works. I will try another one as well other than the ones you mentioned. 

dirtdude

you  guys are the reason I hang out here, the house is 80° in the summertime so I went with the wineador that controls the temps, maybe should start freezing all incoming but havent seen a need to with temp control

miller65rod

At 1205am EST I dropped a Diesel and Pinar del Rio in ziplock baggies and set them in the garage. Current temp is 88 in the garage. Gonna find out if these lil critters come to life or not. 

BigDaddy

miller65rod said:

I am gonna try a Diesel first and see what happens.  Good info Usaf06. Only an experiment to see what happens. 

Now back to my humi. Here are some pics of my humi and temp. I also included a pic of what my thermostat is set at in the house. Yeah that is correct 80 f'n degrees. My wife is trying to kill me, but I am about to rectify that issue.

 65% and 69 on one side and 66% 70.5 on the other. The A/C will kick on at 71 and  in a short time both the humidity and temp will be back at 65% and 68.5 degrees. This works for me and probably the best investment I ever made for my cigars.

Crappy pics but thats the best I got for now.

Miller65rod,
No way you live in tx. At 80 degrees in Houston you would die!  Lol. 

CAcigarguy007

Humidity for sure! My 65% Boveda packs keep things regulated no matter how high the temps get and being in CA they can get high. Will be high all week in fact. I've never had a problem with cigars that were kept above 70 degrees. Humidity, steady humidity, seems to be the key. In my experience anyway. My humidor gets up to the 90's on the worst days in summer but generally in 70's-80's all summer long and smokes are GTG and the Bovedas keep the humidity swings within 5% no matter what temps (high/low). 

CAcigarguy007

On a side note, I don't freeze. Ever. Have only had two issues long ago and it was with a Graycliff (notorious at the time) and another that I got as a trade/bomb. It was limited to two individual cigars and it was many years ago. Never had any other problems whatsoever. Seems like a hassle, potential to damage cigars, potential to introduce water (and subsequently mold) ect. I think it's unnecessary (IMO) and a home freezer is certainly not what I would use if I were to consider doing it.  

Yakster

peter4jc said:

You can also drop a freeze-pack into a ziplock and place in your humidor, assuming you have room.

May have to try this, I'm fighting a losing battle with temps, but keeping the humidity at ~ 65% so I think I'm ok for Mold but at risk for critters.

I was looking at winedoors in Santa Cruz on Craigslist a while ago, about $50, may have to go that route.  Maybe for my Birthday.

Lee.mcglynn

Humidity and temp go hand in hand! A ton of companies freeze by the way...even habanos sa freezes. Temp swings are bad in anyway...but if high temps go lower RH. 

KCW

BigDaddy said:

I've got a question for you guys. What's MOST important, humidity or temperature?

the reason I asked... I came home today and the a/c was not on all day. The room where my humidor is was at 77 degrees but the humidity was at 67%.  Now you see why I am asking. 

There is nothing wrong with 77 / 67%. Thats about the upper end for both reading for me personally but, most of South America is like that. That said, Humidity first, Temp a close second as RH% is effected by Temp. Simply, the warmer the air the more moisture it can hold.

miller65rod

BigDaddy said:

Miller65rod,
No way you live in tx. At 80 degrees in Houston you would die!  Lol. 

Nope I live in Indiana. But I lived in Florida 7 years prior and the stat was set at 80. 100% Humidity almost every day in the Summer. I lived more outdoors than in and in Florida that says a lot. My screened in porch had 2 ceiling fans which made life somewhat less miserable. 

onestrangeone

BigDaddy said:

Usaf06 said:

Only two I know for sure that freeze are viaje and AJ. I know the my Father factory does not so any tat or crowned heads made there are susceptible. I have personally seen two different LAtelier sticks with beetles. I no longer worry about my own stash because I freeze everything in the mail. And I have two winecooler I use for temp control 

I like the winecooler idea. I can't always keep my Houston Texas house at 70 degrees all day. My electric bill would be $1000 a month. 

Yep, I agree with @BigDaddy, I keep the house at 75 I have one wineador that I keep at 68rh and 6 f. the rest of my humi's are 60 - 65rh. I do freeze everything! I have had some sticks arrive with holes so yeah into the freezer 0 F. for 96 hrs.I've been doing this for the last four years and have not had any sticks damaged.

The only exception I make to the freeze rule is if I get a cigar from a brother that Is already 4 -5 years old, I figure if nothing has hatched in that time frame the odds are they won't.    

BigDaddy

miller65rod said:

BigDaddy said:

Miller65rod,
No way you live in tx. At 80 degrees in Houston you would die!  Lol. 

Nope I live in Indiana. But I lived in Florida 7 years prior and the stat was set at 80. 100% Humidity almost every day in the Summer. I lived more outdoors than in and in Florida that says a lot. My screened in porch had 2 ceiling fans which made life somewhat less miserable. 

What part of Indiana?  I was born in Marion. Home of the state champion Marion Giants!!  

miller65rod

BigDaddy said:

miller65rod said:

BigDaddy said:

Miller65rod,
No way you live in tx. At 80 degrees in Houston you would die!  Lol. 

Nope I live in Indiana. But I lived in Florida 7 years prior and the stat was set at 80. 100% Humidity almost every day in the Summer. I lived more outdoors than in and in Florida that says a lot. My screened in porch had 2 ceiling fans which made life somewhat less miserable. 

What part of Indiana?  I was born in Marion. Home of the state champion Marion Giants!!  

Grew up in Indy, then Brownsburg and now I live in Camby. High School hoops are still legendary here. The old format though made it really tough for the smaller schools, but the movie Hoosiers would have never existed if they used the class system they have now back then. After I graduated we won back to back state titles in football. Basketball was tough back then. 

Guitarded

A question for the BOTL who freeze cigars.
@onestrangeone said 96 hours in the freezer. Have you ever had one "blow up"? 
I would think all that moisture in a cigar would expand and pop the wrapper. 
If one or two pop it would still be better than beetles having a feast in a humidor though. TY

90+_Irishman

I don't think freezing is a bad idea and depending on your situation and where they are coming from it may be really smart. That being said my personal belief is that it's personal taste. Been doing this 5 years now, never once frozen a cigar and never once had a single beetle knock on wood. For the same reason that I don't freeze coffee I choose not to freeze cigars, I just gotta believe it's a bit hard on the vegetation and this it potentially could strip out some of the essential oils that make the cigar so great in the first place. Once again though, just my personal belief and not pushing it on anyone YMMV. 

Brett

Usaf06

If it in anyway negatively affected a cigar the manufacturers wouldn't be doing it. The problem is not all manufacturers do it. And we have seen some brands pay a price for it such as the crowned heads last summer

90+_Irishman

I actually didn't know that Nick, thanks for th education and that definitely is interesting to me. You make a good point sir. 

Brett

Guitarded

I was just wondering if the water (humidity) in a cigar would expand enough to damage the construction. Thanks Nick.