Having a hard time keeping them lit
First off, I did search for an answer to the question, and didn't find one. 
I have been having trouble lately keeping cigars lit, trouble I haven't had in the first 7 months of smoking. Seems like things will be going fine, but then all of a sudden, between puffs of less than a minute apart, it will go out and need to be relit. Sometimes it happens 3 or 4 times on a stick. This has only been going on for a week or so. I am in Pennsylvania, so it's cold-ish and low humidity now. Also, I just got a digital hygrometer and put it in the 50-count humidor, and the humidity was 50%. I'm not sure how long it has been that low, the analog said >60%. Could the low humidity cause the cigar to go out?? That seems counter-intuitive, but I don't know.
Another aspect could be, I am smoking on an enclosed porch of about 300sf, with a propane heater for warmth, and two windows on opposite sides of the room open an inch or two for some airflow. Could there not be enough O2 in the room to keep the cigar lit? The propane heater burns fine, and I don't get a headache or anything. I would think if there wasn't enough O2 for a cigar to stay lit, I would probably be dead.
Please give me feedback, it's kinda frustrating and not very relaxing to have to relight 3 or 4 times, especially when I didn't have to before.
Todd
Comments
@TRayB
Sounds like the humidity in you humidor. Get the Rh in the 60s.
What humidification system are you using? Could you switch to Bovidas?
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
I just made the switch to Boveda, using two 69% size 60s in the 50-count, and one in the 40-count humidor. The RH is now up to 65%, but only for the past day, so maybe the cigars need some time to catch up.
So, how does low humidity translate into cigars going out quickly?
It’s not necessarily low humidity that correlates to them going out…or high humidity. It’s the inconsistency in humidity. If you know you will be smoking and know what you’ll be smoking try leaving the cigar setting out for a bit in the environment. Allowing the cigar to acclimate to the environment where you’ll be smoking will solve a ton of burn issues. It’s the inconsistency throughout the cigar that causes a lot of them. Let one sit out for awhile in that porch and then give it a try.
I agree with Rusty @Rdp77 here, it's a process called dry boxing and it will help cigars burn better and can prevent problems such as wrapper splits, etc. by acclimating them to the environment your going to smoke them in. I find it doesn't work as well when the humidity is really muggy as the cigars will swell up and get a bit soggy and hard to smoke, but for other times it works great. Some cigars even taste much better after dry boxing.
I'm still a bit puzzled about your cigars going out in low humidity, though. When lighting your cigar, I recommend "toasting" the foot well, which is to say that you move your jet flame lighter around and around in a circle until the foot of the cigar is well toasted before lighting. This should take a full minute or two. Then put the cigar in your mouth and take a puff or two while holding the foot in the flame of the lighter to really get it lit. Remove the lighter and take another few puffs and then turn the cigar around and look at the cherry to make sure that the whole foot of the cigar is lit and glowing. If you missed some spots, this can cause uneven burns and other problems so toast those spots until the cigar is really well lit.
I would also recommend occasionally purging your cigar, which is to say blowing air out from the head to the foot of the cigar to help prevent tar build-up and also keep the cigar tasting and burning well.
One final thought, I can sometimes have a problem keeping my cigar lit around the last third of the cigar and I'll find that the cherry has become very hard and the cigar resistant to relighting. Often this can be due to smoking too fast but sometimes weather plays a part. You can cut the cherry off and relight, but slowing down your pacing should help.
It just struck me as I was doing some more investigation. Propane heaters, especially ventless ones like what I am using, produce a lot of moisture when burning. I burned the heater for most of the day on Christmas Eve, and the brick walls and windows were quite wet after a few hours. Maybe the heater is making the air too damp for good cigar burning.
@Yakster, that's pretty much my routine for lighting, except I now use a single flame torch which I received as a Christmas present, instead of a triple flame torch. It makes it a bit harder to get a good, even toasting and lighting. I also purge very rarely if things seem to get tight.
See my post about the propane heater. Thoughts?
That could be it, squeezing the cigar you should notice it getting spongy or soggy when this happens.
Reflecting on it, the MC Classic last night was pretty spongy. Earlier in winter, when it wasn't quite as cold, I was opening the windows 3-4 inches, but lately, only an inch or less. It's beginning to add up. I will open them further tonight and see if anything changes.
Thanks everyone for the input!
Last night was much better. I smoked an Oliva Serie G Churchill. I opened the windows farther, 4-5" each, and while it stayed cool in the room and I needed a little blankie to stay warm, the cigar did not go out until I was finished. Hopefully that solves the problem. I'll keep testing it.
FWIW, since being more careful with the length of time the propane heater is running and the airflow through the room, I haven't had any cigars (5 total) go out even once.
Good information TRay.
Anyone ever have a stick spit sparks out of the foot like a little bottle rocket? Just about 1/4" burned, and it spit sparks and crackled/sizzled for a few seconds. Maybe a little air pocket?
You probably hit a tobacco beetle or an egg, or a pocket of oil.
Look for tiny holes in the wrapper to see if you got a tobacco beetle problem.
A small piece of stem can do it too. If you find the small holes Chris mentioned you better check the rest of your sticks that are stored in the same container.
Well if it was a beetle, he got what was coming to him! Little b@stard.
I didn't see any other holes in that stick, but I didn't start looking until it was half gone. I'll go check my other sticks now. Hopefully it was a piece of stem.
ETA: I don't see any tiny holes.