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Problems with sticks splitting!!
Hey guys,
I'm having some problems with a couple of the different cigars I have in my humi, Gurkha Doble Maduro and the 5 Vegas A (Apotheosis size). They keep splitting when I try to smoke them!! Sometimes with the Gurkha it splits even before I try to light it!
None of the other sticks that I have in my humi do this when I light them. I've calibrated my hygros and everything is fine with my Rh, it hovers right at at 66%, +/- 2% depending on the temp. I've tried setting them outside the humi for up to 6 or 7 hours when i'm planning on smoking them too, and that doesn't seem to help.
Does anyone have a suggestion to fix this? It's starting to drive me nuts!!
I'm having some problems with a couple of the different cigars I have in my humi, Gurkha Doble Maduro and the 5 Vegas A (Apotheosis size). They keep splitting when I try to smoke them!! Sometimes with the Gurkha it splits even before I try to light it!
None of the other sticks that I have in my humi do this when I light them. I've calibrated my hygros and everything is fine with my Rh, it hovers right at at 66%, +/- 2% depending on the temp. I've tried setting them outside the humi for up to 6 or 7 hours when i'm planning on smoking them too, and that doesn't seem to help.
Does anyone have a suggestion to fix this? It's starting to drive me nuts!!
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If it makes any difference, I had a 5 Vegas A in a smaller ring gauge in my humi for a pretty good while and that one didn't have any problems. And no, they burn slow.
If anyone has any other suggestions as well, please don't hesitate to post them. I really like both of the sticks that I'm having problems with, I'll be very depressed if I can't figure this out ;_;
I might do this if the salt test and dollar bill test with the humi come up inconclusive, I can think of quite a few BOTL who'd help a brother out, especially if it meant some sticks!! Haha
if the draw is difficult as well you may have OVER humidified cigars on your hands.
The draw can be a little on the firm side at times with the A and Gurka, as well as a few other ones, but not at a level that would suggest overhumidification, and halfway through it starts to loosen up anyways. There are actually a few smokes in the same humi that have a super-LOOSE draw, namely my Camacho 1962 torps, so I'm doubtful that this is the issue in this case...
It is possible that they could be underhumidified and they are splitting because the ambient Rh is higher than what's in my humidor... it had been raining outside and the ground was damp when I smoked the A last night, so the Rh could have been fairly elevated. Is there any way to rule that out? Say, smoking in a dehumidified environment?
the camacho 1962 torps all seem to have a lose draw. I have never had one where it was firm.
The Walmart was +2 after the salt tests, which I knew about before.
I dialed in the Humi-Care, and it's spot-on now (wasn't using this one before).
Also adjusted my analog hygro after it had equalized with the room Rh to compensate for the difference shown during the salt test. So it's spot on too.
Before all that, the Walmart digital hygro ranged between 63-71%, which isn't all that bad considering the wild temp changes here recently. Assuming it was +2 at the time, we can say that Rh was between 61% and 69%. The analog showed the same range everytime I opened the humi.
After a slight recharge of the beads I'm using and a night and a day in the humi for both the Walmart and Humicare, they both read dead-on 65%. Just recently put the analog back in, so i'll wait a few hours and check it's progress and report back...
I still don't think that 61% Rh is low enough to create that many problems, unless these particular sticks need a slightly elavated Rh to smoke well? Anyone care to comment?
I'm going to hang out at my B&M today and smoke a couple, I will post again afterwards.
Also, when I checked my hygros this morning, my analog showed 68%, the Walmart digital showed 65%, and the humicare showed 62%. They are all in different areas of my humi, and fairly far from each other. Why so much variation between the three? Do I need to reseason my humidor? The two digitals are in the bottom and the analog is in the top. Should I put some beads under the tray as well, and would that help to even out the range a little bit?
Went to my B&M today and had an Ashton churchill from their humidor and it split a little after the half-way, so I'm thinking that kuzi might just have something here.
Nope, no fan. Honestly, I don't think i could fit a fan in my humi, it's only a 100 count, and I can't think of any fan that would fit in there. The two culprits of the notorious splitting are in opposite ends of the bottom of the humi though, unless the bottom is completely closed of from the top with the tray insert...