hi humidity cigars
ilikebigbutts-cigarbutts
Posts: 56
in Cigar 101
so i,like many, have problems with keeping the RH in check. it bounces all over the place anywhere from 80 down to 60%. usually im gone a few days from home on weekends and this is when the humidity skyrockets bc the days before i try to adjust the low RH.
so im wondering what do you guys think is the best way to dehumidify a "wet" cigar. 1. a fast way like sticking them in a dry box or 2. slowly try and lower the RH. im thinking a fast approach would maybe dry out the outer surfaces and the middle would stay wet and when checked they would seem ok even tho theres an unbalance. with number2, to me the sticks would dry uniformly and have a better chance of being a more even drying until the proper RH (whatever RH u prefer) is achieved. just random thinking since i can never get my humidor to balance and stay that way for more than 2 days. by way i use just the gel pack things that you dip in water for about 15 seconds in 20 count humidors.
on side note, do you think a fluctuating RH does anything to the flavors of the cigar. for example is it possible that a a cigar thats gone thru lets say 3 big swings of RH that would normally be a mild creamy nutty cigar possibly start to have more spicier muddled flavors. just wondering bc of my problems and seems like each cigar (of same brand lets say 5 vegas golds) always seem to taste different. seems like they taste good rite outta the shipment box but once settled in my humidor and this fluctuating occurs they end up having different tastes (still wrappped in cello by way).
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Comments
And yea, lower RH is better than too high. You're much better off keeping them in the 60's than at 80%
Im not sure where you are ihn your cigar life, but when i first started keeping cigars my humidity was all over the place also. It turns out that i didnt have enough cigars. It may sound funny at first but when y ou think about it, it makes sence. Cigars are hygroscopic and "breathe" water. if you have more cigars in there it will regulate RH because there are more things in the humi that are at your humidity to overcome when there is a change.
...im not sure if that even made sence to me... lemme try again...
if you have a cup of water and you add 3 drops of food coloring you will get a very bright shade. if you add 33 drops of food color to 30 gallons of water the color will be much more washed out.
this is kind of what is happening in the humidor. it takes much more water to change the RH when there are more cigars.
i hope that made sence.
id still witch to the beads.
My theory:
Having a lot of cigars in your humi will reduce the amount of air in the humi. When you open the box, there is subsequently a reduced air exchange. This creates a smaller volume of air which needs to be brought back to the equilibrium. This lower volume of air will also be spreading its effects among a higher volume of cigars, therefore the effect will be diluted. A box with only a few cigars will see larger swings in humidity because of the large volume of air which will be exchanged upon opening.
the air exchange may have something to do with it. however cigars are hygroscopic, but at a rate that is less quickly transfered than in the air. in other words, they hold moisture for a moment. if you have a full humidor at 65% rh and you open it for a moment the recovery time will be faster than an empty humidor because there are more hygroscopic elements in there. (beads, foam, wood, water pillows, boveda packs, humi pacs, a myriad of polymers, and of course cigars are all hygroscopic)
The point about hygroscopic was merely to say that it only implies the substance absorbs or attracts moisture... not that it necessarily relinquishes it. Saying something is hygroscopic really only makes a statement about the transfer of moisture in one direction. And actually, it will transfer that moisture more quickly than air alone.
http://www.geocities.com/osmosismusic/