Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I got a box once with beetle holes in the box itself; now I freeze all boxes and other packaging materials (cedar sheets, wrapping papers, etc.) just in case.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Why the vacuum sealed bag? What is the purpose of that? Would a gallon ziplock suffice? I have a vacuum sealer, but the bags aren't exactly cheap.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Freezer bags work, boxes work. I have been told to not over think it. I just take my pictures for the NC thread and toss them in the deep freeze however they came to me :tu

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

A ziplock would work fine.
The point is to protect the cigars from drying out, which the freezer will do a spectacular job of. The bag will protect the cigars from being dried out at all, which is what you want.
Compared to a $150-$250 box of cigars, or a humi full of beetles, a vaccum sealer bag is dirt cheap.

If you want to save on the vacuum bag material, use a big, long sheet to start with. I'm talking 2-3 feet. Once you use it, you just snip off the end and only lose an inch or two of material each time you use it. You can use that same bag literally dozens of times. When it gets too short for boxes, it can be used for loose cigars, all the way down to where there's only a few inches left.
Mind ya, if you vac-seal loose cigars, don't suck the bags real tight. It mashes them. Take my word for it, been there, done that. :D

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Nice tips Scottie.

Wrapping a box in a couple layers of Saran Wrap will work in a jiff too. I just cris-cross the wrap layers so there is no seam.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Thanks. I think I will just use freezer rated zip locks. A long vacuum seal bag wouldn't be bad either. I'm not sure if it would be wide enough. I guess it probably would. Either way, I think I'm sold on the freezing thing. It's hot in AZ and my house is regularly 78 degrees during the summer months. Thanks for the good info!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

My vacuum sealer will smash the loose sticks so I just double bag them and try to get out as much air as possible, it has worked well for me so far.
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Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Good advice if youre ever in Singapore also!!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Yeah I just double bag the gallon size Zip-locks with the double seal. I have those 2 bags set aside specifically for freezing my cigars. Granted I don't buy boxes so I'm only freezing a max of like 15 at a time. Usually 10 or less.

The straw method didn't work well for me so I just put my lips up to the small opening and suck away. (That's what she said)

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Also, since I don't believe I ever posted in this thread, thanks to OP for the write-up. Ever since I read this thread a few weeks ago I have been freezing every single cigar. I live in FL and there's only one room in the house that maintains temps less than 75 degrees.

I like the added peace of mind.

Fridge for 12 hours
Freezer for 72 hours
Fridge for 12 hours
Overnight in the bag at room temperature.
Humidor for a couple weeks
Smoke

I used a very basic mercury thermometer which read about -13C. Figured 72hrs should be a safe bet since it only takes 48hrs at -10C.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Following this procedure as I type. Thanks for the great info.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

You'll probably be ok, but something to keep in mind is that home refrigerator/freezers don't hold a constant temp. You might have read -13 at that point, but they can potentially cycle by quite a large range. 10 degrees is not uncommon, and some swing even more. The ideal under those circumstances would be to use a logging thermometer to find out what the highest temperature the freezer gets up to, and then use the recommended length of time for that temperature.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Yeah one of these days I'll get a quality thermometer. To be honest though, I checked the freezer quite a few times throughout the day before I put any cigars in and nearly every time it read -13C. Could have been great timing haha

Even at -10 though, a little room for fluctuation, I still give it another 24hrs.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I opened a new box today to find a crawler of some sort. I don't believe it was a beedle, though. Regardless, to the freezer the box went.

Thanks for all the info and helping me preserve my treats!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

nice catch Zach! I am still smoking sticks I put in the ice box a year after sitting in my cooler and they taste fantastic!!! Sadly, it was my last 601 Blue until my 3 boxes come!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I think I've read enough threads and heard from enough people now with more experience then me, it's time to start freezing. Now to find some room in the fridge/freezer. Perhaps I should time it with the purchase of a new cooler.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Thank you for putting together as I noob I wanted to know what I should look out for, this is great and very informative.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I had a large stash of Maria Mancini pre embargo stogies which got infested with beatles. I wish I would have known about freezing back then.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Thanks for this. You have saved me and many others from loss.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Thanks for the great and helpful info, Its been a long time since I've had any issue, but this surely assists when trouble arrises

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Perfect example of why I freeze.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7371/9...e6e473aa_c.jpg
This is a Festival Mareva, a prized stick for me. Notice the beetle hole. Because I freeze everything upon receipt, I can take comfort in the fact that this happened prior to me receiving the box a few years back. Otherwise, I may be have been looking at more disastrous and expensive situation.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Nice flute

Wondering what people are doing regarding this topic...are people still freezing? I am not.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I would imagine those that see the benefit of freezing are still freezing.
I do and am.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Makes me sad. :(

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Where do people stand on this topic now? I noticed this thread is several years old. Do you still freeze? If so, is it more out of habit now? I'm wondering if the industry has made any improvements the last few years to prevent beetles in their products. I may start freezing myself, if nothing else but for piece of mind.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

man, i need to start freezing.. just so afraid of the wrapper splitting so bad

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I still freeze. With the investment made, it's worth the extra step to make sure none of it gets affected.

I've frozen all my cigars, including LE Tat's that have the thinnest of wrappers, without any issues. Just give them time to acclimate back in the humidor after removing from the freezer. I usually give it 2-3 weeks before I smoke anything I froze.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I am new here I recently went from a seldom smoker to a little more often . I am 100 miles from any decent B & M's so I got a humidor and ordered a few bundles . I googled up about how to take care of the humidor and cigars . I read article about freezing . When I got my bundles each cigar was in a cello and the bundle wrapped in cello . I put the bundles in several large zip locks . with most air squeezed out . I put them in the fridge for 24 hours then into my small cheapi deep freezer in the basement for 72 hours ... probably over kill . then back to the fridge for 24 then in room temp for 12hr then into the humidor . how dose that sound to you experts ?

Austin

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Perfect

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

COOL NO BUGS FOR ME !

Austin

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Excellent info here, I have several wineadors and after doing all the research I have finally decided to start freezing my sticks. So far wineador #1 is complete, and the second one is in the freezer as I type this. Triple bagging might be overkill, but I don't mind taking the extra time to make sure moisture stays in! Great information on this thread!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I am still freezing OCD helps keep me on track !


Austin

S.E.Nebraska

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I have to admit I never freeze. I also have never seen a beetle hole on one of my cigars. I think it's because my main storage is in the basement where it is always cool all year long. First beetle hole I see and I will become the Freeze Avenger. For now, what the heck.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Has anyone had a stick damaged from freezing too fast. No fridge time?

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Yeah, I'm with you on that!

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Manufacturers along with some distributors and even a few vendors typically utilize blast freezers in this process, which will cool the cigars much faster than a residential freezer and to much lower temps. Additionally, no real refrigerator time is used either; the cigars are just wheeled in, blast frozen, left at temp for a few days, then wheeled out to warm up. Sustaining damage to the cigars via this process is very rare.

On a residential level, I've never bothered with the refrigerator step, I don't feel it's necessary, I just stick them right into a deep freezer (-10F) for a week and I've never had a cigar damaged by skipping the refrigerator steps.:2

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I have mine inspected and nitrogen packed in shipping and I've been okay so far.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Same here. Straight from freezer to cabinet, no issues. I've even smoked a still slightly frozen cigar on occassion and not had any issues.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Good to know. I have always gone from shipped to freezer to cooler.
Thought maybe I've just been lucky.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Reading through this I came up with a question. When you freeze the cigars, do you take them out of the box or keep them in the box?

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

If you plan to freeze the cigars when they first arrive, no need to take them out of the box. If you find beetles after the fact, no issues freezing them out of the box.

However, on the off chance that an egg is sitting free in the box, I'd freeze the box as well.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Thanks! That's exactly what I wanted to know.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Recently I pulled a cedar wrapped cigar out to smoke ,when I removed the cedar wrapper I found a beetle hole that must have happened before I got the cigar ......very glad I froze all of my cigars .


I put a finger over the hole and smoked it . yum

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

I've been thoroughly frightened. I put my meager collection into the freezer this morning. Thanks for all the info in this thread, better safe than sorry.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Update: I put a thermometer in my deep freezer with my cigars today and it has been consistently reading around -5 F~ -20.5 C. So I think they're good. :r

I'll let them warm overnight and stick them in the humi sometime tomorrow. Thanks again. Maybe I'll enjoy one of my low end sticks tomorrow sometime.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Jonathon, I skip the warming step and just put right into the humidor. Never an issue. Heck, I've smoked cigars right out of the freezer.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

great post! very useful info. the aircon in my apartment dries everything out badly.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

After ordering some bundles and boxes on the devil site and getting my shipmemt in today, I remembered that three-four years ago I caught an infestation in my humidor before it became too bad. I specifically remember the cigars, two Pinar Del Rio's from a 5 pack I ordered off Cigarbid. I think that's how I first found this forum when I was searching for answers on what the holes were! Lol.

Mainly I haven't been keeping over 20 cigars on hand the past two years or so and have only been using my small tupperdor. I haven't froze in a while since the small amount I've been keeping on hand I smoke relatively quick.

First thing I did when I got my boxes and bundles in today was take them to the foodsaver and vacuumed sealed them and placed them in the refrigerator. They will go in the freezer later tonight.

This thread will be a timeless thread to help many brothers even years from now. Thanks to the OP for putting it together.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

So, it's been years since this was posted, but I read through every reply. Thank you.

I will begin freezing as my first new orders start trickling in. As for the two lonely cigars sitting at home in the humidor, they will be smoked when I get in from out of town.

Re: How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post
 

Hello

There will be constant discussion around whether or not to freeze your cigars and whether it impacts flavor or not.