How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by Blak Smyth

Do I understand the OP correctly?
At 32 degrees it would take 1176 hours to ensure beetles of all stages are killed?

"0 degrees C Time to 100% mortality 1176 hr"

Yes, that is correct. However a typical home fridge can get colder than that.

[Blak Smyth]

Originally Posted by wayner123

Yes, that is correct. However a typical home fridge can get colder than that.

Even at 23 degrees it would take 504 hours?
That is a lot longer than I thought, I have some in the freezer now, guees I will leave them in longer than planned.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by Blak Smyth

Even at 23 degrees it would take 504 hours?
That is a lot longer than I thought, I have some in the freezer now, guees I will leave them in longer than planned.

Does your freezer keep ice cream well? If so, then it's certainly colder than 32F. Get yourself a reliable thermometer and see just how cold it is. My home freezer is around 0F. It swings up and down but that's about average. At that temp it takes only 12 hours.

Thanks guys. My freezer is new and it maintains -2* so I should be good to go.

[jesseboston81]

After the freezing process is done, do you need to put a box into the humidor in any special way? For example, after freezing I used to put all my boxes in with their lids cracked for a couple weeks to let the cigars balance out, but now room is tight and I'm not able to do that anymore. Is it going to be a problem to put a full dress box in there with the lid closed? Will the cigars still be able to balance out?

[massphatness]

You shouldn't have to crack the lids on any boxes once they go back into the humidor. Just to reiterate from the OP though, it's wise to go from freezer to fridge in order to bring the temp up slowly THEN go to the humi. I follow this practice religiously, and it has given me great peace of mind.

[jesseboston81]

Originally Posted by massphatness

You shouldn't have to crack the lids on any boxes once they go back into the humidor. Just to reiterate from the OP though, it's wise to go from freezer to fridge in order to bring the temp up slowly THEN go to the humi. I follow this practice religiously, and it has given me great peace of mind.

I wasn't clear enough, but that's what I meant by the "freezing process." This box has already gone fridge (24 hours) -> freezer (3 days) -> fridge (24 hours) -> room temp (12 hours). Now that that's all done I was wondering about cracking the lid upon placing the box in the humidor, so thanks for being able to answer my actual question despite my unclear explanation!

[MrClean]

I got a nice sample box from AVO with 7 sticks in it. Can I just freeze the sticks or should I just put the whole box in the freezer? I do plan on putting them back in the box and in the humi after the freeze cycle.

[14holestogie]

Box and all brother. Don't overthink it.

[MrClean]

Originally Posted by 14holestogie

Box and all brother. Don't overthink it.

Thanks Tim, I do that sometimes

[jesseboston81]

Originally Posted by MrClean

I got a nice sample box from AVO with 7 sticks in it. Can I just freeze the sticks or should I just put the whole box in the freezer? I do plan on putting them back in the box and in the humi after the freeze cycle.

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.

[ApexAZ]

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.

[WittyUserName]

Originally Posted by ApexAZ

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.

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

[shilala]

Originally Posted by ApexAZ

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.

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.

[md4958]

Originally Posted by shilala

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.

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.

[ApexAZ]

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!

[MrClean]

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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[md4958]

Originally Posted by MrClean

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.
Posted via Mobile Device

Good advice if youre ever in Singapore also!!

[Sonic04GT]

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)

[Sonic04GT]

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.