Vacum Sealed bags for your boxes... good or bad?

As some of you know some companies ship there boxes in "food saver" like bags.. i was wondering if this would be okay as a long term storage for them- inside a humidor. My problem is beetles, i had to throw away 5-6 boxes and some- in the same shipment are beetle free... 6 months later. theyve been frozen and thawed and refrozen etc but im still scared so these would be the boxes i keep in a vacum sealed bag. I know it locks out humidity but it also locks whats i there... in.

So what do you think should i vacum seal them in bags and stick them in the cabinets or.... consider another option.

thanks for your help! cheers!

[HK3-]

IMO- I would never do this unless I was sure of the humidity inside that bag. From what you are saying they are coming in these bags so you have no idea what the humidity is inside. (too high = mold, beetles, the list goes on)

Now, if you took them out and let them adjust to a paritcular humidity for a few months and then sealed them... that would be a different story.

But, even if you do the process of adjusting and sealing yourself... you would still want to keep them inside something sealed just in case you had a pinhole in one of the bags..... (wouldn't that suck. Wait 15 years to open what you thought was going to be a great smoke and it's nothing but dried up pooh or beetle infested saw dust)

Then you could put a hygro inside the bag when you seal it, but, then the battery would die and you couldn't change it. etc...etc....

Originally Posted by HK3-

Now, if you took them out and let them adjust to a paritcular humidity for a few months and then sealed them... that would be a different story.

I did take them out, inspected them over and over (visualy and tapping for droppings) and then let them humidify in a coolerdor, then i vacum sealed.. 2 of 15 so far (awaiting my fellow freinds opinions and thank you!)

I cant stick a pillow or device in the vacum bag as im sure mold would accumulate. that said, what the H@ll do you guys think?! THis is quite difficult to call. Im hoping the answer is humidity would hold in there! But even being in a humidor, the humidity wouldnt penetrait the bag.... i dont think...

ill be checking back and thanks!!!

[neoflex]

Beetles will eat there way threw the bags so do not think that this will keep them quarantined. I would also be nervous about the ill effects of vac sealing a box but I would think the plastic would be permeable so it may not have any ill effects. Not to sure about that but like I mentioned before, do not think it will keep the beetles contained. By the way are you the same Crazyfool from CS?

Originally Posted by neoflex

Beetles will eat there way threw the bags so do not think that this will keep them quarantined......... By the way are you the same Crazyfool from CS?

Wow i never imagained.... at this point i might as well keep these boxes in a mini coolador to avoid all risk. I dint think of them chewing through the plastic but i makes sense. Hmm okay well that saves me time on the positive!

And yes Im the same Crazyfool from CS! Retired from Superbike racing and spending my time studying Chumski and Che aswell as my music

Glad to find yet another old chum thanks for this eye opener!

[neoflex]

Yeah, seems they can even chew their way out of metal tubos.
Welcome aboard! Glad to see your doing well.

Originally Posted by Crazyfool

know it locks out humidity

No, it does not. The plastic is not completely air tight as I understand.

[DocLogic77]

There have been extensive discussions concerning this method of storage and aging. I think the answer is...it depends. The first question...do you plan to smoke these in the next 5 years? If so, I would probably not seal or keep them sealed. Vacuum sealing slows the aging process tremendously. This is a good thing if you are looking to age your sticks for 10+ years. The aging has been noted as being more refined....getting more out of the aging process. Oxygen speeds up the aging process and leaves a less refined aging process but the sticks do indeed age faster...and they do get better with time.

As for doing so for the reason of beetles. Unless the sticks have been known to be infested I would not seal JUST for beetle reasons. I would instead concentrate on keeping your humidor at the correct temp and humidity. Letting your humidity creep up past 70% and specifically 75% will allow the eggs to hatch. Lower your temp...lower your humidity...it will keep the beetles away and it will also slow the aging process down.

I personally vacuum seal the boxes I plan on leaving untouched for 10+ years. Everything else is unsealed. I keep my temp at about 67 degrees F and my humidity between 62-65% (my collection in 95%+ CC).

I hope some of this helps.