Uneven burn issues in San Francisco

[4theLoveofCedar]

Just got into cigars at the beginning of this year and now I'm totally obsessed. I've had consistent uneven burn issues with almost all of my cigars, even though I am using 65% Heartfelt beads, take care to light my cigars evenly with a soft flame, and smoke cigars that usually get good construction reviews, like Tatuajes. I recently realized that because of the fog, the humidity here is off the charts, like 80% and above most of the time. As a result, it seems like my issue is keeping my cigars dry enough, and I've recently started blow drying my humidity beads to dry them out so they can soak up more humidity. I'm hoping this will help with my uneven burn issues. I started drying out the beads a couple of weeks ago and haven't noticed any improvement yet. I'm hoping it just needs more time to even out the humidity in the cigars. Wondering if anyone else is having these uneven burn issues smoking outdoors in high humidity regions. Am I just always going to have uneven burn issues or if I can keep my cigars dry enough, will they start to burn better despite the ambient humidity? Any other thoughts on this?

[mahtofire14]

Welcome to the site! I'd be surprised if you really need to physically "dry out" your beads. I use the same kind, 65%, here in MN, also high humidity and I don't seem to have any problems. If you are smoking outside, wind can have a big impact on an even burn, and also sometimes you just get some cigars where the construction is just a bit off. Doesn't mean it's a bad cigar, sometimes it just happens. Keep an eye on your humidity, maybe keep it dryer than normal. There are guys much wiser than myself on here as well and they may chime in as well. Also, go over to New Inmate Processing thread and introduce yourself so everyone can help your further and maybe get to know you.

[Porch Dweller]

My last few years have been spent in high humidity and high heat areas, Louisiana and now Mississippi. When the humidity gets way up there I usually find myself having to touch up the burn on my smokes. They don't really burn unevenly, it's just that taking them from 65% humidity to 85%+, the wrapper starts absorbing some of that moisture in the air and that slows the burn. So I have to make a choice: smoke faster, thus keeping it burning well while at the same time degrading the quality of the smoke, or occasional hits with the torch to keep the wrapper going the way it should. I choose the latter.

This is the precise reason I've told my wife that in our retirement home I'll have a room inside the house in which I can smoke.

[AdamJoshua]

Humidity aside, soft flame is ok, but I think you'll find most people use a torch style lighter, also makes toasting the foot much quicker and easier, easier to get an even toast to it, don't know if that has anything to do with your problems because tons of people use a "soft" flame but worth a looky loo.

Torches also make it easier to correct the burn, imo.

[4theLoveofCedar]

mahtofire14 and Porch Dweller - thanks for your thoughts.

Porch Dweller - You pretty well summed up my problem. It seems to be the wrapper that doesn't burn straight and requires semi-regular touch ups. Like you say, I can keep it burning straight if I puff harder and faster, but then the cigar does not taste nearly as well. I'm with you on the indoor cigar room. It's a dream of mine...

[montecristo#2]

Interesting, I do not recall having any issues myself unless I tried to smoke at Ocean Beach. I used to live on 28th and Judah. While the humidity is high outside, I never seemed to have an issue keeping my humidor in the 65-68% range.

I do know that I hardly ever recharged my beads. lol

What is the humidity in your humidor? Are you using a calibrated digital hygrometer or an analog one? Would be interesting to see the humidity inside your humidor.

Have you tried dry boxing your cigars for a day or two before smoking? I would try a dry box or cab to see if that helps.

I am also a pretty fast smoker and do not mind touching up my cigars, so maybe I just never noticed it.

Head over to the New Inmate Processing Area and post up an introduction. That way people can get to know you a little better. There are 10-20 guys all over the Bay Area that get together quite frequently.

Good luck!

[4theLoveofCedar]

Montecristo #2 - thanks for the info. If you're not having any issues, it must be something I'm doing, and likely has to do with the humidor, as I have reason to believe my cigars were overhumidified (some of them seemed a little too spongy). Hopefully drying out the beads will help - I don't think I will have to do this regularly but I was keeping them more than 2/3 clear and in some cases, almost all clear, and needed to dry them out a bit initially to remove some of that humidity (hair dryer works perfectly for this, BTW). Time will tell. I'm hoping in a couple more weeks the cigars will have stabilized at the lower humidity. I'm only guessing that this was the problem as I never bought a hygrometer. I do have one on the way from Amazon now, so it'll be interesting to see what it reads.

It could also just be the puffing rate, as I tend to smoke slowly.

I just posted an intro in the New Members area and am looking forward to meeting some of you. Good to know there's a local crew.

[Weelok]

Welcome 4theLoveofCedar. I find that what can be helpful is rotating the cigar as you smoke like follows:
1. On the draw, put the side not burning well, e.g. longer side, on the bottom. As you draw, heat moves up and pulls across the longer wrapper.
2. After the draw, rotate the longer side up so that the heat as it rises has an opportunity to heat it up
3. Do burn corrections as necessary

See if that helps a bit. I don't fret over corrections and dislike tunneling more then canoeing.

[4theLoveofCedar]

Ill give that a try. I've been just leaving the longer side at the bottom.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by 4theLoveofCedar

Montecristo #2 - thanks for the info. If you're not having any issues, it must be something I'm doing, and likely has to do with the humidor, as I have reason to believe my cigars were overhumidified (some of them seemed a little too spongy). Hopefully drying out the beads will help - I don't think I will have to do this regularly but I was keeping them more than 2/3 clear and in some cases, almost all clear, and needed to dry them out a bit initially to remove some of that humidity (hair dryer works perfectly for this, BTW). Time will tell. I'm hoping in a couple more weeks the cigars will have stabilized at the lower humidity. I'm only guessing that this was the problem as I never bought a hygrometer. I do have one on the way from Amazon now, so it'll be interesting to see what it reads.

It could also just be the puffing rate, as I tend to smoke slowly.

I just posted an intro in the New Members area and am looking forward to meeting some of you. Good to know there's a local crew.

It has been a couple of years since I lived in the city, so my memory could be playing tricks on me.

I would do a couple of things.

1. Make sure you calibrate your hygrometer once it arrives. If you bought an analog, return it and buy a digital.

2. Check the humidity inside your humidor and in your room.

3. If the room is in the 50's and you think your cigars are over humidified (humidor is reading too high), just remove the beads from your humidor for a couple of days and see what the humidity reads.

4. If it reads in range, wait a couple of days and try a cigar to see if that improves the burn.

When I lived in the city, I almost never added water to my beads. They were 80% dry. I am now in the East Bay, pretty close to the water. My house is around 45% and I store my cigars at 63-65%. I literally have not added water to my beads in over a year (it has probably been two years).

[4theLoveofCedar]

Good to know. I suspect I will not be adding any water to mine for a long time either. And I'm going to try to keep them around 80% dry as you do. I think that should help.

The hygrometer is got is digital. Will be interesting to see what the humidor/room readings are like. The hygrometer has a max/min function so I'll find out the range of humidity in my place.