Questions on humidity...

[gomeitsmybday]

Hey everyone,

Okay so this is still my first year in actually maintaining a...well, at this point, a *few* humidors. It has been an incredibly rewarding process as opposed to past years when I would simply buy out of a B&M store.
While the weather was still warm outside, I had finally zeroed in the humidity in all my humidors...it was a moment of true happiness & pride for me, and I can only assume it’s akin to the feeling a proud father gets for his kid.
However, recently I have had a drop in one particular humidor. (Problem child)
I have since commensed in an attempt to compensate this drop and herein lies some of my questions.
If a humidor has accidentally reached high humidity levels (78+) how long does it take for the cigars to be negatively affected? I do keep a watchful eye and check every morning and afternoon, but there has been at least a few hours that my sticks have been subjected to this heinous form of brutality.
I have made it a point to check this frequently because last summer I had a truly awful experience where I lost power & air conditioning and for about 24 hours and one smaller humidor sat at somewhere around 78-80 both temperature and relative humidity. There was a box’s worth of Guardian of the Farm sticks in it and to this day, I could SWEAR they were ruined, as ever since they simply don’t taste as wonderful as they used to. (Extremely peppery and harsh.)
I have read numerous articles & sources stating that flavors are affected and oils are lost when a cigar is under humidified but from what I’ve seen, none state the same thing about over-humidificafion. So my 2nd question is just that, have any of you noticed that your cigars have been negatively affected this way by over-humidification? I’ve read about the inherent risks of splitting, beetles & mold but I’m specifically wondering about taste. I have since kept those Guardian of the Farm’s at 68-70 relative humidity for a few months and they still taste like harsh pepper bombs. or maybe it was just the temperature that was responsible?
Please let me know any and all thoughts, experiences or recommendations any of you have, and I very much appreciate you taking the time to read my long winded post!

[CigarNut]

Usually, it takes more than a day for humidity changes to affect cigars. Sometimes it takes weeks. It depends on the cigars and the magnitude of the changes.

Overall cigars are pretty resilient — think about it: they could spend weeks or more sitting in (hot or cold) containers while being shipped and processed through Customs.

If you have not already done so, I would re-season the problem humidor (or all your humidors). As humidors dry out, the joints loosen up and the could become leaky. Seasoning causes the joints to tighten up. Don’t be stingy, season it thoroughly, until the empty humidor holds a steady RH for at least 24 hours; preferably 48 hours.

Just my

[SurfnSafari]

CigarNut pretty much answered the question. Re-seasoning Humidor is a great idea. One Boveda 84% per each 25 cigar of capacity will do the job. So if you humidor is a 125 - 150 capacity (6) Packs. Put in humidor, shut top do not play peek a boo, let alone for 14 days. It completed.

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by SurfnSafari

CigarNut pretty much answered the question. Re-seasoning Humidor is a great idea. One Boveda 84% per each 25 cigar of capacity will do the job. So if you humidor is a 125 - 150 capacity (6) Packs. Put in humidor, shut top do not play peek a boo, let alone for 14 days. It completed.

or you can dampen a clean (new) sponge with distilled water and put it on a plate in the humidor, shut it and check it in a couple days to see if you need to re-dampen the sponge, just don't check it constantly, you can also use a shot glass full of distilled water, the sponge just works better due to surface area, same reason cigar beads work so well, it's alllll about surface area.

[markem]

I have one humidor that leaks a little, even after reseasoning. I have a fair bit of cigarnut's humidification beads in the humidor to buffer the humidity and I have a small cup of distilled water in the humidor to compensate for the leak. The beads keep the cigars from being over humidified and the distilled water keeps the wood at about 65%, which is where I like my cigars to be.

Checking on your cigars frequently when you do not have an active humidification system may result in wide variations, especially when the humidity in the room is relatively far from that in the humidor. Whenever possible, avoid opening the humidor so that it has a chance to stabilize.

I think that there is a thread in the accessories forum about finding and fixing leaks, but I don't recall exactly where it is.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

or you can dampen a clean (new) sponge with distilled water and put it on a plate in the humidor, shut it and check it in a couple days to see if you need to re-dampen the sponge, just don't check it constantly, you can also use a shot glass full of distilled water, the sponge just works better due to surface area, same reason cigar beads work so well, it's alllll about surface area.

If I put some chopped lettuce in there it will have even more surface area.






#!winning.

[gomeitsmybday]

Okay this is all great stuff guys, thanks for the input!! Looking like the general consensus is to reseason then...I should be able to make this work with some juggling...for the record I’ve been using beads, the green foam stuff that came with humidors and a combination of both at times...will be stopping out at the store to pick up sponges later today!
As far as the guardians of the farms, I suppose I’ll continue trying different humidity levels to see if that helps...really hoping it isn’t a matter of consistency on Casa Fernandez’s end :/

[SurfnSafari]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

or you can dampen a clean (new) sponge with distilled water and put it on a plate in the humidor, shut it and check it in a couple days to see if you need to re-dampen the sponge, just don't check it constantly, you can also use a shot glass full of distilled water, the sponge just works better due to surface area, same reason cigar beads work so well, it's alllll about surface area.

I use a clean cool whip container, fill 3/4 up with clean DW. Put on paper plate inside humidor, leave for two weeks, at 14th day I check, if all the water went to wood, I repete process 7 days. When in a week there is water in the cool whip container, I am ready to go.

Seasoning is done.

[dvickery]

A little off topic yet ... could be pertinent

It has been my experience over the years

That when humidity is changing (outside of cigar is at higher humidity than center or outside of cigar drier than the center)

Is when cigars will “explode” ... wrapper cracks swelling and generally cigars go to sh!t while smoking .

Try to be patient/gentle when changing humidity

Derrek

[gomeitsmybday]

Actually dvickery, that is perfectly on topic, particularly because that could be exactly what happened to my guardians...
While none of my Guardians have cracked or split, they certainly have gone guano while smoking...i actually wondered if maybe they just didn’t age well, but I’ve only had them for about a year! And I mean, cmon it’s a quality Nicaraguan Puro afterall...
Oh and for an update, I moved everything out of problem child humidor and have two rectangular Tupperware containers doing their thing in there...I know someone suggested like 2 weeks to reseason? I was thinking it should be okay in 3-4 days but if you can provide information (even if just anecdotal) as to why it is better to leave them in there, I’ll give it a try!
Oh, and on the topic of peek a boo, I admit, I’m TERRIBLE about that...ever since I had the high humidity/temp scare ifnlast summer, my OCD kicked in and i find myself checking more than I probably should...which got me thinking, you know what would be cool? If someone made (preferably cheap) WiFi hygrometers and created a simple, no frills app that would connect to them so you could always easily monitor your RH without having to always open your humidors or, hell, even be at home!!
However I can’t imagine I am the first person to think of this...and in the event I am, does anyone want to start a company with me? 😄

[bonjing]

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP-...A39VTLCPMNRL3Z

Here you go

[CigarNut]

I like these...

https://www.amazon.com/SensorPush-Wi...nsorpush&psc=1

[Weelok]

I’ve a glass door so my wireless humidity sensor is:

[gomeitsmybday]

Haha Weelock, yeah I’m lucky enough to have a hygrometer mounted on the outside of one of my humidors, which is cool...it is fairly accurate too but still analog.
And thanks CigarNut & bonjing, for those links, Im checking them out now & will be definitely ordering something along those lines!

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by gomeitsmybday

Haha Weelock, yeah I’m lucky enough to have a hygrometer mounted on the outside of one of my humidors, which is cool...it is fairly accurate too but still analog.
And thanks CigarNut & bonjing, for those links, Im checking them out now & will be definitely ordering something along those lines!

Make sure that you seal around the hygrometer — those mounted hygrometers are often a source of leaks. You can use food-grade or aquarium silicone sealant (let it dry well to get rid of the stink).

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by gomeitsmybday

While none of my Guardians have cracked or split, they certainly have gone guano while smoking...i actually wondered if maybe they just didn’t age well, but I’ve only had them for about a year! And I mean, cmon it’s a quality Nicaraguan Puro afterall...

I don't have a lot of experience with Guardian of the Farm. But, I can tell you that the Casa Fernandez cigars tend to have pretty brittle wrappers. Taste great but sometimes will have some wrapper problems while burning.

[gomeitsmybday]

Thanks CigarNut, I didn’t even think to do that! And I went ahead and pulled the trigger on that remote/Bluetooth hygrometer you suggested, a little pricey but worth it for the peace of mind imo...
And yeah Wharf Rat I have to say, Casa Fernandez/Aganorsa Leaf make some of my absolute favorite cigars (casa fernandez Miami Reserva is a real knockout in particular, has the medio tiempo leaf & tastes like delicious spicy peanut butter!)
So yeah, please no one hesitate to check out Guardian of the Farm or any of their other offerings, their cigars are amazing as long as don’t screw them up like me ��

[gomeitsmybday]

Update - the sensor push hygrometer arrived last night! I’ve got it in a sealed bag with DW & salt to calibrate it and I have to say, MAN is it a cool little contraption!! The app has cool graphs that allow you to chart your temp/rh over time...
AND! (This part is killer, get this-) The app even lets you set parameters to where you can get alerts/push notifications if the temp and/or RH rises or drops below your preferences! @CigarNut thanks again for the awesome recommendation!
Also have good news to report, problem child humidor is now a well mannered, affable humidor, holding steady @ 70% RH! You guys were right on the money...definitely making a mental note to reseason any time I start getting wide fluctuations like that again! Many thanks to everyone who helped out in this thread!!