Am I OK in storing my cigars like this?

[Outlaw God]

With summer approaching I put my humidors in a quality cooler with 2 blue ice packs periodically
The humidity in the humidors are 65 and interior temps are 70
Seem OK? outside temps in house are 80
Thanks

[kelmac07]

Ice packs? Want to keep your sticks cool?

Get some beads, either Shilala (my preference and shoot CigarNut a PM, he sells them) or Heartfelt...they will keep them constant.

[Outlaw God]

Originally Posted by kelmac07

Ice packs? Want to keep your sticks cool?

Get some beads, either Shilala (my preference and shoot CigarNut a PM, he sells them) or Heartfelt...they will keep them constant.

Thanks, but room temp around 80-85 makes me nervous, I have herd that temps outside have little do do with the controlled RH in the humidors?

[kelmac07]

Originally Posted by Outlaw God

Thanks, but room temp around 80-85 makes me nervous, I have herd that temps outside have little do do with the controlled RH in the humidors?

Trust me...the beads will do ALL the work brother. Now I would tell you to try and store them in a cool place, preferably downstairs versus upstairs...basement/cellar if you have one would be ideal.

[longknocker]

Originally Posted by Outlaw God

Thanks, but room temp around 80-85 makes me nervous, I have herd that temps outside have little do do with the controlled RH in the humidors?

Room Temp For Cigar Storage Should Be 70-75 Max. Beetles Can Hatch In Your Sticks In Temps Above That.

[Outlaw God]

Originally Posted by longknocker

Room Temp For Cigar Storage Should Be 70-75 Max. Beetles Can Hatch In Your Sticks In Temps Above That.

Yea that scares me bad, so maybe the cooler right now as summer approaches will be acceptable. No basement here in Cally
Thanks

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by Outlaw God

Yea that scares me bad, so maybe the cooler right now as summer approaches will be acceptable. No basement here in Cally
Thanks

You'll find that many people use coolers as humidors and for long-term aging. They're inexpensive, hold humidity excellently and have a large capacity; you can store whole boxes. They're also thermally insulated. You'll find threads here on how to set one up, but it's practically effortless. With beads, as mentioned above, they're almost maintenance free. It's what I use.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Outlaw God

Yea that scares me bad, so maybe the cooler right now as summer approaches will be acceptable. No basement here in Cally
Thanks

It takes continuous sustained temps in excess of 70 for a few weeks to hatch beetles. Depending on how low your house and cooler drop at night, this can interrupt the incubation cycle.

Also note that most cigars are treated for beetles & eggs a few times along their way from leaf to finished cigar to your humidor. Most of them receiving a final deep freeze before they go out to the distributors/retailers or even possibly again at some large retailers.

Of course it's possible that eggs could be reintroduced at any point if the cigars are stored in a infested humidor. To be safe you can follow the directions here http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7919 for freezing your own cigars and then you shouldn't have to worry about anything.

BTW, where in CA are you?

[hotreds]

Agree with beads for humidity. However, there is nothing wrong with using ice packs to keep the humi cool. A few days of 80 won't hurt anything, a few weeks might or might not. But, not worth the risk!

[Gabe215]

What Subvet642 said, My room is where I keep my collection and in the summer I set my AC to 75 on Econ, I hope they are OK!!

[CigarNut]

I would be real careful using icepacks. They will cause real big spikes in RH as they melt and change the temperature. You will get lots of moisture from condensation as well. As others have said, short periods of high temperatures are not bad -- after all cigars are shipped in cargo containers from South America so they get lots of heat in transit.

If you are really worried about beetles try freezing your cigars as Andy suggested above.

[Outlaw God]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

I would be real careful using icepacks. They will cause real big spikes in RH as they melt and change the temperature. You will get lots of moisture from condensation as well. As others have said, short periods of high temperatures are not bad -- after all cigars are shipped in cargo containers from South America so they get lots of heat in transit.

If you are really worried about beetles try freezing your cigars as Andy suggested above.

I've never used ice as the OP "blue ice packs" wrapped in a ziplock

[smokin5]

I've done the Blue Ice bit for many years without a problem.
My house can easily exceed 80 degrees in the summer, and
I've never had a problem with beetle menageries or RH spiking.
Put 'em in a Ziploc bag with a towel underneath & life is gooderer.

[kelmac07]

Can't beat gooderer.

[Coach Deg]

The room where my Humi is can reach 80 during the summer. I do not use ice, but I freeze everything that goes in my humi.