Beginner Questions (Ask Them Here!)

[Tio Gato]

I put this question here because this is new for me.

I was reading somewhere a post by a "cigar expert" that "one should expect a tubed cigar to have burn issues". I have never heard of this nor experienced this before.

Anyone has any insight on this idea? Thanks.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Tio Gato

I put this question here because this is new for me.

I was reading somewhere a post by a "cigar expert" that "one should expect a tubed cigar to have burn issues". I have never heard of this nor experienced this before.

Anyone has any insight on this idea? Thanks.

Is the expert smoking Gurkhas? The cognac infused ones in the glass tubes with the wax seals are the only ones that I've consistently heard of burn problems with and it seems to be because the cigars are packed too moist and then sealed up. No air exchange happens at all so the cigar stays overhumidifed until it's opened and smoked. The people who I knew who had the burn issues with the tubed Gurkhas started pulling them out of the tubes a few days early and dryboxing them, once they did that, the burn issues went away, so that definitely points to humidity/moisture.

This is not an exclusive problem and could happen with any cigar, boxed, bundled, loose or tubed.

[Tio Gato]

Thanks Adam, that makes sense. I hadn't considered the glass tubes being so tightly sealed.

[JonnyThunder]

I recently purchased the humidor posted bellow, but I only used distilled water to fill the humidifier, not propylene glycol. The instructions say to use a 50/50 solution of both. I have some propylene glycol on its way by mail. The humidifier isn't over filled, but it is close to it. Would it be a bad idea to wait until the humidifier dries before using propylene glycol on the second fill, or should I be a little more proactive about getting the proylene into the humidifier?



http://www.amazon.com/Mantello-Deskt...ywords=humidor

[JonnyThunder]

Originally Posted by T.G

Is the expert smoking Gurkhas? The cognac infused ones in the glass tubes with the wax seals are the only ones that I've consistently heard of burn problems with and it seems to be because the cigars are packed too moist and then sealed up. No air exchange happens at all so the cigar stays overhumidifed until it's opened and smoked. The people who I knew who had the burn issues with the tubed Gurkhas started pulling them out of the tubes a few days early and dryboxing them, once they did that, the burn issues went away, so that definitely points to humidity/moisture.

This is not an exclusive problem and could happen with any cigar, boxed, bundled, loose or tubed.

So you are saying tubed cigars are okay? My go to cigars at the moment are tubed Ashtons. What are those tubes all about? So far I've found them useful for putting cigars out for saving, if one must be saved. Depriving the cigar of oxygen with the closed tube seems to produce a bit of moisture in it from the heat of the ember. I open it after the cigar goes out to blow the smoke out, then recap for saving. I don't save them for very long though. They usually get smoked the next day. I know cigars aren't generally saved for later after being lit, but this method seems to work relatively well.

I don't have a comfortable setup for smoking cigars. I prefer to smoke only half, sometimes less. This is why I gravitated towards tubed cigars. It contains the cigar quickly, even if it's lit, with no smell.

[icehog3]

I would suggest pitching the humidifer and getting some humidty beads. Member CigarNut sells them and has a link in his signature for purchasing them. They can absorb humidity as well as giving it off, keeping your humidor more stable. There are several threads on the advantages of beads over other forms of humidification.

Not a fan of relighting cigars, but to each his own.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I would suggest pitching the humidifer and getting some humidty beads. Member CigarNut sells them and has a link in his signature for purchasing them. They can absorb humidity as well as giving it off, keeping your humidor more stable. There are several threads on the advantages of beads over other forms of humidification.

Not a fan of relighting cigars, but to each his own.

Agree wholeheartedly on both points.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by JonnyThunder

So you are saying tubed cigars are okay? My go to cigars at the moment are tubed Ashtons. What are those tubes all about? So far I've found them useful for putting cigars out for saving, if one must be saved. Depriving the cigar of oxygen with the closed tube seems to produce a bit of moisture in it from the heat of the ember. I open it after the cigar goes out to blow the smoke out, then recap for saving. I don't save them for very long though. They usually get smoked the next day. I know cigars aren't generally saved for later after being lit, but this method seems to work relatively well.

I don't have a comfortable setup for smoking cigars. I prefer to smoke only half, sometimes less. This is why I gravitated towards tubed cigars. It contains the cigar quickly, even if it's lit, with no smell.

Tubed cigars ok for what? I don't understand what it is that you are asking.

[JonnyThunder]

Originally Posted by T.G

Tubed cigars ok for what? I don't understand what it is that you are asking.

What I mean is, are they generally at a good humidity level? I started rambling a bit.

Those beads sound great. I'll check them out, thanks. What size would you recommend for the humidor I posted above?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by JonnyThunder

What I mean is, are they generally at a good humidity level? I started rambling a bit.

Those beads sound great. I'll check them out, thanks. What size would you recommend for the humidor I posted above?

Anyone's guess really. Generally speaking in my experience, the Gurkha wax sealed tubed cigars are packed moist with the cognac infusion. This might be intentional so that the pre-light aroma hits you hard, but I don't know for certain. "Normal" cigars, in "Typical" tubes can be high or low, or spot on - kind of depends on the day and the cigar batch. In my experience, if you put them in your humidor for a few years with the cap sealed, you are often rewarded with a very delicately aged smoke.

I'm not sure what size your humidor is, but you can put the dimensions in at the vendor website: www.hcmbeads.com it will give you the weight you need. I would recommend oversizing by 50% or so to give yourself extra capacity, better buffering and margin for error. The owner of the company is a member here, he goes by "CigarNut" he can answer any of your questions via PM. Don't tell him I sent you though, I think he might still be upset at me about the time I accidentally ran over and smooshed his pet llama with my taxidermy penguin skateboard.

[JonnyThunder]

Originally Posted by T.G

Anyone's guess really. Generally speaking in my experience, the Gurkha wax sealed tubed cigars are packed moist with the cognac infusion. This might be intentional so that the pre-light aroma hits you hard, but I don't know for certain. "Normal" cigars, in "Typical" tubes can be high or low, or spot on - kind of depends on the day and the cigar batch. In my experience, if you put them in your humidor for a few years with the cap sealed, you are often rewarded with a very delicately aged smoke.

I'm not sure what size your humidor is, but you can put the dimensions in at the vendor website: www.hcmbeads.com it will give you the weight you need. I would recommend oversizing by 50% or so to give yourself extra capacity, better buffering and margin for error. The owner of the company is a member here, he goes by "CigarNut" he can answer any of your questions via PM. Don't tell him I sent you though, I think he might still be upset at me about the time I accidentally ran over and smooshed his pet llama with my taxidermy penguin skateboard.

1 ounce is just about right, thanks. As per the instructions that came with my humidor I've currently got a shot glass of water sitting in it along side the filled humidifier. I was worried I might break the box popping out the hygrometer, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was designed to come out, so I didn't test it. I have a digital one arriving monday. Would it be a bad idea to put my cigars in the humidor now with the shot glasses of water still inside? It's had about 5 days to humidify. The hygrometer has stopped rising at 67 percent. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but it's level. And no worries, I won't say a word.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by JonnyThunder

1 ounce is just about right, thanks. As per the instructions that came with my humidor I've currently got a shot glass of water sitting in it along side the filled humidifier. I was worried I might break the box popping out the hygrometer, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was designed to come out, so I didn't test it. I have a digital one arriving monday. Would it be a bad idea to put my cigars in the humidor now with the shot glasses of water still inside? It's had about 5 days to humidify. The hygrometer has stopped rising at 67 percent. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but it's level. And no worries, I won't say a word.

5 days for one of the small humidors you could probably take the shot glasses out and just put your cigars and beads in. Generally speaking, the built in analog hygrometers that come with inexpensive humidors are typically junk, don't even waste your time with them.

[JonnyThunder]

Originally Posted by T.G

5 days for one of the small humidors you could probably take the shot glasses out and just put your cigars and beads in. Generally speaking, the built in analog hygrometers that come with inexpensive humidors are typically junk, don't even waste your time with them.

You were sure right about that. The analogue hygrometer was way off. Unfortunately my humidor is also a piece of junk. It will not hold humidity even after seasoning it three times. When I look at the seal I can visibly see that the wood does not make contact. I've ditched the entire thing for a sealable glass jar the owner of a smoke shop near me recommended.

Recently, when I've been smoking my cigars I've noticed something peculiar. I try to keep my cigars from burning too hot by keeping the ember low, but in the process of doing that what seems to happen is that only the center of the cigar burns. It winds up burrowing a hole into the cigar. Only the filler burns, not the binder or outer leaf. When I try to remedy this situation by keeping the ember burning hotter, I find that I get too much smoke and heat.

Once, I noticed that the hole burrowing itself through the cigar was tending to one side, and I also noticed that it seemed to take the shape of the cut I had made in the cigar. What I mean is, it seemed that I had made an insufficient cut and this was the source of the problem. However, making a larger cut did not resolve the problem. The cigar burned too loose and hot, and gave out too much smoke for my liking.

I enjoy a "cool" smoke. Sometimes when I smoke a cigar just right, I notice that it leaves a cooling sensation in the mouth that I love. What measures can I take to encourage this? Also, how can I discourage only the filler from burning?

[CigarNut]

This burrowing is called "Tunneling" and often happens when the cigars are too wet. You might try dry-boxing your cigars for a few days before smoking them to see if that helps.

[Diver41]

My wife got me a nice Lotus lighter a while back. It is the one with a cutter as part of it.

When I fill the lighter I do not see the bubble that says it is filled and it does not seem to last near as long as it should. I am using quality fuel, and doing the routine of purging, turning volume off, filling then letting it sit.
No bubble to show fuel level is ever visible and after toasting and maybe relighting maybe 3 or 4 sticks it needs to be filled again.

[FBing]

I understand that the proper way to refill a butane lighter is to bleed it of all gas that is in it and fill after the old gas is out. I do this and it seems to fill nicely and last a long time.

[Diver41]

Thanks FBing, I have ensured the lighter is empty and turned all the way down as instructed. Don't know what else to try. Maybe Lotus fuel? If not send it in I guess

[HailTheBrownLeaf]

This might sound really dumb but what the heck...

Is it ok to stack a ziplock baggie with 1 non-Cuban cigar and one 69% Boveda pack in it (that I've been using for almost a month) on top of another Ziploc baggie with 5 Cubans in it and a new 69% Boveda pack (that I just activated) and got today???

Having 2 ziplocks laying on top of each other (with Bovedas and cigars in each) on my desk (until I get my tuppador) wouldn't do anything bad would it??

[area51]

Nothing bad will happen

[Brlesq]

Your cigars will be fine for a long time