Wrappers going BOOM

[Griz]

Well, here is my dumb question for today;
I have several + humidors and a wineador. All of them are stored in the basement in the same room. I have hfb in the winedor and the gel beads in the rest. All the temps are a little cold, 54-57 degrees and the rh is steady at 64-66% with very little fluctuation! actually none, they all stay very solid at 64.
My problem is that a lot of them are swelling up and busting after about 1/2" of it is smoked and it becomes very difficult to get the whole thing smoked. They just come completely apart. Not every one of them will do it but a lot of them do, too many of them do.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[javajunkie]

if you are sure the RH is solid, it's probably the temp. realize, heat causes things to expand: the act of burning the cigar will swell the remaining tobaccos as the burn line travels down, and the 15 degrees off of room temp may be enough to make the binder fail. it IS a binder for a reason, it is holding the filler tobaccos in check as the cigar burns. and the wrapper won't hold crap, as it is usually the thinnest leaf of the lot. if the tension becomes too much, the bunch gets the better of the wrapper and binder.

 

[skullnbones]

What's the weather like in PA right now? Is there a lot of humidity or is it super dry? I'm in a totally different climate but I usually only have wrapper issues in the peak of summer or if it's cold and rainy during the winter. Your storage seems ok other than being a little on the cold side. I'll be watching this thread to see if I can correct some of my own issue in the future.

 

[DocHoliday]

Im in MA and my sticks like to rest at 66°-68° and 68% Relative Humidity. My guess would be that are both are low but you need to move them around smoke em and see. Maybe try each humidor at a different setting.

Doc :cbig:

 

[MU Mike]

Well, here is my dumb question for today;
I have several + humidors and a wineador. All of them are stored in the basement in the same room. I have hfb in the winedor and the gel beads in the rest. All the temps are a little cold, 54-57 degrees and the rh is steady at 64-66% with very little fluctuation! actually none, they all stay very solid at 64.
My problem is that a lot of them are swelling up and busting after about 1/2" of it is smoked and it becomes very difficult to get the whole thing smoked. They just come completely apart. Not every one of them will do it but a lot of them do, too many of them do.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

If you're smoking outside, that doesn't surprise me. Cold weather can absolutely destroy cigars.

 

[Clint]

if you are sure the RH is solid, it's probably the temp. realize, heat causes things to expand: the act of burning the cigar will swell the remaining tobaccos as the burn line travels down, and the 15 degrees off of room temp may be enough to make the binder fail. it IS a binder for a reason, it is holding the filler tobaccos in check as the cigar burns. and the wrapper won't hold crap, as it is usually the thinnest leaf of the lot. if the tension becomes too much, the bunch gets the better of the wrapper and binder.

This is not only logical, but it makes sense....So it cannot be correct.

 

[erjaq]

65% RH at 55 degrees is actually less water than 65% RH at 65 degrees. The relative humidity is the same, but the absolute humidity is not. I'd find a room that's warmer, if possible, and see if that helps.

 

[Griz]

All great help. The weather is dry in Pa. But my humi's are holding good. I know the meters are right because I have several in each and they all read exactly the same, so if they are off, they are all off at the exact level.
I DO smoke outdoors and that was one of my thoughts, the heat in a chilly cigar and the brutal cold temps outside and sucking the heat through them must be making the leafs swell and burst.
Looks like I need to move the fridge and humi's upstairs till spring.

 

[AdamJoshua]

I have seen people suggest wetting down a cigar before going out and smoking it in very cold temps, I have never tried it and there is a trick to it, I would search the net and youtube before trying it, but I have been told it can help with exploding sticks in the winter, basically you are getting the wrapper a little wet so it gives a bit more and doesn't explode, again there seems to be a trick to doing it so I would look and ask around before doing it. It's also used if your cigars are too dry and the wrappers are flaking.

Best of luck and good smoking!

 

[smokemifugotem]

Pay attention to the cigar wrappers and find out if there are any common wrappers...some wrappers need to sit in summer or winter just due to weather.

 

[Griz]

Well, I just decided to make the move. I cleaned out the wineador and my cabinet humi, carried everything up 2 flights of steps and put everything in my horn working room. It gets a little warm up there, but the wineador will be fine, the cabinet.... I may have to start looking for a small wine fridge to store the full boxes in and sell the cab.

 

[Griz]

Well, I figured if the goods had to be moved upstairs and the heat gets pretty high up there, I may want to take a look for another winedor to keep the full boxes in. Made a trip to lowes and found this one,
http://www.lowes.com/pd_326326-47224-LFWC18T6LB_0__?productId=3262665
They only had the display left and it had a super small scratch on the side of the door, so they knocked it down to $145.00 because of the scratch. I have my full boxes in one of these,
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidors/38621/indulgence-table-humidor/#p-21011
And that's why the heat worrywart me. This one may be for sale in a week or so.

 

[javajunkie]

so, just to make sure, this IS thermoelectric, right?

 

[Griz]

Honestly, I have no idea and NO ONE at fridgidaire knows either. All I can get out of the service line is that it IS electric and I have to plug it in the wall socket..... Are people seriously this stupid?
Anyway, I got it because my wife has had the same model for her wine for about 7 years now and it's been a dang good unit.
So, how do I find out if it's thermoelectric or not?

 

[javajunkie]

if it has a condenser, it's standard, which brings significant humidity control issues.

guys, anyone wanna give him specifics to look for, or ask about?