Are you happy at 62% ?

[ZippoGeek]

Like the title says: who's happy with his RH at 62% ?

After calibrating my hygrometer, I lowered my RH from 70 to 65. After 8 weeks of acclimation, however, I'm still getting too many weird burns and difficult lights. What are your burns like at 62, and do you recommend me lowering once again to that RH?

Any drawbacks (e.g., are your wrappers significantly more prone to cracking)?

Thanks guys!

 

[StogieNinja]

Recommend 65% for dark NCs, 62% for CCs. I wouldn't go all the way down to 62% for your Nicaraguan maduros, personally. Some folks do, but I kinda like my dark cigars a little wetter. Haven't had any draw or construction issues from 65% though, almost everything seems to smoke fine at that Rh. I wonder if there are any external factors affecting you... like temp and ambient rh?

It's also possible your cigars are still acclimating?

 

[ZippoGeek]

It's also possible your cigars are still acclimating?

Thanks Derek...that's entirely possible I suppose. Man, I need to step it up with my purchase volume so I have more smoke-ready sticks on hand!

 

[DataJockey]

I have two humidors, one big white cooler using beads at 65%. The other a small desktop at 62% I smoke out of the desktop. I keep maybe 20 sticks at any one time in the desktop as my go to smokes. I have not had any problem and think the 62% cigars smoke and taste better than the cooler. Also a side note: CC's to me smoke better at a lower RH.
My 2 cents.

 

[Smoqman]

I prefer most of my cigars at 69%-72% depending on wrapper thickness and brand. Pete Johnson recently mentioned that his Tatuaje brands should be smoked at around 70% (it might have been 72%)

I find the "evenness" of the burn can be dependent on the way the cigar is lit among other factors.

This is personal preference and is by no means meant as a guide for anyone else looking for the "right" humidity level for their particular taste....

iz juss mee

 

[UpInSmoke]

I keep mine at 60% and couldn't be happier

 

[JuzCallMeDee]

I'm at 65% CCs and NCs in one pot. Might try the tats a lil higher.

 

[JustTroItIn]

I use 65% Boveda and the Hygrometer usually reads 62-65. I have no burn issues but most of the sticks I smoke have 12+ weeks rest time.

 

[ZippoGeek]

most of the sticks I smoke have 12+ weeks rest time.

I'm thinking mine need another month or so...thanks for the input.

 

[JuzCallMeDee]

I've smoked a few ROTT (typically rest them for a couple weeks). No issues with burn or lighting.

 

[Old Smokey]

I keep my cooler fodder at 65% with HF beads which holds everything except the CC's and Opus. Those are kept in a 100 ct. humidor that is kept at 62% Bovedas. I don't have burn issues with either.

I would give it a little more time and see if that helps.

 

[B-daddy]

"Long term" at about 67% and "ready to smoke" at 62-65%. Everthin's naaaaaas. The one uneven burn I can remember over the last 6 months was an Illusione that came out of the 67 box. Near everything sits for about 6+ months.

 

[herfdog]

I prefer most of my cigars at 69%-72% depending on wrapper thickness and brand. Pete Johnson recently mentioned that his Tatuaje brands should be smoked at around 70% (it might have been 72%)

I find the "evenness" of the burn can be dependent on the way the cigar is lit among other factors.

This is personal preference and is by no means meant as a guide for anyone else looking for the "right" humidity level for their particular taste....

iz juss mee

I am with smoqman with rh nearing 70%

I find that cutting at lower rh gives me issues with the wrapper sometimes.

 

[multi-useless]

This thread has prompted me to check the readings on my digital hygro. The batteries are dead, and I have no idea how long it's been that way, because I never check it.
I'm using Boveda 72's in my ready-to-smoke humi, and in my storage humi, I like 72's in the summer and 75's in the winter (because the winters around here are rather dry, and while the storage humi doesn't get opened as often, it also doesn't get checked as often, and I find it's easier to de-humidify than re-humidify). I figure the rh of my cigars is always going to be a little less than the rh in the air around them, because every time the humi gets opened, humidity escapes and the Boveda is working overtime to keep up. But, that's what the Bovedas are for, and I've had great luck with them. If a pack is getting dry, it's not keeping my rh up any longer - so I just change it out and I know I'm good to go, which is why I've gone so long without checking my hygro.
The way I see it, a simple poke to the Boveda pack is more reliable than my cheap digital hygro, which may or may not be all that accurate to begin with...

EDIT - since I never really answered the question - No, I figure I'm at about 69-70% with my Boveda 72's, which seems to work well for me.

 

[jonboy]

I actually prefer 65-67. Through my experimenting I've found the few burn "issues" I might encounter are worth dealing with. Any lower and my sticks just seem dry for my tastes. The flavors become muted and they kinda give me cotton mouth.

 

[BMack]

much prefer 62% over higher RH. I tend to let incoming cigars rest for months because they ship soo wet.

Try rotating your cigars, I've found that getting new cigars it can take a while to get them to the right RH if they're resting against a non-cigar surface(Wood,plastic,tube)...eventually there will be a wet spot along the length of the cigar that screws up the burn.

 

[Happy Idiot]

62 is redick. For decades it was 72 and it was fine and then peeps decided to screw with it. I've been at 72 for 20 yrs and never a problem. Quit over-thinking stuff.

 

[roadmessiah]

I too use Boveda and I use 65% in the summer and in the winter I use 69% and I don't have any issues. Just sharing my experience is all.

 

[ItsBarbarino]

I'm at 65ish. It's okay, recently got higher after adding shelves and drawers.

Skip Martin has said he likes to store his cigars around 70% (I think, maybe wetter?) then drybox them the night before he's going to smoke them. Basically picks out what he will smoke the next day the night before to let it get to the smoking RH.

Common sense would say aging is better done at higher rh's to preserve oils, right?

 

[Mikenice81]

Like the title says: who's happy with his RH at 62% ?

After calibrating my hygrometer, I lowered my RH from 70 to 65. After 8 weeks of acclimation, however, I'm still getting too many weird burns and difficult lights. What are your burns like at 62, and do you recommend me lowering once again to that RH?

Any drawbacks (e.g., are your wrappers significantly more prone to cracking)?

Thanks guys!

I'm finding that 69% causes issues for me. I use an advanced personal vaporizer (fancy e-cig) and developed a lighter draw over time. So, I have issues keeping sticks lit at 69%. I find I have far fewer issues smoking sticks after I let them sit for a couple of hours in the open or an old cigar box. I'm thinking of dropping to 65% or even 62%. The higher ranges seem to cause some issues with burn for me.