I'm burning up!!
- Thread starter Mr.Draned
- Start date
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
I only swear by it because 2 years later it still keeps my gars at 67% RH....that's two years!! I only change out the cold paks about every 2-4 months....in the summer I check every month just to see what the temp is inside and if it's between 70-75 it's all good as I keep my cooler at around 65-67% RH. The cooler is my spare bedroom and it's one of the best storage devices around....PS....I use cedar boxes to keep my cigars in which gives it that nice aroma inside. I also have open ziploc bags with cigars and everything works like a Swiss Watch.
I am far from an expert, but I do have 10 years of experience running a humidor through the AZ heat. If I am unsure a factory has frozen the cigar I freeze for 3 days then allow to slowly come up to room temp and add to the humidor. All my home rolls get frozen if I intend to age them (have smoked and gifted most of them fairly quickly so far) as the leaf I use has not been frozen to kill larvae. I have a 300ct desktop, a 150ct desktop, and now a cooler as well since outgrowing the desktops. The cooler keeps a more steady temp and holds humidity way better than the desktops, wish I would have gone that route years ago... The temp in my apartment is set at 80f during the summer. In ten years of cigar smoking I have not noticed any ill effects from the temperature but this is just one person's experience. I have smoked cigars that I have kept in that environment for 8+ years and they were fantastic. That being said, when the budget allows I will definitely be setting up a wineador but in the meantime I don't stress it too much.
Mr.Draned
The Grey Rooster
I tried the cold pack method, and it got the temps down, but it also caused the humidity to plummet. Even with 6 Boveda's in the cooler.
So, I took out the ice pack and turned on the ac in my bedroom. This has kept the temp around 72˚, which I can live with.
The problem now is one I have not seen before.
I'm using four 69% Boveda's and the humidity has been holding at 71%. What!?
Could this possibly be cause by the cooler lid not being airtight?
Thanks!
So, I took out the ice pack and turned on the ac in my bedroom. This has kept the temp around 72˚, which I can live with.
The problem now is one I have not seen before.
I'm using four 69% Boveda's and the humidity has been holding at 71%. What!?
Could this possibly be cause by the cooler lid not being airtight?
Thanks!
This is just my dumb logic, so take it for what it's worth (practically nothing...)
Maybe freeze your incoming sticks to kill any eggs that could be in there. Then, don't worry about it. Tobacco/cigars are rolled and stored for years in the DR, Cuba, Nicaragua, etc. I've never been to any of those places, however, it's the tropics. It's humid as hell, rains a lot, and today they all average weather from the low 60's to the high 80's. Point being, if you freeze and monitor your stash, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Maybe freeze your incoming sticks to kill any eggs that could be in there. Then, don't worry about it. Tobacco/cigars are rolled and stored for years in the DR, Cuba, Nicaragua, etc. I've never been to any of those places, however, it's the tropics. It's humid as hell, rains a lot, and today they all average weather from the low 60's to the high 80's. Point being, if you freeze and monitor your stash, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
I would imagine it is like a cold glass of water that has condensation build up on the outside. The cold attracts the moisture in the air to the glass and in this case the ice pack.
Mr.Draned
The Grey Rooster
The ice pack was removed and has been out for a few days. The humidity holding at 71% occurred a couple days afterwards.
Well that is a little strange unless the whole condensation affect pulled moisture towards the lid where the ice pack was causing the hydro to read low and when removed the humidity leveled back out throughout the cooler. I'm no rocket surgeon though so this is just ideas bouncing around my under-caffeinated head.
Mr.Draned
The Grey Rooster
Any ideas are better than no ideas!
What you said does make sense though. I'll check it after work and see what's what. If it's still high, I'm going to empty it and wipe down the interior. Maybe there's some leftover condensation on the walls or bottom that can be causing this.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Coolers are made from different products as Igloo uses reclaimed plastic ..... The interior liners are still made with FDA-quality polypropylene and they are insulated with proprietary "Ultratherm™ polyurethane foam. What to look for in any cooler is the retention as that is what keeps the temps down and when you consider that we put cigars in these things it's just a smart thing to do as far as keeping them fresh. Like anything else if you are in and out of it a lot then your numbers are going to change....I'd put Beads or KL as the humidifying agent of choice (emphasis mine) only because it's worked for me for over two years now w/o any headaches. Rarely will I have to add KL to mine because it will soak up excess RH if it were to start having issues....putting in dry KL is the first course of action and see where your numbers are. If it climbs start spritzing some DW on the KL until you dial in your desired number.
Coolers are like any other product...some will seal better than others and you want to ensure that it has a tight seal so I keep a 5 pound weight on my 120 quart cooler and keep it in the spare bedroom...I can set my watch to it.
Coolers are like any other product...some will seal better than others and you want to ensure that it has a tight seal so I keep a 5 pound weight on my 120 quart cooler and keep it in the spare bedroom...I can set my watch to it.
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