Trouble keeping a good burn

[nebjay]

Hi All,

Still pretty new to all this so hopefully I am posting this in the correct section.

The last 4 sticks I have smoked, I have had a bit of trouble keeping them lit and/or a good burn, in the last half of the cigar. I understand that some might need a touch up here or there but this has been more than that. In particular 2 of them tunneled terribly in the last 3rd. (the first half I have not had any issues)

I currently use Boveda 69's and have not been dry boxing and along with that it has been pretty hot and humid at the moment. Is this something that might be worth a try or is there something else this Noob might be doing wrong?

Cheers in advance for any suggestions and thoughts.
Ben

 

[sofc]

dry box for a day.

 

[braden]

Yeah agreed with sofc - pick out your smokes and dry box for a day before smoking.

 

[nebjay]

Roger that. I did a bit of a read around and found some people did and others didn't so I wasn't sure if it made that much of a difference. I'll be sure to give it a go next time.
Cheers!

 

[sofc]

Roger that. I did a bit of a read around and found some people did and others didn't so I wasn't sure if it made that much of a difference. I'll be sure to give it a go next time.
Cheers!

Depends on the cigar. Depends how you first light it. Depends on how humid your conditions are. Depends on where you're smoking.

 

[ZippoGeek]

For what it's worth, many guys prefer the lower range of humidification. Boveda 65s have always ensured a much better burn for me than the 69s. Your mileage may vary. Enjoy!

 

[Ga Gator]

You mentioned it being hot and humid, this can really affect cigars. Drop to boveda 65 and dry box for a day, also larger ring gauges will handle the humidity outside better.

 

[nebjay]

Will do @Ga Gator, thanks for the tips.

 

[Metallifan33]

For what it's worth, many guys prefer the lower range of humidification. Boveda 65s have always ensured a much better burn for me than the 69s. Your mileage may vary. Enjoy!

Yeah FWIW, I'm a noob and had 72% Boveda Packs when I first started. I got a humi, seasoned it (I wasn't aware of the initial jump in humidity I'd experience). Then I got 70% beads and still had burn issues (although me being a noob, didn't know what I was experiencing). Some reading proved it was over-humidification. I then got some 65% beads (I decided I'd keep the 70% for seasoning). After a few days of 65%, I tried dryboxing a cigar and that didn't work out too well (I think it was a combination of a dud and a cigar that had different absolute humidity from the filler to wrapper).

Anyway, I then left them alone for like 3 weeks. Now the box on the lower rack reads 65% (it's down to 62 in the pic because I had the door open for a few) and the tray in the top rack reads 62 to 63%. The cigars burn simply beautifully.

Also, BTW, being a noob, I would have never figured this out if I hadn't smoked the same type of cigar at a B&M and then back home (otherwise, I may have not even known it could be any better).

I definitely notice that along with the burn, I taste more flavors when the cigar is in the low 60s. So I now store the cigars at 65 and the ones I smoke are around 62-63%.

The lesson I learned is that there is no substitute to taking the time to let the cigars fully acclimate (filler all the way to wrapper) to the desired absolute humidity. I've heard that it takes anywhere from 1 to 5% a week (I've settled on a month minimum but a lot of guys say 2 weeks is all you need).

And, of course, YMMV.

Also, calibrate.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[nebjay]

Yeah FWIW, I'm a noob and had 72% Boveda Packs when I first started. I got a humi, seasoned it (I wasn't aware of the initial jump in humidity I'd experience). Then I got 70% beads and still had burn issues (although me being a noob, didn't know what I was experiencing). Some reading proved it was over-humidification. I then got some 65% beads (I decided I'd keep the 70% for seasoning). After a few days of 65%, I tried dryboxing a cigar and that didn't work out too well (I think it was a combination of a dud and a cigar that had different absolute humidity from the filler to wrapper).

Anyway, I then left them alone for like 3 weeks. Now the box on the lower rack reads 65% (it's down to 62 in the pic because I had the door open for a few) and the tray in the top rack reads 62 to 63%. The cigars burn simply beautifully.

Also, BTW, being a noob, I would have never figured this out if I hadn't smoked the same type of cigar at a B&M and then back home (otherwise, I may have not even known it could be any better).

I definitely notice that along with the burn, I taste more flavors when the cigar is in the low 60s. So I now store the cigars at 65 and the ones I smoke are around 62-63%.

The lesson I learned is that there is no substitute to taking the time to let the cigars fully acclimate (filler all the way to wrapper) to the desired absolute humidity. I've heard that it takes anywhere from 1 to 5% a week (I've settled on a month minimum but a lot of guys say 2 weeks is all you need).

And, of course, YMMV.

Also, calibrate.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Awesome thanks brother. Very helpful indeed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cigary43]

This is a problem that affects a lot of smokers and to correct a cigar from burning awkwardly is a trial by error process....like most are saying it's about RH and storage...along with how long they were inside the humidor. I've told countless people of a method that works pretty well if your stock of cigars tend to tunnel or where you have to relight often. This is mostly due to an increase of RH in the cigar itself and dryboxing can be of use....but the real problem is that dryboxing only helps in a limited way as the whole cigar doesn't get "dryboxed" in 24 hours and you'll still see the effects.

Wetting a cigar has helped a lot of those who suffer from having cigars burn or tunnel like you've posted. The wrapper tends to burn erratically which means you'll end up seeing what you are talking about...wetting a cigar is like rebooting a wrapper that will burn straighter...Google this process and see if it's something you care to do...it won't hurt your cigar at all and in most cases it's a shortcut to keeping your cigars burning straighter.

 

[OtismyMan]

Depends on the cigar. Depends how you first light it. Depends on how humid your conditions are. Depends on where you're smoking.

So what your saying is.....It depends

 

[sofc]

So what your saying is.....It depends

It depends.