Uneven cigar burn question

[JrzyHillbilly]

Newbie question, sorry if this has been asked - I haven't seen it so far but I'm still reading. I've read that to keep a cigar burning evenly that one should rotate the cigar. My question is this.... If the cigar starts burning unevenly, should the part of the cigar that's unburned be towards the ground or towards the sky in order for the burn to even up? I assumed that since heat rises, that the unburned side should go up but that doesn't seem to be working and I started putting the unburned side down and that does seem to work a little better but not consistently. My cigar today burned uneven and no matter what I did, I couldn't get the unburned side to catch up.

 

[the camaro show]

What is your storage like? Also most people don’t do anything like that but as soon as it starts to touch it up with a torch lighter. Some also rotate the cigar around during smoking which may help

 

[BasicTek]

I read and have been keeping the less burned side on the bottom, but I think the cut can have an effect on it too, such as my normal v-cut might not make as much of a difference when rotating. I've been using a guillotine on my smaller ring sized cigars and that seems to help especially when rotating the cigar.

Also to note my storage appears to have been a primary cause of the uneven burn, despite the humidor having solid consistent humidity, my cigars were stacked and I think they were getting unevenly humidified, a simple rotation of the cigars in my storage has done wonders to prevent many of the burn issues I was getting.

A final note, many in this forum use much more care & patience in storing their cigars than I do. My methods are ways to deal with my impatience, having too much stock, opening my humidor to often, smoking primarily CC's (which seem to need much more care than NC's) and other issues related to this.

 

[sean]

Heat is only one part of the equation. In order to create fire, you also need oxygen. The smoke traveling upward off the end of your cigar is not oxygen rich air, but the air underneath the cherry is going to have more oxygen and therefore produce a hotter, cleaner burn. Rotate as you smoke, and the cherry ought to take care of itself.

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[JrzyHillbilly]

What is your storage like? Also most people don’t do anything like that but as soon as it starts to touch it up with a torch lighter. Some also rotate the cigar around during smoking which may help

I keep 2 tupperdors, one larger with about 85 cigars currently which is my primary cigar keeper and pretty full and I keep with 3 60g Boveda 69% packs and between 65 and 68 deg. I have a Boveda Butler in there and the RH is consistent between 69% and 70%. The 2nd tupperdor is a small one that can fit about 12 cigars max and I keep between 3 - 7 cigars in as my "next smokes" and this is kept with 1 60g Boveda 62% pack and between 65 and 68 deg. I have a Boveda Butler in there too and the RH is consistently a little higher than the pack at 65%.

 

[Boudie]

@JrzyHillbilly just curious, how many cigars do you smoke in an average week?

 

[JrzyHillbilly]

Right now, 2 - 3 per week, less if the weather is bad as I need to go outside. Kind of new to this and trying to go slow and learn as I go.

 

[Boudie]

I asked because is you where averaging 30 a month I would recommend not using the 69s and just keeping everything at 62%. It can take several weeks for dry boxing to have any affect.

 

[boltman]

Right now, 2 - 3 per week, less if the weather is bad as I need to go outside. Kind of new to this and trying to go slow and learn as I go.

If you are smoking outside, wind plays a role in uneven burns.

 

[Old Smokey]

If you are smoking outside, wind plays a role in uneven burns.

Agree, plus lighting the cigar evenly at the start is important.
And I agree that 70rh is higher than I prefer.

 

[Rupe]

I keep 2 tupperdors, one larger with about 85 cigars currently which is my primary cigar keeper and pretty full and I keep with 3 60g Boveda 69% packs and between 65 and 68 deg. I have a Boveda Butler in there and the RH is consistent between 69% and 70%. The 2nd tupperdor is a small one that can fit about 12 cigars max and I keep between 3 - 7 cigars in as my "next smokes" and this is kept with 1 60g Boveda 62% pack and between 65 and 68 deg. I have a Boveda Butler in there too and the RH is consistently a little higher than the pack at 65%.

Just a guess but I'm thinking the two different humidity levels of your storage may be part of the problem. I have found in the past that when I moved my cigars from my normal storage to a smaller container at a different humidty level I have run into burn issues. This is especially true if the Boveda in the new container is either touching the cigars or very close to them.

My theory on this (just a theory mind you) is that the cigars are acclimating to the new humidity level but the side that is touching the Boveda is acclimating faster, causing it to be a different humidity level than the side that is not touching (or farther away). I believe this humidity difference is what causes the uneven burn. The only solution that I have found is to allow the cigars enough time at the new humidity level so they have a chance to fully acclimate. From what I have read, the proper amount of time is 1% of humidity change per week.

 

[JrzyHillbilly]

Interesting theory. I had the Boveda pack on the side in my small humidor but last weekend I moved it to the bottom and it has 4 cigars on top in direct contact. Your theory may be correct in my case. Thanks.


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[Clint]

Heat is only one part of the equation. In order to create fire, you also need oxygen. The smoke traveling upward off the end of your cigar is not oxygen rich air, but the air underneath the cherry is going to have more oxygen and therefore produce a hotter, cleaner burn. Rotate as you smoke, and the cherry ought to take care of itself.

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Good advice, Sean

 

[Tyler86]

@JrzyHillbilly
In case no one else said it already.... some cigars you can’t stop the uneven burn. If it’s rolled bad it could run or canoe on you and there is nothing that can be done except torch it as you smoke. Tunneling is worse. It’s like a run on the inside. I see a fair amount of CC through out the year that run bad due to rolling and it’s unavoidable. If you gently roll it in your fingers before you light it and feel soft spots, it’s probably gonna be a runner.


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[sean]

Just a guess but I'm thinking the two different humidity levels of your storage may be part of the problem. I have found in the past that when I moved my cigars from my normal storage to a smaller container at a different humidty level I have run into burn issues. This is especially true if the Boveda in the new container is either touching the cigars or very close to them.

My theory on this (just a theory mind you) is that the cigars are acclimating to the new humidity level but the side that is touching the Boveda is acclimating faster, causing it to be a different humidity level than the side that is not touching (or farther away). I believe this humidity difference is what causes the uneven burn. The only solution that I have found is to allow the cigars enough time at the new humidity level so they have a chance to fully acclimate. From what I have read, the proper amount of time is 1% of humidity change per week.

Rupe is onto something here... Theoretically, there should be some sort of gradient if you're moving cigars to a drier box and the boveda is on one side, which means the humidity of the cigar itself is changing but that rate of change wouldn't be consistent across the whole cigar. It would get drier quicker on the parts closest to the boveda.

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[JrzyHillbilly]

Well, I've clearly made some mistakes here but none fatal. I didn't realize, when moving cigars to a drier box, that it might take a while for the cigars to dry out uniformly. I was thinking 1 - 2 weeks. And I clearly didn't realize that the side of a cigar touching a Boveda pack would dry out sooner than the opposite side and that could affect the burn. I figured since the cigar is porous and in an air tight container, the drying would be fairly uniform. Wrong again. Both of my humidors are tupperdors, 1 clear plastic, 1 acrylic. I think I'll get some thin pieces of Spanish Cedar to make a floating shelf in each and put the Boveda packs underneath the cedar and the cigars on top of the cedar. This way the cigars don't touch the Boveda packs. And I'll be a little more patient and let the cigars dry out longer when moving to the drier box - in other words, plan ahead better. Thanks all for your help and insight.

 

[Boudie]

They sell small, ventilated cedar boxes specifically for Boveda packs if you want to go that route. Really not a big deal, especially if you are moving your cigars around fairly often,

 

[BasicTek]

I think I'll get some thin pieces of Spanish Cedar to make a floating shelf in each and put the Boveda packs underneath the cedar and the cigars on top of the cedar. This way the cigars don't touch the Boveda packs.

I use the thin cedar dividers found in just about any box of cigars to put the bovedas on, because despite their claims I didn't think it was a good idea to have the humidification device in direct contact. Seems to work pretty good

 

[JrzyHillbilly]

I'm new to the sport. I would do this, unfortunately, I don't have any empty boxes with cedar linings. All of my purchases have been samplers or 5-packs without boxes. I think I can get some from Woodcraft fairly inexpensive.

 

[Boudie]

Any shop will be glad to give you a couple of spills if that's all you need. Buy a cigar and ask for a couple, they are used for lighting cigars. Or pickup an empty box for a dollar or two and break it apart.