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Question about storing in the cold...

Panicbound

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Please tell me what happens when you store cigars in temps below 62*. I have been keeping my desktop in my wine cooler for over a year and have not had any issues. It is a 250 count and my hygrometer reads 58 and 71 RH. My sticks smoke great. I also keep a couple of extra unopened boxes, etc in there.

However, I have heard that cold slows the aging process. Other than that what are some issues that I should be aware of moving forward.

Thanks in advance.....Adam
 

Boppa-Wasch

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I keep mine in the basement. Currently 53* and 65 RH, never gets over 60* even in the summer. Haven't noticed any problems.
 

dpricenator

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mine are in a wine fridge i my garage and have been getting down in the 50's or high 40's and are still smoking fine. I have heard about slowing the aging process, but what can I do, my wife gave me to OK to have the wine fridge, but only in the garage.
 

Volusianator

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If the cigar gets too cold, you may want to let it warm up a bit before applying flame or you may have some wrapper issues due to the quick extreme change in temperature. But as for your cigars, they're pretty comfortable right now I'm sure. Although I'd drop that RH a bit...but that's just me, well, and most others! LOL
 

Matthew

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If the cigar gets too cold, you may want to let it warm up a bit before applying flame or you may have some wrapper issues due to the quick extreme change in temperature. But as for your cigars, they're pretty comfortable right now I'm sure. Although I'd drop that RH a bit...but that's just me, well, and most others! LOL
Yes.

Quick changes in temp or humidity makes wrappers split.
 
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How about the affects of temperature on relative humidity? Relative humidity is the amount of moisture in the air compared to what the air can "hold" at that temperature.

I keep my CC's in the house at 70F/65RH. dprice can keep his sticks in the garage at 50F/65RH. The RH is the same, but my sticks contain actual moisture of 12.2 g/m3, Dprice's smokes contain actual moisture of 6.2 g/m3. The cooler sticks are much drier.

It's the same reason why the refridgerator will dry out cigars. The RH could be 70, but the cigars are drying out because the actual moisture is so low.
 

dpricenator

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How about the affects of temperature on relative humidity? Relative humidity is the amount of moisture in the air compared to what the air can "hold" at that temperature.

I keep my CC's in the house at 70F/65RH. dprice can keep his sticks in the garage at 50F/65RH. The RH is the same, but my sticks contain actual moisture of 12.2 g/m3, Dprice's smokes contain actual moisture of 6.2 g/m3. The cooler sticks are much drier.

It's the same reason why the refridgerator will dry out cigars. The RH could be 70, but the cigars are drying out because the actual moisture is so low.


That sounds like trouble. Tell me if I have this right. 70/70 is easy, and 70/65 is fine because we have the same temp, just drier air. Now when my temp drops 25 degrees my Cigar Oasis is stopping at 65%, but is acctually expelliing less moisture into the air. What would you say is the right RH setting for my Cigar Oasis to be producing the same g/m3 that we have in warmer temps? BTW.. what is M/G3? I think Panic and I could use this info.
 

Panicbound

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That sounds like trouble. Tell me if I have this right. 70/70 is easy, and 70/65 is fine because we have the same temp, just drier air. Now when my temp drops 25 degrees my Cigar Oasis is stopping at 65%, but is acctually expelliing less moisture into the air. What would you say is the right RH setting for my Cigar Oasis to be producing the same g/m3 that we have in warmer temps? BTW.. what is M/G3? I think Panic and I could use this info.
Yes, inquiring minds would like to know...
 
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g/m3 = grams per meter cubed.

I'll paste a small bit of text from a popular website below, but first I want to say that I think it is an awful idea to try to adjust RH to suit temperature. If your humidity is set high (to accommodate low temp) and you have an upswing in temperature, you could over humidify really quick, which would be really bad. For me it's much easier to store my smokes in a an area of the house that will see temperatures in the zone I'm looking for (65 to 72). I'm in the Northeast, so in the summer the humidor and coolidor are in the basement (so it's still cool when the AC is off). In the winter the smokes go upstairs since the basement heat is not always on.

I guess this is just a complicated way is saying that if you work to control rh because you want to store and age your cigars, don't completely ignore temperature.


From the website:

The ideal storage condition for a cigar are approximately 70% humidity at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Air at different temperatures will hold completely different amounts of moisture. Warm air can hold a tremendous amount of moisture. If your cigars are stored in a warm place, you will have to continuously add water to the humidifier. The result will be very spongy cigars. Cold air holds almost no moisture. Air with 70% humidity will be dry at freezing temperatures. Relative humidity is defined as the percentage of the maximum amount of water that air can hold at a given temperature without condensation. As a general rule, when the air temperature is reduced from 68 degrees by one degree, the humidity should be increased by 1%, and vice versa. Therefore, if your cigars were stored at 58 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity should be kept around 80%.
 

oneaday

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g/m3 = grams per meter cubed.

I'll paste a small bit of text from a popular website below, but first I want to say that I think it is an awful idea to try to adjust RH to suit temperature. If your humidity is set high (to accommodate low temp) and you have an upswing in temperature, you could over humidify really quick, which would be really bad. For me it's much easier to store my smokes in a an area of the house that will see temperatures in the zone I'm looking for (65 to 72). I'm in the Northeast, so in the summer the humidor and coolidor are in the basement (so it's still cool when the AC is off). In the winter the smokes go upstairs since the basement heat is not always on.

I guess this is just a complicated way is saying that if you work to control rh because you want to store and age your cigars, don't completely ignore temperature.


From the website:

The ideal storage condition for a cigar are approximately 70% humidity at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Air at different temperatures will hold completely different amounts of moisture. Warm air can hold a tremendous amount of moisture. If your cigars are stored in a warm place, you will have to continuously add water to the humidifier. The result will be very spongy cigars. Cold air holds almost no moisture. Air with 70% humidity will be dry at freezing temperatures. Relative humidity is defined as the percentage of the maximum amount of water that air can hold at a given temperature without condensation. As a general rule, when the air temperature is reduced from 68 degrees by one degree, the humidity should be increased by 1%, and vice versa. Therefore, if your cigars were stored at 58 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity should be kept around 80%.

I know the above facts are true and one thing the above dosen't take into account is how full the humi is, what is the leakage factor (how long does it take to replace the volume of air inside), the makeup of the cigars within, the country of origin of the cigars within, the amount of phosphates and nitrogen contained in the tobacco etc. etc. etc.

Boys I know it really can be rocket science if you want it to be, to most of us it isn't. It's a hobby, a relaxation, to me the bottom lline is how do the cigars feel when I pull em out of the cabinet and how do they smoke when I light em up. When I give em a little squeeze and they bounce back just right I'm good to go. If the burn is fairly consistant I'm good to go. If they taste the way they normally do I'm good to go.
In the final analysis, they're just cigars, light em up and enjoy em. If something ain't right consistantly, that's when I would start tinker with my set-up. I have to say in over forty years of smoking and twenty years of collecting I ain't done enough tinkering to worry about.
 

CWS

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I know the above facts are true and one thing the above dosen't take into account is how full the humi is, what is the leakage factor (how long does it take to replace the volume of air inside), the makeup of the cigars within, the country of origin of the cigars within, the amount of phosphates and nitrogen contained in the tobacco etc. etc. etc.

Boys I know it really can be rocket science if you want it to be, to most of us it isn't. It's a hobby, a relaxation, to me the bottom lline is how do the cigars feel when I pull em out of the cabinet and how do they smoke when I light em up. When I give em a little squeeze and they bounce back just right I'm good to go. If the burn is fairly consistant I'm good to go. If they taste the way they normally do I'm good to go.
In the final analysis, they're just cigars, light em up and enjoy em. If something ain't right consistantly, that's when I would start tinker with my set-up. I have to say in over forty years of smoking and twenty years of collecting I ain't done enough tinkering to worry about.
Words of wisdom well put. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
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Yes, oneaday is dead on, it's not rocket science. A simple humidifier like beads or boveda, avoid temperature extremes, and keep temperature swings to a minimum and you'll be trouble free with no tinkering required.

All the temp/humidity talk is just the theory that supports the above advice.
 

dpricenator

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I knew that using a wine cooler was going to take some tinkering to get dialed in so I'm ok with putting a little extra work into it. But to keep it easy would you say that setting at a slightly higher rh setting ( 70-72&#37; ) for the colder months would be beneficial?
 

oneaday

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If you want to play with the rh to try and get a consistency with the warmer months, it sure won't hurt your sticks. If you notice they are starting to get heavy (spongy) cut it back a little at a time.
 
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