proper humidity?

[Fenster]

I am rather new at this so bare with me and apologies if this has been discussed before.

I have found references to the 70/70 "rule" for temp and humidity, and I have also read that many people like to keep their humidity closer to 65%. I realize it may be a matter of personal preferance and I am sure I could not tell the difference at this point. My question is - I happened to be checking out the Oliva website and noticed that they recommend keeping some of their cigars (Serie O)at 70 - 78% humidity. Why is this their recommendation? Do any of you actually keep these at the higher humidity levels?

Below is a quote from their site:
"Aging: Puros should be aged at generous humidity levels (70-78%) to preserve the natural oil."

and a link:
http://www.olivacigar.com/cigars_oliva.aspx

Thanks for any input.

 

[funkejj]

If you have your humidity over 70% you run a risk of mold. The higher the humidity the higher the chance. I keep mine at a constant 64 to 65% I would not chance it at 78%.

 

[Treinenwj]

I don't know much about aging, but I wouldn't want to smoke a cigar @ 78%. I would think that would be just too moist.

BTW, I don't know if I missed your intro thread, so :welcome:

 

[GoingPostal]

I store mine at around 68%, i found at 70 some cigars are too moist and are hard to keep lit. 65% they burn a bit too fast and hot. also unless you got them in a consistenly cool environment at 78% rh mold risk is too great. then again everyone has there preferance.

 

[WkndSmoker]

70/70 to age. 65/70 to smoke.

I never was one to age cigars, however I followed the 70/70 rule to a T for years in my humidor, and a few layed around for a few years. I had a mix of good burns and bad burns, over the last year I dropped to 65/70 and lost the burn issue. I store at 70/70 now that I have a chance to build inventory, then drop to 65/70 when I plan to smoke.

 

[oldglory]

I would say anywhere between 68-72% is a safe place to be. Any lower or higher is just personal taste.......IMHO

 

[Cigar Cowboy]

78% sounds like a mold factory to me

 

[CaTeacher]

Not really aging my cigars, but I like my humidity at 62-64.

 

[Clint]

Mold? What about the risk of beetles hatching at 78%!

78 is waaaaay to high.

 

[solowgregg]

Im partial to the 65-68% range.

 

[stroke]

Im partial to the 65-68% range.

+1 10char

 

[benday]

i would love to see this done but I value my personal collection too much to try this.

 

[ciggy]

If you have your humidity over 70% you run a risk of mold. The higher the humidity the higher the chance. I keep mine at a constant 64 to 65% I would not chance it at 78%.

Ditto!!..What Jason said!!!

 

[danthebugman]

Mold? What about the risk of beetles hatching at 78%!

78 is waaaaay to high.

Maybe I'm wrong here Clint, but I've always found temperature to be the crucial factor in beetles.

At any rate, from the quote you posted I think they were talking about long term storage (aka aging), though even then 78% does seem high and you're likely to experience mold unless you have some sort of specialized storage container. 62-72% would cover what the majority of people store their cigars at. Personally mine stay rock steady at 65% thanks to my beads and my cigars smoke nicely :grin:.

Dan