Keeping Cigars Cool in Hot Weather

[OleOle]

Hi folks, good to be here, thought I'd ask your advice please.

I smoked cigarettes for twenty years, gave up cold turkey and haven't smoked anything for the last three years but have recently bought a wooden table top humidor (according to the specs will hold 88 coronas) and am looking forward to stocking it with Cubans so when the time comes, I'll be able to kick back and have a fantastic smoke.

From what I can tell using Boveda to season and keep the ongoing humidity right is the way to go and I really like the idea of it being hassle free but here in Sydney, Australia it's been a helluva hot day today, it was 37C (98F) and it got me wondering about how to properly look after those incoming cigars and protect them from the heat. I read that about 70% humidity and 70F temp is the way to go for best results, so am going to get the Boveda 69 but what should I do about the temperature?

If I keep the humidor lid closed I guess it will stay cooler, but is that enough or should I be thinking about other courses of actions?

I don't plan on smoking any time soon but I've got the local tobacconist ordering the Boveda in for me as well as the first seven Cubans to go in there and although I'm not in any hurry to smoke them (well, that's a lie actually, after three years without a smoke you know damn well I want to!) I do want them to be properly looked after so that they age gracefully and I'm looking forward to the ritual of buying a few smokes every couple of weeks to stock up. I have to say the range and pricing on the FOH *****as site looks superb so will certainly be ordering some from there soon, but good stogies deserve a good home so before I jump in feet first, wanted to ask you guys about cooling and any other tips that I might need to think about.

I've read a couple of the posts on freezing the incoming cigars and I think that I'll probably be doing that, simply as the conditions that I'll be keeping them in might not be the best due to the heat.

In case you're wondering, these are the first seven cigars that I have ordered to kick off the humi:

1 x Cohiba Behike BHK 52

1 x Montecristo No.2

1 x Partagas Luistanias

1 x Partagas Series D No. 4

3 x Trinidad Coloniales

I got three of the Coloniales as for some reason I just think that they will be an excellent smoke to start with and I'm also curious about the Diplomaticos, maybe not the most well-known or appreciated cigar, but all said and done, I'd like to try the whole Habanos range, even if that does take me decades

Anyway, any thoughts that all you aficionados might have on the issue of excess ambient heat around a wooden humidor and any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks very much!

[tjohn7]

Welcome!

I would suggest a digital hygrometer, as this will allow you to gauge RH and temperature. The two are inversely related, so that can make things challenging at times. I like to keep my smokes at 65/65 and then dry box before smoking. Use AC to cool the house, and subsequently cool the humidor, and keep it around 70 or so. That'll keep your humidor around 68F. If AC is not available, go with an electronically controlled humidor.

Good luck!

Tom

[Optic101]

Welcome!

There is a ton of information here.

Take your time and read some of the post to get a feeling about what others do.

Your Table Top is a good start and your first order sounds interesting.

Have fun and enjoy.

[Ginseng]

If you live in a hot/humid environment and your house is air conditioned: no problem.

If you live in a hot/humid environment and your house isn't air conditions, then two solutions tend to break down into 1) store your cigars in a cool basement or other cool, underground area of the house or 2) active refrigeration or evaporative cooling.

A high quality cooler won't help much in the long term as over the days and weeks, their interiors will inevitably end up the same temperature as the surroundings.

Wilkey

[mikek]

A way I got by when traveling I froze two large reuseable blocks put them in my cooler with two more in the freezer,and just swapted them out as needed! A quick fix but eventualy you will have to keep your AC going.

[stogieluver]

You didn't mention your house air conditioning, so I'm assuming you don't have a/c. Your best bet may be to invest in a wine cooler and use that for your humidor. I've never used one, but plenty of others here have and they can chime in.

Good to have you join us! Welcome.

[sw15825]

Welcome! I had two choices at my home. Either get a dehumidifier or two for the basement, I it stays pretty cool there or use a window air conditioner or two in my house and keep my stock in those rooms. I chose a/c, my basement gets way too wet for it to work well. Hope that helps.

[PapaDisco]

I also started out keeping sticks at the 'ol 70/70 but quickly moved to 65/65 like many on here and have found that preferable ever since.

I've also had trials and tribulations with temperature and humidity. Stability is almost more important than anything else. If your cigars go to higher temps and then get cooled (evening, turning on the A/C, etc.) they'll get over humidified before your Boveda can slowly suck the excess moisture out of them. So while the Bovedas do an excellent job at humidity control they can only work within a very slowly changing temperature band. If the temperature moves to fast, the Bovedas won't keep up.

I've found high ambient temperatures not to severely affect taste over the short term (few months), but high temperature and high humidity (I find myself in jungle environments frequently) do often (but not always) turn a cigar towards the bitter and acidic.

So if you're going to rely on a desktop type of humidor, then best to find a place in your home that is stable in temperature. Such a size is not typically for long term aging, so you don't have to worry too much about temp (IMHO), just that it's stable. Your Bovedas will keep the rH below the mold level, and since you're freezing sticks you won't have to worry about activating the (now) very rare beetle.

[nikesupremedunk]

From my personal experience, temperature is not important when storing cigars but what's crucial is the Relative Humidity. Temperature is important if you are not freezing your sticks and don't want beetles to hatch. Most people believe 65-70F is safe, but beetles can hatch even in 60F.

I would freeze all the cigars and not worry about the temperature. Make sure your humidor has a good seal and is holding ~65% RH and your cigars will smoke wonderfully. I tried to tinker with a wine cooler storage and it ended up overhumidifying all my cigars. Since then I store all my sticks in a non-temp controlled plastic air tight tupperware with 65% RH beads and they have been smoking very well.

Something to think about...if temperature was so important, how did everyone smoke cigars 100+ years ago when there were no AC or wineadors? Just keep the RH steady and you are golden.

[Fuzz]

As a fellow Sydneysider, the only thing that would work is either running the AC during the hot days or converting a wine fridge.

Just an FYI for those guys outside of Aus, most Aussie homes do not have a basement (I've never seen a home with one). Most houses nowadays are built on concrete slabs or stilts in flood prone areas.

[OleOle]

Thanks very much everyone for your excellent information and advice, it is sincerely and gratefully appreciated.

I had hoped to be in a position by now to have taken some early temperature and humidity readings and to present some of my initial impressions but the local tobacconist hasn't got back to me yet with the dang Boveda or even quotes for the smokes. I was trying to do my bit for the local industry by supporting my local tobacconist - they are disappearing at an alarming rate - yet reading between the lines it seems he's just importing the Boveda direct from the company, so much for him getting quotes from "his suppliers". It would probably be faster and cheaper for me now just to do the same thing and I'm pretty sure that had I ordered from the *****as site, then I'd probably have the smokes in hand. It's a good job I'm not in any hurry!

Anyway, a couple of comments by way of clarification. Yes, you are correct, there's no air conditioning here but there is probably a slightly cooler back-of-a-cupboard although I had rather wanted to put the humidor on the bottom of the bookcase so that I can glance at the hygrometer to make sure things were tracking as expected. In case anyone is curious, this is the humidor I bought with the hygometer visible from the front:

http://www.ebay.it/itm/Humidor-Umidificatore-per-88-Sigari-Classico-3-/250835950771

I'm quite happy with the construction of the product, the lid closes snugly, there's a pretty tight seal between the hygrometer and the front wooden panel however only time will tell if it does the job well. I'll also be getting another humidity and temp gauge from Boveda to place inside as I wouldn't want to rely solely on the one on the front of the humidor, but the front one might be enough to provide a reasonable indication and if for some reason it looks to be fluctuating wildly I'll be able to open the lid and get a more accurate reading, that's the plan anyway and far better to keep the lid closed for stability rather than opening it just to check the numbers.

I have to say, from the comments above and thinking further about your suggestions, I am leaning toward the idea of 65/65 (or at the very least getting the RH as close as possible to 65 as it might be impossible to control the temp given my current circumstances) and I grinned and laughed at the comment made about smoking cigars 100 years ago without air con

The other point made about only storing them short term is probably right as I can see myself opening the lid to sample a few more than I envisage at the moment and probably the wine cooler or a/c is the way to go if I have any aspirations about putting some age on the sticks. I like the idea of aging a box or two but I'm probably kidding myself as it seems from your comments that I'll need something far more substantial than a basic desktop humidor for effective aging.

Anyway guys, thanks very much for all your comments, thoughts, suggestions and information. When I get everything up and running I'll put some pics and comments up here. I have to say, I feel a lot happier about it after reading all your posts, seems that the higher temperature isn't going to be a deal-breaker, just something that I have to be mindful of and find ways to overcome - this is good, this is encouraging!

Thanks again guys, much appreciated!

[PigFish]

My best advice to a neophyte is not to over think this. I write often and extensively on cigar climate control on this site, and run a small business selling products to support my ideas, and with that as a background, I say take it one step at a time.

There are many points to agree with and disagree with in what has been posted above. I am not going to mix up your thread here by taking on the points.

Ultimately, my belief is that one should keep their storage as simple as possible. The more control you want, the more costly the solution. There are advantages and disadvantages to all forms of cigar storage. Cost and budget ultimately becomes a factor for most of us.

After smoking for a period of time you will develop your own tastes and opinions and likely fall into a ‘camp.’ This camp will parse you into many groups and subgroups where storage preference will become one of the groups.

With all the hearsay and opinions about cigars that you will find in books and roaming the net, there is really, in fact only one ‘truth’ to cigar keeping. The truth is based in water content and what water content can do to your cigars. Too much water and you lose your cigars to biologics that grow in and on the cigars and use them for food. Too little water and the cigars break down structurally and become unsmokable.

Within the envelope of what is the acceptable water content, the rest is based on taste and is subjective. I believe that the one factor that the owner can have over his cigar ‘hoard’ is the control of water content. And in that water content envelope, you will find a point that is best suited for your taste and in your cigars. This part is subjective as I stated before and not something that can be proven. It is a matter of my taste and my cigars, as it will be a matter of your taste and your cigars.

There is one comment above that I will take issue with because it is bad data. rH is not all that matters!

The percentage moisture content of cigars is based on two factors, rH and temperature.

How I store my cigars is of little consequence to you. But the majority have spoken out about a range of numbers that most consider preferential.

So as an example, if we take the “popular” numbers of 65/65 and call them optimum, the statement of the importance of temperature has already been made. You will note that no one mentioned 65rH @ 100˚F. If you take that same 65rH and store the cigar 100˚F, you will not get the same water content, taste, nor the same condition in your cigar. This is not opinion, nor speculation, but a fact… 65rH and 100˚ WILL YIELD far dryer cigars than 65rH and 65˚F. Temperature does matter!

I bring this up because I don’t want to see you damage your cigars.

Of course dryer cigars are to my taste, but I don’t store cigars at 100˚F. All I can tell you is this. You are going to get an extremely dry cigar stored at 100˚F and 65rH. Furthermore, your 100˚ air is going to strip those little Bovida packs of water faster than you can shake a stick at them if it is ‘dry’ 100˚ air!

Lastly this… If you are truly going to experience 100˚ temperatures where you store your cigars, do yourself a favor and don’t buy hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of cigars until you get a handle on how you must adjust your rH to deal with those temperatures. While the temperature alone will not damage the cigars, the combination of temperature and water content of the environment certainly can. Keep your stash to a minimum until you have got your storage worked out.

Welcome to the forum, and best of luck on your journey!

-the Pig

[Fuzz]

One of the reasons why I only keep a small stash of cigars at home is that I can't be bothered keeping optimum temps/RH. I keep my cigars under the staircase with my wine, in a 30L air-tight plastic tub with a bunch of beads for humidity. Temps don't fluctuate greatly down there, and with the slate floor, it stays relatively cool.

I let Rob worry about maintaining the proper temp and humidity for my main stash!

[OleOle]

The Pig - thanks very much for your detailed comments, I have been mulling them over the last few days and also thanks to Fuzz for pointing out that I already have a 'larger stash' climatically controlled by FOH

Actually, I ordered a few cigars from the FOH underground network a few days ago and was given some excellent information by Alister (so if you're reading this Alister, thanks again mate) as I decided I had waited long enough for the local tobacconist to get back to me and I've also just ordered direct from Boveda the humidor seasoning packs, cedar holder, hydro calibration kit and twelve of the 69 RH packs.

I have to say I have really appreciated all the comments and perspectives offered on this thread and it has really helped clarify my thinking. I also have to say I liked the advice 'don't over think it' and the salient reminder that I will actually have to live with and get to know how my cigars are adjusting to the climatic conditions I have here and that that knowledge will only come over time.

The other thing that I have been mulling over is the probability of higher temperatures here and the increased evaporation with those elevated temperatures. Sure, it won't be hot all year round but it has been known to be hot for sometimes extended periods so rather than go for the 65 RH Boveda packs as I was leaning towards earlier, I have decided to start with the 69 RH packs as there is a good chance that if there is any adverse impact from high temperatures which might dry out the air leading to the possibility of a lower than 69 RH in the humidor.

Conversely, there is occasionally quite high humidity here too and it often accompanies higher temperatures, so at this stage I cannot really gauge any further without specific knowledge of the temperatures and RH inside the humidor, hence why I thought it was also important to buy a hydro calibration kit which also has a digital thermometer and hygrometer from Boveda.

The cigars will no doubt arrive before the Boveda does so I'll be freezing the cigars until I have seasoned the humidor with the Boveda, then I'll read up more on the unfreezing part of the plan before transferring them to the humidor and I've been reading about the concept of 'dry boxing' cigars which many commentators seemed to think reduces the level of humidity in the cigar to provide a better burning, more flavourful smoking experience...

...and if there is any point to getting a humidor working well it is to preserve the life of the cigars until you're ready to smoke them; so thanks very much once again to everyone who have commented on this thread, it is gratefully appreciated and I'll add some pics of the humidor when I finally get it up and running.

Thanks again for all your help guys, cheers!

[JohnS]

As a fellow Sydneysider, I've also had to take into account the warm temperatures we get in the summertime. I now store my humidor in a cool, dark cabinet in my bar. I also use 69rh Boveda packs, but I drybox my cigars now for a day or two prior to smoking. Unless your home has gas running in the wintertime or the air conditioning in the summertime, the average rh in Sydney is 60% throughout the year so I wouldn't worry about your sticks drying out when the temperature outside is moderate. I used to but not now.

[mrjon86]

Sorry to necro an old topic but I see it is most suited to answer my few questions.

I live in Malaysia where it's hot and humid. Ambient temperatures hit up to 85F and humidity 60+RH.

I run 2 desktop humidors and a tupperdor with xicar gel AND 69RH bovedas. That puts the environment of my humidors and tupperdor at 67-68RH and 85F. I know that the T is not the most suitable for cigars but I can't afford to run the a/c 24/7 or build a wineador.

My question is, at the given T which I can't control, what range of RH should I aspire to keep? And since the xicar gel supposedly gives 70RH, and the bovedas 68RH, should I use lower or higher RH bovedas or chuck the xicar gels altogether? Coz the way I see it, (I might be wrong tho) the gel n bovedas have reacted with one another to get the RH to that 67-68RH.

Hope all you cigar masters can chime in and voice out your opinions. And that pigfish can too, as what I've read in these forums, he's the man for the job

[PigFish]

I am one of a very small camp of people who thinks that temperature control is very important in cigar storage.

I wrote the above to be a little thought provoking, because there are a lot of people who believe in a certain specific temperature and they too believe in temperature control... but those folks, most of them, are fathoms away from my specific mindset.

I don't believe that high temperatures hurts cigars...! This makes my view a minority one. Yes, there are specific risks with insects at these higher temps but there are pre-storage solutions that you can take for that specific problem.

If you were to ask me at what temperature I store cigars, it is likely less than your ambient provides, but that in itself, the fact that it is different and that "I" do it does not make it right! It simply makes it right for me, and available to me. The fact that it works for me and is AVAILABLE to me is important to me and should be to you. There is in fact no right solution, there are however solutions that work, and are affordable. You must satisfy both for a working solution. I have to admit it however; working and affordability are at odds with each other in some of these harsh environments and you may live in one!

What is most important to me is that I can control the water content in my cigars via the control of rH and temperature. You see there is no other way to control it. Furthermore, the two factors are married in a confusing relationship which is isostatic to the Cuban cigar and more generally to the world of tobacco as species. It is not controlled by either water or temperature, but by both together. Understanding this, also puts me in the minority.

If you cannot rule your environment you will be ruled by it. The fact remains that we are all 'driven' by it (the environment and ambient conditions) regardless of how we store. The 'drive' determines what steps we take to control the cigar environment. We call that control, the humidor!

To be more specific to your issues, you will likely have more problems with changing temperature and high rH than anything else. As a result, I will tell you that should likely pay more attention to controlling free water in your humidor when and where you can. It might be helpful for you to buy a data logger, if not for your humidor, certainly first to test your home and place of storage. Your solution will be based on what you see in temperature and humidity, and most importantly (IMHO) in how it ranges and how rapidly it changes. The right answer may well be to put them in a box with nothing to supply water at all.

I hope that helps you some. If I have glossed over some specifics, just post more specific questions and I will try to get to them.

Best of luck on your project... Cheers! -Piggy

[mrjon86]

Thank you for the swift reply. I guess a temperature controlled wineador / fridgeador will have to be in the works soon.

As for data logging, no time for that now. But I have been peeking alot at my hygrometer at ambient room environment and it has been stable at 60-61RH and 85-86F...

[PigFish]

Thank you for the swift reply. I guess a temperature controlled wineador / fridgeador will have to be in the works soon.

As for data logging, no time for that now. But I have been peeking alot at my hygrometer at ambient room environment and it has been stable at 60-61RH and 85-86F...

I am only hazarding a guess here, these are your cigars, but I am guessing that 60rH at 85˚F might be too dry. Now, dry is good for me, but I know exactly how my cigars are kept and they are very stable at 70˚F and 60 to 61rH depending on the humidor and I feel the cigars acclimatized in each unit.

Just keep an eye on them getting too dry. If you are newer to cigars, or have stock that you have not had for a year or more, then you might have a handle on things already. But, many vendors store too wet (MHO) and therefore you may think you have a handle on something until you uncover a box that you wished to store of a longer time, and find out it is too dry.

As humidors are entered and closed with contents added and subtracted, stability comes in part from equipment (if you have automation) and otherwise from the cigars and contents themselves. Newer smokers assume that a few weeks of stability, or relative stability means that they have the horse by the tail and they begin to slack off. This is an error... As free water supplies begin to leave the cigars in a dryer ambient, you may find yourself posting here, "What happened?" I see this all the time...

Remember, without automation (this is not a pitch) you are the administrator and controller of your little world.

I find that there is a lot of piece of mind in knowing that I can leave a humidor for weeks unattended. This is my approach but there are limiting factors and budgetary restrains that keep the solution from being universal. That's life! I no longer really tend to cigars. I tend to data loggers... -LOL My responsibility to download data loggers is a real pain in the ass! Hell, if it were not for going to pull out a data logger, or off load data from one, I may not go to a humidor for a month...

Remember then, you don't have a stable state until it is proven to you for a long period. A couple of weeks does not make it stable. It may just be transitioning in increments that you cannot see with your system of reporting. Keeping an eye on your ambient will tell you where your humidor is going if it is driven by the ambient and not other appliances.

Good luck on your project! Cheers... -Piggy

[mrjon86]

I do agree that 60RH at 85F is too dry. As for now, i run a passive humidification setup in my humidors that gives a 66-67RH at 85F reading on my hygrometer.

Now my next question is, i've read that RH is dependant on temperature. Thus, a higher temperature in actuality yields a higher RH than what is read on the hygrometer. Or is it the other way around? Or am i wrong altogether?

I've only been smoking for a year plus, so my stock has been primarily from 2013/2014. I dont have a large collection (about 150 odd sticks) so basically im smoking them as i go with no long term aging in mind for the time being.

Oh another question, do lower RHs cause the cigars to be somewhat hard in consistency? Or is it purely construction, ie over bunching/filling?

Thanks again Pigfish!

[purpleloki]

I live in Florida with my house at around 74 degrees. My wineador is at 62 degrees. So, I have monitored it for about 3 1/2 months and have a steady 62 F/67 RH ratio using only 67% humidity beads. I too have about 150 cigars (mostly in boxes) and am interesting in mid term aging for now. The only way I've been able to maintain the steady 67% rh is by keeping the temperature low.