Quarantine New Cigars

[MasterYotti]

Hello FOHers,

I have a quick question about quarantining new purchases before they are added to you main humidor (general population). How long do you do this for an why?

 

As I have understood, there are only two reasons to do this:

1.) To lower/lift the RH to the same level as your general population to avoid drops/spikes of the overall stock. 

2.) To ensure that there are no bugs lingering around that could compromise your general population.

 

I have a NewAir CC-300H and only buy cigars through FOH (boxes and singles). I know that some people tend to freeze stock before going in, but I don’t believe this would be necessary with my setup since FOH cigars are frozen before they get to Rob and then frozen before they are sent to me (correct me if I am wrong) and I maintain a consistently low temperature (62 F) in my main humidor anyway. I currently only quarantine (in a Boveda bag, at room temperature of 70F with 65RH Boveda) for around 2 weeks as it seems they are shipped with higher RH (which I would rather have than too dry). More worried about the RH stabilization before introduction than the pests.

I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this and if it is overkill or maybe I am overthinking it. Does it take this long for others to stabilize the RH? I just am trying to come up with a solid system geared towards efficiency and effectiveness. 

[Fuzz]

FOH do not freeze cigars before shipping.

 

[Wailbait]

Personally, I have never done that.  They go right in from FOH.  Cigars are frozen before export from Cuba.   If purchasing from the island, it is advisable to freeze.  I have never frozen anything else.  

[rcarlson]

Flattening the curve?  

You're overthinking it.  

[MasterYotti]

13 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

FOH do not freeze cigars before shipping.

 

For some reason I thought I remember reading this before on the forum, but I must’ve misunderstood. Thank you for letting me know.

[zappaFREAK]

No harm freezing....better safe than sorry in my world.

[Chas.Alpha]

Back to topic, I placed the 50 ct. box of PSP PLPC’s (lucky me!)  in my cabinet this week, that had began it’s journey some 5 weeks ago. My Cigar Oasis (oversized for it’s surroundings) has been working overtime to catch up!

 

On 5/10/2020 at 1:51 AM, Chas.Alpha said:

Back to topic, I placed the 50 ct. box of PSP PLPC’s (lucky me!)  in my cabinet this week, that had began it’s journey some 5 weeks ago. My Cigar Oasis (oversized for it’s surroundings) has been working overtime to catch up!

My bad, I thought you were talking about RH, not buggers... ?

[nKostyan]

Each box has a memo. If you observe the storage temperature specified there, the beetle eggs will not hatch. Cigars sold through the distribution network are shock-frozen in Cuba. The beetle may re-enter to the box at the dealer's warehouse or store, but professionals do not allow this. I don't freeze FOH cigars - I trust completely.

[CaptainQuintero]

  I definitely came here expecting it to be a COVID19 quarantine related question!

  In regard to humidity spikes, you should be totally fine. A humidor that has been set up and stable for a while will have everything inside it at a pretty set level. I'm not going as far as to say equilibrium, but there'll be enough material inside the environment that is set at the rh you've set it at, to be a buffer to an addition going in. You have your beads/pouches etc that provide your desired rh on top of that. You want to get your new cigars acclimatised in 3 months as fast as possible so get them in there!

  For bugs, that a different issue. If you're happy not freezing then carry on, a quarantine won't effect bugs either way. A good mooch round the box for mites etc should be enough.

[LLC]

I’ve always taken any new boxes or singles and after initial inspection put them in a zip lock bag for 30 days and into a humidor. After 30 days inspect again, take out of the zip lock bag and put them back in a humidor.

I’ve never actually had any issue but better safe than sorry and I’m not having one in the first 30 days anyway.


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[planetary]

Orders from FOH: straight into the humidor.

Box splits from members: into a tupperdor for a month or two, then into the humidor.

I only have a handful of hand rolled cigars from cuba, from a group buy organized by a member.  Received vac sealed, and I left them that way.  Not sure if this is the best practice.

[MasterYotti]

So it looks like the consensus is that there isn't much of a quarantine coming from FOH orders. I think I will follow the same. @CaptainQuintero are you saying that the RH of the new cigars is negligible to the RH of the humidor and it will balance quickly with little to no consequence to the cigars current in the humidor stock?

 

[Odessa]

Investment in 6-day freezing process (1 in a refrigerator/4 in a freezer/1 in a refrigerator) is much less than investment in cigars. That is my opinion. People go the way whatever they are comfortable with.

Couple of people above mentioned that cigars are frozen before export from Cuba. Do you really trust socialist Cuban government statements? Do you really think freezing process is thorough in Cuba? I know first hand what the socialist system is. I don't trust them.

I believe, by FOH rules I cannot mention cigar vendor name. The vendor is reputable (has a quite a lot of positive reviews on different forums and websites). I have ordered a box of tubed cigars from the vendor. Box was sealed, cigars were frozen in my fridge on arrival. I have opened the box afterwards. One of the cigar had a three holes definitely made by beetle(s). I understand there is a chance that beetle(s) may have been active between the time cigar was rolled and possibly frozen in Cuba. But, to me it's better to freeze at home than take a chance of having un-welcomed guests.  Just sharing my experience.

Hope none of you will be frustrated by looking at a cigar ruined by beetles.

All the best.

[CaptainQuintero]

3 hours ago, MasterYotti said:

So it looks like the consensus is that there isn't much of a quarantine coming from FOH orders. I think I will follow the same. @CaptainQuintero are you saying that the RH of the new cigars is negligible to the RH of the humidor and it will balance quickly with little to no consequence to the cigars current in the humidor stock?

 

  As far as I've experienced, it's never even registered any change in any of my hygrometers. I'd hazard a guess to say opening your humidor to take a cigar out would have more of an effectz and that will be back to normal quickly.

  If you are running something where a 25 count box is making up a say a quarter of the volume of your humidor then there might be some slight temp change. But even then I'd expect only a single percentage or so change for maybe a few hours? Just until the beads et al readjust the rh.

  Shipped stuff is probably only going to be at most around 5% different to your humidor unless you run a really, really low % humidor, Even then, I'd expect it to be a temporary negligible change.

  What are you using for storage, size etc?

[Monterey]

12 hours ago, Fuzz said:

FOH do not freeze cigars before shipping.

 

FOH may not, but PCC does.  Sort of the same thing.

[Smalls]

8 hours ago, planetary said:

Orders from FOH: straight into the humidor.

Box splits from members: into a tupperdor for a month or two, then into the humidor.

I only have a handful of hand rolled cigars from cuba, from a group buy organized by a member.  Received vac sealed, and I left them that way.  Not sure if this is the best practice.

Forgive me if you already know this, but I remember vac sealing being mentioned in one of the FOH review videos.   The main thing about vac sealing seems to be that it slows the aging process down.  However, some prefer the results over traditional aging.   So if you are vac sealing to prevent beetles, or just because of preference, it should be fine.  It may just take longer to age to your liking.   

I can probably find the video if you would like.  Although, vac sealing was only mentioned briefly.  

[Fuzz]

5 hours ago, Monterey said:

FOH may not, but PCC does.  Sort of the same thing.

I'm not aware of PCC HK freezing their cigars? Also pretty sure their Aus warehouse have no freezing facilities either. Temp controlled, but not freezing.

[StogieSteve23]

19 hours ago, CaptainQuintero said:

  I definitely came here expecting it to be a COVID19 quarantine related question!

 

Me too ?

[MasterYotti]

On 5/10/2020 at 1:40 PM, Monterey said:

FOH may not, but PCC does.  Sort of the same thing.

Maybe this is where I remember seeing it!

 

On 5/10/2020 at 11:36 AM, CaptainQuintero said:

  As far as I've experienced, it's never even registered any change in any of my hygrometers. I'd hazard a guess to say opening your humidor to take a cigar out would have more of an effectz and that will be back to normal quickly.

  If you are running something where a 25 count box is making up a say a quarter of the volume of your humidor then there might be some slight temp change. But even then I'd expect only a single percentage or so change for maybe a few hours? Just until the beads et al readjust the rh.

  Shipped stuff is probably only going to be at most around 5% different to your humidor unless you run a really, really low % humidor, Even then, I'd expect it to be a temporary negligible change.

  What are you using for storage, size etc?

Currently I have a NewAir CC-300H (300-400 count humidor) with 4 320g Bovedas and about 10 60g Bovedas. There is roughly 150 cigars in there currently, but once my next shipments come in from FOH (hopefully soon since I have been waiting awhile due to the state of things) I will be at about 250.

[CaptainQuintero]

6 minutes ago, MasterYotti said:

Currently I have a NewAir CC-300H (300-400 count humidor) with 4 320g Bovedas and about 10 60g Bovedas. There is roughly 150 cigars in there currently, but once my next shipments come in from FOH (hopefully soon since I have been waiting awhile due to the state of things) I will be at about 250.

 Oh yeah, no problem with that, throw it in! You could probably stick empty boxes in there to help bulk out the volume if you have any, it would help create s bit of a buffer compared to having empty space.

  Rh is always a patience thing too, the worst thing you can do for your sanity it sit looking at hygrometers or keep walking past and checking on them. Plus they have a huge swing in margins of error unless you're spending triple digits on them. If you can trust your system and rely on the feel of your cigars then you remove a lot of that worry/stress headspace 

[PigFish]

... a serious topic indeed!

[SansSin]

if i didn't store all of my cigars in wineadors i would probably freeze them just to be safe. i think between cuba hopefully freezing most of them and the wineadors i should be fairly safe. i may buy some battery backup outlets soon too just to be extra safe, electric company aep sucks around here.

for rh i think it just depends on the amount of seasoned cedar in your humi to buffer. the less seasoned cedar and humidified cigars the more you need to worry about rh swings from adding too many cigars at once.

[Monterey]

8 hours ago, Fuzz said:

I'm not aware of PCC HK freezing their cigars? Also pretty sure their Aus warehouse have no freezing facilities either. Temp controlled, but not freezing.

Well, maybe @El Presidente can confirm one way or another.  I know I've seen it here, but I can't find it.

But if they didn't, then why would buying online from FOH carry any less risk than buying a box on the island if boxes are only frozen while in Cuba?.   It is mentioned over and over that cigars bought here are general safe from a beetle outbreak.  If they didn't freeze, what do they do between the freeze of of Cuba and sending the boxes to customers that lowers the risk if it is isn't freezing?

[MasterYotti]

On 5/11/2020 at 3:32 AM, CaptainQuintero said:

 Oh yeah, no problem with that, throw it in! You could probably stick empty boxes in there to help bulk out the volume if you have any, it would help create s bit of a buffer compared to having empty space.

  Rh is always a patience thing too, the worst thing you can do for your sanity it sit looking at hygrometers or keep walking past and checking on them. Plus they have a huge swing in margins of error unless you're spending triple digits on them. If you can trust your system and rely on the feel of your cigars then you remove a lot of that worry/stress headspace 

That is very true, I guess it is best to make sure that I am within an acceptable range for my setup. Generally I don't fluctuate more than 2 degrees from top to bottom, and 3 RH from top to bottom! Definitely need to remember the patience aspect of our hobby. Aging sticks will probably be the hardest part! ?

 

On 5/11/2020 at 3:51 AM, davidv said:

if i didn't store all of my cigars in wineadors i would probably freeze them just to be safe. i think between cuba hopefully freezing most of them and the wineadors i should be fairly safe. i may buy some battery backup outlets soon too just to be extra safe, electric company aep sucks around here.

for rh i think it just depends on the amount of seasoned cedar in your humi to buffer. the less seasoned cedar and humidified cigars the more you need to worry about rh swings from adding too many cigars at once.

I completely agree. I am fortunate enough to have a wineador, which was the initial reason in getting one. So I could trust that my temperature fluctuations would be minimal and never reach a potentially jeopardizing temperature.

 

On 5/11/2020 at 4:19 AM, Monterey said:

Well, maybe @El Presidente can confirm one way or another.  I know I've seen it here, but I can't find it.

But if they didn't, then why would buying online from FOH carry any less risk than buying a box on the island if boxes are only frozen while in Cuba?.   It is mentioned over and over that cigars bought here are general safe from a beetle outbreak.  If they didn't freeze, what do they do between the freeze of of Cuba and sending the boxes to customers that lowers the risk if it is isn't freezing?

I completely agree, I feel like with the amount of cigars that are sent through FOH, we would see many cases if it were an issue. 

[CaptainQuintero]

  If you're running a wine fridge turned on, be aware that you're introducing moisture into the unit as a consequence of the cooling effect so need a system to deal with that excess moisture