Newcomer (Newbie) Q&A

[Ken Gargett]

18 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

This is more of a post for the forum but you will need to disclose, what cigars, provenance, how have they been stored and how long. 

Generally if all cigars are smoking poorly, then the problem is either your stock, your  storage conditions or you. Have you been ill of late?...etc 

reading your post, my first thought was exactly this. glad rob raised it. it might be some change in yourself. an allergy causing issue? pine nuts are notorious. not necessarily a cold or flu. could be anything. on that cheery note...

[Lucass111]

I feel like the main problem is the fact that the ember of the stick is getting so hot, that it is turning hard. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this and what they did to fix the issue. I have all my stock in a wineador that is unplugged. The rh is 65% and the temp is 67f. Hygros have been calibrated and I am using 65% bovedas. Mostly non Cubans but I do have a few boxes in there. I have switched to the bovedas recently so maybe this threw everything out of whack. I just cant figure out if they are over or under humidified. Im thinking under because they burn so hot but I haven't got a clue. Sorry if I'm looking for answers in the wrong thread.

[...]

25 minutes ago, Lucass111 said:

I feel like the main problem is the fact that the ember of the stick is getting so hot, that it is turning hard. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this and what they did to fix the issue. I have all my stock in a wineador that is unplugged. The rh is 65% and the temp is 67f. Hygros have been calibrated and I am using 65% bovedas. Mostly non Cubans but I do have a few boxes in there. I have switched to the bovedas recently so maybe this threw everything out of whack. I just cant figure out if they are over or under humidified. Im thinking under because they burn so hot but I haven't got a clue. Sorry if I'm looking for answers in the wrong thread.

Could be many things. This is a concept with a few moving parts so you will get a few seemingly unrelated suggestions.

I would suggest you try and apply some science/patience to the process.

You first need to figure out what happened. Please read as much as you care on the subject.

Once you have some facts to put together, you should be able to design a correcting protocol.

To paraphrase Ray, I'd say the environment outside the humidor (including seasonal fluctuations) is as much a factor as the conditions inside the humidor... nothing is an absolute - it all needs to be put in perspective to make sense.

Cheers!

[Silverstix]

I recently made a purchase from another online vendor, and when I received the cigars they had mold spots on them.  Not fuzzy caterpillars, but they did have spots on them.  I wiped them all off and put them in a gallon Ziploc with a 65 boveda.  It's been just over a week now, no mold coming back.  My storage is right at 65/65 - is it safe to put them back into general population yet? What do you all think?  And if my storage conditions are good, the mold shouldn't come back, right?

Thanks in advance!!

[Martin_F]

14 hours ago, Lucass111 said:

I just cant figure out if they are over or under humidified.

Take a couple of cigars, put them in a ziploc/freezer bag with a calibrated hygrometer that you trust only and let them sit for a day.

Then you'll know pretty close what the humidity of the cigars is.

If you just made a switch, 70% boveda to 65% boveda etc. it might take a while for the cigars to acclimate.

[Silverstix]

23 minutes ago, FatherOfPugs said:

If no mold has come back after a week you should be good to go. If it was just a few spots, wiping them off and then getting them acclimated at proper temp and RH should do the trick.

That's great, thanks brother.  Makes my skin crawl a bit opening the box and seeing that.  On the plus side - they are Vegueros Mananitas with a box code of 2014

[NotLawReview]

On 4/8/2018 at 9:55 PM, zking said:

What is a good $2-$3 CC? if there is such one?

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I'm a big fan of the HDM Palmas Extra, but as Ethernut suggested, check out the Cheep and Cheerful section for other great recommendations. 

[Silverstix]

I searched, found, and read a bunch of posts about beads and boveda packs.  This may be a bit of a rhetorical question, or a statement, but I wanted to bounce it off you guys....

I have several large tupperdors and I use 2 bovedas in each of them with great success.  I just bought a large desktop humidor (300ct) for my desk at work, and knowing that this is not as airtight as Tupperware I know that I will need more boveda packs.  The boveda website tells me 12!?!? packs will be required for a box this size.  That seems like a ton of packs to me.  As such, I'm leaning towards going with beads instead, I would only need 1/2lb and I think they would take up a lot less space than all of those boveda packs.  I'm planning on getting a couple of those 7 day pill organizers, cutting the tops off, and filling them up with beads as a slick way of laying out the beads

So, what say you?  Anyone here actually using 12 boveda packs in a large humidor?  I don't even know how I'd lay out that many packs

[Colt45]

6 minutes ago, Silverstix said:

I searched, found, and read a bunch of posts about beads and boveda packs.

So, what say you? 

Personally, I'm a fan of beads, and only add moisture (indirectly) as needed. There are many ways to utilize them - the pill box is interesting. You can also use a slim but wide tupper type container with open cell foam or window screen, and drill / poke holes in the lid. Or, you can check out member Mark's product:

http://www.hbshumidifiers.com/

I  believe Ray also has, or had a system that could be used in "non cooler" systems.

[prodigy]

I searched, found, and read a bunch of posts about beads and boveda packs.  This may be a bit of a rhetorical question, or a statement, but I wanted to bounce it off you guys....
I have several large tupperdors and I use 2 bovedas in each of them with great success.  I just bought a large desktop humidor (300ct) for my desk at work, and knowing that this is not as airtight as Tupperware I know that I will need more boveda packs.  The boveda website tells me 12!?!? packs will be required for a box this size.  That seems like a ton of packs to me.  As such, I'm leaning towards going with beads instead, I would only need 1/2lb and I think they would take up a lot less space than all of those boveda packs.  I'm planning on getting a couple of those 7 day pill organizers, cutting the tops off, and filling them up with beads as a slick way of laying out the beads
So, what say you?  Anyone here actually using 12 boveda packs in a large humidor?  I don't even know how I'd lay out that many packs

I have a huge dunhill humidor. I was using maybe 4 or 5 packs and was keeping it at 68 rH. I switched to cc and dropped the rH per lots of people's recommendations. I ended up taking out all of them, and it took like a week to drop down to 60%. Now I use a small xikar gel humidifier and it holds at 62 pretty solid. So, long answer short, it's going to depend a lot on your exactly humidor. If it's got a tight seal, a couple packs might do the job. Might have to do some trial and error to see what works best in your humidor. I'll snag some pics later if you want to see some pictures.

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[Silverstix]

I've got a small desktop humidor and I have 2 boveda 65% packs in it with two small Xikar Cigar Bars and that seems to keep the RH around 65 - 67% most days for about 50 cigars inside. I have a larger desktop (250 count) that I keep with one Xikar Cigar bar in each drawer with about 1 Boveda 65% pack per 25 cigars, and that seems to keep my RH steady in that humidor. In my coolidor (100 quart) I have 4 Boveda packs (2 @69%, and 2@72%) for the whole thing and it keeps my long-term storage around 70% RH. I can't imagine you would need 12 packs for a 300 ct humidor.

Oh wow so you are mixing media in your 250 count? That’s interesting. Currently I use boveda for everything currently with good results.....they are awesome in my Tupperware (and your coolers), and for my small 25 count humidor I use 2 packs. But the problem is in making the jump to my new 300 count.....boveda recommends 12 packs if I use the rule of thumb of 1 per 25 cigars. That seems nuts to me. Not sure what I’m gonna do yet, I’m curious to give the beads a try I should only need 1/4lb or so


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[Silverstix]

I have a huge dunhill humidor. I was using maybe 4 or 5 packs and was keeping it at 68 rH. I switched to cc and dropped the rH per lots of people's recommendations. I ended up taking out all of them, and it took like a week to drop down to 60%. Now I use a small xikar gel humidifier and it holds at 62 pretty solid. So, long answer short, it's going to depend a lot on your exactly humidor. If it's got a tight seal, a couple packs might do the job. Might have to do some trial and error to see what works best in your humidor. I'll snag some pics later if you want to see some pictures.

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Yeah man that would be great to see some pics!


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[prodigy]

Yeah man that would be great to see some pics!


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Here you go. I have 4, 72% bovedas in the bigger one. Keeps my NC at 68% and the smaller one just uses the one small xikar gel puck. Holds close to 62%, it was at 61 when I opened it up to take picks. I prefer it to be on the dryer side, so unless it drops below 60, I don't worry too much.

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[Dynamo320]

4 hours ago, Silverstix said:

The boveda website tells me 12!?!? packs will be required for a box this size.  That seems like a ton of packs to me.  As such, I'm leaning towards going with beads instead, I would only need 1/2lb and I think they would take up a lot less space than all of those boveda packs.  I'm planning on getting a couple of those 7 day pill organizers, cutting the tops off, and filling them up with beads as a slick way of laying out the beads

So, what say you?  Anyone here actually using 12 boveda packs in a large humidor?  I don't even know how I'd lay out that many packs

Have you looked into the larger 320 gram Boveda packs? I would think you can mount 2 of then in your lid or 1 on top 1 on bottom and that would probably do the trick in a much neater fashion. They are each over 5 times more powerful than an individual 60 gram pack and they last a long time.  They sell slide mounts for them too, although I just Velcro them to the lid. Another option to look at. Around $20ish each on Amazon. 

[Silverstix]

Have you looked into the larger 320 gram Boveda packs? I would think you can mount 2 of then in your lid or 1 on top 1 on bottom and that would probably do the trick in a much neater fashion. They are each over 5 times more powerful than an individual 60 gram pack and they last a long time.  They sell slide mounts for them too, although I just Velcro them to the lid. Another option to look at. Around $20ish each on Amazon. 

Yeah I saw those, definitely like those better than a bunch of smaller packs. I’m an OCD weirdo though, I want to avoid mounting anything to the underside of the lid. If I go with boveda I would probably go with the 320 gram packs, thanks that’s a good idea. Still may give the beads a shot in the name of science lol


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[Dynamo320]

 

 

3 minutes ago, Silverstix said:

Yeah I saw those, definitely like those better than a bunch of smaller packs. I’m an OCD weirdo though, I want to avoid mounting anything to the underside of the lid. If I go with boveda I would probably go with the 320 gram packs, thanks that’s a good idea. Still may give the beads a shot in the name of science lol

Another advantage I’ve found with the 320 g packs is they don’t have the sharp edges that the regular packs have if you are laying them among your goods. I’ve cut a few wrappers with those sharp edges while moving things around. I hate that!

[shadowACE]

A question about cabs and storage. I don't have a large enough humidor to store a cab in. Is it acceptable to throw a couple humidity packs in the cab box?

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[Puros Y Vino]

5 minutes ago, shadowACE said:

A question about cabs and storage. I don't have a large enough humidor to store a cab in. Is it acceptable to throw a couple humidity packs in the cab box?

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Cigar boxes/cabinets make terrible humidors. But...... you can toss in a Boveda and then store the cabinet in a big Ziploc bag if you're really cramped for space.  A couple of small ones or a big Boveda should be fine. Check on it every week to see if it's over/under-humidified.  

[Buck14]

On 4/12/2018 at 11:54 AM, shadowACE said:

A question about cabs and storage. I don't have a large enough humidor to store a cab in. Is it acceptable to throw a couple humidity packs in the cab box?

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Buy a 46 quart plastic container of Amazon for around $20 and two 320 gram 65 rH Boveda mega packs for $20 each. For $60 you’ll have yourself a fantastic humidor that will store around 15-20 boxes of cigars.

[Lucass111]

Hey guys I have a quick question about the 24:24. I read the pinned thread but would like to hear from you guys. I got a box from the 24:24 last week and Diana confirmed that my card went through. I was charged on my card but never got a confirmation or anything after that. This could be normal I'm not sure. This was my first purchase through the 24:24 and was just curious. I have 100% confidence just want to make sure. Thanks!

 

[prodigy]

Hey guys I have a quick question about the 24:24. I read the pinned thread but would like to hear from you guys. I got a box from the 24:24 last week and Diana confirmed that my card went through. I was charged on my card but never got a confirmation or anything after that. This could be normal I'm not sure. This was my first purchase through the 24:24 and was just curious. I have 100% confidence just want to make sure. Thanks!
 

You'll get another notification soon, when it's on the way.

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[Akela3rd]

Hey guys I have a quick question about the 24:24. I read the pinned thread but would like to hear from you guys. I got a box from the 24:24 last week and Diana confirmed that my card went through. I was charged on my card but never got a confirmation or anything after that. This could be normal I'm not sure. This was my first purchase through the 24:24 and was just curious. I have 100% confidence just want to make sure. Thanks!
 

Patience my friend. Boxes are picked from the warehouse the week after they are bought then dispatched. You'll hear soon enough...

[benfica_77]

So I have heard that when you have a tupperdore you should open it up every once in a while to let fresh air in. My question is this necessary? i.e. what's the science behind it? Finally how often should you do open it and give it air?  Thanks! 

[Stump89]

6 minutes ago, benfica_77 said:

So I have heard that when you have a tupperdore you should open it up every once in a while to let fresh air in. My question is this necessary? i.e. what's the science behind it? Finally how often should you do open it and give it air?  Thanks! 

Someone correct me if i am wrong, I was told that this is to help not only keep air flowing, but to allow any ammonia escape as the cigars are maturing.  I do this maybe once a month with my coolidor generally because I'm digging through for something specific to smoke. 

[Silverstix]

So I have heard that when you have a tupperdore you should open it up every once in a while to let fresh air in. My question is this necessary? i.e. what's the science behind it? Finally how often should you do open it and give it air?  Thanks! 

I am by no means an expert, but I do know that people often vacuum seal boxes that they plan on aging long term to slow down the aging process, so that further muddies the waters about the whole idea of airflow. I have no idea which is right or which is wrong or if there even is a right or wrong. As I’m finding more and more in this hobby, there are a lot of things that are personal preference. I don’t have any cigars that I plan on intentionally aging for 10+ years, and I’m in my tupperdor at least once a month so it’s not a problem for me.


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