Cigar Vacuum Sealing Guide For Long Term Storage

[Monterey]

7 hours ago, wjs said:

If removing the oxygen before sealing is the goal, would there be any reason not to sparge the box & bag with an inert gas (argon, nitrogen) before sealing? We do this with head space in tanks before bottling (wine) to prevent oxidation, seems like it could be another step in this process. Apologies if this is covered in the video, I haven't been able to finish it.

This has come up. The problem is that it is alot of work. How would you get it in the bag without it leaking while sealing up the bag? Shove the hose into the bag, vacuum, then at the last second, pull it out?  I think no matter what you do, oxygen would still get in. In reality, you suck 99 percent of the oxygen out. What little remains isn't going to dramatically alter the result. You would end up spending a lot of time on something that would make little to no difference.

[Nevrknow]

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but I do this with a food prep stash I have. Vacuum out MOST of the air and then throw in an oxygen absorber. Sucks out the remaining oxygen but doesn't " crush" the bag. So to speak.Throwing this out because my foggy memory remembers someone who " vacuum sealed " some cigars and damn. Crushed the hell out of them. Looked ridiculous. 😂

[Monterey]

2 hours ago, Nevrknow said:

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but I do this with a food prep stash I have. Vacuum out MOST of the air and then throw in an oxygen absorber. Sucks out the remaining oxygen but doesn't " crush" the bag. So to speak.Throwing this out because my foggy memory remembers someone who " vacuum sealed " some cigars and damn. Crushed the hell out of them. Looked ridiculous. 😂

I went over all this in the video. Nobody is suggesting crushing the box. Oxygen absorber is an interesting thing that I haven't tried. But as I go over, you remove 99 percent of the oxygen, what little remains has little to no impact.

[B44]

[batwick]

I considered vacuum sealing and Eddie talked me out of it. After watching this, I'll retry for science. 

[Monterey]

14 hours ago, batwick said:

I considered vacuum sealing and Eddie talked me out of it. After watching this, I'll retry for science. 

You do realize that in his reply (which is the same reply I got and referred to in the video) he confirms that vacuum sealing is superior, right?!.  Unless you prefer weaker and "delicate" flavors. Upon seeing that reply my first thought was " . . . and this is why I vacuum seal!" My cigars are kept at 60f and 63% humidity IN a vacuum seal. Best of both worlds.

[BrightonCorgi]

I vacuum seal primarily as I ran out of room in the Aristocrat and the wine cellar is too humid most of the year.  

[Well Armed]

On 10/22/2024 at 11:38 AM, wjs said:

If removing the oxygen before sealing is the goal, would there be any reason not to sparge the box & bag with an inert gas (argon, nitrogen) before sealing? We do this with head space in tanks before bottling (wine) to prevent oxidation, seems like it could be another step in this process. Apologies if this is covered in the video, I haven't been able to finish it.

This is a good question. Sounds difficult to achieve, and I wonder if the process would in any way affect the moisture content of the tobacco over time. Since you are replacing humidified air with a non-humidified gas, there would be moisture transfer from the tobacco into the inert gas, right?  Would this moisture loss be immaterial?  How do the RH characteristics of the inert gas compare to atmospheric air?

[SonicStag]

 

[MrBirdman]

The "full seal vs partial" has been brought up on the forum before. I am inclined to believe that the seal is the most important part, and in any case fully sealing boxes will lead to smooshed cigars (I have a few flat top Monte 1935s to prove this). I try to get a good bit of air out so it doesn't bulge. The only things I fully seal are old singles in oversized boxes. 

Oxygen is obviously corrosive but it's unclear what role it actually plays in cigar aging. Airflow carrying away the volatile compounds which give cigars their aroma is almost certainly the most important factor in long-term aging. The oxygen absorber idea is interesting, my only concern would be whether they remain completely odor free over time. 

 

[REesq]

With respect to the inert gas idea, it doesn't really work. As we found trying to use argon gas to preserve opened bottles of wine, the inert gas does not force the oxygen out but mixes with it. As a result, you need a lot of inert gas to bring the overall mixed gas ratio down. Not really worth the effort.