Expert: Bill Finck Jr. - 4/7/2008

Question
Hi.New to all this cigar smoking,well at least the good cigars.So I went and purchased a small(15) cigar humidor with an electronic humistat.The temp fluctuates from like 60-68 degrees and the humidity does the same,like right now the temp is 62F and the humidity is 61%.Is this OK?If not how do I maintain the 70 degree 70-74% humidity?Is there a ratio that should be adhered to in terms of the temp/humidity?Thanks Nick

Answer
Nick,

First, the temperature shouldn't fluctuate unless the temperature in the room where you have the humidor fluctuates. Typically humidors are kept in a home or office with a constant temperature. I can't imagine that you have it somewhere where the temperature actually gets down to 60 degrees. If it really is reading that and the temp isn't that low, you need to replace the gauge with something more accurate.

Regarding the relative humidity, yes there is a ratio. Ideally you shoot for 70 degrees and 70% RH. As your temperature rises, your RH decreases. At 72 degrees, you want 68% RH. At 74 degrees you want 66% RH.

Before you do anything though, you have to make sure your temperature gauge is working properly. Otherwise you won't know what RH you really have.

Alternatively, disregard the temp and RH gauge altogether and just rely on common sense. You'll find that many of the gauges on the market are inaccurate (the digital models are the best) and you can go crazy trying to correct a problem that you don't really have. What you might do instead is keep your humidifier filled with propylene glycol/distilled water solution and keep an eye on your cigars. As long as they don't dry out, the humidor is working fine. If you start to feel them getting hard you know you have a problem.

If you still have questions don't hesitate to ask - I'll do my best to help you.

Bill