Expert: James Yee - 8/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi I have a 8 bottle thermoelectric wine cooler and I've been reading that it's best to keep Cubans at 65/65. I keep the cooler plugged in and let it run so it turns on quite often. I have a sensor outside and I have a wireless sensor inside my boxes. The cooler is pretty much filled up with boxes. I did a salt test on the sensors and them seem to be pretty accurate. When the cooler turns on I see the humidity swing from 63-65 but comes back to 65 within a couple of minutes. The wireless sensor inside the box, stays at 65. However, at 65 the cigars seem dried out! They're very hard to the touch and some even crackle. So now I've been playing around with the humidity, and I bumped it up to about 73-74. They seem much better and are springy to the touch and actually look oily now. They are not too soft or anything. Am I doing something wrong? Is it because the cooler is always turning on that even when my sensors reads 73 humidity that's not really the case? I want to try to keep the humidity at 73-75. I'm worried that my cigars will mold at too much humidity.  I'm using silica beads as my humidifying device and maintaining humidity is definitely not a problem whether my drain plug is plugged up or left unplugged. I thought of something else, could it be that my boxes need to be seasoned? So even though my readings are around 75-76 humidity the boxes are sucking out the humidity from my cigars? They feel better but they still feel kind of hard and the draw seems quite tight. I don't get enough smoke. I thought if the cigar felt hard, it was too dry? And I thought having a tight draw means over humidification?  Please help.

ANSWER: Hi Ryan,

The safe humidity range for cigars is 66-74% humidity so as long as the humidity does not exceed 75%, your cigars are fine.  You mentioned that your cigars look and feel great at 73-74% and that's perfectly fine.

The actual ideal levels for a humidor is 70/70 which is 70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you're worried that your cigars might receive mold at 74-75%, try keeping you cigars at 70/70 and see if they still feel oily and spongey.  As long as the temperature does not exceed 75 degrees and the humidity does not exceed 75%, your cigars will be fine.  Some people recommend keeping cigars at 65/65 but you're right, many people find their cigars to be too dry at 65%.  70/70 works well for a lot of people.

Also, your cigar boxes most definitely do not need to be seasoned but if your wine-cooler is lined with cedar panels, you should definitely season those.

Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks again James, now one last quick question.  I have  8 bottle wine cooler so it's relatively small so should I plug up the drainage hole at the back or leave it open?  I know for a humidor, it's not suppose to be completely air tight because gases and released and absorbed so should I leave it unplugged so there's "some" fresh air exchange?

Answer
Ryan,

You should leave it plugged in if the cooler door has an absolute air-tight seal.  Leaving it open can normally allow dust and bugs to enter in the cooler plus it can affect humidity performance but if your cooler is 100% air-tight, the drainage valve should be left open (partially open if possible) to allow some air flow into your cooler.

Also, if your cooler doesn't have cedar paneling, you should consider installing some as it will help absorb and regulate humidity more effectively.

Regards,
James