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Experimenting with RH Lower Than 75%

C

Coinguy89

New Grower
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
87
Is there anyone out there who prefers there cigars to be at more than 75% humidity? My father likes them here, nice and moist, with a generous amount of give when squeezed. With my humidor I could never get it to reach below 80%, therefore, I try to keep it at exactly 80%. Sometimes It'll go up an extra 1 or 2. But, lately I've been hearing things like, "the draw sucks past 75%" or "at that RH, you'll barely be able to keep it lit." Now, I could just disregard or react to these types of statements with confidence, but I've never actually had a cigar below 75% to compare it to. And before I change my whole humidor, I wanted to get an opinion on this.
 
Coinguy89 said:
Is there anyone out there who prefers there cigars to be at more than 75% humidity? My father likes them here, nice and moist, with a generous amount of give when squeezed. With my humidor I could never get it to reach below 80%, therefore, I try to keep it at exactly 80%. Sometimes It'll go up an extra 1 or 2. But, lately I've been hearing things like, "the draw sucks past 75%" or "at that RH, you'll barely be able to keep it lit." Now, I could just disregard or react to these types of statements with confidence, but I've never actually had a cigar below 75% to compare it to. And before I change my whole humidor, I wanted to get an opinion on this.
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Happy Friday!

Ok - (imho) RH really is best between 65% and 70%....a little search will help with this info.

Over 75%...you're asking for trouble.

I'm sure someone's going to point you to the right info.
 
There are volumes of information on the subject.

Bottom line get some beads at the 65% range and enjoy your cigars.

Gary, thanks for the Happy Friday!
 
I'm with Anthony, and yes, Gary, Happy Friday to you too!
 
In those RH ranges, I'm surprised you guys haven't had mold problems. RH is a personal preference; get a bunch of BOTL's together and you'll usually get answers from 58 to 75%. But, there are good reasons that the great majority of folks run their humis around 65% Try it, you may like it.....a lot.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
I kept mine at 70-75% before coming here. I figured that 98% of these members could not all be wrong. I'm glad that I brought them all down to 65%. This corrected a lot of burn issues, and problems I had keeping cigars lit. It may be in my head, but I also noticed an improvement in the flavor of the cigars that I was used to smoking. Try it, you will not regret the change.
 
75 to 80% RH...holy crap, is your dad a trumpet player? :laugh: Maybe you are mistaken and you mean ambient temp, please say you do! :whistling:
You can keep cigars in a higher ambient temp, say 75 degrees provided your RH is around 65% without fear of beetles or mold. Not so the other way round.

Gary...sorry brother, that's just sick. Nevertheless, happy Friday to you too.

Brian
 
When I first started out I tried to maintain 70/70. Now I keep my smokes in the basement so it's cooler than 70F, and I try to keep the humidity at 65-67. I find all my cigars are smoking great. Don't think i've ever tried a cigar that's been stored at 75% or higher...must be really difficult to keep lit.
 
Hey Gary I noticed you changed the link in your first post!

That isn't nice :sign:
 
When I first started smoking I had heard 75% was the proper humidity. God only know what kind of nightmares that caused for me.

I was constantly having mold problems. That was the same period I was having beetle outbreaks pretty constantly (probably not related to the RH, I would guess it was the low quality of sticks I was buying at the time) At that time I only had one small humidor so I didn't have alot of cigars. I quickly burned the ones that could be saved and trashed the rest. I then kept the humidor at 70% no mold problems but lots of burn issues. Shortly after I joined here I heard about beads and keeping cigars at 60-65%, I soon ordered some 65% RH beads and it's been great since.

My humidors tend to stay right around 64% and all of my cigars have been great.
 
Just a thought....have you actually "salt tested" your hygrometer? I can't see how keeping your smokes at 80% wouldn't cause a major mold problem and/or busted wrappers. If you get down to 65% - 70%, you'll never look back. All kinds of new and tasty flavors will emerge from your smokes!
 
Coinguy89 said:
With my humidor I could never get it to reach below 80%, therefore, I try to keep it at exactly 80%. Sometimes It'll go up an extra 1 or 2.
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Wow. This is only slightly facetious. Does it rain inside your humidor? ???

I would suggest paying attention to the advice provided in this thread. Good luck with your cigars! :thumbs:
 
Where do you live that you can't get the humidity below 80, the freggin Amazon? Your hygro has got to be off, that or stop spritzing water in every hour or so LOL!

If your hygro is accurate, try opening the lid for a while to help dry out the drift wood your humi is lined with. My step-dad believed that 70/70 is the absolute, then I gave him one of the same smokes he loves with the band off and he asked what kind of super premium it was. He was floored when I said it was the. . .get this. . .MACHINE ROLLED JR KNOCKOFFS (I know!) he likes as everyday smoke. Guess what his humi now kept at a lower RH and he no longe smokes those 50 cent sticks as he has realized the true flavor he was missing!
 
Well. I guess no one has tried it. I'll give your 65%-70% a whirl. But I've had the humidor now for almost a year and I have never had mold or beetle problems. My father has his usually at 80% and has never had a problem either. Likewise, I see no problem with lighting them or keeping them lit, unless it can be even easier at a lower RH. In addition I enjoy the flavors, but if I can increase the flavor, great!
 
Hehe it's not really "your" 65-70% when it is the industry standard imo. The wide experience of cigar smokers at large suggests a range between 60 and 70% to be optimal, EOF.
 
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