jdizzle113

Hello all, I recently bought myself a small wine fridge to store my desktop humidors in when we have heatwaves (for about a week a couple of weeks ago everyday was over 40C or 104F). Since then, I decided to keep my humidors in the fridge on a permanent basis so that I can maintain a constant temp of about 16C or 60.8F. Anyway, kept noticing it was really humid in the fridge (I made reference to this problem in another post) and I found out that because it is a specialist wine fridge it is designed to keep the interior humid (dry conditions dry cork out allowing oxidation of wine). Basically they designed it so that the condenser runs next to the compressor - so it uses the heat of the compressor to evaporate the condensed water and humidify the air - and by humidify I mean it fluctuates from 55% to 95% RH. Obviously this is not ideal for cigar storage - and I was quite annoyed as wine fridges are somewhat more expensive than regular fridges (which would not have this problem) - so I paid a premium and what I got was this problem. But I've digressed a little from my topic. If somehow I manage to get the humidity inside the fridge to a stable 65% (I plan on trying with about a kilo of 65% RH beads and a cigar oasis XL) I wouldn't mind turning the fridge itself into a humidor. I know some people do this and then they panel most of the interior of their fridge with cedar - I don't really have the skill to do this . What I was planning on doing was chucking a few "cedar blocks" in there. It obviously wouldn't have as great an effect -but I reason that it should at least make the inside smell nicer and hopefully act as a buffer for humidity. I've found these products (thanks to Ginseng - they are made by the same people who make the damp-rid you recommended) called "Cedar Fresh": http://www.kendler.com.au/html/cedarfresh.html They seem ideal. Although I looked on the packet and the type of cedar is called "Eastern Red Cedar" - I know that the inside of humidors is usually spanish cedar - so I was wondering if this "Eastern Red Cedar" is an acceptable alternative? Cheers James

Thanks for all the replies guys. So does this mean that for cutting I should try to cut above the line at label "A"? Because at present I cut below "A" and above "B". Is this too low? - sometimes the wrapper starts to come undone slightly as I smoke. Cheers James

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I've only been a member for a few days and have already learned so much from all the friendly and helpful members!

Hello all, Please excuse this really basic question. I was just wondering if I could get some help identifying the line where the head of a cigar ends? I always have difficulty identifying. For example, in this attached photo, is the end of the head at the label "A" or is it at "B"? Also, is the head and the cap the same thing? I really appreciate your help. Cheers James

Is there something wrong with the 70% pucks? Cheers James

Hopefully these cold humid conditions won't last too long (maybe another week or two max). I'm hoping that once I restore that humidity back down to 65% it should recover well over a few weeks. Cheers James

Just another thing guys. What do you think of my humidor running at 72% RH? Any reason for concern? That humidor I use for ageing, and my more costly cigars are kept in there - so that one is very important to me. I know 72% just seems like only 2% more than 70%RH, but I actually like to keep them at 65%, so it's really 7% higher than I want it to be. Would there be any detrimental effects to the cigars at this humidity? Cheers James

Thanks for the solutions SmokinAl and Sepp. A really practical solutions. I figured the pucks were saturated - but I didn't think of the hair dryer solution! Also, thanks to Ginseng. I was wanting to get some sachets to chuck in there to bring the RH right down, because for me it's not an issue getting the humidity up to an acceptable level, but I was scared that any of those beads might taint the cigars. But your solution of chucking them in the fridge is brilliant because it mitigates that risk. Thanks again guys Cheers James

Hi all, Thanks for the replies. Ginseng - Thanks for the reply. I tried putting the humidors in the fridge earlier. In fact I have a wine fridge that I bought just to put my humidors in on really hot days. But the problem is that right now it is cold and humid. I don't think there's enough of a temperature difference between the atmosphere and the inside of the fridge to bring down the humidity significantly. Trevor2118 - Yes, you're correct the Oasis only adds humidity. However, it only ever kicks in when the humidity drops below a certain level (I've got it set at 65%) and then it stops once that is maintained. So there should be no harm in keeping it in there. Plus, the oasis is in the humidor with a humidity of 72% - which isn't fantastic, but I guess I can live with it. Mkz - Yes, the hygrometer is calibrated - it is seriously damp in the air right now.... Cheers James

Hello all, I'm new to the forum, and I feel like a bit of a user since one of my first posts will be a question. I've just got a bit of a situation right now. The humidity inside my humidor is really on the high side - 85%RH! This is clearly a problem since I like to keep my cigars a little on the dry side (65%). I know with conventional wisdom one opens the humidor for a while to bring the humidity down. The problem is that it is wet right now in Sydney and the atmospheric humidity is actually even higher than inside my humidor - it's over 90% outside - I measured this with a digital hygrometer. So given this I kinda figure that opening the humidor will even make it worse. What I was wondering is if anyone here knows either a technique or a product that will bring the humidity in my humidor back down to an acceptable level (65-70). The first thing that spings to mind are those gel silica packets that come in foods to soak up moisture - or some freeze dried rice. However, I don't know if this will taint my cigars. I also have another humidor where the RH is a little high (around 72-73, but never above 75). I'm not too fussed about this (should I be?). But it's not ideal since I would like it to be at about 65. Sorry, forgot to add, current humidification system for my humidors is the puck. I have one 70% puck in the humidor which has the really high RH and two 65% pucks in the humidor that is doing better. Also have a cigar oasis ultra in the humidor which is doing better. Anyone's help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers James

Hello, I'm James from Sydney. I'm fairly new to the cigar world, and the science behind storing, ageing and smoking cigars has been a steep learning curve, but I have learned much in the last few months and hopefully I will continue to do so. Cheers James