I need help!

[Holysmokes]

Ok,

So I just bought a new Geneve humidor. I switched my cigars from the old humidor to the new one on the 7th of March. I also purchased 10 cigars from my local cigar shop (ERDM Choix Supreme) So about a week after I transferred all my cigars to my new humidor, I decided to have a Ramone Allones (which had previously been in my old humidor for about 2 years) the cigar tasted very strange. It had the oddest after taste and definitely did not taste like a RASS should So today I had an ERDM and that cigar was plugged and tasted very strange also. Now, I had smoke a ERDM when I originally purchased them about a week ago and it tasted very good. Is it possible that the simple change in humidor is the cause? Oh I should also point out that some of my cigar's foot are a but mushy/very spungy. The humidity level fluctuates between 68% and 72%.

I really need help, I have over 4000$ in cigars in my humidor and i'm afraid that for some strange reason, I am doing something wrong and they will never be the same again... WORST NIGHTMARE EVER!

I really appreciate all your input!

Thanks

[adic88]

What was the humidity in the old humi like?

Fluctuations between 68-72% seem quite large. How are you humidifying the box? Get a Puck or two here from Czar's and you should be rock solid at 65%.

May i suggest that you set up your old humi as a dry box.

Transfer the cigars that you want to smoke into the dry box for 24 hours prior to smoking.

[Holysmokes]

What was the humidity in the old humi like?

Fluctuations between 68-72% seem quite large. How are you humidifying the box? Get a Puck or two here from Czar's and you should be rock solid at 65%.

May i suggest that you set up your old humi as a dry box.

Transfer the cigars that you want to smoke into the dry box for 24 hours prior to smoking.

I am currently using the rectangle humi that came with the humidor. I am waiting on a cigar oasis, which was purchased online about a week ago. I should have it soon.

Your suggestion is actually very good, only issue is i gave the old box to an old friend who just started smoking. Is it possible that some of the cigars a bit to yet + the change of humidors are giving them an odd/strange taste? And if so, can they go back to their regular flavor?

[investandprosper]

Your cigars are way too wet. Keep them around 65% RH and they will smoke fine.

[Holysmokes]

Your cigars are way too wet. Keep them around 65% RH and they will smoke fine.

So from what you're saying the strange taste is coming from the cigars being to wet? Would that cause them to have a hard draw also? So I will reduce the humidity by 5%. I apologize for all the questions, I am just a bit worried.

Thanks again

[investandprosper]

That's what a forum is for, questions and spreading information

Yes, overly wet cigars can give off a different taste and a tight draw. They will also have trouble staying lit. Drop them down to 65%, or dry box one for a few days before smoking and you should be good to go.

[tmac77]

I agree with investand proser 100% drop that humidity down to a max of 65% I personally keep mine at about 63% and you should find a bit of an improvement. While you are waiting for your oasis to arrive one way to get your humidity down would be to leave the humidor open a sliver. Use a foled piece of paper or something until the rectangular humi device that the humidor came with drys out a bit.

[Holysmokes]

I agree with investand proser 100% drop that humidity down to a max of 65% I personally keep mine at about 63% and you should find a bit of an improvement. While you are waiting for your oasis to arrive one way to get your humidity down would be to leave the humidor open a sliver. Use a foled piece of paper or something until the rectangular humi device that the humidor came with drys out a bit.

That I can do.

Thanks to everyone, I feel a bit better. I was opening the humidor every hour cause the humidity keeps climbing to 72%. So I will leave a little piece of paper in the hinge, so the humi door won't close fully.

How long will I have to wait until my cigars are back to their original flavour? A week? maybe 2?

Thank you.

[bc8436]

+1 on overly high RH

I keep my cigars at 65% as well.

[investandprosper]

I'd say two weeks maybe? You'll know when the hygro hits 65%

Did you salt-test your hygrometer?

If you haven't already, get some humidity beads. Takes the worry out of keeping your humi stable. Also, how warm does it get where you are? As the temp goes up, so with the RH. Something to keep in mind.

[Holysmokes]

I'd say two weeks maybe? You'll know when the hygro hits 65%

Did you salt-test your hygrometer?

If you haven't already, get some humidity beads. Takes the worry out of keeping your humi stable. Also, how warm does it get where you are? As the temp goes up, so with the RH. Something to keep in mind.

Well I am waiting for the cigar oasis, I shouldn't need humi beeds, but I could be wrong. I live in Canada where the winters are harsh and dry, so I had a large humidifier in the room where my humidor is. In retrospect, I know, terrible idea. But i previously had issues keeping the humidity up (it was at 57%)

And I did salt test the hygro. It should read perfectly. I can't wait to get the Cigar Oasis, hopefully it will help my situation. At the moment my hygro reads 69% 70 F/ 21C

[PigFish]

Many times moving a cigar into a too wet environment will make the cigars look like the wrappers are loose. If your cigars look at all like that, or feel like that, moisture is the problem. I agree with above statement that your cigars are too wet. -Piggy

[Holysmokes]

Many times moving a cigar into a too wet environment will make the cigars look like the wrappers are loose. If your cigars look at all like that, or feel like that, moisture is the problem. I agree with above statement that your cigars are too wet. -Piggy

The issue is definitely the humidity. I just hope I haven't ruined my cigars. I would be heartbroken. I have a cigar Oasis on the way, which I seriously hope will regulate humidity.

I'll keep wishing that the cigars will come back to what they were. The RASS were smoking great and tasted amazing before I changed the humidor, i hope they can come back to what they were.

Thanks

[danclough]

The issue is definitely the humidity. I just hope I haven't ruined my cigars. I would be heartbroken. I have a cigar Oasis on the way, which I seriously hope will regulate humidity.

I'll keep wishing that the cigars will come back to what they were. The RASS were smoking great and tasted amazing before I changed the humidor, i hope they can come back to what they were.

Thanks

Given a little time I'll bet they'll be back to where they were.

[PigFish]

The issue is definitely the humidity. I just hope I haven't ruined my cigars. I would be heartbroken. I have a cigar Oasis on the way, which I seriously hope will regulate humidity.

I'll keep wishing that the cigars will come back to what they were. The RASS were smoking great and tasted amazing before I changed the humidor, i hope they can come back to what they were.

Thanks

... cigars are pretty stout of heart mate. Chin up, you have not done permanent damage to them. Take a few out to smoke, remove the humidifier and let them slowly dry and you will be back to smiling again soon. You have not ruined your cigars. -Piggy

[CigarmanTim]

Your cigars are way too wet. Keep them around 65% RH and they will smoke fine.

agreed. I have had this happen when I have transferred from 1 humi to another....takes awhile to acclimate

[CanuckSARTech]

Just how big is this humidor? You state that you have over $4000 in cigars in your humidor - this isn't a desktop model that we're talking about here, right?

If it's a new humidor, and especially if it's much much bigger than a desktop, it sounds weird for the RH to be getting up around 72%.

Either way, no matter the size, I definitely recommending getting a bunch of the RH Beads from CigarMony.com (Mark's a member on here). If you use the calculator to figure out your bead amounts per cubic foot of air space in whatever sized humidor you have, you just need to get enough of them and then you'll be good to go if you get the 65% RH ones.

[thechenman]

Holysmokes...keep in mind that the Cigar Oasis will only introduce humidity into the environment, like the humidifier you have in the room where your humidor is. It won't take humidity out of the environment. That said, if you are dealing with an environment where the RH climbs due to temperature, beads in conjunction with the Cigar Oasis maybe a better option.

[Peter11216]

Ok,

So I just bought a new Geneve humidor. I switched my cigars from the old humidor to the new one on the 7th of March. I also purchased 10 cigars from my local cigar shop (ERDM Choix Supreme) So about a week after I transferred all my cigars to my new humidor, I decided to have a Ramone Allones (which had previously been in my old humidor for about 2 years) the cigar tasted very strange. It had the oddest after taste and definitely did not taste like a RASS should So today I had an ERDM and that cigar was plugged and tasted very strange also. Now, I had smoke a ERDM when I originally purchased them about a week ago and it tasted very good. Is it possible that the simple change in humidor is the cause? Oh I should also point out that some of my cigar's foot are a but mushy/very spungy. The humidity level fluctuates between 68% and 72%.

I really need help, I have over 4000$ in cigars in my humidor and i'm afraid that for some strange reason, I am doing something wrong and they will never be the same again... WORST NIGHTMARE EVER!

I really appreciate all your input!

Thanks

Hey There,

I'm a cigar neophyte, and have only been storing cigars for a bit over a year, in a couple of smallish desktops, with a total capacity of about 150-175 at Churchill size. So please take my comments and questions with that in mind.

First, I try to store my sticks at around 68% RH. Don't know what this says about my personality, but I've also kept records of the RH and temperature on a spreadsheet over a period longer than six months now. I've successfully kept the sticks at an average of 68% RH, with a standard deviation of ±1.5%. In other words, the majority of my readings fall between 66.5% RH and 69.5%. I find my sticks smoke well at this humidity, but given what everyone has said on this thread, I will probably experiment dropping the relative humidity.

Second, I have some questions.

1. You said that the RASS were in your old humidor for two years. What RH level did you maintain then? If the RH was the same as in your new humidor, it suggests that high humidity is not the reason for the difference in taste. All the responses I read, suggest that having too high humidity is your problem, but I think this depends on what your humidity was in your old humidor.

2. Did you inspect the new humidor, smell the inside and such? I have no idea, no idea, if this is possible, but perhaps a source of the problem lies in something funky with the materials of the new humidor. Maybe it is possible for someone else to answer this question. Any possibility of getting bad spanish cedar, or of some other material being used that would mess up the smell inside the humidor?

I know that one of my humidors is more or less a cheap piece of trash. The primary "wood" used in its construction is particle board, which, were it not covered in veneer probably do something foul to the odor inside the humidor.

3. Is there any possibility that there are differing levels of RH in the same humidor?

Sorry if this response raises more questions. I hope you'll let us know what happens.

Best of Luck,

Pete

[Holysmokes]

Hey There,

I'm a cigar neophyte, and have only been storing cigars for a bit over a year, in a couple of smallish desktops, with a total capacity of about 150-175 at Churchill size. So please take my comments and questions with that in mind.

First, I try to store my sticks at around 68% RH. Don't know what this says about my personality, but I've also kept records of the RH and temperature on a spreadsheet over a period longer than six months now. I've successfully kept the sticks at an average of 68% RH, with a standard deviation of ±1.5%. In other words, the majority of my readings fall between 66.5% RH and 69.5%. I find my sticks smoke well at this humidity, but given what everyone has said on this thread, I will probably experiment dropping the relative humidity.

Second, I have some questions.

1. You said that the RASS were in your old humidor for two years. What RH level did you maintain then? If the RH was the same as in your new humidor, it suggests that high humidity is not the reason for the difference in taste. All the responses I read, suggest that having too high humidity is your problem, but I think this depends on what your humidity was in your old humidor.

2. Did you inspect the new humidor, smell the inside and such? I have no idea, no idea, if this is possible, but perhaps a source of the problem lies in something funky with the materials of the new humidor. Maybe it is possible for someone else to answer this question. Any possibility of getting bad spanish cedar, or of some other material being used that would mess up the smell inside the humidor?

I know that one of my humidors is more or less a cheap piece of trash. The primary "wood" used in its construction is particle board, which, were it not covered in veneer probably do something foul to the odor inside the humidor.

3. Is there any possibility that there are differing levels of RH in the same humidor?

Sorry if this response raises more questions. I hope you'll let us know what happens.

Best of Luck,

Pete

Hi Pete,

You bring up some very interesting points and questions.

1. I previously had a desktop humidor which was very difficult to maintain a higher RH. It would normally stay around 60 to 65% RH

2. The new humidor looks great, inside and out. The interior is lined with quality spanish cedar (look up the geneve humidor) One odd thing is how after i seasoned the humidor (with distilled water) I noticed that parts of the interior had a different pattern in the wood and some little stains a random which were a bit sticky... sounds pretty strange doesn't it.

3. I assume it would be possible for the humidor to have different RH levels. My humidor has 2 large trays and a bottom level, so it would make sense.

As for the humidity beed suggestion, I think it's a great idea. I will go out tomorrow and buy some. How do I calculate how much I need?

I feel like i'm bombarding you guys with questions here, just keep in mind that I am pretty new to this : )

Thanks for the info!

[Peter11216]

Hi Pete,

You bring up some very interesting points and questions.

1. I previously had a desktop humidor which was very difficult to maintain a higher RH. It would normally stay around 60 to 65% RH

2. The new humidor looks great, inside and out. The interior is lined with quality spanish cedar (look up the geneve humidor) One odd thing is how after i seasoned the humidor (with distilled water) I noticed that parts of the interior had a different pattern in the wood and some little stains a random which were a bit sticky... sounds pretty strange doesn't it.

3. I assume it would be possible for the humidor to have different RH levels. My humidor has 2 large trays and a bottom level, so it would make sense.

As for the humidity beed suggestion, I think it's a great idea. I will go out tomorrow and buy some. How do I calculate how much I need?

I feel like i'm bombarding you guys with questions here, just keep in mind that I am pretty new to this : )

Thanks for the info!

1. OK, so it sounds like the increase in humidity is what is affecting the taste.

2. Yeah, that does sound a little weird. But if you don't notice any bad odor it is probably OK. I do wonder why anything would be sticky . . . ?

3. I think I'm having trouble with differing levels of RH. I have a humidor with a set of drawers, and I've been trying to rotate them once in a while, but I find that when I put my hygrometer in different drawers I will get different readings.

Regarding the amount of beads you need, CanuckSARTech gave you your answer above. Cigarmony.com has a bead calculator.

Best,

Pete

[Holysmokes]

1. OK, so it sounds like the increase in humidity is what is affecting the taste.

2. Yeah, that does sound a little weird. But if you don't notice any bad odor it is probably OK. I do wonder why anything would be sticky . . . ?

3. I think I'm having trouble with differing levels of RH. I have a humidor with a set of drawers, and I've been trying to rotate them once in a while, but I find that when I put my hygrometer in different drawers I will get different readings.

Regarding the amount of beads you need, CanuckSARTech gave you your answer above. Cigarmony.com has a bead calculator.

Best,

Pete

You guys have been a great help, I really appreciate the time!

Thank you.

Luc

[thechenman]

Good luck Luc, and do keep us posted.