Mould Prevention and Beetles - humidity vs temperature

[eggtimer]

Say I can not control temperature within 10F both sides of 70F - is it enough/too much/not worth it to rotate my cigars/air them once a week to prevent mould? Not that interested in other issues in the setup just trying to prevent mould.

 

Thanks!

[NSXCIGAR]

24 minutes ago, eggtimer said:

Say I can not control temperature within 10F both sides of 70F - is it enough/too much/not worth it to rotate my cigars/air them once a week to prevent mould? Not that interested in other issues in the setup just trying to prevent mould.

If your temps are reaching 80° you're going to have quite a battle on your hands. 

First, you'll have to keep your rH somewhere around 70-75% at 80°F. The warmer the ambient temp the drier things become. rH will have to rise to compensate. 80°F/75% rH is an invitation for mold. 

I'm not sure what outside air is going to do. I'd speculate that opening the humi might increase the likelihood a mold spore floats in. What's your outside rH? If it's less than 75 you're essentially just dryboxing. If it's a lot less you're really drying the cigars out. If there's already mold on the cigars at that point it's not going anywhere. If there isn't it won't form then but as soon as they're back to the humi mold could start to form. 

In an environment like 80/75 constant diligence is required. Every cigar needs to be inspected monthly and wiped down if mold is present. I would also be wiping down the inside of the humi every month or two. 

The higher temps can also have a deleterious effect on long-term aging performance if that matters to you. 

[eggtimer]

Thanks so much, very much appreciated!

[eggtimer]

Hi all, I keep reading (without any science provided and those so called blogs) that beetles are hatching at 72% humidity and above.

Now, these % are, without being stated explicitly, assumed to be RH.

My situation is that I can not keep the temp below 78F but the humidity I can have at a stable 69%.

What do the experts know about this: Will this be fine or is temperature also a hatch determinant?

Many thanks!

 

[NSXCIGAR]

Beetle eggs cannot hatch below about 66°F regardless of rH. At 66°F they require extremely high rH to hatch. I don't think 69% would be sufficient. 

However at 78°F beetle eggs can hatch at any reasonable rH you would keep your cigars at which would mean 60% rH+. And as discussed in a previous thread (a thread this post should perhaps be moved to @JohnS) your rH needs to be at least 70-75% at a temperature like 78°F for proper storage. 

The bottom line is that if you're storing at 78F/69% rH (which is actually too low an rH at that temp) eggs will hatch if they are in the cigars.

[eggtimer]

1 minute ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Beetle eggs cannot hatch below about 66°F regardless of rH. At 66°F they require extremely high rH to hatch. I don't think 69% would be sufficient. 

However at 78°F beetle eggs can hatch at any reasonable rH you would keep your cigars at which would mean 60% rH+. And as discussed in a previous thread (a thread this post should perhaps be moved to @JohnS) your rH needs to be at least 70-75% at a temperature like 78°F for proper storage. 

The bottom line is that if you're storing at 78F/69% rH eggs will hatch if they are in the cigars.

Very much appreciate your reply! Thanks!

[iggy_marley]

Not an expert on this but I have a similar problem as you with regards to temperature: My temp varies from 65F when I have my AC on (which is like half the time, to 75F at the hottest time of day, all the way up to 80F If I'm away from home for a couple of days. I use 62 bovedas and have never had a problem, though admittedly I have only been collecting for a little more than a year (and already have a sizeable collection.

I live in a tropical climate so my ambient RH is usually way higher than the 62 from boveda. My understanding is that at higher temperatures you have higher relative humidity, which means that despite what a hygrometer says the real humidity is a touch higher if the temperature is on the higher side. FWIW if you google "cigar RH chart" there are some visual references that tell you how you should adjust you RH for temperature.

Also, I use to rotate a lot when I had less cigars but I have small children and an increasingly larger cigar collection that makes it more of a hassle nowadays. I have a 500 count humidor, and two sizeable iris quart tupperdores. Nowadays I will maybe open one of them a month and have those boxes get oxygen for a bit and then put them back. The following month I will open another and do the same, and so on.

Hope this helps.

[Fuzz]

Simple solution if you cannot control the temps or RH.... freeze your stock. If you do not have any live beetles or eggs to start with, you won't get break outs. Any new cigars coming in gets frozen, thereby protecting your stash.