Splitting cigar wrapper

[ARRV]

It's pretty cold here in Sydney at the moment - and like most places in Australia my house is not designed for winter.

My humidor (which has glass panes....) maintains about 70% RH however the temperature at the moment seems to fluctuate between 13 to 17 degrees C mainly changing about 3 degrees C a day between midday and early morning - being the temp inside my house (no central heating or insulation!!)

Opened up a box of cigars last night to discover that 3 out of 25 cigars had some serious splitting of the wrapper at the foot. On one cigar the split was about an inch and on the others probably around 1 to 2 cm.

Further some other cigars seem to really show the wrapper contorting - bunching up.

Any suggestions or theories on why this is occurring and possible solutions

Thanks in advance

Al

[El Presidente]

Al,

No different to jumping into cold water and experiencing personal "shrinkage"

You need to assess whether the Temp is the real culprit here. Test/calibrate the humidifier to ensure it is steady. If the humidity is stable and between 63%RH-70%RH I don't really see how temp will make a difference. To give you an example, we often transfer stock from our humidor to warehouse and vice versa. The temp in our warehouse is 14 degrees Celcius but the humidity is the same....no problem with shrinkage or splitting.

Most desk tops without "active bead" humidification in a room which is not climate controlled struggle in winter. Humidity in winter here runs at about 50% (open air) but can drop to mid 20's when the westerly winds come through. In this environment humidity in your desktop can drop 10% for a few days which will split wrappers as easily as an axe through wood. This is particularly so when the Southerleys blow through and humidity (winter) jumps back to 50.

Get a "Puck" desktop "bead" humidifier for your humidor. E-mail Lisa if you need one.

[ARRV]

» Al,

»

» No different to jumping into cold water and experiencing personal

» "shrinkage"

There's one wrapper I really don't want split

Thanks Pres,

do you sell Humidifying calibration units?

[havanaclub7]

» Get a "Puck" desktop "bead" humidifier for your humidor. E-mail Lisa if you need one.

Rob,

Is that the same thing as a Credo round humidifier? My dad's humidor needs a new humidifier and I'm having a hard time finding something decent for him.

What does the product you mentioned cost?

[El Presidente]

Try here.

http://www.cigarmony.com/store/product_inf...b13dfff576a77fe

Mark is good people and a forum member ;-)

As for callibrating your hygrometer I simply grap a jam jar lid, mix 6 teaspoons of table salt and two teaspoons of kettle water until it becomes a paste. Put the jam jar lid (now holding the solution) in one side of a tupperware container and your hygrometer in the other corner. Seal the lid and come back in the morning. It should read 75% RH. If it is not...you know how far +/- it is out.

[havanaclub7]

» Try here.

»

» http://www.cigarmony.com/store/product_inf...b13dfff576a77fe

»

» Mark is good people and a forum member ;-)

»

» As for callibrating your hygrometer I simply grap a jam jar lid, mix 6

» teaspoons of table salt and two teaspoons of kettle water until it becomes

» a paste. Put the jam jar lid (now holding the solution) in one side of a

» tupperware container and your hygrometer in the other corner. Seal the lid

» and come back in the morning. It should read 75% RH. If it is not...you

» know how far +/- it is out.

Rob,

Thanks for the recommendation. I just put in my order a few minutes ago! My dad will be really happy to have something that actually works for his humidor. He's gone through Credo Rounds that did absolutely nothing for his humidor. He's tried other things too that didn't work. So this will be great for him.

I have a Davidoff desktop humidor (since 1995) and I've never had trouble with it. The humidifier they use is great. But the humidors are pretty pricey. I was lucky to get it as a gift! :-D

[wp2]

» As for callibrating your hygrometer I simply grap a jam jar lid, mix 6

» teaspoons of table salt and two teaspoons of kettle water until it becomes

» a paste. Put the jam jar lid (now holding the solution) in one side of a

» tupperware container and your hygrometer in the other corner. Seal the lid

» and come back in the morning. It should read 75% RH. If it is not...you

» know how far +/- it is out.

Rob, isn't there a thread on the forum with pics of what the solution should look like?

[El Presidente]

»

» Rob, isn't there a thread on the forum with pics of what the solution

» should look like?

Thankyou for reminding me :-)

Courtesy of Wilkey

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entr...id=53221#p53221

[Colt45]

» »

» » Rob, isn't there a thread on the forum with pics of what the solution

» » should look like?

»

» Thankyou for reminding me :-)

»

» Courtesy of Wilkey

»

» http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entr...id=53221#p53221

I don't know how I missed the salt slurry segment of Ginseng's post first time around.

I've always read that the salt should be damp but "firm".

I'd be interested in a laymen's explanation of the science behind how we "know" the

salt mixture will always achieve a humidity of 75%. Great stuff.

[Ginseng]

» I'd be interested in a laymen's explanation of the science behind how we

» "know" the salt mixture will always achieve a humidity of 75%.

I'll give it a try.

Basically, if you have a dish of water in an otherwise empty sealed container, the amount of water in liquid form and the water that vaporizes into the air will reach a balance. In the case of pure water, this is defined as 100% relative humidity or full saturation of the air.

Once you put salt in the water, the salt will tend to "hold onto" water molecules reducing the amount of water that can go into the air relative to pure water. For a concentrated (saturated) solution of table salt, the amount of water vapor in the air is reduced to 75% of that of pure water...thus, 75% relative humidity.

The above explanation is approximately correct. The actual mechanism is best explained by using rather more esoteric concepts such as vapor pressure, vapor-liquid equilibrium, and entropy but it becomes rapidly more difficult for the layman to form a workable conceptualization. I'm a chemical engineer and I can attest that this class of phenomena is one which for me still escapes "intuitive" understanding.

Wilkey

PS Commentary: Contrary to popular belief, not all scientific concepts are readily reduced to explanations in terms of balls, sticks, and other concrete devices. In fact, some seemingly simple phenomena are the most difficult to explain accurately.

[Colt45]

» » I'd be interested in a laymen's explanation of the science behind how we

» » "know" the salt mixture will always achieve a humidity of 75%.

»

» I'll give it a try.

»

Wilkey, thanks for taking the time to explain. Are there other materials that could be

used for the "slurry" (that might have different effect on humidity level), or is salt

simply the easiest,best, most stable, etc?

Thanks again.

[Ginseng]

» » » I'd be interested in a laymen's explanation of the science behind how

» we

» » » "know" the salt mixture will always achieve a humidity of 75%.

» »

» » I'll give it a try.

» »

» Wilkey, thanks for taking the time to explain. Are there other materials that

» could be used for the "slurry" (that might have different effect on humidity

» level), or is salt simply the easiest,best, most stable, etc?

» Thanks again.

Almost anything you choose to put into solution will have some effect on the relative humidity. Mineral salts, however, have the benefits of being inexpensive, odorless, stable, relatively non-toxic, and they exert fairly large effects.

Wilkey