Storage temp for habanos

[CanuckSARTech]

Well,after doing some reading on the subject you got me worried.

I just now set-up my wine cooler but before that I had boxes laying in a coolidor for 7 or 8 months.

In the coolidor the RH was good (65%-70%) but the TEMP was very high all the time,82F or 83F!!!

I check my boxes regularly and didn't notices any small holes in them.

I hope they are OK ,is there away to be sure they are not infested other than freezing them?

Well, knock-on-wood, you may be lucky.

There's a plethora of opinions, but the whole 70 F / 70% RH is the recommended starting point for storage. You definitely don't want to go too much over on either of those numbers, and if you do, you want to bring down the other number. For example, if your storage is at 72 or 73 F, then you want your RH to be 68 or 67%. It's always best to keep both, however, completely under 70's. Most would agree with 68 F and 65 to 69 %. Some go as far down as 60 F and 65%. The preferences all vary due to whether you're aging them long-term or not, your smoking preferences, etc.

Either way, what this is all for is for tobacco beetles (and, on the side, for mold too with the higher humidities). You don't want an infestation of these little buggers. At temps and humidity higher than 70/70, you risk any eggs/larvae still remaining in the tobacco to begin to hatch/come to life. I presume you're aware of these, as you mention "didn't notice any small holes in them".

That's good.

The only other way you can really check that they're not infested (yes besides freezing them), is to check the seams/edges of your boxes. Take out all of your cigars - out of the humidor, out of the boxes, cabinets, whatever. Look along the edges/seams/cracks of where the box comes together. Look especially along the seamline of where there are hinges on semi-plain boxes, with the paper folds in there. If you have tobacco beetles, generally, you'll see little bits of tobacco "sawdust" along these areas.

If you don't find anything, consider yourself lucky. If you find anything, quarantine and freeze.

And make sure that you keep the temps in the safe range, just like the RH.

Hope this helps.

[bob25]

Keith,thank you very much for all the tips and info,it was a very good read.

That is exactly why I purchased me a wine cooler,to help me fight this dam

heat we're having here in the summer and maybe to prevent from the cigars being infested.

I'm sure going to be more cautious from now on and hope that the wine cooler will do its job.

By tobacco "sawdust" you mean at the bottom of each box?

If so there is always some small tobacco leafs down there...

[CanuckSARTech]

Keith,thank you very much for all the tips and info,it was a very good read.

That is exactly why I purchased me a wine cooler,to help me fight this dam

heat we're having here in the summer and maybe to prevent from the cigars being infested.

I'm sure going to be more cautious from now on and hope that the wine cooler will do its job.

By tobacco "sawdust" you mean at the bottom of each box?

If so there is always some small tobacco leafs down there...

LOL. Bob, I just noticed you as being in Israel. Well, I don't mean to offend here, but tongue-in-cheek, why in the HECK wouldn't you think of getting a temperature-controlled unit to begin with??!! I understand now why you state that your cooler's interior temps were hitting 82/83 F. That's insane. For me, and for most in North America, it's not too bad - having it in a corner of the basement, in a laundry room or something like that, where its in direct contact with the basement's cement floor, that makes for it staying mid-60's year round (in our area, around the Great Lakes, as long as you go down 5 feet into the ground/dirt, the ground's year-round temperature is about 55 F - so, with the air-temp normals in a home, it stays mid-60's perfect on the cement).

LOL. Again, I'm just trying to be sarcastically amazed, but I can't believe that you shouldn't have seen that coming. I'm glad you decided then to get a temperature controlled unit - it would be a shame to waste/damage those precious sticks.

That said, nothing can really "prevent" your cigars from "being infested". What I mean by that, is that the tobacco beetle's eggs and/or larvae are either already present in your cigars when you get them, or they aren't. The storage conditions don't make an infestation go into your humidor and the cigars. It's the storage conditions that just make them hatch and re-animate. I hope we're not confused on that part of it.

So, Habanos SA does a freeze-treat of the tobacco in the storage warehouses in Cuba, before the tobacco is used for rolling the cigars. Is it the best treatment out there, with regards to deep cold temps getting all the bugs dead? Probably not. Also, do most other non-Cuban cigar makers do this? Nope. So, if you have just straight up Cuban cigars in your humidor, you might be okay. But, for sure, non-Cubans, and heck, even Cubans also, most people recommend putting them through the freezing process yourself. You can do a search on the Forum, and find a bunch on that.

Now, my long-winded and misdirected reply to you, finally getting to your main question...

Regarding the "tobacco sawdust" that I mentioned. No, I do not mean the miscellaneous flakes and pieces of tobacco that you find at the bottom of a box. This is something very specific. Please check out the following webpages, rather than me retyping...

This one has a good picture, and talks about the "dust" that you tap out of the foot of a cigar, as well as find within the paper hinge area of a semi-dressed box or so: Link to Source Removed

And then this webpage has more of the same, along with pictures of this unmistakable "tobacco beetle sawdust" that I talk of: Link Removed

Trust me - it's not the simple flakes that you find in the bottom of your boxes normally. Once you see this stuff, it's unmistakable and heartstopping.

Hope this helps some. Sorry for the ungloriously long post.

Cheers.

[Colt45]

Hope this helps some. Sorry for the ungloriously long post.

I've removed the links in your post. Please take the time to read our few simple rules, one of which is no sources. Also, please be judicious in proving links to

other sites in general, and especially the posting of copyrighted material.

Thanks -- C45

[CanuckSARTech]

I've removed the links in your post. Please take the time to read our few simple rules, one of which is no sources. Also, please be judicious in proving links to

other sites in general, and especially the posting of copyrighted material.

Thanks -- C45

No worries. I realized that after the post. I did indeed read the rules upon signing up, and didn't think that I posted a source anywhere - if I did, it's only been in PMs. But yeah, I realize the outside links should have been PM too.

Thanks for the catch. Noted. Sorry.

[bob25]

LOL. Bob, I just noticed you as being in Israel. Well, I don't mean to offend here, but tongue-in-cheek, why in the HECK wouldn't you think of getting a temperature-controlled unit to begin with??!! I understand now why you state that your cooler's interior temps were hitting 82/83 F. That's insane. For me, and for most in North America, it's not too bad - having it in a corner of the basement, in a laundry room or something like that, where its in direct contact with the basement's cement floor, that makes for it staying mid-60's year round (in our area, around the Great Lakes, as long as you go down 5 feet into the ground/dirt, the ground's year-round temperature is about 55 F - so, with the air-temp normals in a home, it stays mid-60's perfect on the cement).

LOL. Again, I'm just trying to be sarcastically amazed, but I can't believe that you shouldn't have seen that coming. I'm glad you decided then to get a temperature controlled unit - it would be a shame to waste/damage those precious sticks.

That said, nothing can really "prevent" your cigars from "being infested". What I mean by that, is that the tobacco beetle's eggs and/or larvae are either already present in your cigars when you get them, or they aren't. The storage conditions don't make an infestation go into your humidor and the cigars. It's the storage conditions that just make them hatch and re-animate. I hope we're not confused on that part of it.

So, Habanos SA does a freeze-treat of the tobacco in the storage warehouses in Cuba, before the tobacco is used for rolling the cigars. Is it the best treatment out there, with regards to deep cold temps getting all the bugs dead? Probably not. Also, do most other non-Cuban cigar makers do this? Nope. So, if you have just straight up Cuban cigars in your humidor, you might be okay. But, for sure, non-Cubans, and heck, even Cubans also, most people recommend putting them through the freezing process yourself. You can do a search on the Forum, and find a bunch on that.

Now, my long-winded and misdirected reply to you, finally getting to your main question...

Regarding the "tobacco sawdust" that I mentioned. No, I do not mean the miscellaneous flakes and pieces of tobacco that you find at the bottom of a box. This is something very specific. Please check out the following webpages, rather than me retyping...

This one has a good picture, and talks about the "dust" that you tap out of the foot of a cigar, as well as find within the paper hinge area of a semi-dressed box or so: Link to Source Removed

And then this webpage has more of the same, along with pictures of this unmistakable "tobacco beetle sawdust" that I talk of: Link Removed

Trust me - it's not the simple flakes that you find in the bottom of your boxes normally. Once you see this stuff, it's unmistakable and heartstopping.

Hope this helps some. Sorry for the ungloriously long post.

Cheers.

I know I had to get it sooner but I tried several options before like Dry Ice or "oust fans" ,

non of them did the trick and the high TEMP stayed the same.

I decided to go for a wine cooler only after I realized the danger I put my cigars into,I wasn't aware of it when I started smoking cigars which was a year ago.

Can you please PM those links so I can see how the "tobacco sawdust"

really looks and to know what to search for?

Thanks!

[ammarhaider01]

And since me and bob here are in the same "neighbourhood", I think my next investment should go towards a wine cooler, it's been really hot around here the past few weeks, particularly the past few days, and I've been leaving my AC on for more than 12 hours streight, with the cooler directly in its "firing range" to keep it cool from the outside, while frozen cocktail shakers keep the cool from the inside, the temp inside is between 62 and 68 all the time, but I'm guessing I'd have more peace of mind not having to worry about the temperature going up and having to check it constantly.

[CanuckSARTech]

And since me and bob here are in the same "neighbourhood", I think my next investment should go towards a wine cooler, it's been really hot around here the past few weeks, particularly the past few days, and I've been leaving my AC on for more than 12 hours streight, with the cooler directly in its "firing range" to keep it cool from the outside, while frozen cocktail shakers keep the cool from the inside, the temp inside is between 62 and 68 all the time, but I'm guessing I'd have more peace of mind not having to worry about the temperature going up and having to check it constantly.

Yup. Those little wine coolers are pretty inexpensive things, and they work wonderfully for a decent sized collection. They can hold quite a bit, and only set you back $200 or so, tops, for a decent one. Not a bad little investment to be able to sleep soundly knowing that your multi-thousand dollar collection of sweethearts are being taken care of.

It's insurance that pays dividends.