Anyone aging boxes in ziplocks?

[Trevor2118]

Trevor,

Water in the vapour form is quite a bit more mobile through the plastic than liquid water. I'm not surprised you're seeing little to no loss in the time frame you mentioned with a bag of water. In any case, it is not water in its bulk (liquid) form that is moving about inside the bag, but water vapour. When you go Googling, the specific figure you're looking for is MVTR (moisture vapour transmission rate). BTW, LDPE film 200 microns thick has an MVTR of 0.4 grams per day per 1 meter of contact area at 20C.

Wilkey

Hi Wilkey,

The bag was not full, so that water vapour was created, but it still lessens the dispersal area....anyway, still not a valid or significant test....agreed.

Using your above figure, I did a few quick calculations:

Assume a 2" x 8" ziplock.

Bag surface area = 0.1 x 0.2 = 0.02 m2

Bag volume ~ (0.1/3.14)*0.2 = 0.006 m3

Assume cigar bagged in poor conditions - 25 degC & 80% RH....water content ~ 16.0 g/m3

Assume target 16 degC & 65% RH....water content ~ 10.9 g/m3

Difference.......5.1 g/m3 (Used the Lenntech RE Calculator)

At dispersal rate of 0.4 g/day/m2 @ 20 degC....approx average of 25 & 16 degC

Bag can disperse = 0.4 x 0.02 = 0.008 g/day.

Bag contains = 5.1 x 0.006 = 0.03 g water (to disperse)

Days to disperse = 0.03 / 0.008 ~ 4 days

Even under the poorest of conditions, a 2" x 8" ziplock would stabilise in around 4 days.

So, unless I totally screwed up the calculations (answers on a postcard please) I will no longer be punching vents.

Trevor

[OLS]

Any advice how to fix this?

Don't store cigars in bags? Hell I don't know, lol. One thing for sure,

if I store a FDB in a ziplock bag, I do not seal the bag. I have a few

like that and I leave the end open.

[Ethernut]

The whole reason for a Humidor is to keep the tobacco to as close as possible to it's natural environment. Cuba has a small temperature range and humidity range. Let em breath the way it's been done for hundreds of years..

[Mr Peales]

I have about two-thirds of my cigars in deep storage, in vacuum-sealed bags. I'm just speculating here, but one of these days Cuba will open-up and that may very well be the end of my purchasing. I'm sort of like a pessimistic squirrel. Delaying the oxidation allows me to decide when I want the aging cycle to begin.

...and then there's the 'problem' that I may have already bought more than I can smoke.

[daboose]

This is an interesting thread.

What would be the dynamics of storing, let's say, 2 dress boxes (50 cigars) in a two gallon zip lock bag along with one Boveda 65% pack in a 60F wine cooler?

Do this instead of trying to manage the eco-system of a wine cooler with pounds of RH beads and/or an Oasis and a drain dish and fans.

Would not the Boveda pack properly manage the RH in the sealed bag in a cool environment?

(One Boveda pack can handle 50 cigars. One would have to consider two packs per zip lock; one in use while the other is being recharged.)

Just thinking out loud.

[semery74]

Would not the Boveda pack properly manage the RH in the sealed bag in a cool environment?

Boveda packs do a great job at dispensing moisture. But they are horrible at obtaining moisture. I read some where they are a salt solution tea bag, would love to have confirmation on that. Silica is the way to go, but not in the bag.

[daboose]

Boveda packs do a great job at dispensing moisture. But they are horrible at obtaining moisture. I read some where they are a salt solution tea bag, would love to have confirmation on that. Silica is the way to go, but not in the bag.

per Boveda website:

Each Bóveda packet consists of a specially prepared saturated solution of pure water and natural salt. This saturated solution is contained within a water-vapor permeable reverse osmosis membrane. Within a closed desktop humidor Bóveda maintains a predetermined level of (RH) by

releasing or absorbing

purified water-vapor—as needed—through the membrane.

Now whether they are horrible at absorbing...I don't know.

[CigarmanTim]

If you won't be smoking them for 5-10 years and you enjoy an aged profile: probably don't want a bag.

If you won't be smoking them for 5-10 years and you enjoy a fresher profile: then probably a bag.

Wilkey

1st time I've heard or read any of these statements. You get this nowhere else gentlemen. Outstanding and sticky worthwhile post.

[Omskakas]

I did an experiment a while ago to measure how long it takes for moisture to go through a cigar box. I took an empty dressed box from room humidity (RH 40 %) and put it into my humidor (RH 65 %) and placed a hygrometer inside the box. It took about five days for the box to stabilize in 65 %.

A fellow botl tried the same with a sealed ziplock bag. He found out that it took a day to go from 30 % to 65 %.

(if this helps or interests anyone)

[thechenman]

Going back to the original post...if you wanted your cigars to taste fresh, then why bother aging them to begin with? Isn't the point of aging you cigars to taste the difference that age makes? And if so...then why ziploc them? I say don't bother.

[gmoney]

this topic fascinates me....I would be curious how many of you follow the MRN long term ageing practices....I do none of them only because im so new to this obession

MRN???????

I am unaware what that is or means.......Can someone provide more detail....Thanks

[fugwumpy]

MRN = Min Ron Nee

Most notibly he wrote this

[Trevor2118]

MRN???????

I am unaware what that is or means.......Can someone provide more detail....Thanks

Read a review here:......http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/reviews/2005_MRN-book.htm

[Mel]

I do have some cigars in open zip locks but that is because there are no boxes for them. I have quite a few master rolls from the more popular rollers that do not come in boxes so I just label and date the bag and throw it in the humidor, opened for maturing exchange of moisture and gas.

I would find no issue with bagging for storage. I would ask if the frezzer wgt. bags would isolate any bettles?