What do you CPers in the South do about temperature for your humi? I typically keep my house at around 78 degrees in the summer, and sometimes let it get as hot as 81 degrees in the house when no one is home (programmable thermostat). I hear people talking about keeping cigars under 75 degrees to prevent tobacco beetles from hatching. What do you warm climate folks do (if anything) to prevent this? Do you freeze the cigars, regulate your humi temperature somehow (wine cooler, etc), keep your central a/c below 75 degrees (painful electric bill!), etc.?
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A question for CPers in the South
- Thread starter ShadMan
- Start date
Wine cooler if you don't want to run the AC. Sam's Club has the 60 bottle Haier for $462.00. Look here Last time I was in the one close to me they had 3 different sizes.
I went with a 12,000 btu window unit in the smoking room. Works out well as I have to keep the door closed anyway. Wife doesn't want that nasty cigar smell in the rest of the house. :0
I went with a 12,000 btu window unit in the smoking room. Works out well as I have to keep the door closed anyway. Wife doesn't want that nasty cigar smell in the rest of the house. :0
SD_Stack
Former J.R. 1am Monitor
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2003
- Messages
- 1,999
If this is wrong... someone feel free to let us all know about it, but...
I am not sure that a Wine Refrigerator is the way to store your cigars. The following may not be true for refrigerator "only" units but it is true for household fridges with freezers. The models now-a-days are Frost-Free. WHere there is no frost, there is no humidity. Something is getting rid of the humidity in household fridges.
It would seem to me that the same would happen with a fridge-only (no freezer) wine refrigerator or the door would have condensation build-up on it .
If this is the case, your sticks would dry out unless you had a real good humidifier to constantly pump moisture in as it was depleted by the fridge. Beads and/or foam wouldn't work because the moisture would be sucked out of them too quick. You would have to have a constant water supply to the humidification unit.
Does this make sense?
Can we get the Maytag man to chime in on this one?
I am not sure that a Wine Refrigerator is the way to store your cigars. The following may not be true for refrigerator "only" units but it is true for household fridges with freezers. The models now-a-days are Frost-Free. WHere there is no frost, there is no humidity. Something is getting rid of the humidity in household fridges.
It would seem to me that the same would happen with a fridge-only (no freezer) wine refrigerator or the door would have condensation build-up on it .
If this is the case, your sticks would dry out unless you had a real good humidifier to constantly pump moisture in as it was depleted by the fridge. Beads and/or foam wouldn't work because the moisture would be sucked out of them too quick. You would have to have a constant water supply to the humidification unit.
Does this make sense?
Can we get the Maytag man to chime in on this one?
I have a regular small refrigerator that I purchased from HomeDepot for $110 on sale. I added a temperature controller ($45) like they use for home brewing beer. I drilled a hole through the back, pushed the probe through and caulked it up. It set for 70.5 degrees and lowers the temp to about 64 to 66 degrees and shuts off. When the compressor kits on, the humidity drops to around 38% and rises back to 70% in 5 – 10 minutes. Just like when you open your humidor. Though it cycles about 5 – 8 times a day in the summer. I also have 2 small fans that run constantly to circulate the air inside.
I added a remote temp/humidity monitor for $25 on eBay and will eventually replace the inside door and shelve with cedar.
All my smokes are in boxes and I haven’t had a problem with the cigars for the year I’ve had this. If I notice the humidity is a little low, I place a small Tupperware on the shelf with some of that green foam (about 4 inch cube) for about a day and its fine for a while.
Just a note - this refrigerator is not frost free.
I added a remote temp/humidity monitor for $25 on eBay and will eventually replace the inside door and shelve with cedar.
All my smokes are in boxes and I haven’t had a problem with the cigars for the year I’ve had this. If I notice the humidity is a little low, I place a small Tupperware on the shelf with some of that green foam (about 4 inch cube) for about a day and its fine for a while.
Just a note - this refrigerator is not frost free.
Well, keeping my house at 70 is not an option. I tried two years ago setting my thermostat to 72 at night and 74 during the day, and my electric bill ws over $300 that month. At 78/day and 76/night, my bill is around $120 - $150, which is much more manageable!
SD_Stack - The good thing bout those wine chillers is that they are programmable from like 45 - 70 degrees or something like that. At 70 degrees I don't know that there would be much condensation. Just guessing, though, as I have never converted one to a cigar humi, but with bottles of wine in it, I have never noticed any. Anyone out there that can shed some light on this?
And is there anyone from a hot, tropical (read HUMID!!
) climate (Houston, Corpus, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, etc.) that can shed some light on this?
For example, right now at 10:00AM, my digital hygro in my house (outside the humi) shows 76 degrees and 73% humidity. Inside my humi is exactly the same. For those curious, outside my house is 79 degrees (expected high today in the mid-80s) and 75% humidity.
Which brings me to another question...How do you get your humidity down to 65% - 70% if your external humidity is over 70%. And is it bad for a cigar to be at 73% humidity?
SD_Stack - The good thing bout those wine chillers is that they are programmable from like 45 - 70 degrees or something like that. At 70 degrees I don't know that there would be much condensation. Just guessing, though, as I have never converted one to a cigar humi, but with bottles of wine in it, I have never noticed any. Anyone out there that can shed some light on this?
And is there anyone from a hot, tropical (read HUMID!!
) climate (Houston, Corpus, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, etc.) that can shed some light on this?For example, right now at 10:00AM, my digital hygro in my house (outside the humi) shows 76 degrees and 73% humidity. Inside my humi is exactly the same. For those curious, outside my house is 79 degrees (expected high today in the mid-80s) and 75% humidity.
Which brings me to another question...How do you get your humidity down to 65% - 70% if your external humidity is over 70%. And is it bad for a cigar to be at 73% humidity?
The models now-a-days are Frost-Free. WHere there is no frost, there is no humidity. Something is getting rid of the humidity in household fridges.
The wine coolers aren't "frost free". You do get a bit of condensation on the back wall, some have a lot , some just a bit.
(Which brings me to another question...How do you get your humidity down to 65% - 70% if your external humidity is over 70%. And is it bad for a cigar to be at 73% humidity?)
Climmax Beads will remove the excess moistue and add it back when needed. If placed in a airtight container they will bring the humidity down to 70 or 65%.
I did a search over at CF, no avail, seems all the threads are over 1 year old. 1 pound of beads will maintain the humidity in a wine cooler. Seems most are having good luck with 1/2 pound of moist beads and 1/2 pound of dry. If after a bit the humidity creeps up use a hair drier on the 1/2 of dry.
One other thing I remember reading at CF, don't put any boxes on the bottom of the unit just incase moisture runs down there. Keep them on the shelves.
The wine coolers aren't "frost free". You do get a bit of condensation on the back wall, some have a lot , some just a bit.
(Which brings me to another question...How do you get your humidity down to 65% - 70% if your external humidity is over 70%. And is it bad for a cigar to be at 73% humidity?)
Climmax Beads will remove the excess moistue and add it back when needed. If placed in a airtight container they will bring the humidity down to 70 or 65%.
I did a search over at CF, no avail, seems all the threads are over 1 year old. 1 pound of beads will maintain the humidity in a wine cooler. Seems most are having good luck with 1/2 pound of moist beads and 1/2 pound of dry. If after a bit the humidity creeps up use a hair drier on the 1/2 of dry.
One other thing I remember reading at CF, don't put any boxes on the bottom of the unit just incase moisture runs down there. Keep them on the shelves.