I'll take a stab....
Of course, YMMV.
Lots of folks store their cigars divided into 2 groups:
- long-term storage
- ready for smoking
Long-term storage maybe slightly higher RH (around 68%-70%) and ready to smoke maybe a bit lower...in the 63%-65% range.
The slightly higher RH provides a better environment for long storage, keeping the cigars properly humidified for best taste, appearance and ageing. A lot of people find the standard recommended 70/70 (temp and RH) to be a bit high (RH-wise) for smoking, resulting in a tight draw and reduced smoke/taste.
You can read a ton about this here on CP and around the net. There are as many opinions as there are cigars, but I think I've presented a fairly accurate general consensus (if there is such a thing).
Of course, for storage issues, it matters a lot where you live and your ambient temp and RH. Most of the folks live in climates that are dryer than 70%. For them, it's usually too dry and they have to add water to their humidors. Moving the cigar to room temp/RH for them, means reducing the RH of the cigar by letting the naturally occurring dry air act on the cigar and draw some moisture out of it.
A lot of us (US) "southerners" have the opposite problem. My cigars are almost always too wet. Once I understood the concept and goals of humidifying cigars for storage and smoking, the "advice" makes a lot more sense. Most of the time, it's 180 out for me. Most people add water to keep their cigars humidified, I have to take water out. Many people have to keep their cigars from getting to cold...mine are usually too warm.
Adjust your situation accordingly.
When you read "remove your cigars and let them sit outside the humidor"...they probably mean, "reduce the RH of the cigar a few points before smoking"....you have to interpret what is being said and why and then figure out how to accomplish the same goal using your situation.
Temperature is another issue. (it can be very hotly debated and I am not trying to start anything). While it's true that RH is RH...the "R" in RH is "relative" afterall, I have found that the temperature of the cigar affects my smoking enjoyment. Too high and the cigar exhibits many of the problems of an over-humidified cigar. In theory, you could smoke a cigar at 70% RH on a 100 degree day and it would be just like a 70%RH cigar on a 60 degree day. In practice, hot/humid days and cigars don't seem to get along well for me. I don't smoke fast enough to get through a big cigar on a 90+ degree day where the humidity is hovering near 100%. (I live in Florida). The cigar almost always ends up splitting by the time I am down to the last 1/3. Whether the cigar can draw enough moisture from the surrounding air during smoking to cause burn problems is not something we all agree about. My experience is that hot and humid days are not for smoking outside.
So rather than offer specific techniques ("dry-boxing") for example, I would offer some location-generic advice:
Try to store your cigars at 70/70 (or maybe just slight cooler, lower RH) and try to smoke your cigars at 63%-65%RH. You can adjust these numbers to what is best for you.
I've recently switched to 65% beads and my coolidor hovers around 65-67%. It's usally above 70 degrees, sometimes as high as 80. I don't have a "cold" place in the house. I'm thinking about switching to 60% beads to try to knock another 5 points off the RH. I never have to add to water to them. In fact, I've had to dry my beads with a hair dryer a couple of times.
It's difficult to lower the humidity of something in a large container without heating it. We have very few days here in Florida where I can use the outside air to both cool and de-humidify my cigars. Since you live in Ohio, your situation will likely be just the opposite for the winter anyway. If you open your house in the summer, you may have to adapt a different strategy based seasonal changes of temp/humidity.
Hope this helps! It took me a while to figure this all out and I hope I have done the proper service to all the folks who's posts I have read...
Cheers,
Joe
BTW: Don't just leave the hair dryer pointed at your beads while you do something else. They will dry, but as the beads dry, they become much lighter. By the time the beads are all dry, the blow dryer will have scattered them like so many little pieces of styrofoam. If you do this, really don't do this over carpenting. Don't ask me how I learned this.....
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