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What Humidity Do You Run in Your Humidor?

ironpeddler

ironpeddler

Ye Old Newbie
Joined
Apr 8, 2008
Messages
6,660
OK...While discussing the DPG Black robos and belis, some of us experienced the wrapper splitting. I said to Aaron (H311oLHD) that the 6 sticks I had all did it...both sizes, from 2 different date codes and smoked by 3 different people. I stated I ran my humidor at 72% and thought this may help moisten the wrapper...then MadMonk suggested a humidity of 69% or lower for this cigar would be better.

I just calibrated my 2 digital hygrometers and bought a new adjustable hygrometer to monitor my 2 shelves and top drawer and there seems to be about a 2% difference from top to bottom...72% bottom, 70% middle, and 68% top drawer. It's a Staebell Aristocrat.

Questions:
  1. What humidity do you run your humidor at?
  2. What do you use to humidify your humidor? For your cabinets or desktops.
  3. Do you place certain cigars at different levels in your cabinet humidor (based on different readings) or have different desktop humidors at different humidities for these certain cigars?

You guys in Arizona and other dry states have other issues in the hot Summer, but I'm thinking middle of the road here.

I have always tended to err on the side of humid rather than dry. Loosely rolled fillers that are drier tend to burn too quickly and smoke too hot. Conversely, a good tightly rolled cigar with too much humidity can be a nightmare to keep lit and taste like wet dog. I always felt that a cigar tasted better in a moist state.

What do you guys think? Are there some 'rules of thumb' that should be followed? I remember a day when manufactures suggested the humidity for their particular cigars....as did the proprietors of our local B&M.
I guess I'm old school with the Ron Popeil mind set of "Set it and forget it"...but all you guys bring up great points.
 
ironpeddler said:
  1. What humidity do you run your humidor at?
  2. What do you use to humidify your humidor? For your cabinets or desktops.
  3. Do you place certain cigars at different levels in your cabinet humidor (based on different readings) or have different desktop humidors at different humidities for these certain cigars?
Click to expand...
I've got a custom Staebell cabinet. It's tall and vertical, like a phone booth.
  1. I run the setpoint of my cabinet at 65%, and the temperature at 68F. With the forced air heat on, it runs a very steady 64-65% at the humidity controller. I am sure there's probably a point or two variation in top to bottom, but it doesn't seem to affect anything so I don't worry about it. In the summer, I run the humidifiers dry and due to ambient humidity, the RH creeps up to about 70%.
  2. Two humidifiers in my cabinet. Staebell's DI water / wick / fan units.
  3. I quite worrying about it. All my stuff smokes great so I don't go out of my way to differentiate a point or two of RH.
I know when I was new at the game, I constantly stressed out about a point or two in RH. Time and experience has shown me that a few points either way really doesn't make a big difference. You'll still get the occasional plugged or hard to draw smoke even with the RH at 60%. You'll find the occasional smoke that burns "hot" at 70% Ask a bunch of experienced cigar guys what RH they recommend and you'll get answers all the way from 58 to 75%.

I shoot for 65%, and don't "freak out" if it's a point or three off.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
From my limited experience, I find that most cigars smoke much better at 65%, some of them even do well with a little dry boxing, tatuaje / pepin especially will smoke best at a lower RH.

I'd say 72% is too humid, for any type of cigar.
 
I am new to cigars and have only had my humidor for nine months now. When I first got it I ran it at 70%RH. After a few months I was getting burn and draw issues. I then got the 65% beads from Heartfelt Industries. The burn and draw issues have gone away and my cigars are smoking very well. I still get the occasional tight draw or burn issue, but I attribute this to the cigar construction rather than the humidity. About every two weeks the RH drops to 62%. I add some distiled water which takes it back to 65% and all is good.
 
In my experience, 72% is way too humid. I used to keep my humi at 70% when I first go into the hobby and now I find that is even too humid. My cigars smoke much better at 65% - 67%. They burn evenly, draw good and stay lit. At 70% I had burn issues and tight draws often. Just my opinion.

dave
 
I use 65% beads in my humidors and 50/50 pg/distilled water in my storage coolerdors. Most folks I ask use 65% beads.
 
69/70 is my LOOONG term aging. I smoke at 65 and lower. For instance, I Love Vegas Cubanas by Pepin.
They are ok to nasty at 69/70, and totally delicious between 60 and 65.

That said, I'm a creature of habit, and did not have the advantage of this CP community. My reason for 69 has always been based on reading that cigars lose oils under 69. How that was arrived at, and if it is really true, I don't know.

I plan to experiment long term at 65. The Brits have done it for years. Plan on ordering some 65% beads when things settle down here at home.
 
I have two desk tops and I like to run my humidity any where between 64 and 69. For me that is just about right because the draw seems to be on the positive side and the leaf burns evenly.
 
I have 65% beads in my 4 desktops. all hold around 63-67 depending on the season. smoke good.
 
I use 65% beads, half clear, and use my humis to set my hygros. :D
 
ironpeddler said:
I have always tended to err on the side of humid rather than dry. Loosely rolled fillers that are drier tend to burn too quickly and smoke too hot. Conversely, a good tightly rolled cigar with too much humidity can be a nightmare to keep lit and taste like wet dog. I always felt that a cigar tasted better in a moist state.
Click to expand...
I set my coolers around 65%. My ready-to-smoke coolers are closer to 70% as I generally prefer how they perform at that range. Curiously, I seem to find that Habanos are more tolerant of slightly higher humidity than some NCs, which can get just horrendous approaching 70%. For those cigars, I have a dryer cooler that is between 57-60%.

Wilkey
 
My coolerdor is about 69%. My singles humi is @ 70%. I drybox @ 60% for a day or two out of either and cc and nc alike are all great that way. There are some cigars I find that smoke great @ 65% or 70% such as most Padrons. One thing that I have noticed is that cigars smoked @ a higher RH are more mellow and have less kick than the same cigar smoked @ a lower RH.
 
amateuraficionado said:
My coolerdor is about 69%. My singles humi is @ 70%. I drybox @ 60% for a day or two out of either and cc and nc alike are all great that way. There are some cigars I find that smoke great @ 65% or 70% such as most Padrons. One thing that I have noticed is that cigars smoked @ a higher RH are more mellow and have less kick than the same cigar smoked @ a lower RH.
Click to expand...

Quite an astute observation from an Amateur Aficionado!...lol...I'm not quite sure if that self imposed 'Amateur' status is a faithful moniker, no matter what your age is.

I do the same as you, I will remove a cigar from my humidor and let it sit for a spell to dry rest it before I will light it up, always making a mental note as to what I started out with (RH) and how long I let it sit....I very seldom take a cigar right out of a humidor and light it up...an old Cuban cigar smoker that immigrated to Union City, NJ taught me that in the early 80s. He swore it had to do with how the wrapper leaf affected the overall taste....and we would have discussions that lasted for hours with his old Cuban friends about whether the wrapper REALLY effected the taste of a cigar at all!...all of them rolled cigars at one point in their lives or worked in the sugar cane fields....all very passionate cigar smokers....I mostly just listened and smoked, talk about being a newbie.

Resting a cigar is not always the case, but something I practice religiously.

I was wondering when someone would come up with that correlation, raising the RH to mellow out a cigar. Wilkey mentioned that ISOM hold up to a higher humidity and I have played to that for many years...their hardier tobacco leaf must be the reason. Nicaraguans do smoke better a trifle drier than ISOMs...my Padron Annis are a fine example of that theory, 66-68% is where I keep them. I'm using that theory to start out with for the DPGs, Tatuajes, and Illusiones that you guys here have alerted me to. The Dominicans are a mixed bag as far as humidity goes with me...I really have to play with them to find their most flavorful point. Most times I will remove them from my big humi to a drier desktop and monitor them from there until I find a base line to where they suit my taste and record that on the box or in my log book. The Fuente Opus X, Anejos, Don Carlos, and Hemingways are always moved like checkers on a board to suit my taste...and my taste changes from time to time and I have found I can do the same with a cigar to match that...based on RH.

But to all this humidity discussion, to me, a cigar rounds out it's edges a bit when it is a tad more moist. I remember getting a box of Series D #4s and when I smoked the first one it was like puffing on an asphalt driveway. I thought aging them would mellow them out as always (but I had a feeling this wasn't the case but did it anyway)...4 months later the same thing.....8 months later the same thing....1 1/2 years later the same. So I raised the humidity a bit over time and about 5-6 months later they were a great cigar that tended to my taste....71%.

I play with this all the time, because in the long run, it has to do with my taste...and as we all know, this is how this whole cigar thing works. I have never found one RH setting to all my humidors worked for me....because we all have so many different freakin cigars!

Thanks for your input gentlemen.
 
ironpeddler said:
I very seldom take a cigar right out of a humidor and light it up...an old Cuban cigar smoker that immigrated to Union City, NJ taught me that in the early 80s. He swore it had to do with how the wrapper leaf affected the overall taste....and we would have discussions that lasted for hours with his old Cuban friends about whether the wrapper REALLY effected the taste of a cigar at all!...all of them rolled cigars at one point in their lives or worked in the sugar cane fields....all very passionate cigar smokers....I mostly just listened and smoked, talk about being a newbie.
Click to expand...
I would be very curious to hear what these gentlemen said about the wrapper effect. There have been some truly stimulating discussions on that matter elsewhere in the recent past and I am sure it would be alright to present some data gleaned from interviews of Cuban rollers, farmers, and Habanos officials. I would even say that breakthroughs have been made vis-a-vis the perennial 10%-90% debate.

ironpeddler said:
Nicaraguans do smoke better a trifle drier than ISOMs...my Padron Annis are a fine example of that theory, 66-68% is where I keep them. I'm using that theory to start out with for the DPGs, Tatuajes, and Illusiones that you guys here have alerted me to. The Dominicans are a mixed bag as far as humidity goes with me...I really have to play with them to find their most flavorful point. Most times I will remove them from my big humi to a drier desktop and monitor them from there until I find a base line to where they suit my taste and record that on the box or in my log book. The Fuente Opus X, Anejos, Don Carlos, and Hemingways are always moved like checkers on a board to suit my taste...and my taste changes from time to time and I have found I can do the same with a cigar to match that...based on RH.

But to all this humidity discussion, to me, a cigar rounds out it's edges a bit when it is a tad more moist. I remember getting a box of Series D #4s and when I smoked the first one it was like puffing on an asphalt driveway. I thought aging them would mellow them out as always (but I had a feeling this wasn't the case but did it anyway)...4 months later the same thing.....8 months later the same thing....1 1/2 years later the same. So I raised the humidity a bit over time and about 5-6 months later they were a great cigar that tended to my taste....71%.
Click to expand...
This is reflective of my experiences as well. Excellent observations.

Wilkey
 
ironpeddler said:
amateuraficionado said:
My coolerdor is about 69%. My singles humi is @ 70%. I drybox @ 60% for a day or two out of either and cc and nc alike are all great that way. There are some cigars I find that smoke great @ 65% or 70% such as most Padrons. One thing that I have noticed is that cigars smoked @ a higher RH are more mellow and have less kick than the same cigar smoked @ a lower RH.
Click to expand...

Quite an astute observation from an Amateur Aficionado!...lol...I'm not quite sure if that self imposed 'Amateur' status is a faithful moniker, no matter what your age is.
Click to expand...


Thanks Gary. I assure you I'm much more Amateur than aficionado for sure. If it wasn't for the wealth of knowledge here at CP I may reverted back to Kuba Kubas. :sign: One thing's for certain.... I sure would have a lot more check at the end of the month.
 
Ginseng said:
I would be very curious to hear what these gentlemen said about the wrapper effect. There have been some truly stimulating discussions on that matter elsewhere in the recent past and I am sure it would be alright to present some data gleaned from interviews of Cuban rollers, farmers, and Habanos officials. I would even say that breakthroughs have been made vis-a-vis the perennial 10%-90% debate.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

Wilkey

PM sent.
 
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