Lower humidor temperature?

[scotth]

The temperature in my humidor has been staying between 75 and 79 degrees. I'm sure this is probably due to the fact that its getting around 100 degrees outside in Dallas, but I was wondering if there is anything I can do to lower the temp in my humi. My whole house tends to be the same temp no matter where I go so moving it does no good, and since this is Texas we have no basements

If anyone can offer me any advice on this subject it would be very appreciated.

Thanks
Scott

[RGD]

I'm going to guess that you have a desktop humidor. Also assume that since you can't get your house temps down that you are concerned about beetles. If I were you then I would go the freeze route. Take your smokes and place them in a zip lock bag. Squeeze as much air out as possible and place in another zip lock. Put them in your freezer for a day or two - then in the refrig for a day and then back in the humidor.
This should have killed any beetles and so it really dosen't matter if your temps get up there.

Good luck,

Ron

[Zenistar]

Originally Posted by scotth

The temperature in my humidor has been staying between 75 and 79 degrees. I'm sure this is probably due to the fact that its getting around 100 degrees outside in Dallas, but I was wondering if there is anything I can do to lower the temp in my humi. My whole house tends to be the same temp no matter where I go so moving it does no good, and since this is Texas we have no basements

If anyone can offer me any advice on this subject it would be very appreciated.

Thanks
Scott

Hi Scott

I have the same problem. No matter the location within my apartment, my desktop sits around 78 and my coolerdor around 75. Touch wood I've had no problems with beetles with all stock that I get from my local B&M or my local mail order in Geneva.

[JPH]

Man....I didn't realize how many People have issues with heat. As mentioned above the freeze method is good to kill beetle larva. You need some other sort of solution because freezing your smokes all the time would be annoying.
Well...you could move....or seriously you could dedicate one room (the smallest one) for your humidor, and get a small window A/C, try to keep the door closed at all times and the drapes must not allow any hot Texas sun in. Also if there is space under the door you can shove a towel down there to seal it off like pot users do when in a hotel room.

[ghost]

Originally Posted by Zenistar

Hi Scott

I have the same problem. No matter the location within my apartment, my desktop sits around 78 and my coolerdor around 75. Touch wood I've had no problems with beetles with all stock that I get from my local B&M or my local mail order in Geneva.

Same for me. In the summer the temps are between 75 to 78. Thankfully we have had some scorchers and they only have gotten up to 78 and have had no problems yet. RH is kept at 65 for all stogies.

[Baric]

Originally Posted by Zenistar

Hi Scott

I have the same problem. No matter the location within my apartment, my desktop sits around 78 and my coolerdor around 75. Touch wood I've had no problems with beetles with all stock that I get from my local B&M or my local mail order in Geneva.

Many European and good US retailers will actually do the freezing for you in order to avoid beetle damage to their stock whilst it is in storage and to help the customer out-you could check with your tobacconist if they do this Zeni, but i expect someone along the line will have for you!
one ideafor lowering humi temp is to get a piece of [clean] metal pipe with closable ends nd just put an ice cube in it, seal it [to avoid mucking up the RH] and leave in for a while. adjust for size of humi.

[Andyman]

With regular non-commercial freezers in order to kill all the larva you need to freeze the cigars for 30 days.

Originally Posted by RGD

I'm going to guess that you have a desktop humidor. Also assume that since you can't get your house temps down that you are concerned about beetles. If I were you then I would go the freeze route. Take your smokes and place them in a zip lock bag. Squeeze as much air out as possible and place in another zip lock. Put them in your freezer for a day or two - then in the refrig for a day and then back in the humidor.
This should have killed any beetles and so it really dosen't matter if your temps get up there.

Good luck,

Ron

[NCatron]

Or you could do as I saw in another thread (can't think of a good keyword to find it in a search).

Take your humidor and place it (still sealed) within a cooler. Place an icepack, wrapped in a towl, in the cooler as well. This should chill it down to an acceptable temp and if the humidor has a good seal it shouldn't play with the humidity. If you have a wireless hygrometer, you can tell when its time to replace the ice pack.

[scotth]

Thank you all for the helpful tips. As of right now my cigars are double bagged and in the freezer. Since there's not a whole lot I can do right now because of the Texas weather, I'm going to let them sit in the freezer for 3-4 weeks and the move them to the fridge for a few days to a week.

Now here's an idea that came to mind. Let me know if this is stupid or not. Right now I am freezing a bag of distilled water and as soon as it freezes I'm going to stick it on a towel in my humidor and close the lid. What I am trying to see is whether or not it will lower the temperature in the humidor (I'm assuming it will). If it does significantly lower it, I may try it again with my cigars in it after they get done freezing. Does anyone know of any reason why this might be a bad idea to do on a regular basis? I figured it should be okay as long as the bag makes no contact with the humidor or the cigars. The only problem I see is keeping my humidity stable, which I'm about to get The Puck anyway so maybe that will help. I'd love to hear some opinions on this since I'm relatively new to all this.

Thanks
Scott

[whiteboard]

Originally Posted by JPH

...you could dedicate one room (the smallest one) for your humidor, and get a small window A/C, try to keep the door closed at all times and the drapes must not allow any hot Texas sun in. Also if there is space under the door you can shove a towel down there to seal it off like pot users do when in a hotel room.

This is exactly what I do...not cheap...but cheaper than losing my collection.