How long can oils survive at 55%-60%rh?

[jerseynewbie]

I'm not sure if this has been covered before, and if it has, I apologize. I've done searches on rh being too low, and see cigars that had been left out for months and lost their oils, however I don't see anything about cigars left slightly low.

I've been working on the wine-ador, however I fell down the slippery slope a little early and in the meantime I was storing my sticks in various coolers, etc. They were stored in a 65% @ 65 degree environment, kept inside cedar boxes, that probably weren't seasoned as well as they could have been, and were unfortunately all laquered so they didn't breathe all that well.

I recently pulled them all out of their boxes and started putting them in the wine-ador. However based on the natural equilibrium of the air it looks like cigars may have been actually holding at around 55%-60% humidity for up to a month instead of the 65% that I thought they were. Would this (say theoretically, 57% @ 65 degrees for a month) be enough to cause serious damage?

Thanks.

[john51277]

Oh damn.........they are no good anymore. Ship them directly to me. I will inspect them and properly dispose of any dried out sticks and resurect any which show signs of life.

[jerseynewbie]

Originally Posted by john51277

Oh damn.........they are no good anymore. Ship them directly to me. I will inspect them and properly dispose of any dried out sticks and resurect any which show signs of life.

Sorry, bro, heard that one before. Besides, I'm a newbie, so if they taste like a grocery bag I won't know the difference, right?

[NCRadioMan]

How do the cigars feel? Dry and hard or do they slightly give?

I don't think it will cause much damage, at all, if the rh was stable. I know of several gorillas that store thier cigars around 60 and dry-box further before smoking and all is good. I personally feel between 60 and 65 is good. Bring them back up to your comfort level and let them rest a while and then try one.

[zemekone]

they should be fine... i read some places in Europe keep stuff that low and even lower for loing term aging...

[jerseynewbie]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

How do the cigars feel? Dry and hard or do they slightly give?

I don't think it will cause much damage, at all, if the rh was stable. I know of several gorillas that store thier cigars around 60 and dry-box further before smoking and all is good. I personally feel between 60 and 65 is good. Bring them back up to your comfort level and let them rest a while and then try one.

Originally Posted by zemekone

they should be fine... i read some places in Europe keep stuff that low and even lower for loing term aging...

They don't feel too hard, and the wrappers that are not cello covered still feel oily to the touch. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience with being able to tell how dry/wet a stick is by feel yet, so I appreciate the info. RG sent.

[daviddunn]

They're fine. Cigars aren't quite as fragile as people think. They leave them sitting out in the places that they're made, that's what we try to duplicate in our humidors, but 60% RH isn't unheard of in Cuba.

[borndead1]

Don't stress it. While I was wrestling with the humidity in my fridgerdor, my cigars were still fine even after 2+ weeks in the low to mid 50s. Even the non-cellophaned ones.

[stormin]

Probably 3,000 miles (5,000 km) and then you should change it.

[jerseynewbie]

Originally Posted by stormin

Probably 3,000 miles (5,000 km) and then you should change it.

What if I'm using Fully Synthetic RH? Does that make a difference? And should I recycle my RH when I'm done or just dump it down the storm drain?

[Da Klugs]

My Radio Shack hygro reads "Comfort" at 50%.

Of course it says the same thing at 40%.

Maybe as low as 33% before it reads dry, don't remember.

I wouldn't worry about your cigars being stored in the 50% RH range. Particularly in your situation, sealed boxes and for a relatively short period of time.

Of course I don't worry about tearing those tags off furniture and mattresses either, and that may someday comme back to haunt me.

Only time will tell.

[Schecter30]

Originally Posted by Da Klugs

My Radio Shack hygro reads "Comfort" at 50%.

Of course it says the same thing at 40%.

Maybe as low as 33% before it reads dry, don't remember.

.

that probably means comfort for humans not cigars right?

[K Baz]

Whoa dude - total flash back

[e-man]

My local B&M says that Fuente stuff usually ships at 60%, so you're probably fine. Just bring them back up slowly.

[Architeuthis]

The Squid-A-Dor® is kept between 55% and 60% RH all the time...