Burn Issues

[Herf N Turf]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

Its a san cristobal box?

They're mostly exposed cedar, with a laquered top. It should do the trick, but you should leave it open for several days to let it dry further. Get it down to the low 50's. You'll be fine.

[mrsmitty]

My hygro is now reading 53% @ 70 degrees. Sparked up a Padilla 1932 Robusto, RP Edge Maduro Robusto, and just today a Perdomo Lot 23 Robusto. Every single cigar has tunneled on me.

Like lighting up five dollar bills and throwing them away lol.

[Burst]

"No matter what a thermometer or hygrometer says, the true measure of your humidor's performance will be the condition of the cigars inside". Would you say your basement is quite a humid place?

[baddddmonkey]

I used to have the same problem as well with cigars from my cooler. I do have a seperate humidor just for this, and also a small humidor for dry boxing. I got one of those freebie 20ct. humi's from CI awhile back and it works well for dryboxing, plus it seems to add a hint of cedar taste to the smoke...at least to me anyway. I may be wrong though!

Anyway, just keep doing what your doing. I usually dry box for a day or two, depending on if I can wait to smoke a cigar or not!

Good luck though bro!

[eljimmy]

Sucks man. I store mine at 71% and smoke fine every time. I had a small vinotemp that I bought and test stored some sticks in there, had bad results, I'm thinkin' the cooler air brought in more moisture, don't use that anymore. Sucks if dry boxing doesn't help.

[e-man]

CONSISTENCY is key!!!

Tunnels, Canoes, runs, etc are are caused by variations in humidity in your cigar. It doesn't matter if your running high or low. If they're not the same humidity throughout, then expect problems.

The air will change rH much faster than your cigars, because the air has less mass. Say you just bought some new sticks. You put them in your humidor and check on them the next day. Your hygrometer reads a "perfect" 70/70, but that doesn't mean your new cigars are now at 70/70. Now, does it?

It takes a long time for the humidity to permeate the entire volume of the cigar. That's why everyone suggest resting cigars for a minimum of ONE MONTH IN A SEASONED HUMIDOR. From reading this thread, I doubt that your humidor has been sitting at 53% for over a month...Has it?
Your humidor may have been seasoned properly, but I assure you that it isn't seasoned anymore. Chances are that you have been affected by the recent cold spell, and your furnace is drying out the air in your house, which leeches humidity from your humidor. You need to get it up to a humidity of your liking, THEN MAINTAIN IT at that rH for a month before smoking any of those cigars. Don't try to rush the process. It will shift gradually. Check your seal and use more humidification media (beads, gel, boveda, etc).

I don't suggest adding any new sticks until you figure things out with the guinea pigs you already own. Transfer some of your cigars into a ziplock bag with a Boveda pack and wait a month. They'll be smokable long before the cigars in your humidor will be ready.

Also, don't bother aging these cigars too long. They have probably lost some oils, and the extreme shifts in rH can cause the wrappers to wrinkle and/or crack.

[mrsmitty]

Originally Posted by e-man

CONSISTENCY is key!!!

Tunnels, Canoes, runs, etc are are caused by variations in humidity in your cigar. It doesn't matter if your running high or low. If they're not the same humidity throughout, then expect problems.

The air will change rH much faster than your cigars, because the air has less mass. Say you just bought some new sticks. You put them in your humidor and check on them the next day. Your hygrometer reads a "perfect" 70/70, but that doesn't mean your new cigars are now at 70/70. Now, does it?

It takes a long time for the humidity to permeate the entire volume of the cigar. That's why everyone suggest resting cigars for a minimum of ONE MONTH IN A SEASONED HUMIDOR. From reading this thread, I doubt that your humidor has been sitting at 53% for over a month...Has it?
Your humidor may have been seasoned properly, but I assure you that it isn't seasoned anymore. Chances are that you have been affected by the recent cold spell, and your furnace is drying out the air in your house, which leeches humidity from your humidor. You need to get it up to a humidity of your liking, THEN MAINTAIN IT at that rH for a month before smoking any of those cigars. Don't try to rush the process. It will shift gradually. Check your seal and use more humidification media (beads, gel, boveda, etc).

I don't suggest adding any new sticks until you figure things out with the guinea pigs you already own. Transfer some of your cigars into a ziplock bag with a Boveda pack and wait a month. They'll be smokable long before the cigars in your humidor will be ready.

Also, don't bother aging these cigars too long. They have probably lost some oils, and the extreme shifts in rH can cause the wrappers to wrinkle and/or crack.

My humi and coolidor are sitting right on 65%, and I've had my coolidor & humi running for at least two months now. My dry box is at 53% NOT my humidor. I've had the cigars in there for nearly two weeks now to get it down to 53% still having tunneling issues.

[mrsmitty]

I "think" I might of found the problem, or part of the problem. Lets just say my ac works, and works well. I took my hygro out and just set it on the table and found that it was 69 degrees in there, so I turned it down and its now 73.4 degrees, feels a lot nicer for one & I just got done smoking a RP Sungrown Toro and only had to touch it up twice, it didn't tunnel on me once. Which is a nice thing seeing as though I've been pitching more cigars than I would ever be comfterable with. Crossing my fingers this was the colprate.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

I "think" I might of found the problem, or part of the problem. Lets just say my ac works, and works well. I took my hygro out and just set it on the table and found that it was 69 degrees in there, so I turned it down and its now 73.4 degrees, feels a lot nicer for one & I just got done smoking a RP Sungrown Toro and only had to touch it up twice, it didn't tunnel on me once. Which is a nice thing seeing as though I've been pitching more cigars than I would ever be comfterable with. Crossing my fingers this was the colprate.

I apologize. I didn't realize you were talking about the dry box when you mentioned 53%. I've never tried dry boxing, but I've never had reason to try.

Sounds like you're onto a solution. A temperature shift will definitely change the total moisture even if your rH reading doesn't change. But, I still stand by my statement that it will take about a month to stabilize your sticks after any tweaks.

I'm glad to hear that they are already smoking better. Hopefully, they'll just keep improving as time goes on.

Good Luck.

[eyesack]

Do you happen to have a fan or two in your cooler, by chance?

[mrsmitty]

I went a little spray bottle happy and my beads are completely clear lol. Should I just put them in a dry box for awhile and let some of the moisture escape?

[Phantom57]

Uneven burn is almost always a humidification/storage problem. If you buy boxes, plan on at least 2-3 months in the humidor before smoking. If you want to smoke some sooner, take them out of the box and wrapper off, put them in a desk top for a few weeks, and they should be fine.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by mrsmitty

I went a little spray bottle happy and my beads are completely clear lol. Should I just put them in a dry box for awhile and let some of the moisture escape?

No need for a box. They'll dry out quicker in open air. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.