Temperature problem

[Mindflux]

Well my friend who's signed up on here (beatnik) just got his humidor and is currently seasoning it.

So, in talking to him I had him stick his new digital hygrometer in his humidor-bag (69% humidity) to sort of calibrate it.. rather than do the salt test. This is what I did.. and it's fine.

Anyway, I guess he doesn't run the A/C much and mentioned the hygrometer is reading 87 degrees... which is probably what the house is at too he says.

I mention this is no good.

Anyway. So I'm trying to help him minimize his chances of getting beetles. Freezing is probably an option but here's the thing.

I see most people fridge their sticks for a day, freeze for 3 and re-fridge for a day to bring back to a somewhat normal temperature.

I had heard that both the fridge and freezer would zap most of the moisture out of the sticks.. (or maybe it was put way too much in). If this is the case, is it not damaging your cigars?

So I'm thinking he could freeze his sticks and maybe use a beetle trap? Although I haven't found what those are quite yet.

Got any advice?

[Ermo]

87 is WAY too hot. Freeze in ziploc bags inside tupperware with all the air out of the bags. Is his basement any cooler(if he has one)? If not freezing is the only choice, and he'd have to freeze everything he buys, kinda tedious. Look at a wine coolerdor, not cheap but will solve his problem. Another option is to go to a local cigar bar and store your smokes there while figuring it out. I have a local place that you can rent a locker-humidor by the month for $25, they keep it perfect 65-65. Buys you some time for $25.

[larryinlc]

I triple wrap my cigars, then freeze them for 48 hours. Another 24 hrs in the frig, then back in the humidor. No negative effects from freezing/refrigerating. Can't even tell any difference. Oh, from the frig, I do let them stand at room temp for an hour before putting them back in the humidor. Don't know if this matters, but it makes me feel better. Don't want stogie shock.

Larry

[Mindflux]

He doesn't have a basement, no. I know 87 is way too hot.

I'm not sure if he'd go for a cigar bar humi rental, if there's even one near him to bother with. He just bought a humidor, hygrometer etc.

I guess freezing is the way it's gonna have to be. He wont spring for a wine cooler.. since he'll need a temp probe to shut it off if it drops below 65ish (which all wine coolers seem to dip into the 40s and then slowly warm up).

[larryinlc]

Many inexpensive wine coolers do have temperature control. Mine does. This is not the 12v portable designed for the car though. It works well, but not terribly accurate. I set it as 61 to 64 degrees, and the full cooler stays roughly at 68 to 70 degrees depending on the surrounding ambient temp. The only way to go for smoking on a budget. It does seem to work best when 3 or 4 cans of your favorite liquid beverage is also planted inside with the cigars to moderate and control the temperature. The liquid does very well holding cool. Much better than dry boxes.

Larry

[sirxlaughs]

I've been freezing my cigars lately. From what I've read, the main danger of freezing, is the thawing process. If you don't get them up to temperature slowly, the cigar might expan too quickly (from heat and moisture aborption) and crack the wrapper.
So far, I've just put my cigars in ziplock freezer bags, fridge for 2-3 days, fridge for 1 day, room temp for a few hours, and back in the humi or cooler. I haven't had any problems with cigars tasting funny, drying out, or cracking so far.
This crazy beetle epicdemic has definitely got me paranoid, though.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by sirxlaughs

I've been freezing my cigars lately. From what I've read, the main danger of freezing, is the thawing process. If you don't get them up to temperature slowly, the cigar might expan too quickly (from heat and moisture aborption) and crack the wrapper.
So far, I've just put my cigars in ziplock freezer bags, fridge for 2-3 days, fridge for 1 day, room temp for a few hours, and back in the humi or cooler. I haven't had any problems with cigars tasting funny, drying out, or cracking so far.
This crazy beetle epicdemic has definitely got me paranoid, though.

I do the same thing, freezer 3 days, refrigerator 1 day, RT 1 day, back into humidor. I repeat the process with all new sticks before they go into my humidors. I triple bag and wrap in aluminum foil - seems to prevent freezer burn with food so I figured it couldn't hurt. Then after the refrigerator I move them into a new bag for the RT step (I just use one of the outer bags). So far so good, my house has been in the mid 70's the last couple of weeks, hoping it will cool down a little.

If I ever do get a bug outbreak or out grow my two humidors , I will probably purchase a wine cooler. I hope the latter occurs first.

[discdog]

Living in the Atlanta area we have a problem with high heat/high humidity (100/80 for the last two days). The way I control both is by adding dry ice to my coolerdors. I just use an empty box with holes drilled in it and add the "ice" every couple of days. Keeps the temp around 60/65 & my RH around 67(I ahve about 2.5 pounds of 65rh beads in each cooler. This has been working fine for over a year now.
When freezing your cigars - what about using one of the vacumn sealers? No air and the bags are thick enough that one would keep the freezer burn away. And they are reuseable for a while.

[aphexacid]

Well damn, isnt 87 too hot for HIM, let alone the cigars? i'd hang myself if my house was above 75!

[discdog]

Originally Posted by aphexacid

Well damn, isnt 87 too hot for HIM, let alone the cigars? i'd hang myself if my house was above 75!

Amen brother! I was thinking the same thing.

[Mindflux]

Originally Posted by aphexacid

Well damn, isnt 87 too hot for HIM, let alone the cigars? i'd hang myself if my house was above 75!

You would think so. But I think he likes swampass.

[Mindflux]

Originally Posted by larryinlc

Many inexpensive wine coolers do have temperature control. Mine does. This is not the 12v portable designed for the car though. It works well, but not terribly accurate. I set it as 61 to 64 degrees, and the full cooler stays roughly at 68 to 70 degrees depending on the surrounding ambient temp. The only way to go for smoking on a budget. It does seem to work best when 3 or 4 cans of your favorite liquid beverage is also planted inside with the cigars to moderate and control the temperature. The liquid does very well holding cool. Much better than dry boxes.

Larry

I'm not so sure about that? Have you ever watched the actual cooling cycle? I keep reading that most of them switch on, cool into the 40s or 50s and slowly creep back up into the 60s and start all over again. This is the reason *I* dont have a wine cooler yet.

[King Cat]

Wait a minute guys... I want to make sure I understand the true benefits of freezing. The first benefit is obvious, freezing cigars cracks the larvae and kills the eggs, thus preventing an outbreak. However, in this particular situation, if his temperature remains in the 80's, won't he just risk potential beetle infestation later; can't the high temperature begin the creation of larvae/eggs later regardless of what was done in the past, such as freezing them? I didn't think that once you crack the larvae and kill the eggs you're in the clear for good.

[stogie_kanobie_one]

I had wondered the same thing King Cat but I think that what they are saying is true. If you freeze long enough and at a cold enough temperature that all the existing eggs in the cigars are destroyed, the only chance of reinfection would be from OTHER cigars that had not only had eggs in them but had beetles hatch. Basically the only way for existing cigars to get reinfected would be for a beetle to hatch from somewhere else then lay the new eggs. You break that cylce by freezing and introducing nothing new without freezing then you shouldn't have any outbreaks.

Similar to grub worms in the lawn. You've gotta attack damn near every cycle, larvae, beetle, larvae before you make a dent in them. But once you do your clean. If a beetle gets in there again and lays eggs... back to step one.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by stogie_kanobie_one

I had wondered the same thing King Cat but I think that what they are saying is true. If you freeze long enough and at a cold enough temperature that all the existing eggs in the cigars are destroyed, the only chance of reinfection would be from OTHER cigars that had not only had eggs in them but had beetles hatch. Basically the only way for existing cigars to get reinfected would be for a beetle to hatch from somewhere else then lay the new eggs. You break that cylce by freezing and introducing nothing new without freezing then you shouldn't have any outbreaks.

Similar to grub worms in the lawn. You've gotta attack damn near every cycle, larvae, beetle, larvae before you make a dent in them. But once you do your clean. If a beetle gets in there again and lays eggs... back to step one.

That is my understanding as well. If you kill all the eggs and the larvae, then you shouldn't have any beetles hatching from your frozen sticks. Now, tobacco beetles are not only found in tobacco, so if you had an infestation somewhere else in your house/outside, I suppose you could "infect" the smokes again and you would have to start over and re-freeze (I'm not clear if it is good to freeze a cigar more than once).

In addition, the freezing process is probably not 100% efficient (nothing in biology is), so even if you do freeze your cigars and the temperatures are a little high, it is a good idea to inspect them to make sure they don't have any signs of an infestation.

Otherwise, buy a wine cooler and set it to 65F (if only my wife would let me).