Best humidity for long term storage

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Cabaiguan juan
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Best humidity for long term storage

Post by Cabaiguan juan » Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:33 pm

What is the best humidity for long term storage? 70rH? 62rH?


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star644
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Post by star644 » Tue Jun 25, 2019 9:58 pm

del
Last edited by star644 on Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:29 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Kip
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Re: Best humidity for long term storage

Post by Kip » Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:54 pm

Ask 10 guys and you'l get 8 answers. Most folks into longterm cigar storage like it quite a bit drier (low 60's; some even lower than that). After living in the DR for 4 years, I have yet to put a single drop of moisture in my humidor. When I was young I read something..somewhere...from someone...that said the prevailing "norm" of 70/70 was simply a very broad brush to paint with. The article argued that ambient conditions where the tobacco was stored, rolled, and aged would be a better goal. So, I leave my humidor at typical Dominican conditions - which stays very near 65% most of the time, although the temp ranges more widely than I'd prefer.

I like my cigars drier than most people because I have too many issues when they're up around 70. The 65 works perfectly for me...although the days of my having true longterm storage are gone, at least for cigars.

Pipe tobacco is more forgiving. As long as you keep them in a reasonably cool place, a sealed tin is happy as a clam. No humidity work needed.
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kurtdesign1
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Re: Best humidity for long term storage

Post by kurtdesign1 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:54 am

Cabaiguan juan wrote:
Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:33 pm
What is the best humidity for long term storage? 70rH? 62rH?


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I'm with Kip regarding the sentiment of multiple answers you should expect. That said, I'll come at this from a different perspective. consistent, low 60s in humidity is as much a factor of humidity as it is temperature. One conversation should not be had without the other. So, keeping slightly below room temp and probably around 60% humidity CONSTANTLY is probably a good thing. There are testimonials of true cellars that are near these conditions and that require reaclimating the cigars before smoking. There's a noted Chinese (Hong Kong) collector who has made waves by suggesting cigars in long term storage can abruptly be brought up to smokable condition by DUNKING them in water about a half hour prior to smoking. Keep the foot dry and soak the rest.

I think we've all had a cigar before that has the musty funk (good band name). We've probably all had a dry acrid cigar too. There is more a sweet spot range than a specific target of where we want to be, I believe. That said, a basic understanding of biology and chemistry will lead you to believe that lower is better than higher when an extended period is involved. higher temps/humidity lead to more activity leads to faster aging which is commonly thought of as inferior. PS-when speaking of "long term" the cigar collecting "industry" typically refers to that as around 25 years+.

Study the wine industry (and even whiskey, more recently) for more tested scientific studies on the impacts of microclimate on aging.

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Zedman05
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Re: Best humidity for long term storage

Post by Zedman05 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 11:54 am

No long rant here;
65% at 65 degrees is my preference. My basement gets up to 68ish in the winter, but all summer at 65 degrees. About 30 Bovedas keep that humidity on lock-down. For me, it seems a happy medium. I don't have to worry about mold at all.
Everything gets frozen on arrival in the last 4 years, so I also don't worry about beetles.

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