Want my first humidor - any advice?

[Ansel]

Thanks nicodude - i shall be referring to your words if need be. Much appreciated.

[wayner123]

One more thing, if you do decide to buy one.
A humidor is not meant to be 100% airtight. It should have a good seal, but not be completely air tight. There needs to be some exchange of fresh air into the humidor so the cigars can 'breath'. If you use a 'tupperdor' you need to open it atleast once a week to cycle in some fresh air (providing you are using a humidifier in the tupperware container) or you will get mold growth.

Make sure you get one lined with kiln dried spanish cedar, and has a heavy lid. A good test is to hold the lid open an inch or two and let it fall, as it is closing you should hear a "whoosh" type sound, which is the air inside the humidor being pushed out as the lid closes, if it does not do this the humidor doesn't have an adequate seal.

Again, not to be rude, but that is not accurate. Mold growth is an issue of temperature and humidity. A dry cigar in a vacuum kept below 80F will never get mold.

Ansel since you are only smoking 1 a week, a decent tupperware or travel humidor like an otterbox will do just fine. The most important parts of keeping cigars are humidity and temperature. If it's only 1 a week, in an airtight container it would easily last a couple weeks without any humidification when kept at room temp. If you plan on keeping that one cigar more than a couple weeks to a month, I would get a boveda or a humidity pillow. That would last in an airtight container a few months.

Also, just an FYI, I know of a good many cigar smokers who are overseas on deployment and keep their smokes in pelican cases for months on end, with no harm.

All in all, desktop humidors are really not meant for storage. They are for your desktop. They look nice while housing your cigars in a secure environment. To truly "store" cigars you are talking years, not days. Heck, people used to keep their cigars in their nightstands with a sponge on a plate. And it worked for them.

[Roo]

Nice to have your advice Wayner. I will be referring to this thread later myself. Cheers

[wayner123]

Nice to have your advice Wayner. I will be referring to this thread later myself. Cheers

I am glad to help. I sometimes come across badly with text.

Just as this forum is a great resource for snus, a person would do well to gain the experience and help from a cigar forum. cigarasylum.com is one I have belonged to since the beginning and is a great resource should someone want to know more.

[nicodude]

Mold will not grow in a vacuum. But an airtight container is not a vacuum, unless of course you have some way to vacuum seal the container.

Cigar humidors are not meant to be airtight, they have to breath, thats why they are lined in wood, the poors in the wood allow a controlled exchange in airflow. I have copied and pasted the following information from the first link at the bottom:

Is my humidor supposed to be airtight?
No. The exchange of air is critical to the storage of cigars, as it will prevent mold growth. A completely airtight system, kept at 72% humidity, would grow mold very quickly and destroy the cigars. High quality wooden humidors, even with seemingly airtight seals, have an exchange of air because they are made of wood, which is a porous material. However, a poorly made one will have a seal that is too loose and allow the moisture to escape rapidly, thus resulting in dried out cigars. If you chose to keep your cigars in Tupperware or glass jars, it is critical that you open them at least once a week to refresh the air

I am including links to reading material on the topic. If you want additional info, search the topic on google.

http://www.utopiacigars.com/faq/#airtight

http://www.ehow.com/about_6310983_ci...formation.html

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4597477...idor-work.html

[wayner123]

Mold will not grow in a vacuum. But an airtight container is not a vacuum, unless of course you have some way to vacuum seal the container.

Cigar humidors are not meant to be airtight, they have to breath, thats why they are lined in wood, the poors in the wood allow a controlled exchange in airflow. I have copied and pasted the following information from the first link at the bottom:

Is my humidor supposed to be airtight?
No. The exchange of air is critical to the storage of cigars, as it will prevent mold growth. A completely airtight system, kept at 72% humidity, would grow mold very quickly and destroy the cigars. High quality wooden humidors, even with seemingly airtight seals, have an exchange of air because they are made of wood, which is a porous material. However, a poorly made one will have a seal that is too loose and allow the moisture to escape rapidly, thus resulting in dried out cigars. If you chose to keep your cigars in Tupperware or glass jars, it is critical that you open them at least once a week to refresh the air

I am including links to reading material on the topic. If you want additional info, search the topic on google.

http://www.utopiacigars.com/faq/#airtight

http://www.ehow.com/about_6310983_ci...formation.html

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4597477...idor-work.html

Thank you for the links nicodude. BTW, you have PM's you have not answered

Back to cigars. I am speaking from years and years of experience and also have friends who have been smoking cigars for decades as well. That utopia link has a good deal of information on it. However, some of it is widely inaccurate and downright false.

I will agree that mold "could" go grow in a simple humidor that was airtight, but it will NOT grow if that airtight container's humidity and temperature are kept below the threshold for mold spore growth.

Furthermore, it would take months or years (not days or weeks) for that mold to grow to anything of concern. As long as mold is not on the foot (which means it has went inside the cigar) you can wipe it off the wrapper and smoke as normal. It won't kill you.

Lastly, since he said he is only getting 1 cigar at a time, and maybe for a week at a time, there is no fear of mold as he is sure to open that "airtight humidor" within a week. And thus my recommendation for an airtight container. This will allow for 2 things:

1. tupperware are cheap
2. no need for a humidification device

[nicodude]

I agree with that. I was speaking more to the terms of a larger actual humidor. But for the purpose of storing few cigars for short periods of time, I concur that an airtight container with a boveda pack (for longer storing time) would work fine, and will not grow mold.

Utopia does have some inaccurate information, as do alot of other online sources on the topic. Alot is based on personal preference, which leads to misleading information, in most cases, it really comes down to what works best for you.


Just replied your PM, sorry it slipped my mind.