Thread: Cigar humidification

I posted this question buried in another thread and never really got an answer.

Seems like a fair number of cigar smokers on here, my question is, I've got some decent cigars that have "dried out", is there a way to re-hydrate them?

Depends how dried out they are. If the oils are COMPLETELY gone (estimates differ how long this take), and the cigars are "crackly" to the touch, even if the become rehydrated, they will not tast the same. They will not taste good. At all.
If they are just a little dried out, I would take them up very slowly to full humidity. if you use humidity beads for humidification (the best method, IMHO...and I have stored at times upwards of 150 boxes of cigars plus 500-1000 singles), slowly (over the course of two weeks) add more of them until you are up to your desired humidity. If you try to rush it, you could very easily burst your wrapper.

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

If you try to rush it, you could very easily burst your wrapper.

Don't worry, it happens to everyone. Its not your fault (or so she said)!!

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

Depends how dried out they are. If the oils are COMPLETELY gone (estimates differ how long this take), and the cigars are "crackly" to the touch, even if the become rehydrated, they will not tast the same. They will not taste good. At all.
If they are just a little dried out, I would take them up very slowly to full humidity. if you use humidity beads for humidification (the best method, IMHO...and I have stored at times upwards of 150 boxes of cigars plus 500-1000 singles), slowly (over the course of two weeks) add more of them until you are up to your desired humidity. If you try to rush it, you could very easily burst your wrapper.

What are some of the estimates as to how long it takes to get to a "can't revive" level? How long might they need to sit at ~55% humidity before they are too far gone? Are we talking days vs weeks? Weeks vs months? Months vs years? Years vs decades?

put them in a humidor that is running at 70+%rel hum. let 'em sit a few months. if that doesn't fix 'em, nothing will.

Originally Posted by jockeys

put them in a humidor that is running at 70+%rel hum. let 'em sit a few months. if that doesn't fix 'em, nothing will.

Going to have to warn against this. Going above 70% not only incerases your chances of mold (trust me), it increases your chances of busting your wrapper as the filler rehumifies and expands faster than the wrapper.

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

Going to have to warn against this. Going above 70% not only incerases your chances of mold (trust me), it increases your chances of busting your wrapper as the filler rehumifies and expands faster than the wrapper.

it might depend on your climate. I live in a very dry place and if I keep the humidor below 70% my cigars become unsmokeably dry.

Originally Posted by jockeys

it might depend on your climate. I live in a very dry place and if I keep the humidor below 70% my cigars become unsmokeably dry.

Interesting thought. Depending on the cigars, I have humidors (and areas of humidors) set up between 60 and 68%, never more. I'd think RH is RH, no matter where you live, but having never lived out your way, I can't speak from experience. My basement is pretty dry, but I have electric digitally set humidification supplemented and stabilized by the humi beads.

Originally Posted by pjrage

What are some of the estimates as to how long it takes to get to a "can't revive" level? How long might they need to sit at ~55% humidity before they are too far gone? Are we talking days vs weeks? Weeks vs months? Months vs years? Years vs decades?

At 55? I'd guess we'd be in the months estimate. It would be a relatively slow decline, because you are talking about natural oils leaving plant matter inside a NEARLY closed environment. it really is a guess, though. I do not have terribly much experience letting them get that bad (thankfully). I've had a few go for weeks in a dry box by mistake that came back, but I can't be sure if they were back to quite their FULL glory. Ones I left in a box in a desk drawer in my office over the course of a winter and completely forgot about were absolute toast. The air in their was absolutely lower than 55% at times, though.

OK, here's another question... I don't really know the first thing about cigars and humidification.. I have a "humidor" but it's really just a cedar (I think) box with no sort of humidity management. It has one of those green foam things in it that you're supposed to soak with water.

Anyway, what SHOULD they be at, and is there a decent inexpensive humidor I should look into (I don't have a big collection something like 10 cigar size should be more than enough.

Originally Posted by jockeys

it might depend on your climate. I live in a very dry place and if I keep the humidor below 70% my cigars become unsmokeably dry.

You might check your hygrometer's calibration. Even though it can be harder in a dry climate to maintain the humidor, ambient RH shouldn't affect the cigars; it's the RH inside the humidor that matters. I live in a very dry climate and like to keep my humidor at 60-65 percent. Any more than that and my cigars don't burn evenly and have a harder draw and occasional split wrapper issues.

Anyhow, your hygrometer might be lying to you. They can be as much as 10-15% off. It's not a big deal as long as you can use the hygrometer to put your cigars where you like them RH-wise but the calibration can be checked: salt test

I guess folks who've been storing/smoking cigars long enough often learn to gauge the proper humidity just from observing the cigars but I'm not at that place yet.