Posted: 10/21/2024 10:54:29 AM EDT
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When I get new cigars online, they sometimes come with a Boveda 69% pack. I keep mine in a plastic container, with a gasket, with Boveda 72% packs. Sometimes I have trouble keeping one lit and almost all of them burn down the middle and I have to burn off the wrapper. This is with multiple makers, sizes, etc... |
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Yes. In a typical wooden humidor that is not 100% air tight and essentially has a small controlled leak, a 72% Boveda humidity pack MIGHT be fine. But in a plastic container with a gasket seal that is air tight - like my ammo can humidors, tupperware, etc = 72% is WAY too much. You will grow mold. At best, it's very risky and a recipe for disaster. I sell my Ammodor humidors with 69% Boveda humidity packs at the absolute highest. Some customers prefer 65%. Don't risk it. Buy 65% or 69% packs, a quality digital hygrometer (I highly recommend the Xikar units) or some sort of wireless sensor (like SensorPush, Govee, etc) and monitor it closely. You'll want to make sure you open it occasionally (every few weeks or so at the most would be best) to let it "burp" to allow some inside/outside air exchange and circulation. Don't forget that being an air tight container, you will only need ~ half the amount of packs you'd need in a standard wooden humidor. Boveda usually recommends 1 pack per 25 cigar capacity. So a humidor that holds 100 cigars would use 4 of the 60 gram size Boveda packs. But you'd want to start with only 2 packs in an air tight container. And the good news is that they will last a really long time thanks to your gasket seal. |
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Thank you for the info. I have 3 containers this size, similarly loaded and one slightly smaller also full. I don't want to lose them. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ammodors: Don't forget that being an air tight container, you will only need ~ half the amount of packs you'd need in a standard wooden humidor. Boveda usually recommends 1 pack per 25 cigar capacity. So a humidor that holds 100 cigars would use 4 of the 60 gram size Boveda packs. But you'd want to start with only 2 packs in an air tight container. And the good news is that they will last a really long time thanks to your gasket seal. This is not true in the sense of you only need half. You can have as many Boveda packs in there as you please the humidity won’t go above the rh listed. You may be able to get away with half in an airtight container but having more isn’t going to hurt anything other than increase the time before needing ti swap these out. |
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OP, I have around 14 of that same Sistema container, most have a cedar tray. The cedar tray acts as a humidity battery keeping things nice and stable. I've played with 65% up to 72%. Ultimately, I found 69%'s to do the job for me in my containers I have. I run two 60 gram(the ones that are 3x5"ish) 69% in the containers, one at end end on the bottom. I bought the containers a couple at a time over a few years, and can find manufacturing variances run to run. I know they don't hermetically seal like a museum exhibit. I have some minimal bleed off. A tray and 2 69% Bovedas hold my humidity at 66-67% for 10 months. In a basement room that's 66* year round, with it's own humidity. I'm burping them about once a month for ten or fifteen minutes. Especially the containers that are aging some good stuff since I'm not in and out of them all the time. I buy Bovedas on Cigar Bid when I can win them cheap and keep them stashed. My Pelican Ruck 60 is truly air tight, and I only keep a single 65% in a cedar holder. You have to play around to find what works for you in your climate. I bought a Cigar Medics meter a while ago and it helped me dial in where I need to be. Some guys think they are snake oil, I disagree. I like pulling my cigars out, drying them to 62-3%ish and then burn burn burn |
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As has been said already, 72% is too high. Especially in sealed containers, which somehow seem to run a point or two higher than the bovedas "should." 70% is generally thought of as the maximum, but still also generally accepted as too high. 65%-68% is fairly typical, depending on personal preference and how well they burn for you in your environment. I use 65% personally. A lot of guys are talking about keeping certain cigars, that have a high incidence of draw or burn issues at 65%, even lower. Side note: you can recharge bovedas once they start running low by simply placing them in a container with a dish of water (not in the water) for several days until they puff back up. |
| On the Boveda, I took a tip from another thread and have been pouring RO filtered water directly into the ziplock with the Boveda to recharge them. |
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| My own opinion; Bovedas are a consumable item. Get a CigarBid account, and be patient. I'm paying around $2 a pouch most of the time. Additionally, nobody likes Humicare as if it's the off-brand, they go even cheaper. Boveda bought Humicare a while ago, they are made by the same people. I don't waste time trying to 're-charge' a consumable that I replace once a year. Years ago, I stopped trying to use my GED to outthink scientists, engineers, and professionals. |
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Originally Posted By ammodors: Yes. In a typical wooden humidor that is not 100% air tight and essentially has a small controlled leak, a 72% Boveda humidity pack MIGHT be fine. But in a plastic container with a gasket seal that is air tight - like my ammo can humidors, tupperware, etc = 72% is WAY too much. You will grow mold. At best, it's very risky and a recipe for disaster. I sell my Ammodor humidors with 69% Boveda humidity packs at the absolute highest. Some customers prefer 65%. Don't risk it. Buy 65% or 69% packs, a quality digital hygrometer (I highly recommend the Xikar units) or some sort of wireless sensor (like SensorPush, Govee, etc) and monitor it closely. You'll want to make sure you open it occasionally (every few weeks or so at the most would be best) to let it "burp" to allow some inside/outside air exchange and circulation. Don't forget that being an air tight container, you will only need ~ half the amount of packs you'd need in a standard wooden humidor. Boveda usually recommends 1 pack per 25 cigar capacity. So a humidor that holds 100 cigars would use 4 of the 60 gram size Boveda packs. But you'd want to start with only 2 packs in an air tight container. And the good news is that they will last a really long time thanks to your gasket seal. I have several 52.8 quart waterproof and air tight storage containers. They easily hold a few hundred cigars each when not in boxes. I use a 320 gram 69% Boveda pack and they last for probably six months before I swap in a new one. Cigars are excellent, never had any mold, overly moist, or dry cigars. |
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| I'm a convert to dry boxing everything, to the extent possible anyway. It makes a big difference in burn, heat, and flavor IMO. I keep mine at 65% or so anyway, so smoking something straight out of the stash isn't the end of the world, but for some of them a day or three in a dry box makes a huge difference. |
| 65% packs in my Sistemas and my nice wooden humidor. Wooden humidor sits at about 61-62%. If I anticipate smoking something, i'll move it to the wooden unit a couple days ahead of time, if not, I try to sit it out on the counter a couple hours beforehand. I smoke mostly medium-full stuff, so they usually like to be a little drier. |
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for a few years I went strictly Cuban. I'm back on Nicaraguans now because the novelty of forbidden fruit has worn off and I most highly prize strength, which Cubans just don't have even if their flavor is far more nuanced. anyway, Cubans were what got me at 65% because that's what the Habano guys on the web forums were saying. I believe them for three reasons. One, I never had a bad burn after I switched to 65%. No unravelling, no canoes. Subjectively I also think flavor is better. Lastly, I had an 8 year hiatus where I didn't smoke any sticks, just made sure my pretty full 800 stick humidor stayed at the right RH. Got back to cigars after my long layoff, and they were just fine and the Cubans that had shipped somewhat green had mellowed and developed during the rest. The only instance of tobacco beetles I ever ran into was with a box I bought off Famous, and they ship their stuff super wet. The beetles never made it past that box because none of the other boxes in my humidor were affected. |
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I use a small Pelican type container with a couple packs of 69% in there. I don’t smoke one very often, maybe a few a year. Some of the sticks in there I’ve had for 5 years or more. But everything I’ve ever pulled out smokes perfectly fine. I open it up every once in a while when I think about it and let it air out for a minute or two. Those Boveda packs last an insanely long time in there. I also have a Bluetooth hygrometer that would link to my phone and give me notifications but the battery has long since died and I’ve never bothered with it. I figure in a sealed container with the Boveda packs there isn’t much need to monitor it. Haven’t had any issues. Tried a wood humidor with I think either 72 or 76 for a bit but still had troubles keeping humidity steady and was way too much maintenance for the little amount I smoke. Attached File |
| I opened the containers to let them dry a bit and started using 65% Boveda packs. I'm liking the results so far. They are staying lit better. |
Did I just kill another thread?
We are in the middle of a Communist Revolution in the USA.
There is no voting our way out of this.
We are in the middle of a Communist Revolution in the USA.
There is no voting our way out of this.
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By remote hygrometers. You will find the 72s run 74-76 rh in many cases, way too wet. I now use 65s and they tend to run around 67-68. I also check the hygrometers with a 75 rh reference pack every time I change their batteries. Smoking issues are due to the high humidity. You can dry box them for a day or two before smoking to help with this. |
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Attached File Originally Posted By ICU: Yep, 72 is not enough for Bill... Ah crap, my apologies... This is not GD  Originally Posted By ICU: Originally Posted By dirtyboy: Monica was much wetter. Yep, 72 is not enough for Bill... Ah crap, my apologies... This is not GD Attached File |
Did I just kill another thread?
We are in the middle of a Communist Revolution in the USA.
There is no voting our way out of this.
We are in the middle of a Communist Revolution in the USA.
There is no voting our way out of this.
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