Coolador problem

[MangoMike]

Bought my cooler, got my beads and Western digital gages, set it up, and realize that I have a hell of a problem.

The humidity is a little high, but that will settle down. But the temp was 85 F. last night. I placed an ice pack in it to try to cool it. This morning it was down to 75, and I got a fresh ice pack to try to bring it down more. Now the humi is down to 54%, because of the ice pack, I guess.

So I looked for ideas here in the forum. REad that when you live in Florida where it's hot and humid the only thing that will work is a wine cooler.

Ok, but what's wrong with one of those small refers you see in motel rooms. Turn off the freezer part, and set the temp at 70. Wouldn't this work just like a wine cooler, but is probably a lot cheaper?

Mike

 

[Jwrussell]

Fridge-adors/Freez-adors are done, for sure, I think the Wine-ador option is just more read-set for converting to a humidor. Most have some sort of variable thermostat whereas most fridges are just one setting. So you would at least need one of those outside controls.

85 degrees, wow. Where are you keeping your cooler? I doubt you'll really get it down far enough regardless of where it is unless you keep your house pretty cool, but 85 seems awful high.

 

[sunivy]

You have to be careful with common refrigeration units - they'll dry out your smokes unless you are able to place them in a completely airtight container within the fridge.

 

[MangoMike]

Thanks Sunivy, are you saying that a small fridge will dry out the cigars while a wine cooler won't. Guess I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between to two, and I believe the adjustable thermostat is the difference, and a big one.

Mike

 

[MangoMike]

JW,

We keep our house pretty warm, generally about 85 (my wife is from the South Pacific), so the cooler simply reflects the outside air temp. I'm really worried about the damn beetle larve eating my smokes. Got to do something pretty quickly. I work on Laurel, just off Westshore in Tampa, thought I'd run over to Best Buy in a few minutes to see if they have anything. I can check Lowes later this afternoon.

Thanks for the PM, and all your help.

Mike

 

[Claudius]

I could only think of 2 solutions here:
- keep he humi in a cooler room (this will not guarantee eggs never hatching)
- or freeze your cigars for a week prior to putting them in the humi to ensure that possibly present lasioderma eggs cannot hatch

 

[MangoMike]

Claudius,

Freeze my cigars for a week! I'm new, so I'll bite. REALLY?

I feel this could be almost as bad as my "varnished" question :scratchhe

I'm ducking...

Mike

 

[smokem94]

Claudius,

Freeze my cigars for a week! I'm new, so I'll bite. REALLY?

I feel this could be almost as bad as my "varnished" question :scratchhe

I'm ducking...

Mike

Mike,
This is a practice used by many to prevent the hatching of tobacco beetles which eggs can and do exist in finished cigars. The eggs can not hatch unless it is warm/hot enough for them to do so. I can't remember the exact temperature at which they hatch. Freezing the cigars at very low temperatures will kill the eggs. It has to be done cold enough and for a proper duration to be effective. A normal home freezer is said to be inadequate by some experts?
I personally have never done it and my humidor does reach 72+ degrees in the summer and I have not experienced a beetle hatch or damage yet (fingers crossed.)

 

[Fox]

Mike, check out cvm's post from another thread.

ETA: I freeze all new product since I am going to let it rest for 30 days anyway. My freezer holds a constant 0 F. I leave the gars in for 48 hours before transitioning out of the deep freeze.

CIGAR BEETLE DATA

Cigar Beetle eggs can be killed by exposure to temperatures easily obtainable by home refrigerators/freezers. An industrial deep freeze is not required, as rumor has indicated.

There is a direct correlation between the time it takes to kill and temperature. The colder the temp, the shorter it takes to kill eggs.

The figures below are time to kill 95% (abbreviated LT95) of eggs exposed to the environment. Keep this in mind when applying these figures to cigars because 1) we want to kill 100% of eggs and 2) any eggs inside our cigars have a thick layer of insulating tobacco that must be cooled before the eggs will reach that temperature.

5c (41f) requires ~12 days (275 hours)
0c (32f) requires ~9 days (220 hours)
-5c (23f) requires ~4 days (100 hours)
-10c (14f) requires less than 24 hours
-15c (5f) requires less than 24 hours
-20c (-4f) requires less than 24 hours


The length of time you should freeze your cigars depends on the temperature your freezer is at. I highly recommend that everyone using their freezer to treat cigars keeps a fridge/freezer thermometer in there so they know roughly what temp range their freezer runs at. These are available at most grocery stores, usually with baking supplies. From experience I have seen home freezers that run anywhere from 1 degree below freezing to as low as -25c.
Right now I am trying to get data on how long it takes a cigar to go from room temp to 5c, and from 5c to -20c. Based on data from other consumables I estimate it would take a cigar at least 24 hours to reach the same temperature as the freezer (equilibrium) when it is moved into the freezer from the refrigerator. Based on this alone one should add 24 hours to amount of time cigars are kept in the freezer.
The times given above are to kill 95% of eggs. I have not found times required to kill 99.9% of eggs but doubling the LT95 for that temperature should be more than sufficient.

IN SUMMARY

Double bag your cigars and let them spend 24 hours in the refrigerator. I think everyone agrees that this gives the cigars a safe transition from room temp to near freezing. Move the cigars into the freezer. How long they should stay there depends on your freezer temp. If it is below -10c 72 hours in the freezer should be sufficient. That's 24 hours to get the cigars to -10c, 24 hours to kill 95% of eggs, and an extra 24 hours for good measure. When coming out of the freezer it is a good idea to let the cigars spend 24 hours in the fridge, and another 24 hours at room temp STILL SEALED IN THE BAGS. This protects the cigars from rapid changes in temp/humidity.

I know there are some out there who prefer to avoid freezing because of potential damage to cigars and the rest period required afterwards. The time required will vary greatly based upon the temp of your fridge. Keep in mind the temp will also fluctuate based on door opening/closing etc. (Although this occurs in the freezer, it is less of an issue due to the comparatively short time required) With an LT95 of 12 days at 5c I would personally keep cigars in there for at least 3 weeks.

This information should be applied to uninfested cigars for prevention of a beetle outbreak. If you have cigars that are infested or you know have been exposed to beetles they should be subjected to more lengthy treatment because they will presumably have far more eggs present than any uninfested cigars that picked up some eggs during manufacture.

 

[jordon]

If you can swing it, buy a proper cooled humidor.

 

[MangoMike]

Wow, education is great. Thanks Guys. I really thought I was being set-up for the kill. This is very interesting, and good to know.

I think I've solved the problem. I bought a small wine cooler yesterday, and with that, my beads and my Western digital gauge, I think I'm all set. Got all of my cigars in the cooler and it's been maintaining a temp in the high 60's and a humidity around 65%. Just about perfect.

Every time I check it's been right on, and I haven't opened it (I can see the gauge through the glass window in the door), and plan to let it sit for a week or so, only grabbing a quick smoke when needed.

I never worried about the temp, until I bought the Western digital, then bamn, it hit me right between the eyes. At 85 degrees my humi was a breeding ground. Thank God I bought the gauge.

So, things are going fine here in Tampa, and the summer heat, and lack of indoor humidity (the a/c removes the moisture from the air) won't phase my fine cigars.

Your help is always appreciated...

Mike

 

[Terrasco]

This is really great information. Thanks Mike for bringing it up. It has been over 100 degrees outside here for over a week. While we keep the house a little cooler, it still manages to get to about 78 during the day while we are gone.

 

[joshua]

You might still be able to use the cooler for more space if you can find an area of the house thats not hit by direct sunlight as much. Since you are in southern Florida I don't think you would have a basement, but maybe a closet not attached to any external walls or a corner that doesn't get hit by sun would work.

Summer here in NJ can be pretty brutal as far as heat and humidity when theres no A/C in your house. I moved my cigars to the basement now, and the beads are pretty good at soaking up humidity along with a dehumidifier we run down there.

 

[smokem94]

Wow, education is great. Thanks Guys. I really thought I was being set-up for the kill. This is very interesting, and good to know.

I think I've solved the problem. I bought a small wine cooler yesterday, and with that, my beads and my Western digital gauge, I think I'm all set. Got all of my cigars in the cooler and it's been maintaining a temp in the high 60's and a humidity around 65%. Just about perfect.

Every time I check it's been right on, and I haven't opened it (I can see the gauge through the glass window in the door), and plan to let it sit for a week or so, only grabbing a quick smoke when needed.

I never worried about the temp, until I bought the Western digital, then bamn, it hit me right between the eyes. At 85 degrees my humi was a breeding ground. Thank God I bought the gauge.

So, things are going fine here in Tampa, and the summer heat, and lack of indoor humidity (the a/c removes the moisture from the air) won't phase my fine cigars.

Your help is always appreciated...

Mike

Excellent! Good to go!
Can't wait for your post where you say you need a bigger cooler!:hysterica
Trust me.....it's comimg!!!

 

[DocLogic77]

Mike, if you are buying the good stuff you need to invest in good storage. Just spring for the winedor and be done with it. I tried getting away with cheap storage methods early and it was just a headache.

 

[kirscovitch]

when it started getting into the 80's here, i just went out and bought a 10,000 btu a/c for the bedroom and keep my desktop in there with the door closed. stays between 65 and 70 24-7. the old lady dont like it but my cigars do.... :thumbsup:

 

[MangoMike]

Shawn,

I've gotten a wineodor. It's too small, and as Smokem said, I'll need to upgrade pretty quickly, but for now my cigars are happy. This just bought me some breathing room.

Here in the heat of Florida I needed some serious cooling.

I agree about not going cheap when one starts buying some decent smokes.

Mike

 

[DocLogic77]

Wow, I thought you were still stuck on the coolidor for your habanos. You are really starting to stock up. I got so sick of running out of room every month. You could always buy a humi so big that you have no chance of filling it. :thumbsup:

 

[Wasch_24]

Nice move on the Winecooler Mike...it really is the best solution in hot and humid places like Florida. :thumbsup:

 

[caudio51]

Yep, can't go wrong with a winecooler for those hot states