Tuperdore/ Boveda: is this normal?

[Smoqman]

Hey BOTL, I started a temporary storage container while my new humi is being seasoned/ is priming. I grabbed one of these:


It's 2.5 Qt


I put a new box of 24 Undercrowns in there and a 75% Boveda. After 3 days, my hygro (calibrated) reads 64%. My guess is that the sticks were a bit dry to begin with (though I received them in an unopened, plastic sealed box) and that is why the humidity reading is low for the moment.

Just looking to see if this has been y'alls experience with such.


Thank you Brothers!

 

[aherzing]

Hard to tell actual size of that but if it fits a box the I can approximate. Boveda recommends that even on a small humidor (15-25 ct) you use two packs instead of just one. Also, how is your hygo calibrated? If you calibrated it using the salt test, that maybe part of the reason the readings don't line up. I would throw another pack and there and give it a few days.

 

[Fairway1]

Let it sit a few more days untouched, but 64% is good IMO. I would personally get rid of the 75 boveda and get a couple 65's or 69's.

 

[Rupe]

There are a couple of possibilities here Joel that could possibly bring about the low reading.

1. Is it possible that you did not calibrate your hygrometer correctly? Not sure what type (digital or analog) or brand you are using but I have seen recent posts from others here who ran into some difficulty performing a correct calibration.
2. The sticks you put in there may have been dry to begin with which is sucking the moisture
3. How good is the seal on your Tupperware? I know that because the furnace is always running in my house this time of year here in MN the humidity usually runs on the upper 20's to low 30's .

My gut feeling tells me that if your hygrometer is properly calibrated it is probably just that the cigars were just dryer to begin with. As far as a 64% humidity level, in my book that's almost perfect. I have been keeping my smokes at 65% for the past year and a half now and I couldn't be happier. Since I have started keeping my stash at 65% I no longer have burn issues or bitterness. Some people do prefer to keep them at a higher humidity though and the "experts" say 70 so where you decide to keep yours totally is up to you.

 

[Smoqman]

Good info Brothers.

My Hygroset ll's were calibrated by way of the salt test, and I got lucky in that only 1 needed a 2% change to read accurately. My initially opinion was that they sticks were likely a bit dry to begin with, and that is why I used a higher % humidity pack (to start). I'll give'r a couple more days, check the Hygro again and if all is well, I'll drop in the lower humidity Bovedas.

In closing, may I ask which larger Tupperware has worked best for you out-of-the-box?


Merci'!

 

[Smoqman]

I gotta say, this tupperdore smells amazing thanks to recent purchases from ATL and Mojo


Yum!


Off to buy a Cooler now!!!

 

[Angry Bill]

Just remember, tupperdors do not allow the air to circulate. It holds air and moisture in, which could cause mold in the long term. I'm assuming you use this as an everyday quick smoking storage dilution and not for aging? Opening this at least once a week allows the air to recirculate. Something to think about

 

[StogieNinja]

Yank the boveda and the hygrometer, and put them both in a freezer bag for 24hrs. If your hygro reads the same as the boveda, you're good. If not, calibrate it.

 

[rdomfoto]

I gotta say, this tupperdore smells amazing thanks to recent purchases from ATL and Mojo


Yum!


Off to buy a Cooler now!!!

After I added a couple of cedar planks in my tupperdor, the smell was phenomenal. I open it every few days just to release the ammonia build-up. Well, that's what I claim to be the reason. I actually like to open it up, stick my face inside, and breathe deeply!

 

[Smoqman]

Good stuff guys.

Thank you all!

 

[jeffturneraz]

Yank the boveda and the hygrometer, and put them both in a freezer bag for 24hrs. If your hygro reads the same as the boveda, you're good. If not, calibrate it.

Wait seriously? I was instructed to purchase the boveda tester kit, which granted wasn't expensive, but if I would have realized I could have just done this...I mean it obviously makes sense.

Just remember, tupperdors do not allow the air to circulate. It holds air and moisture in, which could cause mold in the long term. I'm assuming you use this as an everyday quick smoking storage dilution and not for aging? Opening this at least once a week allows the air to recirculate. Something to think about

I still have a tupperdore only, no humidor...but I do open it once to twice a day, longest it does stay closed would be 2 days straight max...but that is rare.


I understand the concept that humi's breathe, are you telling me that the cigars I'm aging in there could get mold?

 

[sofc]

Any cigar could get mold. If you're opening it twice a day, don't worry about it.

 

[jeffturneraz]

Any cigar could get mold. If you're opening it twice a day, don't worry about it (and maybe that's why your humidity is low)

Oh okay good, wsheew.

Not sure who the person with low humidity is but not me...thanks for the response though, I started to wonder if I should go into break the bank asap mode.

 

[Smoqman]

If you contain any wet material in an small environment that doesn't experience fresh(er) air, on a regular basis, it has the conditions to grow mold. That said, if you are opening the container more than once a week, and the humidity and temp is not above 70/70, you're ok IMO.

I used to store cigars in a plastic container with a damp (distilled water only) paper towel for long periods of time with no ill effects. However, I made sure the container was opened and fresh(er) air was allowed to waft through the cigars at least a couple times each week. I started doing that in the early 80's....and relied on such until Humidty packs were invented. It worked fine for me, but now its so much easier, and I believe you're (again) just fine (given what you've written above)

Cheers!

 

[rdomfoto]

If I remember correctly, the reason most people frown upon the tupperdor for long-term storage and aging is that, because it doesn't breathe, it's not a "set and forget" kind of thing. Aging cigars in a traditional humidor would allow you to leave them alone for extended periods of time whereas the tupperdor requires intervention on a weekly basis.

Is that accurate?

 

[jeffturneraz]

If I remember correctly, the reason most people frown upon the tupperdor for long-term storage and aging is that, because it doesn't breathe, it's not a "set and forget" kind of thing. Aging cigars in a traditional humidor would allow you to leave them alone for extended periods of time whereas the tupperdor requires intervention on a weekly basis.

Is that accurate?

That's what I am gathering from what everyone is saying.

In this case, I am fine with continuing to age my good cigars in the tupperdore...Opus, uni's...

If the main point is the intervention aspect, for the time being I have no problem continuing to air it out consistantly. There's cedar in there, my cigars are happy for now at least.

It's my only storage so if I don't open it I don't smoke...so forgetting about it isn't an option.

 

[Cigary43]

I have 33 humidors of different types...wood, tupperware, coolers. I love Tupperware because of it being so easy to use but get the type that seals..RubberMaid is what I use because I know the quality. I tend to use the 2/5 gallon rectangular size because of the different size cigars and being able to put my media in there...which happens to be a cup of KL and I line the bottom and sides with cedar sheets which helps regulate RH. I open mine up twice a month and that's enough as I have never had a mold issue and this after 3 years of doing this. The cedar transfer is really good...better than most expensive wood humidors. Since I have used tupperware for so long I'm more than comfortable with using it as a resting type or for aging long term. The upside is that you can buy a dozen of the 2.5 gallon size for the price of one decent humidor that holds about 125 cigars....the tradeoff is more than acceptable. Burping your tupperware humidor twice a month takes 5 seconds...surely we aren't that busy where you couldn't do that? We are in our regular humis maybe once a day and if you use tupperware it's the same concept...you will be in and out of it anyway.