Monday, November 29 1999
Q. I have a cigar humidor and the humidity is right on at about 75%, but the temp is a little cold - about 55-65 degrees. Is this RH going to be a bad thing on hot the days?
- Casey in Georgia
A. From my experience, I've found that cooler temperatures work much better overall, and 55-65 degrees is an acceptable range. That said, at those temps, you will want to keep the RH closer to 69% percent on average. Even at that temp, 75% RH seems a bit on the high side, but if your cigars are supple and smoke well, leave it alone, as every cigar smoker has his (or her) "acceptable zone" where they like their cigars to be.
Re the second part of your question, when the temperature rises, you will want to get the RH down a bit. For example, if the temp in the humidor goes up to 70 degrees or higher, you want to get the RH closer to 65%. Alhtough it's rarer these days, high temps and high RH (over 75% / 75 degrees) can sometimes cause beetle eggs to hatch.
Finally, try to avoid radical changes in temperature, say from 65 degrees to 75 overnight. The same would apply to your humdity levels.
