Humidor packed tight or loose???

Just wondering what y'all prefer for ur cigars. Do u pack them in side by side and on top of each other? Or leave them loose? I was looking at my humidor and was thinking that if it was full, which its not yet, looks like it would be hard for humidity to get to the cigars packed in the center of the stack...I don't mean packed tight, but layered in rows then stacked with more rows. Some of y'all have lots of cigars and was just wondering if u ever had problems with some of the more middle cigars being more dry or maybe more moist..........just curious.

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90+ Irishman

The airflow should honestly matter little in this instance alone. The reason I say that is the cigars, assuming they are all already at the correct rH, will absorb and discharge humidity regularly so the cigars in the middle will feel and interact with this humidity release as well since all of the sticks are constantly adjusting their moisture content on a micro level. Also since they are touching this will help the exchange as well I believe since they act somewhat like a semi-permeable membrane due to the cello and the tobacco leaf itself. In short you aren't in any danger and it very well could even help to regulate it and keep it constant. Hope this clarifies

The Sniper

I remember reading somewhere that once they are properly humidified, the cigars themselves actually become the primary humidification device in the humidor. Given that, plus the fact stated above that the cellos on the cigars are porous membranes that allow humidity in and out, if your hygrometer in your humidor is showing a good RH, all your cigars should be golden, not just the ones on the "edges" of yoru collection.

kuzi16

The Sniper:
I remember reading somewhere that once they are properly humidified, the cigars themselves actually become the primary humidification device in the humidor. Given that, plus the fact stated above that the cellos on the cigars are porous membranes that allow humidity in and out, if your hygrometer in your humidor is showing a good RH, all your cigars should be golden, not just the ones on the "edges" of yoru collection.

you are right, and well said.

Gray4lines

So.. is it best to "juggle" cigars around and move the ones around the perimeter into the center? Kind of like a rotation, or just leave em where they lay and smoke from the middle, out.

I guess I'm really asking if a long-term storage on the edge will damage the cigar.

docbp87

I have found that using beads, and using more than the recommended amount by volume (ie, if the calculator on the HF site says use at least 1/2 lb, use 1lb), which doesn't do any harm and actually serves to stabilize humidity even more intensely than beads already do, prevents this from being an issue. In my 75 ct desktop, I have two medium sized tubes of beads, one on each side of the humidor, at the bottom of the pile, and when the humidor is full (which right now it is almost TOO full), the humidity never changes, even now that the weather is changing, and the ambient humidity in my home has dropped significantly. That said, as has been pointed out, in a stable humidor, the cigars themselves are doing as much work to humidify each other as your added source of humidity, since vegetable matter basically acts like a sponge.

The Sniper

Gray4lines:
So.. is it best to "juggle" cigars around and move the ones around the perimeter into the center? Kind of like a rotation, or just leave em where they lay and smoke from the middle, out.

I guess I'm really asking if a long-term storage on the edge will damage the cigar.

As long as your humidor RH is in a good range (generally folks prefer 65% RH for smoking, and 70% for aging, with a swing of 2% or so either way), then no place in your humidor should be MUCH better or worse than any other on your sticks.

I said MUCH above, because depending on the size of your humidor, the humidity will be slightly higher on top than on the bottom. In a large humidor or cabinet, this can be 2-3% difference, in a smaller humidor it may be so slight as to be unnoticeable. If you are going to rotate your cigars at all, I would suggest moving your cigars on the top of your humidor to the bottom and vice versa every 3-6 months or so.

Hope this answered your question. :-)

boydmcgowan

The Sniper:
Gray4lines:
So.. is it best to "juggle" cigars around and move the ones around the perimeter into the center? Kind of like a rotation, or just leave em where they lay and smoke from the middle, out.

I guess I'm really asking if a long-term storage on the edge will damage the cigar.
As long as your humidor RH is in a good range (generally folks prefer 65% RH for smoking, and 70% for aging, with a swing of 2% or so either way), then no place in your humidor should be MUCH better or worse than any other on your sticks.

I said MUCH above, because depending on the size of your humidor, the humidity will be slightly higher on top than on the bottom. In a large humidor or cabinet, this can be 2-3% difference, in a smaller humidor it may be so slight as to be unnoticeable. If you are going to rotate your cigars at all, I would suggest moving your cigars on the top of your humidor to the bottom and vice versa every 3-6 months or so.

Hope this answered your question. :-)

Thats really good info Sniper thanks.

I read an article a while ago (completely forget where) that recomended a rotation of your cigars within your humidor a few times a year, so I've been doing it ever since. But I haven't heard much about it since so I was actually considering stopping thinking it was overkill, so its good to get some insight as to why and some confirmation that its a good thing, but not necessarily required.

Maybe this gives me an excuse to take some "show us your setup pics."

Rhamlin

Of coarse if you rifle thru your humi as much as I do( I still haven't cataloged everything into my iPhone app yet) then it don't really matter much. But usually the more sticks you got the better your humi will operate. At least that's been my observation .

90+ Irishman

Rhamlin:
Of coarse if you rifle thru your humi as much as I do( I still haven't cataloged everything into my iPhone app yet) then it don't really matter much. But usually the more sticks you got the better your humi will operate. At least that's been my observation .

That is exactly right buddy! I'm having trouble maintaining my rH in the cabinet right now... just loaded up 5 packages with two more in the works, and I'm down to less than 50 sticks all put together... everything.

Gray4lines

Awesome, great answer. Thanks!

I usually end up rummaging through to see what I have so they get rotated pretty well. I have a 150 ct so it shouldn't be too big of a difference anyway. I am planning on getting those tubes of beads. Those are cool looking!