HEAT, shipping and cigars....

[MMAB]

Cigar-no-baka made me think to post this slightly more in depth question regarding heat and cigars so I must tip my hat to Cigar-no-baka!

Here it goes:

It's summer time in Anywhere, USA. Ninety five degrees. Sweltering, putrid heat.

Friendly Mr. UPS guy tools up to the front of Joe's Smoke Shop and opens the back of his large brown step van, the heat is almost like an oven. He wrestles out a few boxes for Joe's. We all know what's in those boxes, don't we? Shall we mug Mr. UPS Guy and take the boxes? No...no....that's not what this is about!

Mr. UPS Guy takes the boxes into Joe's. It's nice and cool in the air conditioned shop. Mr UPS Guy notes the enticing aroma of tobacco and cedar. Joe, the owner greets Mr UPS Guy and takes a box from his arms to help him. Joe feels the heat from the box and comments "Christ All Mighty! This box feels like it's been in an oven!"

The scene changes to just moments later, on that same afternoon.

Mr. UPS Guy tools his large brown step van down Anystreet in Anywhere USA. Suddenly a small child chasing a ball comes out into the street ahead of him. He swerves going out of control and smashes into a large Oak tree. The van bursts into flames as onlookers scream in horror. Scores of cigar boxes are trapped inside the cargo hold of the van. They burn helplessly. Seven boxes of Diamond Crown Maximus Pyramid #3s reveal themselves from a burning cardboard box. The paper fiber boxes swell in the flames. The beautiful Maximus artwork scorching, peeling away. Finally the cigars themselves are tortured with fire. A Fuente Humid-i-pak can be seen on top of some of the cigars. Can the Humid-i-pak save them? NO! Are you out of your mind!? It's 1500 friggin' degrees in that fire! They're toast!

A passerby braves the danger of the flaming van and rescues the driver. The little boy that was chasing the ball runs up to the driver and exclaims "gee mister, I'm glad you didn't hit my ball!". Mr UPS Guy loses it and pummels the out of the kid.

At that same moment, a FedEx Ground step van rolls by and stops at 456 Your Street in Anytown, USA and delivers a small parcel from Eddie's Stogie Heaven in Mytown, USA. Mr FedEx Guy takes the parcel up to the front door of 456 Your Street. John Doe answers the door and takes the parcel from My FedEx Guy remarking, "OH...my cigars from Eddie's Stogie Heaven have arrived". He feels the box and the heat coming from it since it has been in the same summer's heat as the packages that were earlier delivered to Joe's Smoke Shop. John Doe becomes worried that his cigars are ruinied as he notices a police cruiser passing by carrying Mr UPS Guy away to serve ten years for beating that stupid kid.

Are John Doe's or Joe's Smoke Shop's cigars ruined or affected?

What does prolonged high heat do to cigars?

If a dealer has cigars shipped to them the same way we would, what difference does it make?

Does resting up for a week or so revive a hot cigar (if it has been affected at all)

Do dealers sell affected cigars anyway and don't give a ?

Ladies and Gentlemen I ask...er....Cigar-no-baka and I ask your opinions.

[tuckersdad777]

No one here can respond, we will be in mourning over the truckful of cremated cigars for the foreseeable future. [sad music in background]

[Dmitri]

I say leave 'em in the humi for awhile. Not really much else we can do. I'm sure ole Joe leaves them in a humi for awhile before putting them out to the public to buy.

[WinstonSpencer]

How does everyone moderate the temp. inside their humi.? Are there any alternatives to setting the house thermostat @68-70? I might resort to the wine cooler idea but would prefer something a little less expensive.

[grand cru no 2]

How does everyone moderate the temp. inside their humi.? Are there any alternatives to setting the house thermostat @68-70? I might resort to the wine cooler idea but would prefer something a little less expensive.

Fridgadoor! Mine keeps my smokes at a constant 68 degrees!

Now as for shipping. I agree with MMAB that the shops get cigars by the same method so I don't refrain from ordering smokes in the summer. The trick is to have patience and drop them in the bottom of the humi (coolidor, tupperdor, fridgador) and let them rest awhile.

I try to let them sit a month or two no matter what time of year (unless of course I am uncontrollably excited about a particular smoke in which I try 1 immediately). I do this because you never know what kind of care cigars are getting elsewhere, so IMO it's a good idea to subject them to some at home TLC.

As far as if the shops give a flying rip about the condition of their product upon selling: certainly the good ones do! My general experience is if you are unsatisfied with a product you've purchased from a shop they are genuinely concerned and want to fix the situation.

And damnit MMAB, that image of the DCMs in that fuggin' inferno will haunt me for years!

[WinstonSpencer]

What exactly is a fridgadoor? I ran a search but couldn't find anything.

[RealPurobrat]

The issue with the heat during shipping has been answered to the degree that can be foreseen. However, I want to speak to the issue of adjusting the thermostat in the home. Those nifty wine cooler boxes can be had for about $100 or less and need no real modification (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=0&search_query=wine+coole r&Continue.x=41&Continue.y=9&Continue=Find&ics=20& ico=0]Wine Coolers) . But if you turn that thermo down to 68 or 70, you are going to spend an extra $50 - $100 every month during the summer. So save some bucks and go for the cooler.


And WinstonSpencer, a Fridgador is a combination of the shortened Refrigerator (fridge) and Humidor (dor) with an "a" in the middle. You can have a Coolador, Fridgador, chestador, closador and I even had a Hondador at one time. Cause if the temp is around 70, and the RH is about 70 it IS a humidor, even if it Does say Honda on the trunk lid.

Oh yeah, to be more specific, a Fridgador is a refrigerator that has been converted to a Humidor. This is usually a fridge that no longer works, and the compressor and all has been replaced with an Oasis or other suitable humidification device. Sometimes the shelves are lined with Spanish cedar (NEVER use aromatic cedar ) but if you store in cedar boxes, additional cedar is not really needed. However, if you use a large fridge that will not be completely full just yet, additional cedar planks will certainly help you stabilize the RH.
Here is a really nice modest example. Fridgador

[Dmitri]

that last link you posted doesn't work.

[RealPurobrat]

that last link you posted doesn't work.

Hmmm, works here. I am pretty sure that membership is not required to view.
Try just going to www.cigarphotos.com then search for member geldor1, that is his fridgador.

[cigar no baka]

Hehe, very funny reply MMAB. I'm a proto-noob, so I didn't know how to rest cigars. I'm going to give that a try. That's why I post here to learn

[WinstonSpencer]

Does the temp. range of the wine coolers need modification? The $100 model only goes up to 57 degrees and the others aren't very specific.

[RealPurobrat]

I have not heard of anyone modifying the Thermostat in one. I would assume that 57 - 60 degrees would be fine. Hopefully someone whi actually using one will chime in and answer that for you.

[RealPurobrat]

OR...

You could spring for one of these units HERE
and satisfy all your needs at once.

[MMAB]

I'v e been entertaining the thought of getting a little cube wine frig and converting it.

I noticed the same thing about the 57 degree mark being the warmest it gets. However, my understanding is that as long as you have proper humidification the temp won't hurt anything. It will slow down the aging process a bit. Now for me that's OK since I smoke primarily Dominican cigars and the occasional Nicaraguan.

As I get it, Dominican cigars are generally not suitable for long term aging. They tend to peak at about two years of age and then begin to mellow to a point a few years down the road that makes them near tasteless. So for me, keeping my cigars at a lower temp would be a good thing. I could store Dominicans (if I wanted to) for longer periods without losing flavor and of course my AC won't have to work as hard in the summer and I'll be able to keep a better rh in the humi-frig or whatever you want to call it!

I will have to look at one of those little wine cooler frigs and see how easy it would be to line it in, say, mahogany. Hmmmmmmm.........

I'd go mahogany since it seems to be easier to find than spanish cedar.