What to do now?

[ashauler]

In a previous post I had a problem with uneven burn and found out that most likely cause was un-even humidification. Here is what I did:

I have an analog hygrometer that I calibrated with the salt test at a right on 75% and placed it in my humi since the humi came with an installed, non-removable, analog gauge. When the installed one read 70%, the calibrated one read 68%, so I was not too far off and had always kept the installed one at 70% or just slightly above/below say maybe 68-72. It has been stabilized at 68-70% for a little over two weeks now. I just use the humidifier that came in the humi with a 50/50 PG solution. I had to dry out some cedar pieces from some empty boxes and put them in to keep the Rh below 70% (also learned this here).

My uneven burn problems have gone away for the most part. Now I have noticed some splitting of the wrappers during smoking. This happens exclusively on my lighter shade cigars, (FdO gold and a Cusano 18 for example) but not with any of the maduro's. I researched here and on CP and read several posts that said it was due to over-humidification........then some that said the wrapper was drying out and cracking when smoking. RH ranges between 65 and 72 were suggested in various posts, right about where I am.

What should I do? Since I have way more maduro's and fuerte smokes than lighter smokes, should I not worry about it too much? Is it common to happen this way? Do I just need to let the lighter smokes rest longer before smoking?

[stjohnroe]

Just give it a bit longer to allow everthing to equalise.

[ashauler]

Thanks for the reply. I will let them rest a while longer.

[nhcigarfan]

stjohnroe is dead on. If you cigars had been sitting at a higher humidity for a while then you dropped it down, the tobacco will trend towards the RH from the outside to the inside. So if you have a larger ring gauge cigar the filler closest to the center will stay moister longer, can swell from the heat of smoking putting pressure on the wrapper, causing the split.

[ashauler]

Is it common for this effect to be more pronounced in natural wrappers than in maduro's of the same ring guage?

[nhcigarfan]

yes, natural wrappers are generally the softest, thinest leaves with the smallest veins and therefore more delicate.

[Bassfever]

stjohnroe is dead on. If you cigars had been sitting at a higher humidity for a while then you dropped it down, the tobacco will trend towards the RH from the outside to the inside. So if you have a larger ring gauge cigar the filler closest to the center will stay moister longer, can swell from the heat of smoking putting pressure on the wrapper, causing the split.

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