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Last post 9 years ago by bigmike787. 13 replies replies.
Refrigerator?
eye2 Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 04-30-2014
Posts: 227
Quick question (after reading about the boxes and beetles in another recent thread).

I'm leaving town for a month and plan to turn the AC up to 80 degrees.

I just put the cc's in a bag to freeze today and will take them out tomorrow.

Do you think it is wise to put the humidors in the refrigerator while gone?

Thanks.
danmdevries Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 02-11-2014
Posts: 17,124
Probably not. Fridge will dry em out. Tupperware in the fridge, or wrap your humis in a garbage bag in the fridge

Do you have a basement?

Do you have some coolers?

If no, no, id say leave the thermostat where it is as if you were home. Probably not going to make that big a difference turning it up. If you can insulate them in a cooler, do that. If most are untreated(never frozen) id not tempt fate by leaving unattended at high temperature
deadeyedick Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 16,957
Wouldn't hurt if you have room but some food items (bananas for example) can transfer smells to your smokes so putting things in a sealed baggie might be advised.

I learned this the hard way d'oh!

DED
Thunder.Gerbil Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 11-02-2006
Posts: 121,359
eye2 wrote:
Quick question (after reading about the boxes and beetles in another recent thread).

I'm leaving town for a month and plan to turn the AC up to 80 degrees.

I just put the cc's in a bag to freeze today and will take them out tomorrow.

Do you think it is wise to put the humidors in the refrigerator while gone?

Thanks.


24 hours in a home freezer isn't long enough to be effective against beetle eggs. If that's your aim, you need a minimum of 3-4 days.
deadeyedick Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 16,957
Thunder.Gerbil wrote:
24 hours in a home freezer isn't long enough to be effective against beetle eggs. If that's your aim, you need a minimum of 3-4 days.


Yep.
rfenst Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
Thunder.Gerbil wrote:
24 hours in a home freezer isn't long enough to be effective against beetle eggs. If that's your aim, you need a minimum of 3-4 days.


+1

I go a full week in the freezer just to be sure. My humis run at 77F during the summer and I have never had a problem. Instead of bags, I prefer covering the box with saran wrap. As to going from the freezer to the fridge, that step isn't necessary. Just leave them out in the bags or saran wrap for a few hours then put them back in the humi. When I first started freezing, I over-thought the whole process, but have come to the conclusion that my newer, simpler ways work just as well as anyone elses recommendations. YMMV.
Whistlebritches Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 04-23-2006
Posts: 22,127
Habano's have been frozen before distribution since 08 IIRC.I couldn't find the exact article with the year but I did find this

"We are not saying we have solved every problem, but we have put that era behind us, and the complaints have been dramatically reduced," he adds. Jiménez Sánchez-Cañete also explains that every cigar is now frozen before it leaves the warehouse to reduce or eliminate problems with tobacco beetles. "

This does not eliminate the warehouse they were stored in after distribution so I inspect everything thoroughly.

The only beetle problems I've ever had were from non Cuban smokes.......Pinar Del Rio and the other was attributed to the shop I bought them from.......I'd seen the evidence and ignored it,won't do that again.


Ron
Thunder.Gerbil Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 11-02-2006
Posts: 121,359
rfenst wrote:
+1

I go a full week in the freezer just to be sure. My humis run at 77F during the summer and I have never had a problem. Instead of bags, I prefer covering the box with saran wrap. As to going from the freezer to the fridge, that step isn't necessary. Just leave them out in the bags or saran wrap for a few hours then put them back in the humi. When I first started freezing, I over-thought the whole process, but have come to the conclusion that my newer, simpler ways work just as well as anyone elses recommendations. YMMV.


I also freeze for a week in my auxiliary freezer which runs at -10F. Seems like a long time but home freezers cycle up and down in temp, I've seen this one hit around 0F, and it does take some time for cigars at the center of a cab or box to drop down in temp. Also, everything goes into it, gifts, trades, new acquisitions. Is all this overkill? Possibly, but I don't worry about beetles.

I'm not picky about bags or saran wrap, I just use one or the other, whichever fits. I don't worry about the refrigerator steps, they aren't necessary. On a commercial level, cigars are just wheeled into the freezers, blast frozen and then just wheeled back out into a area of the warehouse, no refrigerator cool down or warm ups.
Buckwheat Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 04-15-2004
Posts: 12,251
eye2 wrote:
Quick question (after reading about the boxes and beetles in another recent thread).

I'm leaving town for a month and plan to turn the AC up to 80 degrees.

I just put the cc's in a bag to freeze today and will take them out tomorrow.

Do you think it is wise to put the humidors in the refrigerator while gone?

Thanks.


That sounds like a pretty quick turn-a-round on the temp. Your cigars would appreciate a slower turn-a-round. Fridge then freezer and reverse after letting them sleep in the freezer for a day or two. May be a pain but so are a bunch of split wrappers. YMMV as I'm pretty OCD. fog
eye2 Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 04-30-2014
Posts: 227
Thanks for all the help. Guess it's best to leave the AC going while gone.
ZRX1200 Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 07-08-2007
Posts: 60,476
What costs more, the power bill or your cigara?

Listen to the Gerbil, he is wise beyond his years for a Californian.
tonygraz Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2008
Posts: 20,175
At one time I used to freeze every cigar that I bought. Never went from freezer to fridge and never had wrapper problems. In the past couple of years I've abandoned the freezing process and so far so good. It's always a good idea to inspect cigars before putting them in the humidor. Keep in mind that self defrosting freezers and refrigerators dehumidify, so be sure the container you put in there is sealed tight.
bigmike787 Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 03-11-2004
Posts: 9
I had a sizeable beetle hatch around 2005. I had a Staebell cabinet at the time, which I used for long term storage. I had several desk top humidors for daily smokes. I worked in San Antonio, but lived in San Marcos. It was about an hour commute each way. I would turn up the AC in the morning, to save money on the bill. I believe that's what caused the beetle hatch. I had to bag up the entire contents of the cabinet, which was probably 5,000 cigars at that point. I have a friend who is a butcher, so he let me haul everything in there for a few days. It sucked, because I lost a lot of good Cuban cigars. So my personal advice, leave the AC on.
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