I love a good cigar but am frequently dissappointed by cigars that burn unevenly. It's not unusual for me to to have one 'side' of the cigar burning a centimetre or so lower than the other. This results in a poor draw and a frustrating smoke. My remedies range from wetting the fast burning side to try and get the 'higher end' to catch up or extinguishing and then using the cigar cutter to start from a fresh, straight cut. So - am I just unlucky (it seems to happen with 1 in 5 cigars) or does this happen to everyone else? I only smoke good quality Cubans but am not sure whether it's me or the cigars! Any tips offered will be most welcome. Thanks guys!
The trick is to rotate the cigar so that the longer side is at the bottom. It will burn faster and catch up with the shorter, faster burning side.
I know this sounds illogical with heat rising and all that, but it works, most likely because its getting more oxygen.
Good Luck,
Steve
There is a road, no simple highway Between the dawn and the dark of night And if you go no one may follow That path is for your steps alone The Grateful Dead - Ripple
Posts: 147 | Location: Niantic, CT, USA | Registered: January 14, 2004
What is the humidity level in your humidor ? If it is 70% or above, it might be a good idea to ower it. Wait a week or so, and then try your cigars again. Also, when lighting the cigar, make sure it is lit evenly...
________________________ "Tobacco is my favorite vegetable." --FZ
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2 good answers to one question , both should be on the top of the list to get a good even burn, I rotate my stock about 6 times a year , I used to do it every week, but it just got to be to dammmmm much trouble ! Enjoy, Vince
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Posts: 1589 | Location: 159 Knobvue Drive, Freedom Pa 15042 | Registered: July 12, 2002
Some years ago I visited with a former member, Hillbilly, in the DR. He manufacturs cigars and expalined to me that sometimes the roller places the Ligero tobacco too close to one side of the cigar. Ligero burns slower than other tobaccos and can cause this problem as well.
Doc ***** Tobacco is a filthy weed, I like it...
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Posts: 8993 | Location: New York City | Registered: May 02, 2002
Originally posted by flashman: What is the humidity level in your humidor ? If it is 70% or above, it might be a good idea to ower it. Wait a week or so, and then try your cigars again. Also, when lighting the cigar, make sure it is lit evenly...
I can lower it...are you suggesting that too higher humidity causes uneven burning...? Thanks
It will make the burn more difficult (since the tobacco is more humid), therefore augmenting a lot the chances of an uneven burn. I generally consider 68% as a maximum and 66% as an ideal RH. However, you may find that hand-made Cubans (by opposition to a lot of non-Cubans and Cuban machine mades) will burn even better at a slightly lower humidity level, closer to 65%. You'll have to puff a bit slower though... You have to find that point where it burns well but not too hot. It may vary slightly depending on your tastes and the way you puff on your cigar.
________________________ "Tobacco is my favorite vegetable." --FZ
"Government is the Entertainment Division of the military-industrial complex." --FZ too
Agree with flashman. I don't know the scientific reasoning behind it, but I've noticed empirically that all cigars - Cuban and NC alike - burn better when the RH is in the mid-60's. By lowering the RH you might also get more flavor out of your smokes - I know I do.
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Posts: 1459 | Location: New York/Denver | Registered: August 05, 2005
Uneven burns can be caused by uneven smoking habits.
To verify this get four 1/8 inch npt, owg manometers and four pitot tube fittings. Insert these into the cigar two inches apart at 90 degrees to each other. With xigar cutter and xigar lighter prepare your smoke as you normally would. Get a ziploc bag and put all this into to it and lay it on a concrete floor. Now jump on it ten times and put the remains of the cigar you have ruined into a steel garbage can. Close the cover.
QM Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.
Posts: 7159 | Location: Cigar land | Registered: March 10, 2003
Perhaps its also temperature dependent. Now this may not be news to the seasoned aficianados but I found the following tidbit to be very interesting:
"Absolute Humidity. As air will hold varying amounts of water vapor at different temperatures, no discussion of humidification would be complete without a discussion of temperature and it's effect on absolute humidity. Relative humidity is an easily measured value that relates the measured humidity to the maximum humidity that is possible at that temperature. Thus, 70% RH at 70 ºF is not the same as 70% RH at 80 ºF. We are aiming to maintain the same amount of water (mgm/liter) around our cigars as seen at 70% RH at 70 degrees F (which is 13.15 mmHg water vapor pressure). So, to be able to know what is happening with our cigars at temperatures other than 70 degrees F, we must use a table of adjusted relative humidity values to make sure that our humidors keep our cigars in the peak of condition.
Temperature, water vapor pressure and relative humidity required to equal 70% RH at 70 degrees (13.15mmHg).
Temp / Water Vapor Pressure / Relative Humidity 66 / 16.37 / 80.33% 67 / 16.95 / 77.58% 68 / 17.55 / 74.93% 69 / 18.17 / 72.37% 70 / 18.79 / 70.00% 71 / 19.45 / 67.61% 72 / 20.11 / 65.39% 73 / 20.81 / 63.19% 74 / 21.51 / 61.13% 75 / 22.25 / 59.10% 76 / 23.00 / 57.17% It is not possible to attain an absolute humidity level that will keep cigars from drying out at temperatures below 60 degrees"
Not sure if the chart will read correctly, the first column is Temperature the second column is Water Vapor Pressure and the third column is Relative Humidity.
Anyone care to comment?
Posts: 55 | Location: NJ | Registered: April 06, 2006
Relative humidity in air is the ratio of contained humidity to the saturation humidity.
Saturation humidity increases with temperature thus warm air can hold more water than cold air.
Therefore air at 80 F and 65% RH contains more water than air at 60 F and 65% RH.
The conjecture becomes that the cigars will be drier at 60 F 65% RH than at 80 F 65% RH because there is less water in the cooler air.
However solid materials that are hygroscopic will tend to absorb more water when they are cool than when they are warm.
This is true for food stuffs, seeds, activated carbon, nylon, silica gel, humidity beads and cigars.
At higher temperatures it is easier for water molecules to "jump out" of the weak bonds that attach them to a solid. More of them "jump out" into the energetic air to zip around as free water vapour. Less "jump back in". The equilibrioum is shifted toward a drier solid and a wetter air.
QM Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.
Posts: 7159 | Location: Cigar land | Registered: March 10, 2003
Originally posted by QM: Uneven burns can be caused by uneven smoking habits.
To verify this get four 1/8 inch npt, owg manometers and four pitot tube fittings. Insert these into the cigar two inches apart at 90 degrees to each other. With xigar cutter and xigar lighter prepare your smoke as you normally would. Get a ziploc bag and put all this into to it and lay it on a concrete floor. Now jump on it ten times and put the remains of the cigar you have ruined into a steel garbage can. Close the cover.
Come on, QM. You're leaving out the most important step. The owg manometers must be PRE-SET to 14 nanotherms.
To see whether the 14 nanotherms is accurate, you put it in a tupperware container with a dish of salt and a moist (not wet) sponge.
Oh yeah, and the garbage can should be Rubbermaid brand, not steel.
Duh.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scottological,
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Posts: 1459 | Location: New York/Denver | Registered: August 05, 2005
Relative humidity in air is the ratio of contained humidity to the saturation humidity.
Saturation humidity increases with temperature thus warm air can hold more water than cold air.
Therefore air at 80 F and 65% RH contains more water than air at 60 F and 65% RH.
The conjecture becomes that the cigars will be drier at 60 F 65% RH than at 80 F 65% RH because there is less water in the cooler air.
However solid materials that are hygroscopic will tend to absorb more water when they are cool than when they are warm.
This is true for food stuffs, seeds, activated carbon, nylon, silica gel, humidity beads and cigars.
At higher temperatures it is easier for water molecules to "jump out" of the weak bonds that attach them to a solid. More of them "jump out" into the energetic air to zip around as free water vapour. Less "jump back in". The equilibrioum is shifted toward a drier solid and a wetter air.
QM, Allow me to rephrase: So is what I posted correct?
Posts: 55 | Location: NJ | Registered: April 06, 2006
Originally posted by Locotone07:"....It is not possible to attain an absolute humidity level that will keep cigars from drying out at temperatures below 60 degrees" Anyone care to comment?
I'm curious where that quote originated. It is not correct.
Can u tell me about your cigar tastes and how you store them?
QM Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.
Posts: 7159 | Location: Cigar land | Registered: March 10, 2003
Originally posted by Locotone07:"....It is not possible to attain an absolute humidity level that will keep cigars from drying out at temperatures below 60 degrees" Anyone care to comment?
I'm curious where that quote originated. It is not correct.
Can u tell me about your cigar tastes and how you store them?
I copied the info from a non-U.S. cigar vendor. Aside from what you quoted. Is the rest of the information incorrect as well?
I mainly enjoy medium to full-bodied cigars, my current favorites include Padrons (esp the 64's) and Oliva Grand Cameroons. Right now my cigars are store in 16 medium to small humidors (all of which have its own digital thermometer/hygrometer) which are currently in my basement where the temperature ranges from 72-75 degrees F. Based on the info which I posted (and thought to be true) I removed the humidifiers from each of my humidors which allows me to obtain relative humidities close to the chart posted.
Posts: 55 | Location: NJ | Registered: April 06, 2006
A non US vendor that uses the Farenheit temperature scale. Hmmmm.
The vapour pressure values are correct at those temperatures. Your chart multiplies 70%rh x 18.79 torr = 1315. It then calculates 1315 / Vp = RH A statement that cigars will dry out below 60 F. At 59.9 F the Vp is 13.15 torr so 1350/13.15 = 100% RH This is not shown in your chart.
So at 100% RH at 59.9 F the cigars will dry out??? That same logic implies that at 212 F cigars will be adequately humidified at 1.7% RH.
Look that whole thing ignores thermodynamic equilibrium. The equilibrium of water in tobacco, water in air and water as water (or as propylene glycol & water or as water in humidity beads) are all functions of temperature.
As air temperature increases its capacity to hold water increases. As tobacco temperature decreases its capacity to hold water increases. Water from a container will purport to air & tobacco in different proportions at different temperatures. Futhermore as was implied before: -pure water will tilt the equilibrium toward more water in air and cigars -water diluted with PG will be less active and purport less water to the air. It can even remove water from air. -water in humidity beads will purport less water to the air. It can even remove water.
I have beefed your table to show where some numbers come from.
