Humidors

[Clockwatcher]

Being a Newbie I have a question about Humidors. Are all cigars regardless of wrappers, filler or ring size suppose to be kept at the same settings for moistness or will the above make a difference. In other words is it recommended to have several humidors for verious make, sizes and shapes?

[Bruce5]

One humidor if you are starting off is fine. An approx temp of 70 degrees and relative humidity of 70 percent will keep all cigars of any brand, shape or size in perfect condition.

[Lamar]

For what its worth, buy a humidor bigger than your wildest imagination. Then it will take you a little longer to outgrow it!

[LasciviousXXX]

As a relative newbie I would definitely buy a humi bigger than you think you need. I have already outgrown mine. I will hopefully be moving to a fridgeador soon. Good luck. Happy smoking

[Redman]

I agree with Lamar!! I started out with a 50ct and it was full in less than 3 monthes. i now have a 200 count and I am thinking about a bigger one yet. So I say all of this to say get one bigger than you would think you will need and when the bug gets to you like it did me you will have room to grow!

[kansashat]

Many people say that Camacho Corojo seems to age better at around 65% rh, but I imagine you'll do just fine with about any cigar if you can keep it at around 65-70% rh.

[Herfzilla]

Start out with a 150 quart marine cooler. Trust me, it will save you multiple upgrades, and you will eventually need it!

I find that almost all my cigars smoke better at about 65% RH. I have some draw problems with habanos at 70%. Your milage may vary.

Good Luck and Good Smoking!

[Heartpumper]

Herfazilla is spot on. A big Igloo cooler, and stuff as much spanish cedar/boxes/sticks in it as you can. This helps to stabilize the humidity.

Never had one, but others have said Acid cigars are so aromatic that they must be kept in a separate humidor. Same for Kahula, and one would assume any of the flavored sticks.

You WILL buy more sticks than you can imagine! Go big, early, and save your cash for cigars.

[txmatt]

I use a 48 qt Igloo cooler. I have close to 400 cigars on hand in it; although most of my cigars are Robusto size and smaller.

I posted this a while back and figured I would start reposting it into threads now and then to help newbies assemble a good Coolerdor.

Here is all you need:

1) An ice chest. Many people report Igloo Brand seal the best. I went with an Igloo "Ice Cube" 48 quart cooler, $13 at Wal Mart.

2) Empty (soon to be full) cigar boxes of various sizes to fill your cooler. Some people will put time, effort, and money into cedar lining, cedar shelves, or cedar trays. I went to a local cigar shop and spent $8 on 8 empty slide top cigar boxes. Some local shops will even give them away if you go in and pick out some singles. In addition to helping you sort and protect the cigars these boxes regulate humidity. Coolidors seal better than humidors, so they will have problems with overhumidification. The wood boxes abosorb excess humidity and will help to speed humidity recovery along with your humidification device after opening or adding cigars to your coolerdor.

3) A digital hygrometer. Radio Shack has one that is $20 that I and many other people use. Amazon.com has had a nice long range wireless model on the Friday sale quite frequently lately for $30.

4) Last but most important: Get 1/2 to 1 pound of 65% Climmax Premier Media beads from either climmax.com or bargainhumidors.com. If you read threads here or on other cigar forums, most people agree that this is absolutely the best, easiest, and least expensive way to keep your humidity dead accurate. I keep my beads in a pair of black hose I appropriated from my wife. Some people keep them in dishes, others in aluminum tubos with holes drilled in. If you have questions about wetting them or using them give us a shout.

If you pick up these 4 things you will have $50 - $60 total spent in a humidor that will hold 300 churchills with ease and considerably more in smaller sizes.

If you want a humididor to keep out for show - get a small capacity one of the HIGHEST quality. The coolerdor will do the best job possible taking care of your precious cigars, it would be a shame if the better looking humidor you placed them into didn't do the same.

-Matt-

[zemekone]

My rule of thumb, what ever you size you think you need, multiply by three and you MIGHT be ok. Trust me you are gonna want to fill it up!

[Bruce5]

Originally Posted by txmatt

I use a 48 qt Igloo cooler. I have close to 400 cigars on hand in it; although most of my cigars are Robusto size and smaller.

I posted this a while back and figured I would start reposting it into threads now and then to help newbies assemble a good Coolerdor.



-Matt-

.
TXMatt -
I am in the same place you are with a 70 qt cooler that is overflowing, what do you plan to do once you need to upsize?

[AF MAN]

Man! Don't follow my example!Over the years I've amassed a colection of 5 100-150 count humidors,1 25 count humidor my dad brought back from the Philipines back in the "60s" (it's real nice Philipine Mahagony...it says Imperial cigars on the top) anybody ever heard of em? And here of late,3 Monte Cigare des Artes boxes (which make fine 15-20 count humis by the way,and they're pretty to look at too) I'm considering building my own box that would house between 1000-1200 cigars so I can get rid of the clutter caused by all these humis on my desk,and in my closet...anybody know where I can get plans for a"Hi-Cap" humidor?

[LasciviousXXX]

Clockwatcher, I finally followed the recommendations of so many gorillas here and picked up a bag of the Climmax Beads.

I would definitely suggest picking some up for all your humi probs. Living in AZ it will keep me from having to fill the humi disc once or twice a week. Definitely recommended. Try www.bargainhumidors.com , they have a 1lb bag for 23.99. That's about 6 bucks cheaper than at the climmax.com place.

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by Bruce5

.
TXMatt -
I am in the same place you are with a 70 qt cooler that is overflowing, what do you plan to do once you need to upsize?

G'Day Bruce! (bet you never hear that one)

Well I got bombed about a month ago when it was fuller yet. I knew I had a box on the way in the mail to boot. Trickle down theory applied here; I gave about 30 cigars to a budding cigar smoker @ work, 10 to the guy next to me, 5 to the guy a row in front of me, and 5 to a guy two seats down to the left. (I work in a control room that is known as the "war room"; it looks like mission control at NASA only much larger).

Since I only smoke ~3 cigars a week my supply on hand will already last me over two and a half years.

The guy who bombed me keeps an "overflow bag" and bombs BOTLs each time the bag hits its capacity. I suspect I may start to do something like that as well if I can't find places to put more cigars. I don't mind mixing diferrent cigars in the same box; I don't think cigars "marry" quickly, especially with the cello on. People who do worry about marrying need significantly more coolerdor space to keep the cigars separate.

-Matt-

[Herfzilla]

Climmax beads and a big cooler are cost effective, and you can spend more money on smokes! I have been very impressed by the beads/cooler combination. All mine hold humidity spot on. The only trick is, here on the Gulf, it is always humid. So, if you live in a REALLY humid climate like this, you will need to add virtually no water to the beads. I added what was suggested, and had to dry out the beads and start over. With that little lesson learned, the beads have perfect. And I love the fact that I don't have to run around adding water to credos every couple days like a mad scientist in the "pre-bead" era.

Good luck with your new storage!