Coolerdor 101 (56k Hostile!)

[burninator]

Originally Posted by JPH

My
When you get that bit, just get a box or two to set in the cooler for storage I don't think there is a benefit to gluing it to the sides(unless the cooler is too small for a whole box ). Besides you will be getting a bigger cooler in 1 month guaranteed.

JPH, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Shortly after posting here, I received a humidor from a friend. It was going fine for a while, but now I'm wondering what I'm going to do with another half a box of smokes plus PIF receipts and the results of my lunch break trips to my local B&M.

[JPH]

Originally Posted by burninator

JPH, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Shortly after posting here, I received a humidor from a friend. It was going fine for a while, but now I'm wondering what I'm going to do with another half a box of smokes plus PIF receipts and the results of my lunch break trips to my local B&M.

[omowasu]

Originally Posted by ghost

Make sure that it is Spanish Cedar as other form of cedars are aromatic and could infuse your cigars.

I say get the beads. I have two coolerdors set up one for boxes and ones for singles and use beads in both. Keeps the RH right where I want it with very little maintenace so far.

Just curious, I am looking at building a Coolerdor and a herfin buddy recommended the use of the cedar planks that are sold in boxes at the Home Depot to line the cooler. One of the boxes stated "spanish cedar", but who knows? Is this a bad idea? I have also heard and experienced cedar storage enhancing the flavor of some smokes. FYI I store my stogies naked at 65% rh.

[Boston_Dude05]

I believe there'a a post on where to get Spanish Cedar and you can even specific dimensions, the Rockler website I believe. Spanish Cedar should have a distinctive aroma from what I know and that's one way to tell, but I'd find out for sure to make it's not treated with some strange chemicals, otherwise you risk your precious smokes.

[DruLeeParsec]

Newbie Question:

I understand how to set up the cooler, compute the amount of beads, the benefits of aging cigars and so on. But here's the thing: Since I'm A) a newbie and B) money is, let's just say "Tight" at the moment I don't have that many cigars. I won't be buying a lot of boxes of cigars (maybe one every other month) but I will soon have too many to fit in my desktop humidor.

So is there anything I should know about having a cooler that's 90% empty? That's a lot of air space with nothing to absorb or stabilize the humidity. I know that with a wooden humidor the humidity stays more constant if it's mostly full. So would having a mostly empty cooler have any bad side effects?

Thanks

[smokin' machinist]

Originally Posted by DruLeeParsec

Newbie Question:

I understand how to set up the cooler, compute the amount of beads, the benefits of aging cigars and so on. But here's the thing: Since I'm A) a newbie and B) money is, let's just say "Tight" at the moment I don't have that many cigars. I won't be buying a lot of boxes of cigars (maybe one every other month) but I will soon have too many to fit in my desktop humidor.

So is there anything I should know about having a cooler that's 90% empty? That's a lot of air space with nothing to absorb or stabilize the humidity. I know that with a wooden humidor the humidity stays more constant if it's mostly full. So would having a mostly empty cooler have any bad side effects?

Thanks

If most of the space is air, the stability of the humidity decreases when you open the lid. What I did(until I bought more full boxes ) was to buy the used boxes from my local b&m, a few dollars each.I bought the boxes from the higher end cigar companies for a better seal. The wood retains the moisture, providing a more stable environment and another box to fill

[DruLeeParsec]

Thanks Ted. That's exactly what I needed to know.

[Dgar]

I love my coolerador built it a year ago and know it's full,I'm not sure if I'm ready for the expenses of filling another cooler yet...

I have about twenty boxes, and three spanish cedar trays for singles.

I used 1/2'' spanish cedar for the shelves, and I think this has really helped stabilizing the humidity, I use 70% beads with a DC humidifier and things are nice and stable. I also keep two oust fans in it.

It's a fun project and the only way to go if you want to stay on a buget while storing boxes.

[smokin' machinist]

Originally Posted by Dgar

I love my coolerador built it a year ago and know it's full,I'm not sure if I'm ready for the expenses of filling another cooler yet...

I have about twenty boxes, and three spanish cedar trays for singles.

I used 1/2'' spanish cedar for the shelves, and I think this has really helped stabilizing the humidity, I use 70% beads with a DC humidifier and things are nice and stable. I also keep two oust fans in it.

It's a fun project and the only way to go if you want to stay on a buget while storing boxes.

what brand of humidifier are you using?

[Dgar]

Originally Posted by smokin' machinist

what brand of humidifier are you using?

I'm using a Diamond Crown Humidifier, and 70% beads. It has been very easy to keep at 70/70...

[Boston_Dude05]

Great post. I just set-up a coolerdor after quickly running out of space in my humidor (addiction to the Devil Site can do that to you). Followed directions and within a day was in action. Humidity keeping at 65% via beads. I added the Oust fan which someone suggested to circulate (purchased from CVS for $6). The cooler is a 36quart ($14.99 from Target) since I have a small apartment. Beads were from Heartfelt. For a total of $30, I can store whole boxes in there. I'm using empty cigar boxes to store everything, which I got from the local B&M for free. The 36 quart has enough room for say 6-8 boxes. I put the cedar try from one of my humis in there and combined with the boxes, it smells like a regular humidor. Great value!!!

[Throb]

I've been searching for this thread for days! Now that I have found it, I'm almost ready for step 5...

Just wanted to give this a bump in case someone else wanted to join me on the slide down!

[dantzig]

I need to get a coolerdor put together pretty quick. I won some auctions at cbid that I don't even remember bidding on!

Thank you for the valuable post!

[bigdog20]

what do you do to get rid of the plastic smell without unscented soap? can you use scented and let air out still?

[leasingthisspace]

Originally Posted by bigdog20

what do you do to get rid of the plastic smell without unscented soap? can you use scented and let air out still?

I read some on here Baking Soda. Let it seat in there a day or to and rinse it out real good with water.

I used dishsoap and rinsed it out real good. I haven't had an issue with the plastic smell. I also used empty boxes to hold the singles.