building coolidor today

[Beatnikbandit]

Or should I say, putting one together as I ain't building a cooler. I'm basically using this site as a basic guide. (http://www.************.com/?p=127) Except the part when he modifies a hygrometer as i have a better one ill be using. I pretty much think I know what I'm going to do.

All of the boxes I will be using inside are full wood so I was wondering one thing? Should I drill a couple holes in each box, leave the boxes open, or just keep them in there and just make sure the ambient RH is OK? I haven't thought of that and since I also have several trays I will be putting inside I would think the cigars in the trays will be exposed to more water vapor.

I haven't seen nor herd of people drilling holes in their boxes I would think they will stabilize after they are all seasoned inside the cooler. If the tutorial I am using is missing anything someone would like to let me know or if anyone has answers to my questions please leave me your .

I know many of you use this kind of setup so if there is anything you all have learned from using this kind of setup, I would love to know. You guys always have helpful answers to my questions so I thank you and hopefully one day ill have enough experience to be the guy answering more questions rather than asking them. So in all thanks to everyone who has helped me before and those who help me now by posting.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by Beatnikbandit

Or should I say, putting one together as I ain't building a cooler. I'm basically using this site as a basic guide. (http://www.************.com/?p=127) I pretty much think I know what I'm going to do.

All of the boxes I will be using inside are full wood so I was wondering one thing? Should I drill a couple holes in each box, leave the boxes open, or just keep them in there and just make sure the ambient RH is OK? I haven't thought of that and since I also have several trays I will be putting inside I would think the cigars in the trays will be exposed to more water vapor.

I haven't seen nor herd of people drilling holes in their boxes I would think they will stabilize after they are all seasoned inside the cooler. If the tutorial I am using is missing anything someone would like to let me know or if anyone has answers to my questions please leave me your .

I know many of you use this kind of setup so if there is anything you all have learned from using this kind of setup, I would love to know. You guys always have helpful answers to my questions so I thank you and hopefully one day ill have enough experience to be the guy answering more questions rather than asking them. So in all thanks to everyone who has helped me before and those who help me now by posting.

No need to drill any holes. Just regulate the ampbient temp/RH inside the cooler and you'll be fine.

[duckmanco]

yeah, these things CAN be as simple as lightly misting the beads properly, and tossing them in a mesh bag to expose as much of the surface area of the beads into a cleaned and aired out cooler. DONE. I have three bags spread throughout, but the beads just work. I leave the boxes with the lids just resting on the tops, and my boxes are tetrised in there to maximize space.

[Beatnikbandit]

Thanks guys that pretty much all i needed a quick reassurance I'm going to do it correctly. Sounds like its gonna be the way I store my cigars from now on. (those that aren't in my humidor) Now I don't have to worry about storage anymore and I can order all I want, this is gonna lead to some big spendin

[hova45]

yeah I had a coolidor for a abit dont even use my elie bleu humidors any more, with the money spent on those humidors I could've gotten a aristocrat but went with a wine cooler (temp reasons) just a little rant. good luck composing and sliding down the steep slope

[Beatnikbandit]

OK, I've almost gotten it done, I have aired it out to get rid of the plastic smell. after i did that for 24 hours I wiped down all the areas of my wood boxes that were not treated. I may not have done that with a humidor but with the mass of boxes I am using I wasn't going to try and do them all the slow way, if warping occurs I don't believe it will be a problem as the boxes are just for organization.

Right now I am waiting for my order of crystals to arrive so in the mean time I have a sack of 2 oz of crystals (all i had left at the time) and a small towel dampened in distilled water so the boxes don't dry out as I wait for my crystals I kinda rushed it not waiting for my crystals to arrive. (should be today) I've been checking it daily for mold since I'm using a towel. I placed weather stripping along the seal since it has a nice latch to hold the lid tight to stop moisture loss. I believe it is a 48 Quart and man do they seem small once you get them home I bet ill have a 120 qt soon.

The temperature right now is steady at 76% RH I'm keeping it high to season the boxes and once I get my crystals it should stabilize around 70% I think that will be good as the cigars will be inside boxes I will have to test the RH inside to make sure I have the ambient temp correct. According to the heartfelt calculator, I believe I will use 4 or 3 bags with a combined amount of 8-9 oz of crystals inside.

So far I believe everything is going good the only thing is the temp is the same as in my humidors 72-76 I don't believe it will be a problem maybe before next summer I will have a wine cooler/minifrige to deal with that, as of now Ive just purchased enough cigars to fill up my coolidor or buy a wine cooler so wine cooler with no cigars or a coolidor full of cigars? No contest.

One thing I would like to ask is first of all, does it sound like its going ok? Second, anyone know what to do about temp I hasn't bothered be so far I added a fan maybe another will help? Any tips or comments on that maybe its not really an issue as I do have central air and if I didn't then it would be I figure if it doesn't go above 79,80 or so I'm all good. Thanks again guys. I'm gonna go andfor a while till I see some responses if any.

[xxwaldoxx]

Everything sounds fine to me, but then again I did write that article

The only thing that may be of concern is the temp. You could try moving the cooler around a bit to find a cooler spot in the house.

-Walt

[wharfrathoss]

sounds like you're good to go, keep an eye on the temp-adding a fan will just move the same temp air around instead of cooling it off-with c/a you can manage the temp pretty easy though-i like mine to stay at 65* to 70* personally, you can use blue ice packs wrapped in tshirts to help if you don't want the house that cold

[RPB67]

Sounds good.

Its the cheepest way to store cigars and give you more money to buy more cigars.

Now set that baby up and go shopping !!

[Beatnikbandit]

Yeah I had it in a closet which I believed was too hot inside so I took it out and I put it on a stand I used to use for an aquarium although the temperature is still too high. I have experimented with ice packs before, by simply placing them on top of a humidor wrapped in cloth, although the melt time just made the temp fluctuate too much. I would think that if inside the cooler it might last longer if it can last a day I can do it but any more than daily changes would bum me out.I would think it would be bad altogether though as it would create daily temperature fluctuations, unless its too small of a difference to affect the 'Gars. I will try it anyway as the temp inside my coolidoor is higher than I like, I would like to at least get it to the high 60's to the low 70's as my humidor stays about 72 unless the air isn't on, on a hot day which rarely happens.

I have lined the seal with weather stripping. I believe I will try out using different sized ice packs until I find the right temp. If it takes more than a single cold pack change a day I might try to cool it by taking off the weather stripping maybe to allow to more airflow. I am going to leave it on while i experiment with the cold packs to hopefully make the cold packs last longer. It is next to a fan that is next to my AC vent. (central air with floor ducts) Doesn't that sound like the perfect solution just set my coolidoor on top of an ac vent I might try that but then it would put it out in the living room and create sort of an eye sore. (which is no problem for me but ...... you know how the women are I can hear it now "I cant believe you keep that ugly thing there" and I know it would be moved while I'm gone. Ahhh the problems.

Its perfect that the person who wrote the article I used posted so maybe I can ask you (xxwaldoxx) or anyone else. Does anyone know why oust fans turn off on their own? I never tried to time it or something but does it turn back on in like five min for battery conservation? It just seams every time I close it I make sure they are on and every time I open it they are off I might make my own by cannibalizing the oust fan and installing a more powerful computer type fan and make it run constantly. Anyone who knows anything about this I would be interested.

Also to let you know "RPB67" its already at 50% hehe pretty good for the first four days or so LoL. Kinda makes me scared as I don't want to do this again. Especially since my temps are soo high ill be going for a wine cooler or a mini fridge that's gunna have to be BIG and do some major damage to my wallet, LoL. If anyone has links on making these Links would be greatly appreciated as I have never seen one and I might get it part by part as I believe once I go for that ill get an oasis. Also anyone with experience with electronic humidifiers go ahead and tell me about it I'm all ears and have no experience with these devices. To end this colossal post, anyone with ideas I would like to know so post, LoL. Also thanks for reading my post. I cant get over how I always get an answer no matter how stupid my questions are, the only answer for that is that you guy's are great. I'm gunna have to go now the brown on my nose stinks really bad and I need to wash it off.

Small Edit: I sure don't know why my temps are so high my thermostat is never above 70 I suck

[Blaylock]

As far as the Oust fan is concerned, I believe that they run for 5 min. and turn off for 15. This probably has something to do with the fact that they are intended to be used to circulate a scent and constant running would be "overkill" as far as that purpose goes. You really don't need to have a fan running 24/7 in order to accomplish your purpose which is circulating air.

You also mentioned that you might take off the weather stripping to allow more air to circulate into the cooler. I would advise against this. Remember that the important thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep your humidity as stable as possible and keeping a somewhat airtight environment in your humidor/coolidor is the best way to accomplish this.

One more thing, if your thermostat is set at 70 or below, the temp inside your humi. should be close to that temp. I am just wondering if you've checked the accuracy of the temp. gauge?






.

[Beatnikbandit]

Yes it is a calibrated temp/hygrometer so I know the most it is off is 1%. To fix the temp problem I have added One of the larger Blue ice packs wrapped in a towel. (to absorb the sweat) This keeps my temp at 70 degrees all day long but what is weird is I have to use two time the amount of Crystals the calculator on the heartfelt site says which i think is weird since it should be perfect if the temp is actually 70 degrees.... i know that the RH is perfect although the temp i think i will place it next to my home digital thermostat and see if its the same to make sure. Right now I've gotten it perfect according to my hygrometer 70 degrees 60%-70% range RH as the blue ice melts. I dont like this because i know my cigars are constantly swelling and shrinking because of it. (im assuming as none of my cigars are cracked, or damaged in any way) Thanks for bringing up the temp thing i think i shall check that today it wont take much time. LoL, I buy an adjustable hygrometer to get the perfect RH reading but now I'm worries about the temp which cannot be adjusted the irony, or ill just call it the crappyness. Ill check the temp gage as you suggested then get back thanks so much for your help but a pound of crystals for a 56 QT seems like overkill. So thanks for an outside perspective since i would have never thought thanks guys.

[Beatnikbandit]

The temperature difference between my home weather station and my tem/hygrometer is only 1 degree higher so I can make a mental note of that but to me i think its pretty accurate its the rectangle calibrateable one you can buy from heartfelt. I also have the un calibrateable hygrometer from heartfelt too and it reads 3% high and the temp is also the same so its odd to me what is going on... for now untill i can afford a wine cooler or mini fridge ill have to stick to Ice packs to keep it down I rotate two, each morning i remove the melted one and add the frozen one then take the melted one and freeze it so a daily 5 degree 5% humidity change ok? or is that too stressfull?

[Beatnikbandit]

OK, I think it is all OK now the only thing that weirds me out is the fact I need to use a full pound of beads and a small jar of the other kind of crystals I had laying around, the ones that are similar to diaper crystals, for my 56qt. I'm using a semi large blue ice cold pack wrapped in a towel. I have two and every morning I take out the melted one and replace it with a frozen one. It keeps the temp between 67-72 degrees and the RH is between 67-72%.

To humidify it I am using a pound of crystals In sacks placed on either end of the coolidor, on the left they are on the top, on the right they are on the bottom. Next to the bags I have an oust fan that I have used a Dremel to remove the face of the fan to give more airflow. The fan on the top is facing the center of the coolidor and the fan on the bottom is set on it's side to blow the air up into the coolidor. I at first removed the front of the fans by the screws but then it takes off the battery holder also so I had to tape it in (I didn't like that) so I put it back together and used the Dremel on both.

Since the humidity is OK does it matter if for some weird reason that my temp is lower than it says (I have checked it and it read out to me to be fine) I think it is just hot in the area I have to keep it. In all I believe I am OK but that my opinion. Does anyone else have a different opinion I just want it to be OK and be done with it LoL its become harder than "fooling around with a bunch of humidors" so if anyone thinks its fine it will easy my worries and if someone has a suggestion about it (being I have something wrong) I would appreciate it so I can get it right. TIA

[xxwaldoxx]

Sorry for the delayed response, but it looks like the guys have given you some great advice.

As far as the temp being between 67 and 72, I think you will be just fine. My coolers are stored in my basement and with natural temp fluctuation I am in the same range as you and I have not run into any problems with my cigars