ok i did a searhc and didnt come up with what i was looking for. with all the questions about wine fridge humi's someone should write a how to from start to finish. i would do it but have no idea how to turn a wine fridge into a humi, but i would like to now. im sure others want to know as well.
maybe a group project to get this done, but it may be a good idea.
so lets go....lets include the what kind of to buy, where a good place to buy the fridge is, what changes or modifications need to be made, should it be lined with cedar, where to get the cedar...everything. this should be a god source of info for not only newbie, but to some of us not so noobs as well.
The Golden Rule: He with the gold gets to make the rules
Yes, this is a great idea, and I volunteer to collect and edit all of the info into a PDF that can be handed out to anyone in the future who is looking to do this.
"The CAF Guide to Wine-Cooler Humidor Conversions, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting"
-aphexafx
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
saw this from a different site, may be what your looking for
quote:
Well, just buy a thermo-electric wine cooler. 1.When you come home wash the inside with plain dish washing soap to get the palstic smell out from the inside.
2.Rinse it out real good. Use a rag and a bowl of water for this. Dont go crazy with water and soap.
3.After thats done, Use Arm&Hammer baking soda to wash it out again. (I used a rag and a brush to wash it and then carefully rinsed it.)
4. When done, dry the inside and leave the door open for about 3-4 days. You can also leave the arm&hammer box inside to try to suck out the remaining plastic smell.
5.After the 4th or 5th day, the smell should be gone, then you can start loading it up with your cedar boxes, beads etc. Good luck, hope this helps.
This is a GREAT idea. Only one problem. There are no real mods here and no "sticky" function. So what happens is you create this FAQ, it gets a lot of posts and hits for a few weeks then it sinks into the annuls of cA to be forgotten for all time.
But go ahead, the erosion of youthful enthusiasm is always fun to watch.
Originally posted by BinDerSmokDat: This is a GREAT idea. Only one problem. There are no real mods here and no "sticky" function. So what happens is you create this FAQ, it gets a lot of posts and hits for a few weeks then it sinks into the annuls of cA to be forgotten for all time.
But go ahead, the erosion of youthful enthusiasm is always fun to watch.
Hence the PDF file. One that we can link to in our signatures, or post a link to whenever a hapless beginner comes about and wants to build one.
Looks like the "youthful enthusiasts" have a weapon.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: aphexafx,
-aphexafx
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
I know a couple of people that have these, and they are amazing. I just ordered my wine cooler. I also ordered spanish cedar of 10 sq ft. I will line alot of the inside with the cedar, and replace the top 2 medal shelves with cedar shelves(leave the botom for my boxes). Of course will season the shelves before, and et them dry. Clean insides well, and go from there. I live in the south and its impossible to keep my humi under 70 degrees. So this wine cooler will sit right at 66-68 degrees!
Posts: 190 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: March 27, 2008
It seems that there are several of us that are either right in the middle of, just starting, or contemplating a build, so this is a great time to compile opinions and tips.
I hope we can get AKmik to add his experience, since I know he was an early adopter and innovator within the thermo-electric wine-cooler humidor gig.
-aphexafx
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
Yea Im excited about not having to worry about temperature all day. set it and leave it right at 68. the cooler i ordered will hold probably 10-15 boxes, and 200 singles??
Posts: 190 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: March 27, 2008
well heres my 2 cents worth.... I purchased a rather large wine cooler from Costco, for around $200. It has a glass front door and 7 racks, I didn't go all crazy with buying cedar lining, I just used the cedar sheets from the empty cigar boxes I had and lined the shelves as well as the sides and bottom as well as I could and have been using it for the past 3-4 years. I made sure mine had a temp guage, coincidentally mine has a high of 66 degrees, I maintain it at 65, I use the 65 % beads for humidification and it works very well for me. I have never had a beetle problem and I just store my cigars in the boxes or plastic cigar bags, I try to rotate the cigars about every 4-6 months but usually smoke them faster than it takes to rotate them. It is great in the summer time especially, and it maintains the same temp year around. It isn't rocket science just a little common sense and you have a great system for cigars. I don't at this time know how many cigars are in there but I have filled it at different intervals usually with 20-23 boxes depending on box size, with a little imagination one can do wonders and my cigars are ready to smoke right out of coolerdor! Enjoy!
DC S.N.O.B. #1009 You've probably heard of me!
Posts: 698 | Location: En el Valle de el Chevere..JoJoJo.. Gigante Verde! | Registered: May 09, 2002
I heard that its tough to keep the humidity up in the wine coolers, so I also purchased a Cigar Oasis to go inside, along with some Heartfelt beads, so I hope that will be enough to take care of it.
Posts: 190 | Location: U.S.A. | Registered: March 27, 2008
Here's my 2 cents. I have done the same, and have held the temp and RH great with 1/2 pound of RH beads. The internal fan works great to circulate the air.
quote:
Originally posted by Double Corona: well heres my 2 cents worth.... I purchased a rather large wine cooler from Costco, for around $200. It has a glass front door and 7 racks, I didn't go all crazy with buying cedar lining, I just used the cedar sheets from the empty cigar boxes I had and lined the shelves as well as the sides and bottom as well as I could and have been using it for the past 3-4 years. I made sure mine had a temp guage, coincidentally mine has a high of 66 degrees, I maintain it at 65, I use the 65 % beads for humidification and it works very well for me. I have never had a beetle problem and I just store my cigars in the boxes or plastic cigar bags, I try to rotate the cigars about every 4-6 months but usually smoke them faster than it takes to rotate them. It is great in the summer time especially, and it maintains the same temp year around. It isn't rocket science just a little common sense and you have a great system for cigars. I don't at this time know how many cigars are in there but I have filled it at different intervals usually with 20-23 boxes depending on box size, with a little imagination one can do wonders and my cigars are ready to smoke right out of coolerdor! Enjoy!
_______________________________________ "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." Davy Crocket
Posts: 203 | Location: Lone Star State | Registered: October 23, 2007
I think you may be going over kill with the Oasis and beads. I started with 1 pound of beads and the RH was in the high 80's, so I cut it to 1/2 a pound and working great. Somebody not long ago had a link to a colleg web site that had a great Temp and RH conversion table. Showed what RH and Temp combination equal the coveted 70/70.
quote:
Originally posted by allforcigars: I heard that its tough to keep the humidity up in the wine coolers, so I also purchased a Cigar Oasis to go inside, along with some Heartfelt beads, so I hope that will be enough to take care of it.
_______________________________________ "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." Davy Crocket
Posts: 203 | Location: Lone Star State | Registered: October 23, 2007
I was thinking doing a mix of these two wine cooler humidors, putting cedar on the sides and back, and replacing the medal shelves with cedar shelves, with holes in them to circulate the air. heres all the pictures..
I also prefer an active humidifier and I am also going with the Cigar Oasis as my primary, mainly because it will recover the humidor very quickly. I ended up going with the Cigar Oasis because it is power fail-safe and had a more efficient air-flow than the Hydra, and I would prefer to run my own fans on an independent timer.
I'm aging habanos mostly, so my target is 64 deg. F / 65% RH. Much research, opinion, and a few years of practice have convinced me that this is optimal and very safe for aging cigars.
I am only using beads to collect and release the condensation runoff so that I don't have to deal with the drain and all of its consequences.
-aphexafx
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
Sometimes I will after a few days check the temp and humidity levels and I'll find that my granddaughter has been playing with the + and - dial on my humi and the temp is in the 50s and humidity around 60 and surprisingly no ill effects. although I'm not sure what long term effects would be. I failed to mention that I use a 1/2 lb. of beads as well and it does the job for me. Whatever floats the boat!
DC S.N.O.B. #1009 You've probably heard of me!
Posts: 698 | Location: En el Valle de el Chevere..JoJoJo.. Gigante Verde! | Registered: May 09, 2002
