Step by step towards a cooler humidor

[dB69]

I bought a small'n'cheap wine cooler for 6 bottles today. It's a thermoelectric one. Hopefully it will never contain any bottles, but my singles. At the moment I am just staring at it - have done so for about two hours. Well, the whole package just looks so... cool.

I'm running some empirical tests about how steady it is to spread and hold moisture with beads and such things. First impression was that it is quite windy inside. Maybe I would like to slow down the fan or something, but let's wait for a couple of days and we'll see. Tomorrow I have to make shelves of cedar and let the wood calm down and then put some 2nd class cubans (are there such things?) within a cabinet into the cooler and taste them after a while.

Of course I have read many posts about wine coolers here and without those articles I wouldn't have visited the shop at all. But also, it's fun to make your own experiments.

If this try-out is a success, I will definitely buy a bigger one for my current and forthcoming boxes. If it fails, I will have a cooler for my poor six bottles of wine.

I may call it a win-win situation!

[thechenman]

Congrats and good luck with your experiment.

[ZAZ]

Definitely keep us posted on how it goes....

[dB69]

Definitely keep us posted on how it goes....

Sure! Maybe then some other hobbyist learns to avoid mistakes I made...

[adic88]

Do not leave your cigars in there unprotected, that's the lesson i learned.

If you're using this for singles, make sure you keep those singles in an old empty box, or put them into a zip lock bag (with some small holes to allow for humidity).

Naked singles in a chiller will get wet from condensation.

[dB69]

Thank you for your advice, Aizuddin. I also read that someone had suffered bland tasting cigars when not putting them into boxes, maybe because of the strong airflow.

Yesterday I made two shelves of cedar, one to the bottom and the other to the middle of the cooler. I took the wood from 65 RH tupperdor, so it would have not been necessary to add any moisture to them. However, it took a little while as I sawed the pieces of cedar to correct lengths, so I brushed the shelves with wet sponge and inserted them into the cooler. I also inserted four empty cigar boxes after dampening them. I put in one large tube of 70RH beads, one acrylic-polymer crystal humidifier and two digital temp/hygrometers. Temperature of the cooler is set to 18C. Sorry for you "not-so-metric-people" as I use Celsius to define temperature.

After two hours the readings from the meters were:

21.8C 66RH on the upper shelf and 20C 67RH on the lower.

Next morning, nine hours after former readings, the meters showed me:

21.1C 57RH and 19C 56RH. I added half a pound of 65RH beads in mesh bag to the upper shelf wishing the humidity to rise.

In the evening, ten hours after earlier check, the numbers were:

20.8C 61RH and 19C 56RH.

I am disappointed. The cooler seems to need tons of beads to hold the moisture. Conclusion - the system must leak. I am suspecting the condensation route (or whatever it is called). I have to use a screwdriver to open the back of the cooler and see what is in there. If there is an active carbon filter, I will remove it also - I don't want to get rid of the cigar smell!

I'll be back sooner or later...

[dB69]

Am I stupid? I asked myself and filled the hole in the bottom of the cooler with an expandable earplug.

I have very bad eyes and the cooler is black, so I don't blame myself any longer. Now I think the moisture will stay inside the cooler.

[dB69]

Once started - cannot stop, so I will continue my monologue. If you tell me to stop, then I will.

Yesterday evening I replaced the former moisturizers with four large tubes of 70RH beads.

This evening the hygrometers showed 20.3C 62RH and 18C 60RH, same as in the morning.

I checked the whole cooler. It does not leak. I put a bright flashlight in the cooler and shut the lights out. No light anywhere. I also tested the drain hole by blowing to the hole - perfectly plugged. No consentration either.

Also there are no filtration, nothing to spoil the aromas of my dear cigars.

What's the problem then?

I had to remove everything from the cooler when I opened it and placed the ingredients to a tupperdor and closed it. After a while the temperature in the tupperdor were 22C and... ta-daa... 70RH!!!

Both of my meters must lie. There is only small difference in the temperature, I cannot imagine that it could be the reason. There are no choices but to make a salt test inside the cooler to both of the meters. Let's see...

Oh, I have forgotten mentioning that my goal is not 70RH, but 65RH...

[Puros Y Vino]

Don't stop. Keep going. I have a 12 bottle fridge I want to convert. I'm having trouble getting the smell of plastic out. Once I do, I'm going to look at your notes here. Cheers!

[dB69]

Don't stop. Keep going. I have a 12 bottle fridge I want to convert. I'm having trouble getting the smell of plastic out. Once I do, I'm going to look at your notes here. Cheers!

I noticed the same awful smell at the beginning, and was a little worried. However, the smell disappeared after having cedar in there for two days. The empty cooler does smell only cedar at the moment. Or is the plastic smell just covered, can't be sure yet.

I tried to learn a little about moisture in the air. As a result I found a document by a Finnish hi-tech company called Vaisala. After reading it through I think I don't have to know those things - and actually, I don't want to know!

[dB69]

I didn't do the salt test, I was too lazy. After all, since yesterday morning temperature and humidity seem to have settled down to the average of 19C 69RH (between the two meters). I replaced the lower meter, but it did not make any noticeable change.

Opening the door will obviously lower the humidity, but it also recovers very fast. The reason of the low humidity at the time I wrote my former comment must have been the empty boxes, which sucked the moisture from the air, although I wiped them with a wet sponge a couple of times. I cannot find any other reason.

I inserted most of my singles in those empty boxes yesterday and now I will wait and see what happens. To reach my goal I also need to switch the beads to 65RH. To be sure I really want to do that I will smoke some cigars every now and then as usual. This will be the most pleasant part of this experiment.

The plastic smell mentioned earlier has not appeared, not even a hint of it. Actually the inside smells very good. Just like a humidor should. However, I will try to find the smell of plastic from the cigars I will smoke - only time will tell the answer.

Here's a photo for you:

[android]

All will be fine...don't over think the situation...takes all the fun out of it

[BatFastard]

Great job! Look good

[dB69]

A small update here.

The cooler has worked just like it should. I also think I will not switch to lower RH humidity beads, 70RH seems to be quite nice.

After smoking only two cigars from the cooler I have a feeling - I underline just a feeling - that cigars brought to room temperature from a couple of degrees colder environment just before lighting them up will make the flavours more brighter and clearer. In another words, better. As I am remembering the shipments that have arrived during cold weather, I may also make a conclusion that my feeling might be true. Yes, I just can't wait for a month to smoke a cigar from a new box!

I will keep tracking my feeling very carefully when smoking "colder" cigars. It would be very nice to be right in this issue.

I have placed an order for a wine cooler for 28 bottles and I already bought a plank of cedar to make shelves in it. I'm having very tough times when waiting the cooler to arrive - I may have to wait for it as long as two months.

[thechenman]

Nice. Great job. Enjoy you smokes. Let us know how the 28 bottle fridge works when you get it set up.

[dB69]

It's time to continue this topic. I have been running two winecoolers for 28 bottles for about five weeks now and everything has gone perfectly. The information here on FoH and also experiences with the small winecooler have made things easy.

At first I wiped the new ones with sodiumwater and got rid of the plastic smell quickly. I also plugged drainholes with earplugs like i did with the smaller one. Yes, I don't care about the warnings about condensation because I haven't had a drop since January. I believe that RH beads near the cooling element will prevent the condensation to occur. Those beads have always been absorbing moisture and beads in front have been releasing. I made the bottom line and shelves of cedar which is about 20mm thick. In case of condensation flood the cedar on the bottom will absorb enough water to prevent cigars from getting wet. I had to make four extra feet under the upper winecooler of plastic and rubber, because those cabinets are not designed to be stacked. I think there's nothing more to say, except that I'm very happy with these and I hope I will also stay happy. Here are a couple of photos.

The cool humi-stack:

Inside the lower (and the extra feet):

Inside the upper:

Beads in front of the cooling element:

(Do you think I need a third winecooler soon?)

[brazoseagle]

Great Project!!!!

Here is the one I just completed in April.

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=107098

[DblToro]

What a great effort in documenting all your efforts, great results, and envious stash you have.

Can you tell me what the @ cost was for your cooler and the brand name? Xllnt posts.

[dB69]

Great Project!!!!

Here is the one I just completed in April.

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=107098

You have a nice one there!

I thought a long time about modifying a compressor based cooler, but I didn't. In the worst case scenario a fire starts from the modified device and in that case the home insurance company wouldn't pay the bill. We have quite strict laws about electrical devices here. A certificated company could do the modifying job, but that would be veeeeery expensive.

[dB69]

What a great effort in documenting all your efforts, great results, and envious stash you have.

Can you tell me what the @ cost was for your cooler and the brand name? Xllnt posts.

There are already so perfect documents about winecoolerhumidors here, that I don't even think I could add some value to them (when actually having done nothing.) "If it works, don't modify it."

I paid about 450€ for those coolers and cedar. They are brandless cheap Chinese ones. Of course, if there was a name plate of a known company they would be double priced... By the latest posts they are the worst humidors a man can have, but I never have had better though. The next step would/will (?) be a walk-in-humidor.

[Ginseng]

Very nice setup! And thank you for bringing us along the journey. Too seldom do we get to see projects as they get down to the daily, monthly, yearly grind of just taking care of business.

Wilkey

[dB69]

My humidors started to be overcrowded and the airflow was not acceptable anymore, so I had to install a fan to each of my winecoolers. Bought a week ago two 50mm computer fans and made adapters for them and attached them to upper corners of humidor doors. Now the airflow is good again! Still I have to buy a timer for them as I noticed to get the best results when those fans don't run all the time. One hour on, one off seems to be the best timing for circulating the air properly inside. My recommendations to overcrowded winecooler owners!