Wineador help!

[Tiger]

Hey all,

 

So, I’ve decided to put a wineador together, but I’m not sure about the unit I have. I got it from a family member who hasn’t used it in a while. There is a temperature control knob on the back as well as a temperature probe inside that I know is aftermarket. I’m trying to figure out if it’s good to go or if I need to put some money into it. In the latter case, I might abandon the project. I’d appreciate any input from anyone who has done this before. I’ll post some pictures below as well.

 

Thanks

 

 

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[Tiger]

The unit is a Haier model SWX30N


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[MD Puffer]

Bump.  I'd be interested in knowing more.

[smoking fool]

One word of caution. A lot of wine coolers will reset to their lowest temperature setting, if power is lost. The two I’ve had would go down to 42F or 5C if I lost power. 

[Tiger]

One word of caution. A lot of wine coolers will reset to their lowest temperature setting, if power is lost. The two I’ve had would go down to 42F or 5C if I lost power. 

Do low temperatures damage cigars? I wonder if I can use the unit unplugged...


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[smoking fool]

I’m not sure where the true bottom of the temperature range is for a cigar. The standard quote is 65-75F. 

Anyone know how low the temperature can go before having a negative effect on the cigars??

[apollo]

There is a lot said about long term aging at low temps, ie 55-60 F. See here:

However, if you live in a temperature controlled environment I’d consider using it unplugged as a fancy coolerdor setup. Get some shelves, get them seasoned up with some Boveda 84’s and then toss in some 320 gram Boveda at your preferred humidity, and you’re off so long as it seals well and has no funky odor. 

[Tiger]

That’s good to know! I was thinking about buying some cedar shelves, however they’re a little pricey. I might just throw my tupperdors in there in the meantime.


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[Bram Smoker]

I have a wine fridge setup. Craigslist special so i knew it didn’t work when I got it. Grab a few old cigar boxes from your local shop (they give them away or charge a buck around here). Load up the fridge and season it with a Boveda pack. Make sure you have a good hydrometer in there. Once you get it where you like it, meaning it smells like cigar boxes and not plastic, you are home free. I still have a few of the wire racks in there but removed most to maximize space. 24:24 filled up my unit fast.

[mrmessy]

You can definitely use it without power. Depending on the unit, sometimes that's better to control the RH.

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[LLC]

2 hours ago, Tiger said:

Do low temperatures damage cigars? I wonder if I can use the unit unplugged...


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Unless you really need the temperature control, I would leave it unplugged. 

[canadianbeaver]

I have four of them. A wall - o - dor?

The one not in the photo is on the left, against the left wall. It is like the short ones. It does not turn on. Cigars in that one turn over fastest.

Tall one was our first. Liebherr. Very fancy. $$$$. Alternative to the American one guys here have built by Bob? Just wanted the style more like this. 

Small ones are Frigidaire, $450 CDN. Really high quality but inexpensive in comparison. 

Pigfish and I have had a wonderful, friendly, long discussion here. He is a genius. My view is more Grandfather based experience. Humidity measure, safe environment for cigars. Full, clean glass of tap water. Go figure.

The temperature is set at 68 degrees on all but two of them make the bottom shelf go to 58 for white wine.

Thing is, temperatures here two hours north of Toronto in my art cave fluctuate with seasons, so we must go with the flow. I check all often an sometimes move stuff around. If packages arrive in sealed plastic, I keep it in it.

Hope this long diatribe helps. Take or leave whatever you wish. The photo in your post looks very nice.

CB

[luvdunhill]

CB: you need some better space optimization:

[canadianbeaver]

Lol then we could not watch tv when we are smokin’!

But damn that looks good!

[Tiger]

Very impressive set up’s! Wow!


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[Ribeye]

Excellent humidors in my opinion and I have used them for several years.  I keep mine unplugged and in a finished basement where it remains at between 65 and 70 degrees.  Make sure you seal/tape over the drain hole on the inside bottom if you use it (unplugged) as a surprising amount of humidity variance results from this small hole.  If you are going to plug it in and cool it, don't put any boxes on the bottom shelf as the excess moisture will drip down the inside back and needs to exit from this weep hole. The Boveda packs or beads work very well in this system.

[Chucko8]

2 hours ago, luvdunhill said:

CB: you need some better space optimization:

Sweet set up. 

[Philc2001]

 

6 hours ago, Tiger said:

 

Hey all,

So, I’ve decided to put a wineador together, but I’m not sure about the unit I have. I got it from a family member who hasn’t used it in a while. There is a temperature control knob on the back as well as a temperature probe inside that I know is aftermarket. I’m trying to figure out if it’s good to go or if I need to put some money into it. In the latter case, I might abandon the project. I’d appreciate any input from anyone who has done this before. I’ll post some pictures below as well.

Thanks

Unless you're going to get into wiring and messing with thermal controls, then you may be better off just leaving it unplugged. These fridges usually have a decent seal and work well for keeping RH steady, and they can hold 500-600 cigars depending how you stack them.  

Some cheap and simple setup ideas:

1- ditch the curved bottle shelves, and replace them with vinyl covered wire closet shelving, cut to fit. These are sturdy, they allow air circulation, and don't consume vertical space

2- put a couple of small computer fans in there for a little air circulation, one near the top, another near the bottom. You don't need a tornado in there, just a little intermittent breeze. I wired two 40mm fans on a mini programmable timer, they run for 30 seconds every 2 minutes.  

3- use a couple of small bowls of beads and a small tupperware with polymer crystals for RH control

4- get a couple of decent calibrated hygrometers

5- load it up with some seasoned cedar boxes and let it acclimate for a week.

 

Once it is in the range you want and RH is stable, then load up your cigars. 

[dominattorney]

12 hours ago, Bram Smoker said:

I have a wine fridge setup. Craigslist special so i knew it didn’t work when I got it. Grab a few old cigar boxes from your local shop (they give them away or charge a buck around here). Load up the fridge and season it with a Boveda pack. Make sure you have a good hydrometer in there. Once you get it where you like it, meaning it smells like cigar boxes and not plastic, you are home free. I still have a few of the wire racks in there but removed most to maximize space. 24:24 filled up my unit fast.

Also rolled up newspaper and a box of baking soda left in there over night will kill the plastic smell

[Tiger]

Thanks, everyone.


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[DeskSmkr]

This is an older picture but it shows another idea - use your wineador for temp control and use separate stackable plastic bins lined with Cedar for humidity control, mine are fairly air tight with bovedas inside. This allows whatever RH you want in each bin (mine are mostly 65, one 69, and one 58 for skinnies and short term storage for smoking.)

My wineador has an analog rotary thermostat but it didn’t go high enough, so a wireless thermostat was added and set currently at 18c/64f.  No wiring was needed, simply plug power cord into thermostat, plug thermostat into mains. Wireless sensor of the thermostat stays inside wineador, change batteries periodically.

One computer fan runs behind the bins all the time on medium speed inside to keep temp the same at the top and the bottom, and to dry off condensation on the evaporator side of the cooling circuit.

Only a couple months old, so not a proven solution, but it satisfies my requirements as of today.

[Tiger]

So I cleaned out the unit and placed my caliber hygrometer in. Humidity and temp were pretty wild. Will bovedas be able to counteract the compressor?

Also, what humidity should I really be looking at for long term storage of CC? I’m torn between 62 and 65. I live in the south where it’s pretty humid, and I’ve been having trouble with my cigars staying lit lately...


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[SloppyJ]

On 10/29/2018 at 11:36 PM, Philc2001 said:

 

Unless you're going to get into wiring and messing with thermal controls, then you may be better off just leaving it unplugged. These fridges usually have a decent seal and work well for keeping RH steady, and they can hold 500-600 cigars depending how you stack them.  

Some cheap and simple setup ideas:

1- ditch the curved bottle shelves, and replace them with vinyl covered wire closet shelving, cut to fit. These are sturdy, they allow air circulation, and don't consume vertical space

2- put a couple of small computer fans in there for a little air circulation, one near the top, another near the bottom. You don't need a tornado in there, just a little intermittent breeze. I wired two 40mm fans on a mini programmable timer, they run for 30 seconds every 2 minutes.  

3- use a couple of small bowls of beads and a small tupperware with polymer crystals for RH control

4- get a couple of decent calibrated hygrometers

5- load it up with some seasoned cedar boxes and let it acclimate for a week.

 

Once it is in the range you want and RH is stable, then load up your cigars. 

This is the best advice you're going to get regarding a wine cooler. I'm with Phil on this one. I've resigned to just leaving mine unplugged with tubs full of beads that I check periodically. I don't have any fans in mine but I think it's a good idea as long as they don't get too hot.

[apollo]

I would not use it plugged in if there is a compressor. From all I’ve surmised there will be too much of a drying effect and humidity swings. 

I love the 65s all around, I think they hit the sweet spot. 

[busdriver]

On 10/30/2018 at 9:58 PM, DeskSmkr said:

This is an older picture but it shows another idea - use your wineador for temp control and use separate stackable plastic bins lined with Cedar for humidity control, mine are fairly air tight with bovedas inside. This allows whatever RH you want in each bin (mine are mostly 65, one 69, and one 58 for skinnies and short term storage for smoking.)

My wineador has an analog rotary thermostat but it didn’t go high enough, so a wireless thermostat was added and set currently at 18c/64f.  No wiring was needed, simply plug power cord into thermostat, plug thermostat into mains. Wireless sensor of the thermostat stays inside wineador, change batteries periodically.

One computer fan runs behind the bins all the time on medium speed inside to keep temp the same at the top and the bottom, and to dry off condensation on the evaporator side of the cooling circuit.

Only a couple months old, so not a proven solution, but it satisfies my requirements as of today.

This is the path I have been thinking of for my wineadors!  Mine keep RH okay but would prefer ? % consistency.

mind sharing where you got the cedar?