Wine Cooler (Inoperable) to Humidor Conversion

[Islandboy]

This is my 4th humidor build using a broken under counter wine cooler, thought I’d share some photos in case anyone has thought about doing the same. It’s basically nothing more than a low-tech sealed box, completely lined with Spanish Cedar, and I just sprinkle the inside with Boveda packs for humidity control. Once seasoned, the Spanish Cedar serves as an excellent buffer against humidity changes. 
 

I guess the challenging part for many will be sourcing a slab of Spanish Cedar and having it milled into ¼” and ½” planks. My work offers all the tools needed, fortunately, and the smell of milling this stuff is a bonus. 
 

Start with your basic broken wine cooler:

After stripping the interior down to the plastic shell, I use aluminum duct tape to seal all penetrations through the shell. 
 

I use short brass screws to attach all the custom cut planks to the inside

I mill a few planks to ½” to make a few shelves

 

…and boom! There it is, convenient and functional cigar storage:

A few of my other humidors in action:

Cheers gang!

[rjake100]

Have you ever done anything to improve the door seals or are the stock seals sufficient to prevent airflow?

[Islandboy]

44 minutes ago, rjake100 said:

Have you ever done anything to improve the door seals or are the stock seals sufficient to prevent airflow?

I’ve found them to be quite airtight. I keep all of these in a constantly air-conditioned room, which keeps RH in the room itself quite low - around 50, but RH in the boxes stays very steady, generally 1 or 2 points higher than the Boveda rating (I use 62% Bovedas).

[patrickamory]

If you ever go into business doing this, I'm game for several!

[gormag38]

Looks like you did a really great job! Looks very nice. 

[Lamboinee]

I just made my first effort at converting a broken beverage fridge into a humidor. My efforts were not as elaborate or impressive as yours and I have gained a ton of insight from your post. Instead of the custom shelving, I bought some affordable trays that I rest on top of the OEM plastic shelves. For humidification I currently use 3 large boveda 65%. It has held a constant 65 at 67-70 f (which is the temp I keep my house). I figure the cedar trays and boxes will provide sufficient buffer albeit without the performance of your rig or the additional pleasing aroma you should be getting off of all that wood. 

Of note, I'm interested in the aluminum tape you used to plug the penetrations. I presume that refers to whatever vents and openings existed for the air circulation/refrigeration unit? What effect if you did not plug them? 

My biggest regrets/thoughts on my current project are: 1) there is oxidation/mineral deposits in between the two panes of glass on the door that were there when the fridge broke. Getting a new door is too expensive and accessing the area to clean it seems ridiculously hard for low functioning cigar guys like myself. I wish I could get rid of the spots; 2) I would like to add some lighting.. perhaps an led strip along the inner rim of the door glass. But, it seems cheap and it will add more wires; 3) I wonder if I should block the light coming through the glass; and, 4) would I appreciate the additional usefulness and aesthetic appeal of a newly purchased over priced box of metal that actually works and has fancy options and is pretty to stare at while my wife calls me stupid for gazing at boxes of cigars so often. A friend recommended a liebherr unit, but the only one they have seems too small.

 

Your build is quite exceptional. Love all that cedar and your wood skills. Thanks for sharing. Also, score on the viking! 

 

 

 

[Lamboinee]

On 7/3/2022 at 6:33 PM, Islandboy said:

After stripping the interior down to the plastic shell, I use aluminum duct tape to seal all penetrations through the shell. 

I would not have thought to tape the holes, good idea.

But, now that it's all cleaned out, I swear it has a faint "plastic" smell.  Any thoughts on whether that smell is normal or, if not, whether the addition of Spanish cedar would cover that smell?  In the meantime, I've dropped some activated charcoal in the fridge to absorb whatever odoriferousness that may be in there. 

Spanish cedar is on order and I am currently working on prepping the fridge and finalizing the plans for some simple Spanish cedar shelving.  Que estantería.

 When this is all said and done, it may have been cheaper to just buy one of the $1000 - $2000 new wineadors.  The wood is expensive (espcially for Spanish cedar) and I have several hours of unskilled craftsmanship poured into this labor-of-love.

 

[Islandboy]

On 9/16/2022 at 7:29 PM, Lamboinee said:

I would not have thought to tape the holes, good idea.

But, now that it's all cleaned out, I swear it has a faint "plastic" smell.  Any thoughts on whether that smell is normal or, if not, whether the addition of Spanish cedar would cover that smell?  In the meantime, I've dropped some activated charcoal in the fridge to absorb whatever odoriferousness that may be in there. 

Spanish cedar is on order and I am currently working on prepping the fridge and finalizing the plans for some simple Spanish cedar shelving.  Que estantería.

 When this is all said and done, it may have been cheaper to just buy one of the $1000 - $2000 new wineadors.  The wood is expensive (espcially for Spanish cedar) and I have several hours of unskilled craftsmanship poured into this labor-of-love.

Going this route is definitely a labor of love, I’m sure there are less expensive ways to go about it 

There will be a plastic smell for sure, and yes, the Spanish cedar liner is meant to get rid of that, along with providing a humidity sink and buffer. and the warm look of wood.

One word of caution if you plan to use short screws to attach the spanish cedar to the sides, top, etc - evacuate the refrigerant first. There are arrays of small, rigid refrigerant lines lurking just on the other side of the plastic liner in certain places. Puncturing these lines if still charged will result in a spray of refrigerant oil on your otherwise pristine spanish cedar. I know these things, unfortunately.

[Lamboinee]

18 hours ago, Islandboy said:

One word of caution if you plan to use short screws to attach the spanish cedar to the sides, top, etc - evacuate the refrigerant first. There are arrays of small, rigid refrigerant lines lurking just on the other side of the plastic liner in certain places. Puncturing these lines if still charged will result in a spray of refrigerant oil on your otherwise pristine spanish cedar. I know these things, unfortunately.

No worries about the refrigerant my friend.... I'm all leaked out abruptly when I chop through the tubing with some pliers and ripped out the refrigeration components with fashionably wanton disregard for my own safety. Luckily the cedar was not installed yet and I was in a well ventilated area to dispell the refrigerant. Great tips thanks! 

[TedSmokes]

I have a Mondovino / Avantegarde that retailed for $1,750 - that I scored for $50. The cooling doesn't work but it didn't go as high as 70F anyway, so that's ok. I got a hygrometer and I have the fridge staying at a consistent 70% humidity, with a monitor on my iPhone. The app also tells me the internal temp. It's around 77F typically and I need to get it down to about 70F. Using fans on their own didn't work because while the fans spinning does kind of cool the air, the heat generated from those same fans does just the opposite. I was thinking to buy a thermoelectric fan to cool the fridge. Anyone have any suggestions on doing this or any other idea for keeping the temp at 70F? Thanks.

[Fuzz]

7 hours ago, TedSmokes said:

I have a Mondovino / Avantegarde that retailed for $1,750 - that I scored for $50. The cooling doesn't work but it didn't go as high as 70F anyway, so that's ok. I got a hygrometer and I have the fridge staying at a consistent 70% humidity, with a monitor on my iPhone. The app also tells me the internal temp. It's around 77F typically and I need to get it down to about 70F. Using fans on their own didn't work because while the fans spinning does kind of cool the air, the heat generated from those same fans does just the opposite. I was thinking to buy a thermoelectric fan to cool the fridge. Anyone have any suggestions on doing this or any other idea for keeping the temp at 70F? Thanks.

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