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DIY wine refrigerator humidor or curing cabinet

floral

Member
An idea for making your own relatively cheap DIY wine refrigerator humidor or curing cabinet:

A fridgeador is a wine refrigerator slightly modified to store cigars. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t refrigerating cigars a bad idea? Under normal circumstances, absolutely; a conventional fridge will suck the moisture right out of your stogies. But most wine fridges use thermoelectric cooling, a process that will avoid such harmful side effects. If you’re buying a wine fridge for cigar-storage purposes, make sure to buy a thermoelectrically cooled model...


Having ordered your wine fridge, next you’ll want to invest in some Spanish cedar planks for use as shelves... If you plan to use wood glue to fashion the planks into shelves, make sure to use a nontoxic, relatively odor-free variety. Remember: you don’t want to put any chemicals in your fridge that you wouldn’t feel comfortable smoking later on.


For humidification, you can go with active ([BRAND NAMES]) or passive (beads, floral foam) methods. Personally speaking, I recommend several pounds of humidity beads... The beads are easy to use, low maintenance, and good at what they do: maintaining RH levels at anywhere from 65-70%, depending on your preference. Next, if you’re the micromanaging type, you can buy one or two small, battery-powered fans to help circulate the air inside the fridge. [BRAND NAME] fans... run on cycles and are not constantly operating.


Finally, you’ll want to plug the condensation drain at the bottom of your fridge; doing so will help prevent moisture loss when the cooler is in operation. Some condensation may develop along the back interior wall of the fridge. Be sure to place a small container of beads or foam at the bottom of the fridge to collect any water droplets that may form.


[Y]our finished fridgeador (including wood and beads) will run you about $300, give or take $100.

Edited quote to remove brand names and links to purchasing sites. If you want to see them look at the source page:

http://www.stogieguys.com/2010/01/01052010-stogie-tips-build-a-wine-a-dor.html
 

hayday

Well-known member
Veteran
SOTF used to talk of putting fresh cut (maybe 3day dry) in a small fridge and getting daily stash from the fridge.Not really curing at all.
One day I'm going to try it.I miss SOTF...
 

floral

Member
The idea of a "set it and forget it" temp- and humidity-controlled cabinet that doesn't cost $$$$$ is very appealing.
 
S

SeaMaiden

Very appealing? It's awesomejuice. It's almost like having your own minions! I could use an extra minion or two, too.
 

floral

Member
"Coolerdor" instructions, full version
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_143/...Definitive_Thread__Very_Picture_Intense_.html


short version from http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_143/693878_The_Humidor_and_Cigar_FAQ.html
Coolerdor build instructions:
Step 1: Buy new cooler at a store. Don’t go cheap and get a used one. Used coolers have mold spores and bacteria that may be impossible to remove and can ruin your cigars and your day.
Step 2: Wipe down cooler with soap and water. Rinse well.
Step 3: Leave the lid open for a week for the plastic to gas off. Prop up the lid with a stick and tape, so that if a house pet or child gets in there the lid wont trap them.
Step 4: (optional) Line the interior with Kiln Dried Spanish Cedar. You can get it on ebay.com or use old cigar boxes for the wood. /warning/ Spanish Cedar dust is a toxic irritant to your lungs. USE A PARTICULATE MASK. Glue the sanded ¼” or 1/8” Spanish cedar boards or cigar box wood. Use Elmers PROBOND water activated / water proof poly glue. Use clamps because it foams to 5x its size. Leave it to air out for a week, then season the humidor wood (see humidor care FAQ). If you use any metal hardware to attach things, use stainless steel or brass because they don’t corrode.
Step 5: Install an automatic Electronic Cigar Oasis or Humi-beads for humidification. Don’t use small green “pucks” because they are inadequate for a coolerdors size.
Step 6: Install a humidity and temperature monitor. You can find nice electronic ones at cigar stores online or at Radio Hack.
Step 7: Fill with boxes of cigars!

Frigerador build instructions:
Steps: Same as the coolerdor instructions but with these additions:
A glass front wine cooler is a good choice because you can set the temp to 65, and they usually look quite nice.

If you use a fridge with a lower thermostat, you will have to replace the thermostat with an external [brand name] model that adjusts up to 65 degrees, they run about a hundred bucks. Or you can do like I do and just leave the fridge unplugged.
 

floral

Member
Now I just need to get off my arse and have this ready before it's harvest time again, so I am not wishing I had one of these when it's too late.
 

Inolly

New member
Sorry for bumping...just my observations...

These wineadors by New Air https://coolerexp.com/best-cigar-cooler-humidor-review/ are only good for a small temperature difference from ambient, maybe 10 degrees or so. And they are designed to be used in the home environment, which today is universally air conditioned (well, for anyone who has a wine cooler). So they don't run much in that environment.

My air conditioning was out after a storm a while back and because nights were good sleeping weather, I didn't bother the landlady about it for a week. Well, at 80-85* and humid during the day, the damn thing ran all the time to maintain 74* and the RH dropped to 50%. So, I started soaking the beads a lot for several days trying to get the RH back up, very frustrated because it was rock-solid before this.

Well, after a few days I noticed some water marks on a cedar box on the bottom of the thing and suddenly realized what was happening. All the water I was pumping into this was condensing out and because the drain plug was capped (to maintain RH) it was pooling in the bottom of the cooler! Duh!

I just shut the thing down completely and I'm intending to leave it off--always. If the air con is on, I don't feel the need to get it down to 66*, and if the air con is off, you cannot use the fucking thing to cool because of this problem if it is hot and humid.

So, I still think these are cool, and as Quads says, they are just eye candy, nice displays, especially with a set of nice drawers. And, frankly, they are cheap, too, if you've priced any larger, cabinet style humidors, which are rediculously expensive. I do think the freezing regimen for cigars you store in it is a necessary step. I'm not worried about beetles in this thing at all because I froze first. And if you do have it inside at air conditioned temperatures, no harm in running it, but check to see how much it runs and watch yoru RH carefully. For me, I'll probably never plug the fucking thing in again.

The RH is rock-steady again. These are great humidors without the refrigeration because of the terrific seal.
 

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