Intro

Hi, all. I recently got serious about cigars and found this place. It's a great community and I've already learned a lot. I especially appreciated the humidor guide and humidor thread (drool). I ordered a robusto sampler from cigars.com the other day and I think I might've managed to make a decent purchase in spite of my noobness. I hope to try a noob sampler from someone here at some point. One question: I've seen some "coolidors" and was wondering, are they a legitimate substitute for humidors?

Welcome from South Carolina!

As for the Coolerdor, they are absolutely legitimate as a humidor. Though not as fancy as a nice wooden model, when properly outfitted, they work just as well. and the capacity / cost ratio is way better, leaving much more money to spend on cigars.

Dennis~

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Originally Posted by thingamarob

Hi, all. I recently got serious about cigars and found this place. It's a great community and I've already learned a lot. I especially appreciated the humidor guide and humidor thread (drool). I ordered a robusto sampler from cigars.com the other day and I think I might've managed to make a decent purchase in spite of my noobness. I hope to try a noob sampler from someone here at some point. One question: I've seen some "coolidors" and was wondering, are they a legitimate substitute for humidors?

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Welcome to the board from Kansas. Yes, coolidors can replace a humidor......I think it is more common to use a coolidor for box storage and aging and maintain a desktop to hold your "ready to smoke" sticks.....at least that's what I do.

Unless you jump right in to a cabinet or end table style humi........you'll outgrow whatever you start with pretty damn quickly.....coolers are cheaper, seal well, and are easy to maintain....and ya don't have to dust them.

That's good to know about the coolidors. I have a feeling I'll quickly outgrow my little humidor. And I guess I should've mentioned in my original post that I'm from Memphis.

EDIT: One more thing: is there a guide to constructing coolidors anywhere?

Welcome from one noob to another. A coolidor is definitely a good substitute for a humidor, albeit a lot cheaper. If you set it up right then it is just as good as any humidor IMO. Having said that, I do have a 150ct on order just so I could have a nice show piece too !!! :smiley4:
I would go with a coolidor first and when you discover your favorite smoke(s) down the road and realize you can't live without at least a couple of boxes on hand, you'll have the room. If you need more info do a search on the topic first and if you can't find what you're looking for, the members here are very experienced and helpful.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26998074@N08/2519421844/

Welcome from central Oregon.

I also suggest you search the boards for coolerdor setups. There is a lot of good information available in this forum. If you get stuck, you can always ask, everyone here is glad to help.

I personally don't use a coolerdor, but I don't smoke as much as some of these guys do. I can vouch for the beads to be a good investment, however. I've tried both, and the beads are just easier to maintain.

Welcome!

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Originally Posted by thingamarob

EDIT: One more thing: is there a guide to constructing coolidors anywhere?

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I can give you a breakdown :smiley2:

Step 1) Select a cooler!

Look for a cooler that will fit in an out of the way place.. most Wife Units don't approve of large coolers cluttering up the living room or bedroom. I keep mine in a closet. Look for a cooler that has a tight sealing lid. I only use 50qt Coleman coolers LINKY. I have two of these filled already, with just over one year of collection. You can find larger coolers, and some of the 100+ qt Coleman Marine coolers would make GREAT humidors, they're just too large for me to lug around.

Step 2) Clean the Cooler!

This is an important step, but not difficult. I clean mine using a mild bleach solution, making sure to wipe all surfaces well, rinse with generous amounts of cool water, (do this in the driveway with the hose.) Once you are satisfied that no bleach aroma can be detected, let your cooler set out in the hot sun for a good while. This will help release the plastic odors that are present in any newly molded cooler. I let mine sit in the sun for at least two days, bringing them in at night.

Step 3) Humidification!

I think I speak for most everyone here when I say Rh Beads are the way to go. Not only are the basically a set and forget system, (very little maintenance is required,) but they work two ways, by releasing humidity when Rh is low, and absorbing excess humidity when Rh swings high... Very Cool! First you need to determine the quantity of beads needed, They're sold by weight.LINK TO BEAD CALCULATOR
Measure the interior dimensions of your cooler, and use that calculator to determine how much to purchase. DON'T SKIMP ON THE BEADS! Too Much is ALWAYS better than not enough! Most here will recommend using the 65% rh Beads but you can eventually determine what works best for you. Beads will need to be charged with DISTILLED water, put some water in a NEW spray bottle, and slowly spray and mix them up until about half of the beads are clear.

Step 4) Hygrometer

This is another thing that you will not want to skimp on. Get yourself a good quality DIGITAL hygrometer, one that is preferably adjustable. ADJUSTABLE DIGITAL HYGROMETER.

Step 4a) Calibrate hygrometer

If you purchase a hygrometer from the above link, just add the Boveda Calibration kit at checkout, they're very easy to use. Or, you can perform the "Salt Test". Get yourself a HEAVY gallon size ziploc freezer bag, a cap from a 2-liter soda bottle, and some table salt. Fill the cap with salt, and drizzle some distilled water just enough to make the salt paste like, not soaked, then seal both the salt, and hygrometer up in the ziploc bag, and leave it alone overnight, in the morning, a perfectly calibrated hygrometer will read 75% rh. If you can adjust yours through the bag, do that, otherwise, open the bag, and quickly adjust to read 75%. Done

Step 5) Humidity Buffering

Eventually, this step will work itself out due to large numbers of box purchases:smiley23: Plastic does absolutely nothing to hold humidity, and constant opening of an empty cooler will usually create some pretty drastic swings in humidity. If you want to get all fancy, you can purchase some SPANISH cedar, (not red cedar, it's totally different,) and build shelves that fit your cooler. Another option is to go to Home Depot, and ask for some 1/8 thick LUAN, which is a mahogany plywood. (Spanish Cedar is a close relative of Mahogany). Or, just collect some nice wood cigar boxes, and use them to store cigars in. Ideally, you want to fill up at least 75% of the coolers internal volume, this will act to hold humidity when you open and close the cooler.

Step 6) Seasoning

This step is very important! Cigars by nature are Hygroscopic, meaning they will adapt themselves over time to whatever humidity level they are stored at. The important note here is: Spanish cedar is ALSO hygroscopic, and if not properly seasoned, will quickly absorb the moisture from your precious cigars... NOT GOOD! So, if you use luan, or old cigar boxes, moisten a sponge with distilled water, and dampen (slightly) all exposed surfaces of the wood, then place all the Empty boxes in the cooler, along with the charged beads, (the sandwich shaped Gladloc containers work great for beads, you can leave the lids off, or drill holes in them,) put the hygrometer in a place where you can easily read it quickly when you open the cooler, close the lid, and leave it closed for 48 hours or more. This will allow everything to stabilize, and if you calibrated correctly, you should have a reading somewhere between 65% ~ 70% rh.

Step 7) Fill it up!

No explanation necessary here:smiley2:


Hope this helps, if I missed something, there is a search function somewhere around here :smiley4:


Dennis~

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Originally Posted by bigwhiteash

I can give you a breakdown :smiley2:

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Very well put! Good job!

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Originally Posted by thingamarob

And I guess I should've mentioned in my original post that I'm from Memphis.
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Ah shit, Memphis. You'll have to meet up with me and WOXOF sometime. He never wants to hang out anymore, though. Something about responsibilities and new babies or something. pshtt.

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Originally Posted by bigwhiteash

Hope this helps, if I missed something, there is a search function somewhere around here :smiley4:


Dennis~

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Awesome, thanks! I guess I'll go ahead and start saying my goodbyes to my disposable income :smiley13:

@chefchris, another mid-southerner--excellent news!

Welcome from New Jersey.

DG

Welcome from MT

Welcome from CA.

Welcome from SC.