Freezerdor project begins today.

If both freezers are the same I would be very tempted to bust one up to see if the plastic removal is an option. I would think that it could be successfully replaced with wood. If not I think the cat pee idea is definitely a viable option.

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Originally Posted by nhcigarfan

Pull everything out you can, wash it with bleach and soap again and take the door off. Take the seal off the door and/or freezer and replace it. Get some fish tank sealant and plug every hole, crack etc. Let the whole thing remain open w/o the door for a couple of weeks. Reassemble, go to the local wood store and get some scrap cedar, doesn't have to be Spanish, and just toss it in with a bowl of water. Now get a couple cheap cigars and put them in Tupperware without the lid, place that in the freezer. Wait a week. (Don't worry about actual RH).

Now open the freezer and smell. If it smells like plastic only, that is a problem. If it smells more like cedar with only a little plastic you should be fine.

Now try the cigar. If it tastes like plastic, your done, if not build away.

Once you line the thing with Spanish cedar you should be all set presuming you had little or no plastic smell/taste from the test.

Also, if both freezers have the plastic problem after the test go to Home depot and buy some vapor barrier, put that in, then a layer of really thin, 1/4 inch or less, cabinet grade plywood, then the Spanish cedar and you should be all set. Or just do this from the start after you have disassembled, cleaned, sealed, aired out and reassembled.

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That sounds like an excellent plan. However, I am beginning to think a cooler is easier all around. :) Perhaps I'll pick up a cooler and let the freezer a longer-term project.

No doubt a cooler is easier.

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful replies (except the cat pee idea, about which I remain dubious).

I think I may go with the cooler for the near future, and the freezer will be a longer-term project. :)

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Originally Posted by King Catfish

That sounds like an excellent plan. However, I am beginning to think a cooler is easier all around. :) Perhaps I'll pick up a cooler and let the freezer a longer-term project.

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long live the cooler!!

btw welcome to the board

What you're smelling are phalates or something like that. The odor will certainly get into your cigars, as fats (the oils in a cigar) absorb odor. With a cooler you're going to have to de-plastic too. The sun really helps in breaking down these compounds, so leave it out to dry in the bright sun for as many days as possible, freezer or cooler.

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Originally Posted by BigMacFU

What you're smelling are phalates or something like that. The odor will certainly get into your cigars, as fats (the oils in a cigar) absorb odor. With a cooler you're going to have to de-plastic too. The sun really helps in breaking down these compounds, so leave it out to dry in the bright sun for as many days as possible, freezer or cooler.

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I see. Thanks for the excellent tip.

So now that I've decided to buy a large cooler (or use one of the ones I have in my garage, I cannot decide), I should leave it outside in a sunny spot for a week or so (?), and that should remove the plasitcy smell. Cool.

ALthough I would love to put the freezer out in the sun for a week or so and use that (my neighbors would love that), I don't think I can get it out of the house. I think the (basement) doorframe probably had to be removed to bring it in.

how big is the cooler you have?

I have two nice coolers that I think are 48 qt, but I was thinking of buying a larger one.

Well, the freezer continues to be smelly, and I cannot put it out into the sun, so that project will be more long-term. There is a second freezer down there I might work on.

In the meantime, I was starting to get some catastrophic wrapper cracking on three cigars in a row over three days (not the same brand or vitola), so I did some searching on this site, and got the info I needed. Apparently my humidor and cigar jars were a bit dry.

My hydrometer indicated 67%, so I tried the salt test last night. TEN degrees off. My humidor and jars were at 57%. So I have taken all of my cigars (around 60 or 70, I guess, perhaps a bit more) and put them into a nice clean 20-qt lunch cooler with a brick of floral sponge. There they will sit for a week or so until they become stable. Looks like I got into a coolerdor sooner than I had anticipated.

I have the larger cooler awaiting the gear I ordered to outfit it as my larger, more permanent coolerdor.

Thanks to all the knowledgable people on this site for the info I searched for and needed.

Well, I finally got the pics of my (temporarily abandoned) freezerdor project off my camera.
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...kb/frzrdr1.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...kb/frzrdr3.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...kb/frzrdr2.jpg

is it still smelly?

Yes, still a plasticy smell. I'm going to abandon the first one (on the left) try the other freezer this summer.