Making my own Coolerdor

I first want to say thanks to all of the great posts that have helped me to make the decision to go with a coolerdor. As many of you know when you first start this journey as I did several months back you think to yourself, I will just get a nice desktop humidor and it will surely last me quite a long time.....and then a few weeks or months later you fill it to capacity. Then you start to worry about how much money this obsession is going to drain your bank account as soon as you see how much the larger humidors go for. And then you search the forum and all of your prayers have been answered.

I am now starting my own Coolerdor project. I have not done much yet but i will be sure to let you all know how it goes. I ordered the cooler from Wal-Mart (on sale!). Its a 60qt Igloo Ice Cube. I liked the shape better due to the confined closet space. I will be sure to follow the cleaning procedure to get it ready for use. Instead of lining it with Cedar I just decided to get several of the stackable Spanish cedar trays. These I found on ebay at this link

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cigar-Humidor-Tr...A1%7C294%3A200

I also bought a digital hygrometer/thermometer that i can mount to the inside of the lid. And to finish it off I have plenty of RH beads. I will probably just get a couple of those little plastic food containers and punch holes in them for the beads. Anyway, I will post some pics as soon as everything is assembled and ready for cigars. Thanks again.

You could always use empty boxes from your local B&M. A lot of places give those away for free.

Nice work and it sounds like you've got a good plan. I look forward to the pics!

I got the cooler cleaned and seasoned yesterday, and also wiped down the spanish cedar trays once. I put the cigars in at about 6:00 pm and by 8:00 the humidity was right at 70%. I checked it again today and it is still holding right at 70%. This has been the most trouble free project that i have done. My desktop humidor was a pain in the ass. I had to season it 3 times and it still would only make it to 65% with the 70 RH beads. Now im thinking i should have done this a heck of a lot sooner.

P.S. if anyone wants a 50 count desktop humidor with built in analog hygrometer that has already been seasoned, you can have it for 20 bucks. It is a Bally Glass Top Humidor. If anyone is even interested i will be glad to get some pics up. Also, i will get some pics up of my Coolerdor as soon as I can.

glad to hear you are getting you coolidor set. You have all those nice cedar trays, that is making a huge difference for buffering your humidity. I have set mine up and my humidity is a bit high 71-72 rh. I have boxes in my coolidor but they are not the wood ones unfortunately. I went to the B&M in Portland OR. They had boxes but wanted $5 a pop for them. So I only have the paper covered boxes. I am looking forward to your pics too. Roger. :smiley41: :smiley4:

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Originally Posted by daredog4

snip.....
P.S. if anyone wants a 50 count desktop humidor with built in analog hygrometer that has already been seasoned, you can have it for 20 bucks. It is a Bally Glass Top Humidor. If anyone is even interested i will be glad to get some pics up. Also, i will get some pics up of my Coolerdor as soon as I can.

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Sales go in the exchange forum......I'm just sayin'. :smiley2:

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Originally Posted by daredog4

P.S. if anyone wants a 50 count desktop humidor with built in analog hygrometer that has already been seasoned, you can have it for 20 bucks.

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You must be under the impression that the coolerdor you just built will be the only cigar storage you'll ever need. That's cute.

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Originally Posted by Roger

They had boxes but wanted $5 a pop for them.

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That's insane. The most expensive boxes I've ever seen were $1.50 each - and that dropped to $1 each if you bought more than 10 of them. Most of the time, they'll just give them to you.

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

You must be under the impression that the coolerdor you just built will be the only cigar storage you'll ever need. That's cute...

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That was my first thought, too. Keep it.

Well first of all when they say 50 count humidor they really mean about 20 or 30 count. If i took out the tray and just piled them in then i could maybe get 50 in there. I am glad i got it at a reduced price when i bought it but with all the issues i have had with it I am just about ready to pitch it in the garbage. I looks really pretty and if i wanted to show off my cigars then maybe i would consider keeping it but all i care about is keeping them at the right RH and having the most capacity.

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

That's insane. The most expensive boxes I've ever seen were $1.50 each - and that dropped to $1 each if you bought more than 10 of them. Most of the time, they'll just give them to you.

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My local b&m wants $3-5 each as well, although I was able to get some of the cedar blocks and sheets for free.

Roger - I know that CI sells lots of 10 boxes and I'm sure that other stores will sell them for less or give them away.

Edit - daredog4: You could save your desktop humi in case you ever need to drybox cigars or if you're having friends over and want to offer them a stick from the desktop.

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Originally Posted by daredog4

Well first of all when they say 50 count humidor they really mean about 20 or 30 count. If i took out the tray and just piled them in then i could maybe get 50 in there. I am glad i got it at a reduced price when i bought it but with all the issues i have had with it I am just about ready to pitch it in the garbage. I looks really pretty and if i wanted to show off my cigars then maybe i would consider keeping it but all i care about is keeping them at the right RH and having the most capacity.

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But you'd sell it to a brother on this board?

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Originally Posted by daredog4

Well first of all when they say 50 count humidor they really mean about 20 or 30 count. If i took out the tray and just piled them in then i could maybe get 50 in there. I am glad i got it at a reduced price when i bought it but with all the issues i have had with it I am just about ready to pitch it in the garbage. I looks really pretty and if i wanted to show off my cigars then maybe i would consider keeping it but all i care about is keeping them at the right RH and having the most capacity.

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Use it for your "Dry Box" and still show off your cigars. If your keeping the coolerdor at 70% then you would want to pull a few sticks out and dry box them for a couple days or prior to fellow BOTL's coming over.

I priced out materials for a coolerdor and it came out to $160+. Sounds a bit off to me. I didn't really expect it to be more than $75.

Cooler $40
Cedar Trays $15 x 4
Beads $35
Digital Hygrometer $25

Seems a little high.

First of all, how many smokes are you going to be putting in there? What capacity is that cooler?

Having both the beads and the hygrometer is redundant.

Aren't there cigar boxes from your B&M you can use instead of the cedar trays?

Just wondering.

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

Seems a little high.

First of all, how many smokes are you going to be putting in there? What capacity is that cooler?

Having both the beads and the hygrometer is redundant.

Aren't there cigar boxes from your B&M you can use instead of the cedar trays?

Just wondering.

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For now it would only be between 35-40 cigars. The cooler is the 50qt. Coolman found in the sticky. Having both the beads and hygrometer is for peace of mind, but I can see your point. A cheapo analog would work. My B&M charges $3 for the cardboard boxes and up to $12 for the wood boxes. Empty. :smiley6:

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Originally Posted by TravPSU

I priced out materials for a coolerdor and it came out to $160+. Sounds a bit off to me. I didn't really expect it to be more than $75.

Cooler $40
Beads $35

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I'm with Mark......why trays? They're cool and all, but if $$ is a concern, empty boxes work great, especially if you seperate the top and bottom. There are even little plastic bins at the dollar store that work great.

Cost of beads sounds reasonable.......I also agree, that once you convince yourself that the beads work, you won't even look at the hygro any longer.

Whala....$75.

That's INSANE. If you want, I'll look around here for solid wood boxes, but I'm pretty sure he'll give them to me for next to nothing. Let me know if you're interested in the meantime, and maybe we can work out a deal.

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Originally Posted by ashauler

I'm with Mark......why trays? They're cool and all, but if $$ is a concern, empty boxes work great, especially if you seperate the top and bottom. There are even little plastic bins at the dollar store that work great.

Cost of beads sounds reasonable.......I also agree, that once you convince yourself that the beads work, you won't even look at the hygro any longer.

Whala....$75.

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I was under the impression they helped moderate humidity swings from opening and closing the coolerdor, deter tobacco beetles (not that I'm worrying about beetles), and help season the cigars with the cedar smell. If they aren't needed then I won't worry about them... for now.


mrtr33 - I'd really appreciate that. Let me know what you find.

No problem at all. Should get there by tomorrow. Can't swing it today. I'll have an answer for you then.

Most quality wooden cigar boxes will be made of the same material those trays are - they might not look as pretty, but it's the same damn thing.

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Originally Posted by TravPSU

I was under the impression they helped moderate humidity swings from opening and closing the coolerdor, deter tobacco beetles (not that I'm worrying about beetles), and help season the cigars with the cedar smell. If they aren't needed then I won't worry about them... for now.


mrtr33 - I'd really appreciate that. Let me know what you find.

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There you go. Big fancy cabinets are sweet, and contain lots of spanish cedar, but, I'd argue that my coolidor just does just as good a job at keeping my cigars in great, smokeable condition.

ETA: Not that I wouldn't love to have a big, beautiful cabinet, cause I would. At this point, I just choose to spend my $$ on cigars instead of accessories.

From all the research i have done on this board and others I just thought i should have some Spanish cedar in there. If you don't have something else besided beads to soak up some humidity then when you open and close the cooler it will cause the RH to swing low and then have to catch up. Also it is good for keeping out bugs and such. I only decided to spend the extra money on trays because i needed some trays anyways, and since i knew i wanted some spanish cedar in there it just made sense. Plus, some day if i buy or build a Large Humidor i can reuse the trays in it.

Also, I know that everyone likes their RH at a different level and I understand and respect all of your opinions. For me i think keeping the RH at 70% and then dry boxing for a day is the best way to go. Many of the cigar makers list on their websites that they reccomend 70% humidity as seen here http://www.olivacigars.com/fundamentals.aspx All in all it just boils down to what you like best.

I have a bag full of empty bags taking up some space in the cooler right now. Having a full cooler will help reduce the ammount of air the beads have to re-humidify upon opening and closing. But don't worry about that, it will solve itself faster than you can imagine.

Go to home Depot or Lowes, and pick up a sheet of "luan' plywood, made from low grade mahogany, a close relative of Spanish cedar, and equally hygroscopic.

That is, if you're convinces you need a bunch of wood in your cooler. I just have a bunch of boxes in mine.

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Originally Posted by daredog4

From all the research i have done on this board and others I just thought i should have some Spanish cedar in there. If you don't have something else besided beads to soak up some humidity then when you open and close the cooler it will cause the RH to swing low and then have to catch up. Also it is good for keeping out bugs and such. I only decided to spend the extra money on trays because i needed some trays anyways, and since i knew i wanted some spanish cedar in there it just made sense. Plus, some day if i buy or build a Large Humidor i can reuse the trays in it.

Also, I know that everyone likes their RH at a different level and I understand and respect all of your opinions. For me i think keeping the RH at 70% and then dry boxing for a day is the best way to go. Many of the cigar makers list on their websites that they reccomend 70% humidity as seen here http://www.olivacigars.com/fundamentals.aspx All in all it just boils down to what you like best.

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"Good" beads, e.g., RH beads from cigarmony (on sale now IIRC), outperform wood as a buffer. (You would need wood if you went with crystals. Just to confuse the issue, "beads" are actually silica gel (preferably doped with Lithium Chloride), and crystals are often called gel, but are typically polymers ...)

Also, cedar doesn't keep bugs out; the beetles just don't like the taste of that wood, so they won't eat cedar - they'll just crawl around it.

Lots of folks do like the cedar taste in cigars - witness cedar-wrapped cigars (and note that the cedar wrap is on the inside of the cello ...)

If it is important to the way you are planning to use your cooler to address RH swings, then the best way in a large volume of space is to use fans. However, putting cigars in boxes effectively eliminates that concern, i.e., the RH swing from opening and closing isn't going to affect a cigar in a box like it would a cigar in an open tray (assuming cigars without cello).

YMMV.

So keeping the cigars in the box they came in closed inside the coolerdor will still allow the humidity to get to them? Or should you sit the box in the coolerdor and keep it open to allow the humidity in?

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Originally Posted by TravPSU

So keeping the cigars in the box they came in closed inside the coolerdor will still allow the humidity to get to them? Or should you sit the box in the coolerdor and keep it open to allow the humidity in?

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If everything is already at the RH you want, keep the box closed. Otherwise, once everything is at the RH you want, close the box.

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Originally Posted by TravPSU

mrtr33 - I'd really appreciate that. Let me know what you find.

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

That's INSANE. If you want, I'll look around here for solid wood boxes, but I'm pretty sure he'll give them to me for next to nothing. Let me know if you're interested in the meantime, and maybe we can work out a deal.

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Okay, maybe I'm insane. The guy at my local shop wants $2 for the paper wrapped boxes, and $5 for the all-wood boxes. I may have a few around the house as well; I brought some with me from Oregon to help my brother with an OtterBox/humidor project around Christmastime - they may be a bit cannibalized, however.

Anyway, if you're still interested, shoot me a PM.

I too have started getting my coolerdor going. So far my costs have been: 28 qt cooler $17, 65% heartfelt beads in tube, 23$. I haven't invested in a hygro yet, since I was wondering if there was any reason I couldn't use my weather sensor for as long as it takes for me to be reassured that all is well inside my cooler.

Here is what i have so far. I know its not perfect but it is my first Coolerdor and I am very happy with how it has turned out. Once i fill this one my wife is gonna kill me :smiley40: Thanks for the help and the Coolerdor thread. This has been a very fun and easy project.

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Very nice! I was looking at the cooler on my way out of Wal-mart. Should have bought it. I was worried about boxes not fitting in. Does it have wheels and a handle?

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Originally Posted by Galvanicfish

I too have started getting my coolerdor going. So far my costs have been: 28 qt cooler $17, 65% heartfelt beads in tube, 23$. I haven't invested in a hygro yet, since I was wondering if there was any reason I couldn't use my weather sensor for as long as it takes for me to be reassured that all is well inside my cooler.

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That's what I use (mine are Oregon Scientific). Like any hygrometer, calibrate (salt test) if you're interested in absolute readings.

The essential difference between a weather hygrometer and a digital hygrometer designed for humidor use is the case. A weather unit has a few small holes for air to enter/exit the unit, whereas a cigar hygro has a bunch of holes/grills - you can sometimes see the RH measuring surface (usually looks like a little white wafer with foil lines on it). The restricted airflow means that the weather unit moves a little slower in response to change - but it does move fine.

FWIW, my costs for the last cooler were (roughly):
- 70qt Coleman Extreme: $40;
- pound of beads: $30;
- used (clean:smiley17:) pantyhose to cut up to make a bunch of bags for the beads: 'free' from girlfriend;
- Oust fan: $15;
- wireless weather sensor (w/local display): $40;
- roll of 1/8" thick closed-cell weatherstripping: $5.

Thank you Craig, as usual you are a veritable font of information.

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Originally Posted by craig

That's what I use (mine are Oregon Scientific). Like any hygrometer, calibrate (salt test) if you're interested in absolute readings.

The essential difference between a weather hygrometer and a digital hygrometer designed for humidor use is the case. A weather unit has a few small holes for air to enter/exit the unit, whereas a cigar hygro has a bunch of holes/grills - you can sometimes see the RH measuring surface (usually looks like a little white wafer with foil lines on it). The restricted airflow means that the weather unit moves a little slower in response to change - but it does move fine.

FWIW, my costs for the last cooler were (roughly):
- 70qt Coleman Extreme: $40;
- pound of beads: $30;
- used (clean:smiley17:) pantyhose to cut up to make a bunch of bags for the beads: 'free' from girlfriend;
- Oust fan: $15;
- wireless weather sensor (w/local display): $40;
- roll of 1/8" thick closed-cell weatherstripping: $5.

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Craig - I have a question for you as I'm in the process of setting a 42-quart cooler...How did you use the weatherstripping?

Thanks,

Andrew

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Originally Posted by daredog4

Here is what i have so far. I know its not perfect but it is my first Coolerdor and I am very happy with how it has turned out. Once i fill this one my wife is gonna kill me :smiley40: Thanks for the help and the Coolerdor thread. This has been a very fun and easy project.

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Your pics convinced me to start a coolerdor. Just got back from Wal-mart with the cooler and now I'm ordering beads online.

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Originally Posted by Rugbysh9

Craig - I have a question for you as I'm in the process of setting a 42-quart cooler...How did you use the weatherstripping?

Thanks,

Andrew

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Use only if necessary.

The typical plastic cooler is designed for warm-weather use - so it may seal very well in hot conditions, but not as well in cool conditions. In addition, sometimes the fit between lid and cooler isn't as good as one would want, due to manufacturing variations.

These tolerances usually aren't an issue unless the cooler is in a very dry environment (like my house in winter :smiley3:). Then, the humid air just gets sucked out of the cooler with a loose lid, and you're wondering why the beads need recharging all the time in a cooler that isn't opened. A strip around the lid (or the base) seals things up.

Again, lots of folks won't need the weatherstrip ... and if one is opening the cooler regularly, then that usually makes the weatherstrip redundant.

Thanks I appreciate the info

-Andrew

As Craig mentioned it really depends on the cooler as to whether it will seal well enough. This particular cooler (Igloo Ice Cube 60QT) seals very well. The lid sticks down into the cooler about 1/2 inch and the total width that the lid makes contact with is about 2 inches. It also snaps firmly in place when it is shut. If you purchase this cooler i promise you there is no need for any weather stripping. However, I can't be sure about other coolers. I would suggest that you go look at them and see how much surface area there is that makes contact and how well it snaps shut.
Also, this cooler and many others are not completely flat in the bottom due to the wheels or the drain. As you can see in the pics i built a simple shelf that raises the bottom up about 3 inches. I made it slotted so that the air can get underneath and help humidify from the bottom. This was just a personal preferance but you might also take that into consideration when picking out a cooler.

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Originally Posted by daredog4

As Craig mentioned it really depends on the cooler as to whether it will seal well enough. This particular cooler (Igloo Ice Cube 60QT) seals very well. The lid sticks down into the cooler about 1/2 inch and the total width that the lid makes contact with is about 2 inches. It also snaps firmly in place when it is shut. If you purchase this cooler i promise you there is no need for any weather stripping. However, I can't be sure about other coolers. I would suggest that you go look at them and see how much surface area there is that makes contact and how well it snaps shut.
Also, this cooler and many others are not completely flat in the bottom due to the wheels or the drain. As you can see in the pics i built a simple shelf that raises the bottom up about 3 inches. I made it slotted so that the air can get underneath and help humidify from the bottom. This was just a personal preferance but you might also take that into consideration when picking out a cooler.

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I'm using an Igloo (42 qrt.) just not the Ice Cube. I just finished airing it out and put 1/2 lb of beads in this morning. Once I get it stabilized I have this feeling its going to be filled pretty quickly.