How to maintain proper humidity in a 28 bottle wine fridge/humidor

[mdwebby]

Hi all,
I'm new to this site but have been smoking cigars for about 5 years. I am living in St. Cloud, FL now and have just purchased an Avanti 28 bottle wine fridge to use as a temperature controlled humi (yeah, I looked at that Monolith 1200 humi but just can’t see spending $1,800+ on it right now, especially as I can’t find any other info about the company or the reliability/build quality of the thing). Also I will be buying some cedar trays and shelves from chasidorhumidors.com to use for storage and to help retain some of the moisture.

My main question is this.... how do I maintain 70% humidity in this thing with the thermoelectric unit running? I have a Cigar Oasis XL in a 300 count humi now and it works fine but I am sure it will not be able to handle the humidity demand in the cooler. I have seen other people talk about using beads in a cooler but wasn’t sure if they meant a fridge/cooler or just a regular Igloo type cooler.

I am planning on putting in 3 double high trays at the bottom of the cooler for single cigar storage and then 2 shelves above that for box storage. For now I am thinking of buying a Cigar Oasis XL Plus and supplementing it with 2 or 3 pounds of beads (1 pound in the bottom tray, another in the middle and the 3rd on the top shelf).
Oh yeah, right now the fridge is empty except for 2 wire racks, 2 digital hygrometers and 1 empty cigar box. I have been monitoring the fridge all day and the bottom has been reading 52% humidity & 68 degrees, the top of the fridge has been reading 54% humidity and 71-72 degrees (which is right where I want it).
Does anyone here have any experience with humidifying a wine cooler or other temperature controlled humi? Thanks for any input.

[snooper800]

I'm running a 28 bottle Avanti with the wire shelves that came with it. I bought cedar trays which fit nicely on the existing shelves. Two lbs. of beads, one in the bottom and one on the top shelf in mesh bags. I am running two Oast fans on the shelf closest to the middle, pointing upwards (in the back). It hold temperature quite well, 67 degreesat the top, 66 degrees at the bottom. Humidity does vary a bit, 63-65 at the top, 66-68 at the bottom, but as the lower beads dry out I think I will leave them mostly dry and see if that helps. Overall, the unit is doing a great job of keeping my stash cool and moist while the daytime temps here in central CA are in the low 100's with very low humidity.

[ashauler]

Congratulations.