New Tupperdor

**spiffykyle** · 06-07-2007, 06:14 PM

So I've been putzing along with a couple of 20 ct humis from Cbid now. Last night I got my lighter and beads in and started thinking about needing more space. Then I realized I have a package on the way from funkycold5 from a "Buy me These" and also a rather diverse shipment from Cbid due next week. Suddenly my storage space is wayyyyy too small.

So I didn't want to get a cooler since I don't have the need for one, and hopefully not having all that empty space will keep me from splurging on something to fill it with. I don't have the funds to buy a nice sized humidor. So I decided that a nice sized tupperdor would work perfect.

Here I am going to chronicle my "construction" of the tupperdor so y'all can let me know if I did anything wrong, or right, or just so other new guys with limited funds can have an example.

spiffy

p.s. I'm a total newbie so take this for what its worth.

**spiffykyle** · 06-07-2007, 06:25 PM

So first off I went to Wally World (that's Wal-Mart) and hunted for supplies. What I was looking for was a good sized container, some plastic trays, and some shallow containers for the beads.

I apologize in advance for the somewhat crappy pictures, I had to use my phone.

One of the biggest problems with tupperdors (and coolerdors) is that they are either airtight, which can cause problems if left closed for a long time, or they don't seal at all, which makes it difficult to stabilize the RH. Thinking about this I bought a container that doesn't really seal, and then some weather stripping tape (thin foam tape) to put around the edges. Hopefully this will create enough of a seal to keep the environment stable, but still allow some measure of breathability.

So...here is my haul:

1---24 qt plastic box with locking handles
2---wide plastic trays
3---narrow plastic trays
1---package 3/4" wide sponge weatherstrip tape
2---plastic soap dishes

I also got a gallon of distilled water, 2 additional soap dishes (for the small humis), and a small spray bottle to wet the beads.

The total cost for all this was $13.52

Next up...the "construction"

spiffy

**spiffykyle** · 06-07-2007, 06:42 PM

The first thing I did was to attach the weatherstrip tape to the inside of the lid of the box. This stuff is self-adhesive so it was just cut, peel and stick:

Here it is finished:

As you can see the lid still fits and the locking handles hold it down tight, hopefully creating a nice seal, but still somewhat breathable.

Next I used a 5/8" spade bit to drill some holes in the bottoms of all the trays to make sure air could move around inside the box. It was hot outside (I'm in Houston) so I stayed indoors. I used the pan so that all the plastic shavings didn't get stuck in the carpet.

Next up...humidification!!

spiffy

**spiffykyle** · 06-07-2007, 07:08 PM

For humidity control I am using beads. Apparently these are the wonder-kid of humidification. They have been referred to on this site as the Ron-Co of humidifiers, "Just set it, and forget it!!".

For this box I am using a half pound, which should be more than enough according to the site where I got them, heartfelt.

To store them, I am using the advice of many on this board and using cheap plastic travel soap dishes. Some people drill holes in the top so the beads will stay in, but since I'm not planning on traveling with this box, I just took the tops off.

Here are the beads and the soap dishes:

And here are the "topless" dishes, beads, distilled water, and little spray bottle:

Here's how everything fits into the box. 2 narrow trays and a wide tray on the bottom and 1 of each on top. There will be a soap dish full of beads in each wide tray.

Next up...the Finally!!

**spiffykyle** · 06-07-2007, 07:20 PM

Finally, I put my meager collection (so far) of sticks into the trays and loaded up the soap dishes with beads. A few sprays of distilled water and most of the beads had turned clear (cooooooool). After putting everything into the box and sealing it up, here's the final product.

You can barely see it but there's a digital hygrometer in the top right corner. It was about $6.50 at Wal-Mart in the garden section.

So, to total things up:

Tupperdor supplies: $13.50
Humidification beads: $17.00
Digital hygrometer: $6.50

Total to store a couple hundred cigars: $37.00

Not bad. You can go cheaper by getting florists foam (the wet kind) and using a mix of distilled water and propylene glycol (available at any pharmacy), but the convenience of the beads made it worth it for me.

So here is my budding little collection, just waiting to be filled, emptied, and filled again. The two little humis are the 20 counts I got with samplers from Cbid. One is a cigar band mosaic, the other is a 5 Vegas 'A'. Both have small soap dishes with beads as well.

Hope this is helpful to someone out there.

spiffy