Cheaphumidors.com Cabinet seal

Hey guys-
if you bought one of these cabinets - check the door hinges and their alignment. I have this humi (and love it...) but I started noticing that my RH was dropping more and more, even with well hydrated beads. I pulled one of my bead trays out and put in a tuppodor, and the RH shot right to 65%... ok, not a bead problem. So I started looking, and finally found that my door hinges were incorrectly adjusted. The door was sucked in too tight, allowing the back edge of the door to rub on the seal ever so slightly. Eventualy this wore a section of the foam seal out, and allowed the RH to leak out more and more. The problem area for me was the lower right corner when looking at the door. The hinges, when opened, should push out from the humi and then swing away- mine was not pushing out enough and rubbed on the seal. An easy fix would have been to loosen the screw, and pull the hinge out a few millimeters- I'm sure that's all it would have taken. It should not rub on the seal when opening...

Fixing the seal was a pain in the butt... I could not find foam exactly like what was used, and cutting to fit would be an equal pain. So, I found some weatherstripping that worked, and also lined the entire outer edge with self sticky felt. So far so good... steady 65% again.

Did you contact Dave about this. What was his solution ?

being in the kitchen business for a 16+ yrs. i can tell you this is an industry wide problem, less critical on kitchen cabs, more critical on a humidor. most factories only attach the door to the hinge plate, and do not adjust it to close perfectly. unfortunatly swissy found this out. the manufacturer should at least advise the end user that hinges need to be adjusted. i have been batteling with a few factories too at least put a warning sticker on all their kitchen cabs. i can't tell you how many calls i get a week, about doors not closing properly, or not alaigning. when i send a rep out to inspect, it is usually a quarter turn here or there and it is fixed.
glad you gave everyone a heads up jim,you may have saved someone some grief in the future.

BkCloud114 said:

Did you contact Dave about this. What was his solution ?

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Actually, no I did not. I see this as a stupid mistake on MY part to not double-triple check everything when it arrived. I know better! I was just so damn happy it was here after the crap I went thru getting it. I didn't take the time to check the hinges and verify the seal was not being affected.

I think my little 'mod' will do just fine now. One thing I forgot to add, since I added the felt around the edge, the seal is now a tad thicker than the original was. I had to put a thin piece of cedar behind the door latch inside, to make sure it closed and stayed closed properly.

Hey Swissy,
Thanks for bringing this up. When I got my cabinet the door hinges were so askew it wouldn't even close properly!! I had to lift the door to at least get it to close.

Having worked at the local Valu home centers here in Buffalo, I knew a thing or two about hinges and making them sit exactly where they need to be. I did just what you stated and loosened the screws, and adjusted them just so that the door hinges were equal, the door closed and there's no rubbing.

For safe keeping I will go downstairs and check to see that those hinges ARE where they should be and that the weather stripping (damn thin piece, eh?) is still intact.

If you wouldn't mind, please PM me privately to give me some pointers on the weather stripping used to beef up the seal as well as other fixes you might have done to this fine cabinet. I'm thinking its better to be safe than sorry.

Darren

Wow, I actually just cancelled my preorder for this unit.
Mainly because Im gonna be moving soon, and if the unit came at a certain time, I would've had to ship it twice.
But after reading this, Im glad there was anohter reason. Not to handy with this sort of stuff.

centurycigar said:

Wow, I actually just cancelled my preorder for this unit.
Mainly because Im gonna be moving soon, and if the unit came at a certain time, I would've had to ship it twice.
But after reading this, Im glad there was anohter reason. Not to handy with this sort of stuff.

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Whoa... don't get me wrong- I love this humidor. Granted, it's not an Aristocrat or an Arlin Liss. But neither is the price! This thing has been perfect up until now, and I see the 'downfall' of it as my fault. I did not check to see that everything was perfect when it arrived. I check everything else I get in the mail, so why did I not look the humi over more? beats me, but I think I was too excited it was here.

plus, it has been a simple fix- and cheap. Who knows- it may not be even better! (I'd like to think so! it would make me feel better...)

I recommend this humi to anyone that needs more space, but doesn't want the expense of one. It's going to suffice for me until I retire, and my gift to myself then will be a nice, big fancy one to replace it. but that's 10 years down the road...

Oh I know, the price is great.
I cancelled it before this thread, and for another issue.

BTW: I cant wait to retire either, just another 25 years, and Im there!
Built-In here I come.

I recently purchased a MINI after having a problem with Dave. I have posted this on other threads.

What I cant understand is the pricing arguement? Everyone seems to agree that an Aristocrat is a far better quality piece than the Connoisseur. But the price is not that much more.

From cheaphumidors.com, standard unit with a glass door (I wanted a glass door)is $379 and shipping is $58 for UPS ground (based on thier calculator) for a total of $437.

From aristocrathumidors.com, MINI with glass door is $419 and shipping is $45 (this is what Bob charges me) for a total of $464. You also get a choice of woods.

The difference is $27. With out the glass door, the difference is $67.

Being as I personally have never heard of any issues with Bob's product and at least several with Dave, this is a no brainer

I had an awesome expereince with Bob. As a quote on Bob's website says ""In my mind the ****** might be furniture quality, but the Aristocrat is "quality furniture". The quote was referring to a product other than the Connoisseur, but I think it applies here.

My only regret is that I couldn't go bigger.

Feel free to PM with any questions.

Al

first off, the dimensions of the mini are off... the Connoisseur resembles the size of the End Table from Aristocrat almost perfectly. And comparing the prices, it is $300 Vs. $899 - quite a difference. However, the Aristocrat End Table does come with the digital set & forget humidifier.

I would have loved to get the Aristocrat, but the biggest thing was the price. I could talk the wife into the Connoisseur, but not the Aristocrat I wanted. My retirement present is a different story- and it WON'T be an end table, that I can promise you. I figure it's best to pick my battles- and the future humidor will be non-negotiable. And it'll be big... I look at it as spend a little now and save up for the big one in the future.

Glad you like your Aristocrat, and sorry you have had problems with Dave. Me, on the other hand, I have had NO problems with him and regard his service are great. I like the humi, it works FINE other than I missed an adjustment. I'm sure Bob sets them fine, but travel to Alaska by truck and plane would probably be enough to jar his loose too.

Swissy said:

Me, on the other hand, I have had NO problems with him and regard his service are great. I like the humi, it works FINE other than I missed an adjustment. I'm sure Bob sets them fine, but travel to Alaska by truck and plane would probably be enough to jar his loose too.

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Ditto. I have the same humi as Swissy, it works great and looks fine. It isn't "corinthian leather" quality, but it isn't bad either.

My hinges needed adjustment when i received it, those type of hinges are a frequent problem to get "just right" initially.

Dave took care of me quite well.