Frigidor project

Hello all,

I have been busy in the shop with a wine frige conversion. After lots of research I have decided a cooled humidor is a must down here, but do not have the $2k for a cooled custom job. So that leaves only one option, a thermoelectric wine frige.

The Vinotemp 28TEDS is the cabinet I went with due to a couple key features and availability. This one #3 is from Target for $199 right now. I went through a couple, two damaged and one that would not allow the temp over 61f. If you do go the wine cooler route inspect them carefully on delivery or purchase, they seem to be very easily damaged. I do not think UPS could get one here without damaging it(they killed an Avanti I ordered.)

Then my other materials were a nice stack of Spanish cedar from internetlumber.com ,a couple cooling fans, and a timer.

First I cleaned the inside of the cabinet with baking soda and water and let it air out for a week, then eyeballed and drilled a couple holes in the cabinet for the fan wires. Being careful not to hit the vitals I drilled away.

.cabinet

While the frige aired out I went to work on the cedar and electrical set up.

cedar

cedar2

ced3

I wanted to fully line the cabinet. I figured the soft cedar once stabilized at 65% would be a great buffer to help out the pound of heartfelt 65% beads. I want low maintanence on the humidity controll, so we will have to see if it needs improvement later.

The cedar lining is fit and drilled for the fan wires.

cab

The cedar pieces are cut and contoured to fit the cabinet, assembly is done to allow quick disassembly if the cooler should go TU down the road. Everything is tacked in place with a hot glue gun. No fumes fast and sturdy enough for the job.

once the lining is in place I made a removeable shelf, and began seasoning the cedar. The shelf has 1 1/2" as an air gap in front and behind it as well as a fair ammount of 1" holes to allow circulation. The two fans are 25cfm DC silent computer fans. I have mounted them to blow up and will set the timer to allow them to run for one minute four times a day, just want to move the air around every now and again. This is done with a Timex digital light timer that is controlling the DC power supply for the fans. After a four days the cabinet is holding 64f and 65%RH perfectly.

I am still in the process of completing the rear lining, and a couple singles storage trays. I will post a few more links in a couple days. I was trying to post these as pics but the page would not allow it, so you guys have to suffer with the links unless I can get it squared away.

Here it is almost done, bowl of distilled and just under a pound of 65% HF beads. I went desperado and also misted the inside of the cabinet once a day to speed it up. I am now letting it stabilize, I will give it a week before I fill it up.

Lined

more pics to come

Definetly nice.. good work bro

Awsome job.........looks very nice. Do you have any pictures of the whole thing with the door closed?

Its looking pretty good. I'm thinking I would have skipped most of the cedar lining in favor of just building cedar shelves that would fit the original wine rack grooves.

Looks great.

I love it

LOoks great man, you are going to love that baby.

Thanks guys,

Yeah this seemed like an esy way to build a great little humidor. I took a couple more pictures.

closed door

open door

So far so good.

I am thinking about three singles drawerson the bottom and boxes up top, not sure yet, but it can season while I think.

Dude, I just bought the exact same model from Target for the same price. I love it so far! I had to take the 1st one back for damage at the hinges but the 2nd was ok. Interscape referred me to this model and so far I can get the temp up to 70 degrees though I keep it around 66-67. I thought about lining it but I just went with a whole bunch of empty cigar boxes from the local Tinderbox and am re seasoning them now with some trays of water and the pound of viper beads that I just received. Keep me posted!

Yes sir,
They are not very durable that's for sure. But having a damaged Avanti show up allowed me the chance to run it side by side with a new vino temp in my kitchen.I returned the Avanti for a refund, the VT did not need an additional temp controll so that is cigar money saved.

yeah, I thought that looked familiar. I am about to start building an Avallo style cabinet, just in the process of fixing up my woodshop and getting the materials. I have outgrown mine and need someting on the lines of 48"x48"x24" and also want it cooled.


nice job on the cedar, I am still trying to track down a place that has 8/4 material that I can resaw myself

For your cedar , if you are just looking to line a humidor, I would check out www.internetlumber.com, the price for their 1/4" stock was about as inexpensive as I have ever seen, I will bet you would break even buying 8/4" and resawing it yourself.

I was going to do the same until I found them.

see ya

Mike

Very nice...some talented folk on this site...well done.

One problem, it's too small. Don't believe me? Stick around on CP and in just 3 months you will outgrow it!

Stupid question, that is Spanish Cedar, right?

Brian

Brian,

Yes definitely spanish cedar, I am making my singles trays right now, still deciding on final details as I go.

It will be plenty big for my collection, I usually only keep a few boxes around at one time, a dozen boxes would be a huge supply for me. BUT if I did run out of space I am swimming in Spanish cedar down here, I could build another easily.

see ya
Mike

Hey, how long would you recommend leaving dry cigar boxes in the frigidor before filling them with cigars? Or...how long are you planning on seasoning your lining before letting cigars have a home? I know the hygro may say 65% after a few days, but I know for sure sometimes the wood still isn't ready.

Hello. Im new here and found this site and forum by looking for this very type of cigar storage! I wanted to know if I could buy a wine cooler and convert it and WHAM, here it is!! I live in Florida and have problems with my smokes reacjing 80 degrees in the summer even though they are inside my home in the coolest room possible. So I went to Taget today and bought the last one they had on the shelf. I was worried a little about the condition from what I read here. The box was a little banged up and sure enough, after i got the unit home and out of the box the shroud on the rear that covers the fans was dented in. Since I read here about these things being a little fickle I thought I would at least plug it in and see if it worked. It seems to be working (cooling) fine so I will hang onto it and wait for my Spanish cedar to arrive that I ordered from internet lumber as suggested here as well.

One thing I have a question about that I cannot sem to find an answer for though. when I first get my cigars they (usually) are perfect smokes. Sometimes however after being in the humidors for a while I get one that makes me a little green, or seems harsh. Could this be due to the higher temps or the up and down temps from winter to summer, (My RH normally runs from 60-65%) or is it just par for the course to get a harsh one evry now and then now matter what?

Rob

Hmmm... usually the longer they sit the less harsh they are. I have noticed some cigars come to life at higher humidities...I have a couple that need to be at 67 or 68 to taste good but if they drop down to say, 61, they taste like crap. Do you have a particular cigar that gives you this trouble? Because for the most part, I don't think that should be.

rectifythis said:

Hmmm... usually the longer they sit the less harsh they are. I have noticed some cigars come to life at higher humidities...I have a couple that need to be at 67 or 68 to taste good but if they drop down to say, 61, they taste like crap. Do you have a particular cigar that gives you this trouble? Because for the most part, I don't think that should be.

Click to expand...

Good points. Seems to not have a pattern. Maybe the RH is the factor. I run mine a litle drier if possible due to the ambient humidity here but that could be a factor. Once my cedar arrives I'll see if i can get it to hold a little higher. Thanks for the input!

Mike- That looks great! I have a question: I bought the VinoTemp from Target as well, and it was working well except for two things... 1) It seemed the cigars closest to the cooling fan in the center were getting dried out, and 2) There was a ton of condensation at the bottom of the interior, where you have your beads placed...

Are you experiencing the same issues? If so, what is your remedy for it, if any?

Regards,

BT

BT,

I was very careful to allow the unit to drain any condensation as it was designed to do. I elevated the cedar floor by 1/4" and cut out around the rectangular pooling area in the back bottom corner of the cabinet and gave it about 1/2" around before the cedar lining, so it is elevated and held back from the moisture areas.

A pound of 65% beads is in the back but is 1" shy of the rear moisture channel so it is way clear . I also made sure the cabinet is level so if there was any condensation in the rear of the cabinet it could drain right down the back and out the bottom freely.

After about five days now the humidity is starting to stabilize around 64% and the temp is still steady at 63-64f . I am about to throw that off with a couple of singles trays. More pics to come.

I would avoid putting any loose smokes in direct line with the fan, I am planning on boxes up top and singles in the bottom, my singles trays will have a 2" air gap in front and behind them with the fans blowing up through that space, so the circulation of air should be drawn through the trays and not blown directly on the loose cigars. Also this circulation will only take place for a couple minutes a few times a day, just to move the air around and keep RH/temp uniform...in theory, that is woodworking helo mech theory so who knows.

I had a slight delay and rearranged a couple machines in the shop during this project.

see ya