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Cooler-dor 101

Light this! said:
I found it here: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-150-qt-Cooler-Green/21947771
 
 
Ken you got me thinking and I think I'm going to set up two of those just in case - you never know.
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That's the one I have. Checked dimensions and they are the same, pic appears to be the same. Same handles.
 
It doesn't quite stand up properly because of how those handles fit under it when on end, but is well enough.
 
The only reason I'm keeping mine is for backup.
 
If the large wineador goes, cannot readily get it downstairs and into the coolest place which is in a walk-in closet down there.
 
Could take the cooler down there, and use some of the other coolers (boat, picnic, beach, etc) in a pinch.
 
FWIW, when I had it full of boxes and cigars, I only used 2 or three shelves. Could get more in there, and still had good air flow.
 
If you were using it for backup, probably would work fine horizontally if you had a couple of fans in there
 
personal User said:
 

 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Fridge-Airator/14504360
 
Two green rechargeable D cells from Radio Shack ( I had others and more expensive and took them back, these worked longer before recharge for me.)
 
Beads
 
And you are good to go.
 
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Ken, I'm wondering if this would interfere in some way with the "marriage" of the cigars with the cedar and other cigars. This has a charcoal filter to purify the air and to get rid of odors which in the case of cigars are good odors. I have been looking for something to rotate the air in my wineadors.
 
The "charcoal filter" is basically a joke. Flimsy, 1/8 thin piece of less than two square inches that I tossed. Supposedly sat inside the housing.
 
I have several of those fans, and have had no issues of use.
 
However, the fans I own have lousy catches on the battery cover. I simply wrap a rubber band around the housing and cover to keep it closed. You're not going to get much quality for $13.  Probably cost .90 cents or less to make in Asia.
 
Other than using the rubber band, and changing out the rechargeable batteries every week they have run constantly with no problems for the 9 or 10 months or so that I have been using them.
 
They spin a small squirrel cage fan that doesn't move much air but seems to be just the right amount for a wineador or coolidor and presumably a camping refrigerator.
 
It makes way more sense to throw that filter away. Thank you for the input, I might purchase one of these just to give it a try.
 
personal User said:
The "charcoal filter" is basically a joke. Flimsy, 1/8 thin piece of less than two square inches that I tossed. Supposedly sat inside the housing.
 
I have several of those fans, and have had no issues of use.
 
However, the fans I own have lousy catches on the battery cover. I simply wrap a rubber band around the housing and cover to keep it closed. You're not going to get much quality for $13.  Probably cost .90 cents or less to make in Asia.
 
Other than using the rubber band, and changing out the rechargeable batteries every week they have run constantly with no problems for the 9 or 10 months or so that I have been using them.
 
They spin a small squirrel cage fan that doesn't move much air but seems to be just the right amount for a wineador or coolidor and presumably a camping refrigerator.
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I like this idea, has anyone tried a AC powered fan in one of these? I'm seriously thinking of building one of these then building a nice stained wood exterior. Pretty much turning it into my main humidor for large storage and I don't really want to replace batteries every week.
 
Yes. I took a fan out of an inverter I had that went bad. I fabricated an L shaped bracket, wired it in to a 12v converter cord and then put it in my coolidor. Honestly, I could not tell any difference from one with fan, and one without.
I just keep two disposable Tupperware bowls of bead with holes drilled in the lids at the top and bottom. Maintains an even 65% with little maintenance.
 
Yeah that's what I've been noticing from the various post on the subject. Those without a fan I guess people just open and let the air exchange once a week or so.

For those of you that have fans what's the driving factor for putting one in?
 
Keeping them cool in the summer is something else you need to consider.
 
ltjackson said:
I like this idea, has anyone tried a AC powered fan in one of these? I'm seriously thinking of building one of these then building a nice stained wood exterior. Pretty much turning it into my main humidor for large storage and I don't really want to replace batteries every week.
Click to expand...
For four years I have used a 28 bottle wineador. Without a fan in there, the wineador would sometimes show a variation greater than 2%RH between top and bottom. The wineador has a glass door, and it is easy to read a couple of calibrated hygrometers through the door.
 
If you stand one of the large coolers on end, they are noticeably taller than the wineador. Humidity in an enclosed space rises. There is a complicated scientific explanantion and it is something that can easily be observed thru the glass door of the wineador.
 
First, I had a couple of 6 volt dc computer fans (ran from a wall wart adapter) in there. Probably moved too much air.  Problem was,  during the summer I began to believe that the two fans actually generated noticeable heat. I am in SC and in the summer leave the AC about 76. I don't know the specs but think thermoelectric wineadors are marginal in cooling performance.
 
For me, an elegant solution is the battery fan.
 
In the Camco Fan, for me the green radio shack batteries have been lasting about 8 or 9 days.
 
I try to remember to change them on Sunday, but if I forget for a day they are still running. 9 days is iffy.
 
personal User said:
In the Camco Fan, for me the green radio shack batteries have been lasting about 8 or 9 days.
 
I try to remember to change them on Sunday, but if I forget for a day they are still running. 9 days is iffy.
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Thanks!  I didn't know about the Camco Fan, but I found one at Walmart.  
 
is it really necessary?  I don't know.
 
However, I feel like I am doing what's possible to keep the humidity consistent in the coolidor. :laugh:
 
The really big deal with a coolidor is placing it where you can keep the temps 70 or below.
 
My house stays between 70 and 75, would that would pose a problem for a coolidor setup?
 
You need to find the coolest spot in your home to place the coolidor. Temp should be _under 73 which means no higher than 72.
 
An excellent resource is 
 
http://www.tobacconistuniversity.org/faq_tobacco_beetle.php
 
I lost the contents of a coolidor to beetles four years ago, which is when I went to a 28 bottle wineador.
 
I did a good bit of buying in the fall and winter and stored my purchases in overflow coolers for the fall and winter. When it started getting warm again, I bought a 173 bottle wineador and moved things in there.
 
I live in SC and keep my home at 76 in summer. It's comfortable and there is not so much temperature differential going in and outside during the worst part of summer.
 
Asking what temp and RH you store cigars at is pretty much like asking what religion are you. You will get a wide variety of answers, often by people that are convinced their way is the best way. It is for them, it may not be for you.
 
I store at 65/65, generally. I will note that RH is relative to temperature. So, moisture content of cigars stored at different temperatures will be different even if if RH is the same and will smoke a bit differently.
 
I'm beginning to think that temperature stability is as important as RH stability, but I have no scientific basis for that.
 
You could search for months on what temp and RH to store cigars at and still wind up with no definitive answer. Even so, you need to do some searching on that to determine the answer that is correct for you.
 
Regardless, I suggest you not store at greater than 72 and that if you are marginal on temperature then pay careful attention to not overhumidify.
 
ETA - This is what I think, I will be at least mildly surprised if others do not post differing positions with supported reasoning.  I have seen a wide variety of storage conditions and temp/RH combinations and associated commentary. There is no one answer. You need to sort it out to what is appropriate for you.
 
The temp in my coolidor is around 80 degrees, and I live in the arid desert which is not yet hot.  Someone suggested using blue ice to cool it, so I tried that and the temp dropped but so did the humidity.  Your concerns about temperature stability now has me wondering if I should try a wineador.  I would hate losing all my cigars.       
 
You can pick up these bags that are used for food straining; they are designed to pass moisture but nothing else.
Fill em with water beads you can buy in bulk dirt cheap.
Soak em in the bags and you have a perfect humidity system for your cooler.
Attach a gauge to the inside lid via magnet.
Take the cello off the boxes, then throw all your boxes into the cooler and your are done.
The boxes are made of wood do a good job of holding moisture.
For my cooler which holds 20 boxes, I use 1/2 pound of beads split into two sacks.
That cooler never wavers more than plus minus two percent no matter what time of year.
Beads will last two years if you re hydrate them every month.
My cooler has a rubber seal around the lid, yours should also.
Beads and bags cost a total of 19 bucks thru Amazon.
Cooler was $126.00
 
150 qt cooler = 5.0 cu feet
Shelving $10/$12
weather stripping to use as a gasket about $2
Any strapping you have on hand to pull it tight

As long as the cooler has places for you to slide the shelves in, you just buy wire shelving to fit and cut with a hacksaw.

It winds up neater than you might think. I had a fan (Camco??) and two D cell rechargeable batteries on hand, dunno the cost.

Works fine for me.
 

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