Humidor Building question

[target]

I have an old dorm fridge from college. Would this work to make a humidor? I thought it seemed like a good idea. What would be the best way to go about making it suitable as a humidor? Would I want to glue cedar on the sides or just store everything in boxes? What would be the best way to humidify this thing. Has this been done before I have not heard of anything but seems like it would have been done. Thanks for the help.

 

[zzardozz]

Yes.
I have built two humidors using older, small apartment refrigerators. They seal real nice to maintain both temperature and humidity. On one I removed the old burned out motor and the other is just turned off. They are great for storing boxes as well as single cigars, (use empty boxes with the lid cut off as storage shelves).

I lined one with red cedar closet siding from a local hardware store. The siding had tounge & grove edges so it was easy to fit them together nicely once cut to size. I used an epoxy glue called "Gorilla Glue" which the hardware store salesman said was the best for wood to plastic applications. It worked great! & don't worry about the occasional drip, the glue can be sanded just like wood when it is completely dry.

On the other one, I just laid red cedar on the shelves and used duo-stick carpet tape on the sides. This is just in case I need to convert it back to a frige in the future.

I use the Cigar Oasis Plus as the humidifier. You can set the humidity digitally and it keep it right on the number. I have to refill it about once a month. I keep a bottle of distilled water on top of the frig. So anytime I see the humidity fall, I can just re-load the cigar oasis and forget it.

I purchased a digital temp-humidity guage from radio shack for about 25 bucks. It works great and matches the cigar oasis numbers exactly. IF the temp gets to high, I put a couple of those plastic blue ice packs in the frig to bring the temperature down. I keep 4 of these in my freezer and rotate them in the summer, especially on hot summer days. I keep the refrigador in the back of my garage in a cool, dark spot, to the temperature does not make radical changes.

Hope this helps some. I am starting on my third one right now.

 

[CoventryCat86]

I use one and it works fine.

I wouldn't bother lining it with spanish cedar though.

Just store your cigars in wooden cigar boxes. This will provide excellent storage, the boxes retain moisture which helps stabalize the humidity and provides all the "aroma" and probably even more than you'd get by lining the walls with cedar.

Oh, use beads for humidification and yes, it's been done before by thousands of people.

CLICK HERE and HERE for a picture of nicko99's refrigerator turned refrigerdor.

 

[geldor1]

I lined one with red cedar closet siding from a local hardware store. The siding had tounge & grove edges so it was easy to fit them together nicely once cut to size. I used an epoxy glue called "Gorilla Glue" which the hardware store salesman said was the best for wood to plastic applications. It worked great! & don't worry about the occasional drip, the glue can be sanded just like wood when it is completely dry.

On the other one, I just laid red cedar on the shelves and used duo-stick carpet tape on the sides. This is just in case I need to convert it back to a frige in the future.

Do you mean Spanish Cedar? Which is not actually cedar, but a variety of mahogany.

Red cedar, the kind used for closets and chests, is not the same and should not be used in humidors.

 

[NullSmurf]

And...ditch the Gorilla Glue. Almost any glue will outgas and at best, affect the taste of the cigars. At worst, it could be toxic. As it has already been said, the wood in any cigar box is Spanish Cedar. You don't need much. If you don't already have them, they're easy to find at any B&M. CigarBid and JR both offer empty boxes.

 

[target]

Thanks for the help, now one more question. I know a humidor should be about 75% full to help maintain the proper humidity. Would this work in the refrigedor with empty boxes. Can I place a bunch of empty boxes in there to accomplish that or should this refrigedor be full of cigars.

 

[Cigar Penguin]

I have a very small fridge,one of those office types that I used to bring outside during the summer for parties and what not.Can I use the refrigerators motor/cooler?
What I mean is,along with the oasis at 65%rh, can I plug it in,lower the freezer part (its fridge and freezer in one,no seprate door) to lowest or off and set fridge temp to be around 65degrees?

This will be for box storage and maybe singles.I have quite a few cedar cigar boxes I can use too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[theorangeman]

I have a very small fridge,one of those office types that I used to bring outside during the summer for parties and what not.Can I use the refrigerators motor/cooler?
What I mean is,along with the oasis at 65%rh, can I plug it in,lower the freezer part (its fridge and freezer in one,no seprate door) to lowest or off and set fridge temp to be around 65degrees?

This will be for box storage and maybe singles.I have quite a few cedar cigar boxes I can use too.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know of any fridge that will maintain such a high temperature. Usually the highest that you can get them to maintain is in the upper 50's. That being the case, many guys who use wine coolers also use a Johnson Controller. How it works is that the fridge connects directly into the controller and once the temperature gets to a certain level (set on the device), it turns the fridge (or wine cooler) off. When the temperature gets too high, it automatically turns the fridge back on in order to maintain the desired temperature. I've been told by many people who use these, that the temperature fluctations are only about 3 degrees at the most and as long as you're keeping your fridge inside, it won't have to be turned on and off more than a few times a day, if that. The controllers cost approximately $55-$65. I've been looking into doing this as another option besides trying to cool my whole room.

 

[Cigar Penguin]

Thank you theorangeman,I will look into the johnson controller.