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I cannot pick a humidor to save my life!

C

CigarJim

Banned
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
46
Hey there guys, Im the new guy here :-)

Did A TON, and I mean a TON of searching on here and google, and other cigar sites, etc...

Im looking for a decent first time humidor.

For some reason Im stuck on buying something that has "Sure Seal Technology" cuz I guess it makes me feel better about the seal :-)

Anyways, I found a site called cheaphumidors.com, pretty cool site.

I just dont know which humidor to get.

Money is pretty tight, but there are a couple 100 cigar humidors I can afford as well as a bunch of the 25-50 counts as well.

My first question is, is the 50 count too small? And isnt "25-50" way too big a range?

I dont know exactly what I'll be buying but I intend on having at least 10 to 20 on hand at all times. If I get the bigger humi though, I'd probably have like 50-75 on hand :-)

Do the smaller humidors hold humidity as well as larger ones, if seasoned properly of course?

Im sorry guys, but my eyes hurt and my brain hurts from all the humidors Ive looked at. I dont know if buying on ebay is a good option either, whatya guys think?

Thanks a million for the guidance because if it were only up to me, I'd probably never pull the trigger and buy one, from over analyzing!

Jim
 
I brought two from cheaphumidors.com, and I am pleased with their product.

I would suggest you just get a 50ct, and if you need further upgrade, just get a coolidor. And you will be all set.

At first, I tried to avoid the coolidor route because I think wooden humidor are much nicer. But then I found out maintaining 6 humidors is quite demanding, and I was still always running out of room. Getting a coolidor was one of the best decision I made in this hobby.
 
rawrr said:
I brought two from cheaphumidors.com, and I am pleased with their product.

I would suggest you just get a 50ct, and if you need further upgrade, just get a coolidor. And you will be all set.

At first, I tried to avoid the coolidor route because I think wooden humidor are much nicer. But then I found out maintaining 6 humidors is quite demanding, and I was still always running out of room. Getting a coolidor was one of the best decision I made in this hobby.
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Good advice. I have a 100 count humi for my Fuentes and all else is in the 120 qt. coolerdor.
 
Thanks guys for the advice!

Whatya think of this humi?

http://www.tampahumidor.com/sd4/product/sao-paolo-3677.cfm

And I will do the coolidor thing probably after we move in 9 months.

Seems like a great idea.
 
For about the same cost of a humidor, you could buy beads from Heartfelt, a digital hygro, and a cooler. Fill the empty air space with bubble wrap in the meantime, and you've got the best cigar storage on the planet on the cheap.

If you are set on a humidor, this one doesn't look bad. You'll come to appreciate the extra storage......and you'll still need beads and a hygro.....;)
 
I got this one a few months ago and it works well
http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=HUM-BH6

I think cheaphumidors offers a discount to cp members, so keep that in mind
 
BlindedByScience said:
For about the same cost of a humidor, you could buy beads from Heartfelt, a digital hygro, and a cooler. Fill the empty air space with bubble wrap in the meantime, and you've got the best cigar storage on the planet on the cheap.

If you are set on a humidor, this one doesn't look bad. You'll come to appreciate the extra storage......and you'll still need beads and a hygro.....;)
Click to expand...


Can you please elaborate on that man? especially the bubble wrap? I have been reading about coolidors but you set the best cigar storage on the planet! I like that!

But with no wood, how can they be the best?

Now I might just have to get a cooler instead of a humi...

Ahh, so now your really messing my brain up!
 
Cedar isn't a necessity for a humidor. Cedar will lessen the swing in humidity that occurs when you open the lid of your humidor. In a coolerdor, the humidifying element is solely responsible for getting the humidity back up, whereas, in a humidor, the cedar can also release some humidity into the air. I have a 50 ct. humidor that I use for my daily smokes (since I open it regularly), and a coolerdor for my boxes and aging smokes (I don't open it often).


BBS is correct in telling you to use bubble wrap. What he's referring to is simply taking up some of the space that you'd otherwise have to humidify. By filling up that cooler, your humidifying element has to humidify less air. I used the little air bags that come in the packages from CI/CigarBid. As you begin filling up your cooler with boxes of cigars (you will), you can remove the bubble wrap/bags to make room. Also remember that, as you fill that cooler up with boxes, you're actually adding cedar to it, therefore making your coolerdor even more effective.

Heartfelt beads, while not a must, are probably the easiest route to go for humidity. These beads both release and absorb moisture, whereas most only release it.


Bobby

Beads Linky
Coolerdor linky


Edited to add
 
What does a humidor do? Obviously, it's to maintain a constant RH (and hopefully temperature) stable environment for your smokes. Also, you want an environment that won't alter the flavor of the smokes in any way. Wood does only one thing - acts as a humidity buffer; nothing more. That's why you have to be very careful to choose wood that isn't aeromatic in any way, which explains why Spanish Cedar is the wood of choice. That is also why you have to "season" a new humidor....to get that wood up to the right RH for storage. If you don't, the wood will draw the moisture out of your cigars very, very quickly. Seasoning a humidor is best done slowly. Some guys wipe theirs down with some distilled water, but I think that's a good way to warp a humidor. You can't hurry this important process.

Enter the cooler. Being plastic, it won't absorb or give off any humidity of it's own. No seasoning required. Humidity beads take care of balancing the RH of the smokes. Before I invested in my cabinet, I had four coolers up and running and they were perfectly stable. Kinda boring to open them up and see "65" on the hygrometer, time and time again....but boring in a good way. What bubble wrap does is to occupy the air space in the cooler in a non-intrusive way. That way, you don't have to humidify air space that isn't being used by cigars.

Lots of guys go to great lengths to add wood to the inside of their coolers. I've always thought that is a waste of valuable space; I never did it. I just kept my smokes in the wood boxes they came in, and scored a couple of empty wood boxes from a local B&M for my singles and loose smokes. It works perfectly and is the most inexpensive way to store cigars there is. Also, since the cooler provides some thermal insulation, it helps maintain a steady temperature. A very well known maker of some of the most beautiful and expensive cigar cabinets there are, said (in these forums) that "....anything other than a cooler is an extravagance..." and I agree. Now, I really love my Staebell cabinet with active cooling and humidification, but those wonderful, big cabinets don't come cheap. You may want to invest in one someday, but it's a luxury, not a requirement. Plain and simple.

There are all sorts of "how to's" in these pages on how to set up your cooler. Here's the B.B.S. "works every time, no fuss" method:
- Buy the stuff (cooler, beads, hygrometer).
- Rinse the cooler out with the hottest water you can get out of your tap. Don't use boiling water as you could warp the cooler and wreck the seal. Just rinse it out, really well, and leave it open to dry out for a day, preferably out in the sun. This will allow the plastic to outgas most of if not all the "plastic smell" that it will have. Some guys freak out about any remaining smell, but my experience is that if rinsed hot, left open to dry for a day, what's left isn't a concern.

While you cooler is drying and airing out:
- Prep your beads according to the instructions provided by Heartfelt. I'd buy 1/2 a pound or so, and a nice nylon sock to put them in. If you buy them in bulk, they will come pre-conditioned and little to no prep may be required.
- Salt test your hygrometer so you know how accurate it is. Some guys use plastic bags, but I got the most repeatable results by using a mason jar. Once this is done, if you get the hygro I linked, you can correct the reading so your hygro is known and is telling you the truth with respect to RH.

The final assembly:
- Open the cooler
- Put in your cigars
- Put in the sock of beads.
- Put in the hygrometer
- (Optional) fill the unused air space with some bubble wrap.
- Close the lid.

....storage bliss....:thumbs:

Good luck - B.B.S.

Edited because schpelling isn't my strong suit......
 
Its possible it has been said and I just missed it (I only skimmed the other responses) but I would definitely recommend starting with at least a 50-100 count, that is if you dont go the coolidor route. I started with a 25 and it filled up way too quickly! Much more quickly than I anticipated thats for sure- Esp. if you stick around here :laugh: Now I have a completely full 25 ct and a near capacity 150 ct. You can bet a cooler is in the works for me.


In any case FWIW I went with cheaphumidors.com and have not been disappointed. Good luck and let us know!

-Greg

ETA: Fill out some more info in your profile (cigar likes/dislikes, etc), and if you're comfortable with it, your address. Good things may follow :whistling:

Don't worry we wont stalk you! :sign:
 
I didn't see anyone mention it but I could be mistaken. Get a digital hygrometer. When you order your beads just add that and the calibration kit, too. Easier for a newbie than messin with salt.
 
WOW! Thanks for the replies everyone!

BBS- Thanks man, i really appreciate that post, now youve got me wanting to make a coolidor! Can I go into it everyday without any problems?

So, since there is no wood, there is no seasoning necessary? how bout when I put boxes of stogies in? Dont I need to do any kind of seasoning? Oh and a nylon bag for the beads? When I mist them with distilled water and put in the cooler, wont it leave a puddle at the bottom? And does it matter where I put the bag of beads? bottom corner is ok?

IM REALLY sorry for all these questions, but it really seems that a coolidor is the way to go! seems like more fun to put together too, and I can store a TON more sticks for the same price as a wooden humi.....

bluu- thanks for the reply, as far as the profile info, I will do that right now!

vortex, good call, seems like a better situation for a total newb like myself!

I really wanna get into this hobby, and I wanna buy some cigars, but I want to make sure that I have the storage part down as to take care of my cigar investments.

Jim
 
CigarJim said:
BBS- Thanks man, i really appreciate that post, now youve got me wanting to make a coolidor! Can I go into it everyday without any problems?
Click to expand...
Yep.

CigarJim said:
So, since there is no wood, there is no seasoning necessary? how bout when I put boxes of stogies in? Dont I need to do any kind of seasoning?
Click to expand...
Hard to season plastic. Should be fine without any kind of prep. Toss new boxes in, no worries.

CigarJim said:
Oh and a nylon bag for the beads?
Click to expand...
Heartfelt has them. Cheap. Worth it.

CigarJim said:
When I mist them with distilled water and put in the cooler, wont it leave a puddle at the bottom?
Click to expand...
If it does, you used WAY too much water. Check Heartfelt's instructions.

CigarJim said:
And does it matter where I put the bag of beads? bottom corner is ok?
Click to expand...
I always put mine on the top of the boxes, but honestly I don't think it makes much difference.

Many, many guys before you have found the benefits of a "coolerdor". Easily the best storage going for the price.

Have fun - B.B.S.
 
Damn man, thanks so much for all this info!

So, Im not exactly sure what I like and wont be buying many boxes yet.

Can I just buy sampler packs and store em in random empty cigar boxes in my coolidor?

And since the empty boxes that I get wont have proper RH, wont the RH drop significantly when I toss a new box in the cooler? Wont it suck up all the humidity at least until it becomes 65%?

So I think Im gonna go the coolidor route..... I think :-)

A 100 ct humi should do me for a while... maybe :-)

Jim
 
One more question, I wont be buying boxes for a while, can I use the coolidor to store singles?

there is going to be A LOT of bubble wrap in there for a while :-)
 
well.....

Humidor, coolerdor, coolidor, seasoning humidor, seals, sure seal, appropriate humidor size, beads, gel, what RH is best,..... and the list can go on and on....
 
I've found aside from searching (meaning using the search tool), if you just keep scrolling down the list of threads in any of the forums you're bound to find a thread on one of the questions you have. Obviously this defeats the search tool but sometimes using the advanced search can get a little tricky if you don't know exactly down to the precise word what you're looking for. Is it more time consuming? Yes but it will save you having to post questions that have been answered/discussed many times.

Also- on the main CP page in the left and right margins are tons of great "FAQ" type menu options, including how to set up a Humidor and Coolidor.

Just speaking from my own experience of having to get used to using "advanced search" :laugh:
 
Yea I can remember popping my humidor cherry it was like buying a car I ended up with a 100ct and boy am I happy I went with the hundred because that baby filled up quick !! If your even thinking of 50 ct get 100 it will save you some aggravation hope this helps!!!
 
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