Is there any way to cool down a humi?

[marcsheldon]

i put a humidor in my house when i built a few months ago. its the equalivent to a coat closet in size...2' deep, 3' wide, 9' tall, that is accesed from a french door and kept sealed and airtight. ive got a good humidificition system that keeps it right at 65%. the problem is that in the summer (keep in mind i live in TX) it stays right around 80 deg. which i think will start to take a toll on my cigs. im sure in the winter it will be ok, but our winters only last for about 9 hours around here. plus, the humi is on an west facing outside wall.

ive thought about running a duct down to keep cool air circulating. but that would be expensive and what happens when i turn the heat on? it will blow hot air in the humi. so im racking by brain to try to find some sort of ac or cooling unit that doesnt require anything more than a 110 outlet. but it cant be much bigger than about a shoe box. does this contraption exist? i figured if it does, someone on here would know. thanks in advance.

 

[lucasbuck]

There are custom builders that make temp controlled units (such as Avallo and Aristocrat) but I'm not exactly sure how they do it. You may want to try google.

 

[s0ber]

I say run a duct from your heating/cooling system into your closet. You put a inline damper in the vent thats connected to a theromstat in your room that closes it when you turn the heat on. Its prob a little more high tech then what you were lookin for but you gotta protect your hobby/investment. If you can do the duct yourself, the electrical side of it its cake.

 

[AVB]

The reason to keep the temp down is to prevent the bugs from hatching. If you freeze prep your cigars you won't have to worry about this. My humi also gets to about 80 in the summer but I haven't had any problems because I prep them.

 

[cigarsmoka]

85 is suppose to be the magic number for eggs to hatch. Although, in the work humidor we had beatles destroy a box of Hoyo De Monterey DC's (cuban) and a box of Exclusivo's. We got lucky that was the only damage, but our temp was never above 75, so who knows......

 

[DreC]

The reason to keep the temp down is to prevent the bugs from hatching. If you freeze prep your cigars you won't have to worry about this. My humi also gets to about 80 in the summer but I haven't had any problems because I prep them.

I’ve read in a few places that freezing the cigars have some effect to the taste of the tobacco. I personally don’t know because I haven’t done it.

Have you noticed any taste difference in cigars that have been frozen??

What is your process for freeze prepping your cigars?


Thanks
-Andre

 

[STYX&STONED]

When I have gone through the freeze prosses I have done it like this...

Double seal in two zip lock bags
3 days in the fridg
2 days in the freezer
3 days in the fridg
A couple of hours on the dinning room table
And back to the humi

Have not noticed any change in taste...But have only done this a few times over the years for no more reason than just bieng safe. No bugs yet and the smokes taste fine to me.

 

[STYX&STONED]

Also been told that when doing a closet style humi......

Do not do it against the outside wall of the house.

Is yours on an outside wall?

 

[marcsheldon]

Is yours on an outside wall?

yeah...of course it is.

 

[AVB]

SS has it covered, same process I use.

 

[CoventryCat86]

I say run a duct from your heating/cooling system into your closet. You put a inline damper in the vent thats connected to a theromstat in your room that closes it when you turn the heat on. Its prob a little more high tech then what you were lookin for but you gotta protect your hobby/investment. If you can do the duct yourself, the electrical side of it its cake.

NO, absolutely NOT.

This will put new DRY air constantly in the humidor which I think is a bad idea unless you want to add water to your humidification unit(s) every few hours.

Turn the central air thermostat below 78

 

[s0ber]

QUOTE (s0ber @ Oct 1 2004, 01:25 PM)
I say run a duct from your heating/cooling system into your closet. You put a inline damper in the vent thats connected to a theromstat in your room that closes it when you turn the heat on. Its prob a little more high tech then what you were lookin for but you gotta protect your hobby/investment. If you can do the duct yourself, the electrical side of it its cake.


NO, absolutely NOT.

This will put new DRY air constantly in the humidor which I think is a bad idea unless you want to add water to your humidification unit(s) every few hours.

Turn the central air thermostat below 78

Thats why you put a humidifer in there, i was just tellin him how to do it without the hot air blowin in, im starting to think you dont like me

 

[STYX&STONED]

Is yours on an outside wall?

yeah...of course it is.

That is where your heat problem is coming from and it will probably take alot of work to keep the temp more constant in there.

The constant swingin temp will probably effect the oils in the cigars, but this is just my .02 worth...

I have looked into building a full walkin closet for my smokes before and the problem bieng is that the only two closets in the house that are not apart of an out side wall in my house...1 is in my oldest daughters room(she is not going to allow me to store cigars in her closet) and the other is in the living room where we keep the winter coats and the vacume cleaner and the wife would find a problem with that I'm sure of.

Good luck Bro!!

 

[marcsheldon]

and to top it off, its on a west wall. ive planted some ivy on the wall hoping it will help absorb some direct sunlight when it gets growing, but i still think it needs more help than that.

 

[CoventryCat86]

QUOTE (s0ber @ Oct 1 2004, 01:25 PM)
I say run a duct from your heating/cooling system into your closet. You put a inline damper in the vent thats connected to a theromstat in your room that closes it when you turn the heat on. Its prob a little more high tech then what you were lookin for but you gotta protect your hobby/investment. If you can do the duct yourself, the electrical side of it its cake. 


NO, absolutely NOT.

This will put new DRY air constantly in the humidor which I think is a bad idea unless you want to add water to your humidification unit(s) every few hours.

Turn the central air thermostat below 78 

Thats why you put a humidifer in there, i was just tellin him how to do it without the hot air blowin in, im starting to think you dont like me

Just 'cause ya got a really dumb idea doesn't mean I don't like you.

 

[STYX&STONED]

There are small cooling units out there that can help you out.

Something along the lines of what they use in the coolers that you plug into your cig lighter. You will just need to find one a tad larger than that and I'm sure you can get this problem put to rest.

Don't know that the ivy will do much more than destroy the outside of your wall..that stuff can be damaging.

 

[wam79]

and to top it off, its on a west wall. ive planted some ivy on the wall hoping it will help absorb some direct sunlight when it gets growing, but i still think it needs more help than that.

Build a lattice work fence and get plants that will grow thick enough to block the sun. I would also put an awning over that part of the house , one that can come off for winter maybe. It's probably not possible now that it's built, but you can put a layer of insulation between the west wall and the back of the humi.

Bill

 

[Captain B]

The cooling unit SS is referring to is a peltier cooler. The deal with those is one side gets cold and the other side gets real hot. I have never seen one that large, but I'm sure they are made.

 

[rnccen]

You could try a portable swamp cooler they are less than $100.

-P-

 

[JimK]

I'm probably the newb in this thread, and certainly defer to the FOGs around here. But for what it's worth, it seems to me that any active cooling system (like a Peltier) needs an exhaust that goes outside of the area you are trying to cool. Otherwise, operating one of these units in a closed environment = zero sum. So if you get an active unit, you are goint to have to vent it, requiring some mild construction work. Of course, this turns the exterior wall into an advantage. You could it vent it outdoors, as long as you don't mind putting a small hole in the wall.

I live in South Florida, so I have thought about this a bit (and feel your pain).

JK