Confused About Wineadors

I have been scouring many websites in search of educating myself more about wineadors. I've come across a few things that I am still unsure of and want to make sure I understand before I dive in. I did not expect to come to the point where I would even have to consider a wineador but it seems it's that time. I've learned quite a bit in the last few days reading up on them. I want to be sure I know what I'm up against and do not want to bite off more than I can chew. Thank you to all of the brothers here who have shared their thoughts and insight about windeadors. I envy some of the setups I've seen on here and hope to join the club soon.
 
Compressor or Thermoelectric? Much of the reading I've done on this site and other sites seems to lean towards thermoelectric models as they are better at maintaining the humidity. On the contrary, I've seen that compressor models seem to have a longer life span but usually suck the humidity out. The compressor models do have work arounds and can overcome this downfall but I'm not very sure to what extent. I've seen some people say they are able to get away with beads and fans while others seem to have active humidification. In recent days, I've seen some wineadors for sale on craigslist but the one's that are more attractive price wise are compressor models. If you've purchased a compressor model, what is the least you've had to do to maintain RH? What is the most you've had to do to maintain RH? What was your cigar environment like? What temperatures were you seeing?
 
Plugged in or unplugged? My temperatures remain fairly steady for the most part. I see temps around 74 degrees consistantly (usually 66-69% RH with 70% Heartfelt beads) and not much fluxuation, maybe 3-4 degrees at most. I've come across posts where some feel 74 degrees is on the high side while I've also seen that anything near 80 or higher is where you have to be concerned. I do keep my cigars in a closet in my den which is on the ground level of a split. I am using a Lock and Lock tupperware box as I've had trouble maintaining humidity in the winter time. My house gets very dry in the winter months. At which temperature do I need to start concerning myself?
 
I've seen people use wineadors just for storage, bypassing the use of the cooling aspect. Am I tinkering too close to dangerous temperatures at 74 degrees? When are you unplugging the unit vs. plugging it in? Why would you not plug it in? To keep the RH stable?
 
Active humidification vs. passive humidification? It seem the best combo is both. I have been using Heartfelt beads and they've been working great for me (except a recent blunder with placing a unfinished cigar back in the tupperdor and the odor being stuck with the beads). Very little maintenance and keeping the RH steady. I have read that active humidification in a wineador is overkill. Using beads and some fans seem to do the trick. While others feel that the beads are an added safety but active humidification is a must. What did you factor into the equation that made you choose active humidification, passive or both?
 
My goal is to find a unit on craigslist, preferrably in the $75-$175 range. I'm also looking for this to serve me for many years. I've seen a few Danby fridges (35+ bottle sizes) but they are compressors. I have not seen many threads where a Danby was used to convert to a wineador. Anyone have experience with these? Mind sharing the details?
 
Before I started researching, I was sold on any type of wineador, preferably one that wasn't working just for a quality seal and stability. After reading, I now feel that I should be going with a working unit that is large enough for me to grow my stash. I'm not sure how crazy I need to go. I don't want to get out of control budget wise but I definitely want to up my game and purchase a setup that will last and not require a ton of maintenance. I'm not the most handy person so I don't want to get in over my head.
 
Thanks again for the great info that has been posted before this. I've enjoyed reading and seeing some of the previous conversions.

Two years ago I met JackImpact at TampaSweethearts ( this is the Fuente distribution side of Fuente ). Arturo's cousin Josh runs the sales part of the office but took the time to give us a tour of the place. In the first sub-basement Fuente has their walk in cooler which is huge ( 40 x 80 ) feet. The temp was 53 degrees and humidity was 70 %. I put that into my memory banks.

There is a thread here somewhere when a number of us spoke about wineadore. I, as well as several of the BOTLs have the New Air 281 ( thermoelectric ). It can be set with a max high of 66 degrees and a low of 55 degrees. It is plugged in and set for 66, but if I lost power it comes back on to 55 ( so you have to manually increase the temp ).

The seal is outstanding and I do have a digital meter inside to monitor it. On Any given day I typically read 67-67. I running two pounds of Heartfelt beads. Summer is warm in Texas and during the day I do my small part and keep the house at 78.

I do not see much action on the humi, except to note my temp and humidity hang right there and I'm a happy camper.

I feel compressor or thermo is simply a choice, plugged in or not is a choice. The concern should be on the end result, temp and humidity. Your choice. Kind of like cello on, cello off.

Hope this helps some.

Compressor vs Thermoelectric
I think if you have a way of dealing with humidity drops, it doesn't really matter which one you go with.  I went with a thermoelectric model since I got it for a deal ($1 on ebay), it seemed like less of a hassle, and the thermoelectric models looks prettier to me.  Just make sure that if you go with a compressor type, the highest temp setting is around mid 60s plus.  Some don't go very high...
 
Plugged or Unplugged
I keep mine plugged all the time.  An old article on smokeshopmag states that "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports its entire growth cycle will occur, slowed but not stopped, at temperatures above 65 deg. F, assuming the humidity is above 40 percent. Not good news, since we keep the temperature at 68-70 deg. F"  So no guarantees even when using a wineador, although the problem seems to be mitigated with the use of one though.  Freeze them if you want to be sure.
 
Active vs Passive
No experience with compressor types.  With my small 12 bottle wineador though, passive humidifiers works just fine.

Thank you for responding. I am on the verge of pulling the trigger but really don't want to buck up to pay for a new unit. The clear choice seems to be thermoelectic in terms of maintenance and upkeep. I am not sure how long these units have been lasting with regular use but based on reading, compressor units seem to be lasting longer. Am I misreading? Obviously, I'd want to get the best bang for my buck. The unfortunate part is that all of the units I've been seeing on Craigslist are compressor units. There have been some very good deals but I have not seen any Newairs or some of the models listed on the sticky post on here. 

maverickmage said:

 

Compressor vs Thermoelectric
I think if you have a way of dealing with humidity drops, it doesn't really matter which one you go with.  I went with a thermoelectric model since I got it for a deal ($1 on ebay), it seemed like less of a hassle, and the thermoelectric models looks prettier to me.  Just make sure that if you go with a compressor type, the highest temp setting is around mid 60s plus.  Some don't go very high...

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I think where I'm nervous is dealing with the humidity drops. Are having enough beads in there a way to deal with the humidity drops? I'm sure there are many factors that cause a drop in humidity with both units but there is documented humidity drops with compressor units. So where my conflict is arising is where people say that active humidification is overkill for these units. 
 
 

Plugged or Unplugged
I keep mine plugged all the time.  An old article on smokeshopmag states that "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports its entire growth cycle will occur, slowed but not stopped, at temperatures above 65 deg. F, assuming the humidity is above 40 percent. Not good news, since we keep the temperature at 68-70 deg. F"  So no guarantees even when using a wineador, although the problem seems to be mitigated with the use of one though.  Freeze them if you want to be sure.

Click to expand...

 
 
This is interesting information. Kinda scary when you think about the environments we store our cigars in. With this info, it's clear that plugged in is the way to go. 
 
 

Active vs Passive
No experience with compressor types.  With my small 12 bottle wineador though, passive humidifiers works just fine.

Click to expand...

 
 
My understanding of passive humidification in wineadors is to regulate or allow the environment to recover more quickly when the environment changes such as opening the door or introducing new cigars. Is my understanding correct? I am probably dwelling on a moot point as active humidification is probably the way to go. It comes down to the cost of something like this vs. the benefits. I am not sure at this juncture if there is a need for it. I am also not 100% sold on that notion. 


 
Pugman, I also try to take note of how the B & M's store their cigars and I've been asking more questions when I'm there to understand. Good advice. Now that I have this itch for a wineador, I have many more questions. I don't know that spending $250+ (this could be way out of line as I have not researched this at all) for active humidification is warranted right now. On the contrary, I would want the best environment for my cigars. Mind you, I'm not purchasing large quantities of high-end cigars at the moment but I would like to bring this to the next level. 
 
Thank you for your patience. I really did my due diligence to read up as much as possible before posting. I know these seem like basic questions but I'm struggling to fully wrap my head around the proper setup. 

Thermoelectric if possible. The whole point of a humidor is to maintain proper rH, and it'll be a struggle with a condenser unit. Unless...

...you don't need temp control, in which case it doesn't matter. Disconnect the condenser and put a timer on the fans, so they can circulate the air.

Don't bother with active humidification for something as small as an ordinary wine cooler. No need, it'll be overkill. I have KL in mine, and it maintains rH dead on, and has for a long time.

I'll try to type a more detailed response later, but

Find a Vinotemp, which are thermo-electric units.  I set mine at 62 and it stays there, even during the summer heat.