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Walk-In Humidor Build and Tips Question

Thoughts

Thoughts

Forehead wrinkle king
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Messages
2,921
So, my darling wife is in the process of trying to convince me that we need to move after I start my new position. It wouldn't be far from our current home, we just do not like our current home and it's market value has increased a bit. To further gain my interest, she has promised a large AC humidor of my choosing. With the help of @BlindedByScience, I showed her the price of the higher end custom cabinet models, to which her response was, "well why don't we convert a closet, I'm sure you will have to upgrade at some point after buying just one cabinet."

This woman either loves me to death or really really wants to move :D, probably a combination of the two.

With that being said, I have no idea about going through the process of converting a closet into a walk in humidor. Keep in mind that I do live in Mississippi, so I may need to at the least keep it cooled (heating I don't care about). When it comes to pricing, material, guides, labor, or if certain specialties are needed, I decided to reach out to you B/SotL for your advice and expertise. I am not sure how much I would like to spend, as there is no telling how much we would have to spend on it in the future, but I'm assuming if she wants something better for me than a giant AC controlled custom cabinet, that price is fair to be around the same if not cheaper (again, no idea what it costs to do it). Any information is helpful.

Please keep in mind this is still a hypothetical walk-in humidor until our finances are in order (babies are expensive), so this will be something implemented in the next 1-2 years.
 
First thing that comes to mind is you don’t want to rely on A/C in your humidor. Traditional systems are designed to remove latent heat and “humidity”. Humidity is something you’re going to want to maintain. They make coolers for wine cellars that are thermoelectric that will do the trick if you think you need it.

Other thing I would recommend is a thick mil plastic vapor barrier (with any seams sealed) followed by a mold resistant Sheetrock before you put up your cedar liner.
 
Awesome about the thermoelectric coolers. Dumb question, do you mean placing the plastic barrier with all seams sealed over the existing sheetrock, then another layer of sheetrock that is mold resistant?
 
Thoughts said:
Awesome about the thermoelectric coolers. Dumb question, do you mean placing the plastic barrier with all seams sealed over the existing sheetrock, then another layer of sheetrock that is mold resistant?
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No. I was assuming you were building a house and we’re just going to be taking advantage of a framed out area.

Just make sure whatever you do, that you seal it very well. You don’t want black mold growing behind walls. I probably paint/seal everything with Kilz (oil based) prior to putting up your vapor barrier.
 
My suggestion - Don't over extend yourself. Kids don't stop being expensive, just because they get out of diapers. Save money, pay things off and ensure you'll have disposable income.

Then I'd suggest getting a wine fridge or a feq coolidors. You'll eventually out grow them and by that point, you'll be ready to move.

Now you're ready to think about a walk-in.
 
jfields said:
First thing that comes to mind is you don’t want to rely on A/C in your humidor. Traditional systems are designed to remove latent heat and “humidity”. Humidity is something you’re going to want to maintain. They make coolers for wine cellars that are thermoelectric that will do the trick if you think you need it.
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They make compressor driven systems for wine cellars, too. I'd be much happier seeing a compressor system on a larger humidor than a Peltier. The technology is pretty amazing, but I've read stories where they have failed and the cooling plates become hot plates...not cool (pun intended) for that to happen.

Keep in mind my background is HVAC, so I have a prejudice for compressor systems as that is what I'd be comfortable with if it were mine.
 
bfreebern said:
My suggestion - Don't over extend yourself. Kids don't stop being expensive, just because they get out of diapers. Save money, pay things off and ensure you'll have disposable income.

Then I'd suggest getting a wine fridge or a feq coolidors. You'll eventually out grow them and by that point, you'll be ready to move.

Now you're ready to think about a walk-in.
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You may have a point and I may go with a cabinet and some Coolidors for storage within a regular closet. I have no idea of price ranges for a closet walk in humidor. I wasn’t sure if I could consider it a personal project and save money in the long run building it myself.

That being said, this is completely hypothetical and I am a newb in so many areas cigar related. I appreciate all of your advice and expertise.
 
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Scap said:
They make compressor driven systems for wine cellars, too. I'd be much happier seeing a compressor system on a larger humidor than a Peltier. The technology is pretty amazing, but I've read stories where they have failed and the cooling plates become hot plates...not cool (pun intended) for that to happen.

Keep in mind my background is HVAC, so I have a prejudice for compressor systems as that is what I'd be comfortable with if it were mine.
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If this ends up a later in life project, I may see if I can fly you here to help, lol.
 
bfreebern said:
My suggestion - Don't over extend yourself. Kids don't stop being expensive, just because they get out of diapers. Save money, pay things off and ensure you'll have disposable income.

Then I'd suggest getting a wine fridge or a feq coolidors. You'll eventually out grow them and by that point, you'll be ready to move.

Now you're ready to think about a walk-in.
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100% true. Enjoy your family, raise your kid and be debt free!!!! Being debt free will take loads of stress off you and your wife. Then build your dream cigar room/storage.

Can’t go wrong with multiple winedors($300) or coolidors($100). Just my words of wisdom. I have two kids and they are constantly costing me lots of money:confused:
 
Scap said:
They make compressor driven systems for wine cellars, too. I'd be much happier seeing a compressor system on a larger humidor than a Peltier. The technology is pretty amazing, but I've read stories where they have failed and the cooling plates become hot plates...not cool (pun intended) for that to happen.

Keep in mind my background is HVAC, so I have a prejudice for compressor systems as that is what I'd be comfortable with if it were mine.
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It’s always been my experience that compressor driven units make controlling 68 - 70% humidity levels a nightmare? What’s different about these wine ones?
 
jfields said:
It’s always been my experience that compressor driven units make controlling 68 - 70% humidity levels a nightmare? What’s different about these wine ones?
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It's all in the control package. Not sure if the wine units run a warmer coil than a comfort cooling unit, but you can add controls that won't drive the coil down below dew point.
 
You can use Luan to line it, will save some money and helps regulate humidity fine. That's what I used in my converted gun cabinet and then made/bought Spanish cedar shelves and drawers.
 
smellysell said:
You can use Luan to line it, will save some money and helps regulate humidity fine. That's what I used in my converted gun cabinet and then made/bought Spanish cedar shelves and drawers.
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Wait wait wait wait wait....wait wait wait...wait wait wait. Are you telling me you converted a gun cabinet into a humidor? Didn’t happen if there aren’t pictures. Just sayin
 
Up to this point, with everyone’s input so far, I think I have a general idea to what I need. First, I get a closet. Then, (Hypothetically) I may purchase a REGULAR humidor cabinet (not an expensive one, just something to visually adore) and a self contained cooling unit like afore mentioned. Then, I will use coolidors within the closet, as it is Mississippi and when it is hot, it’s hot for a while.

Please be reminded this is set in the future in 1-2 years and is only when we move from our original house and are financially able after an advancement in my job in the next few months. With your experience, let me know if this seems off.

I could do multiple wineadors instead but that would leave out the possibility for stacked coolidors so I’m split on that decision. I would definitely have to buy bigger coolidors because my current one holds 200+ I think.
 
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