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Cooler-dor 101

I've been reading about these "coolidors" and theres a lot of good ideas here. My question is how do you regulate the temperature in these coolidors. There is plenty of info on regulating th RH in them but I'm not sure how you guys are controlling the temp. I should note that I live in Hawaii and the temp. can get up in the 80's and 90's at times. I would imagine most of you living in upper 48, your houses are climate controlled and thats how you regulate the temp. of your humidors. Thanks for any and all info on this subject
 
Its official ! I ordered all my equipment yesterday after hearing about this idea and then reading up on it... This was a great thread. Thanks Emo for the info. Can't wait to fill up the cooler-dor with fresh kills from my stogie "hunting". AWESOME :D
 
Thanks for all the great posts and tips - I have thought about mounting my soon to be coolidor on my garage wall, yet the garage is NOT temp controlled. Is everyone storing the coolidor inside the house? Also, the links posted by "Emodx" were not working in my IE8 browser....This will be my first coolidor project and want to get it right....
 
Awesome idea for those on a budget, especially for us new guys! I plan on stopping by Wal-Mart after work today to check out what is available locally.

-Zablan, I can't say for sure what would help in that situation since I'm rather new to this but, I live in Florida where it can get pretty dang hot and what I plan on doing is making some space in one of my closets and just shoving the cooler in there. Even on days when I don't use the air conditioner, I notice its considerably cooler in my closet than it is in the room itself. An advantage to this (for me at least) is that it keeps the cooler out of sight as well since they aren't exactly the most aesthetically pleasing items in the room. These types of coolers are also insulated pretty well and do a good job of keeping heat out. Hopefully someone here using one can provide better input for you.
 
Thanks for all the great posts and tips - I have thought about mounting my soon to be coolidor on my garage wall, yet the garage is NOT temp controlled. Is everyone storing the coolidor inside the house? Also, the links posted by "Emodx" were not working in my IE8 browser....This will be my first coolidor project and want to get it right....

I thought about mounting mine to the wall in the closet but ended up sitting on top of a premade shelf unit instead. I would never put my cigars in the garage unless I had a vinotemp or something similar. On days where we turn the air up to around 80 I stick a couple blue ice packs in mine which keeps the temp down for 10-12 hours (Maybe more) in my 150 Qt. Igloo.
 
If you plan on using a large cooler, is it recommended to use more then one hygrometer? Since there would be no constant air flow, I'd imagine that one is perfectly fine but, I wasn't sure how that would work with larger spaces.
 
In case anyone is interested (not sure if this is the correct forum) I just saw in a BJ's coupon book they are selling a Coleman 150 ct, marine cooler for under $60 with a coupon. I'm not sure if these coupons are regional or national but that is a great price for such a large cooler. I was unable to locate it on their website but figured I'd pass the info along for anyone in the market to upgrade their cigar storage.
 
Man...if only the closest BJ's to me wasn't more than $15 in gas! That's a great deal!
 
I was skimming through this thread and saw a question about what type of cooler people are using as humidors. I'm not of the belief that the more you spend, the better the cooler. I've read various reviews on several coolers and some have references to using the cooler as a humidor while others do not.

Has anyone been able to find a difference between brands in terms of seals, maintaining RH/Temp, etc.?
 
From what I have found it is really a YMMV from brand to brand and model to model. I have two Colemans 150qt and one has a great natural seal on it when I bought it and the other had a seal that was not the best.

Both now have FrostKing rope caulk around the lids which works great and takes out the worry.
 
Both now have FrostKing rope caulk around the lids which works great and takes out the worry.
Great to know that there is an easy solution to a bad seal, so it seems. Thanks for posting the fix. I am going to pick up a cooler today as you cannot beat the price of $54.99 for a 150 qt marine cooler.

You guys were right, this gets addicting quickly. If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly...lol
 
Both now have FrostKing rope caulk around the lids which works great and takes out the worry.
Great to know that there is an easy solution to a bad seal, so it seems. Thanks for posting the fix. I am going to pick up a cooler today as you cannot beat the price of $54.99 for a 150 qt marine cooler.

You guys were right, this gets addicting quickly. If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly...lol

Yes it is a quick fix. I also forgot to mention there is no scent or odor with FrostKing that I have found.

Welcome to the slippery slope...
 
So I've realized the small desktop humidor I purchased isn't going to last ...

I'm about to tackle building my first coolidor and I have a quick question. A friend of mine wants me to build him one and I'm going to use that as a test run but he is allergic to cedar.

Most cigar boxes are made with such and he has to purchase singles and store then away from the wood. Is there any other wood chips or shelves you guys would recommend me using?
 
ltjackson said:
he is allergic to cedar.
To be clear, a lot of cigar boxes are a variation of spanish cedar - which is unlike cedar that is sold for lumber in the US. There are various types of Cedar sold in the US to which he may be allergic.
 
The wood in cigar boxes is a different variation, and I cannot help but wonder if he is staying away from spanish cedar because he has a known reaction to spanish cedar or if he is staying away because of problems with cedar trees that are common in the US.
 
Having said that, my shelves in my large Coleman are wire shelving for 12 bucks that Home Depot cut to size for free. Works beautifully.
 
Home depot will sell a length of wire shelving and cut it to your length at no charge.
 
The employee was nice, and didn't mind making numerous cuts.
 
Be advised that the channels narrow at the bottom ( in this case the back ) so the ends on the back are a bit shorter than the ends on the front.
 
And, IIRC the bottom pieces on the front also have to be cut a little narrower to allow the shelves to slide in.
 
Careful measuring,  a little thought and it will be as slick as you can get for $12 or so
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The wire shelving is great for air flow.
 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Fridge-Airator/14504360
 
Two green rechargeable D cells from Radio Shack ( I had others and more expensive and took them back, these worked longer before recharge for me.)
 
Beads
 
And you are good to go.
 
personal User said:
Home depot will sell a length of wire shelving and cut it to your length at no charge.
 
The employee was nice, and didn't mind making numerous cuts.
 
Be advised that the channels narrow at the bottom ( in this case the back ) so the ends on the back are a bit shorter than the ends on the front.
 
And, IIRC the bottom pieces on the front also have to be cut a little narrower to allow the shelves to slide in.
 
Careful measuring,  a little thought and it will be as slick as you can get for $12 or so

The wire shelving is great for air flow.
 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Fridge-Airator/14504360
 
Two green rechargeable D cells from Radio Shack ( I had others and more expensive and took them back, these worked longer before recharge for me.)
 
Beads
 
And you are good to go.
Awesome! Thanks for the input, I can't find a cooler anywhere with the slots for dividers. Then again I haven't looked online yet, hopefully staring on this project next weekend!
 
That is a Coleman.  Many quarts.
 
Says Xtreme on the front.
 
Various models will or will not have the slots
 
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