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Closet Humidor

D

dtandrews

New Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
32
Location
South Florida
I am converting a walk-in closet into a humidor. The temperature in the closet averages 72-74 degrees. I have been told that 68 degrees and 68% humidity is the best settings to try to keep. Is this true? Also, what is the best type of cooling system to use? I am currently in a leased townhouse and cannot run venting through the ceiling or walls to the outside. Would an evaporative cooler work?

Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.
 
dtandrews said:
The temperature in the closet averages 72-74 degrees. I have been told that 68 degrees and 68% humidity is the best settings to try to keep. Is this true? Also, what is the best type of cooling system to use? I am currently in a leased townhouse and cannot run venting through the ceiling or walls to the outside. Would an evaporative cooler work?
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72 to 74 degrees isn't terrible, but in a perfect world you like to keep it just below 70 degrees. Humidity between 60 and 70% is a matter of preference.

I would think the evaporative cooler would cause you a lot of issues with maintaining your set humidity.

Depending on your budget, they do make larger TE coolers
 
I know they make small air coolers for wine cellars. They look pretty easy to install, but I think the installation would mean cutting a hole in the wall. Google "wine cellar cooling units" and you'll find lots of info. They are not inexpensive. There is also the portable air conditioner route, but that may make maintaining humidity difficult.

I think you'll find it quite difficult to come up with a really good solution that doesn't require cutting holes or running some sort of ductwork. It may be easier to just purchase a large wine cooler and use that. They make some very nice looking units that are pretty damn big.

Your stated temp range is on the high side of ideal, so you should take precautions against beetle outbreaks. Humidity is up to you. Find where the majority of your cigars smoke the best and keep it there. It will probably be somewhere between 60%-70%.

Good luck!
 
You'll also need to insulate with some solid foam insulation in order to maintain temp.
 
It is very hard for my house system to maintain even 72 in the summer. I augment one room with a portable unit.
The unit has a hose/panel feature that goes out a window. Keeps my little room about 68/69 without a great deal of effort.
Not the most elegant solution, but it works for now until I learn enough to build a small closet or cabinet, etc, that will be self cooled. Hopefully this thread will help.
 
Thank you guys for the help in this matter. I almost have the closet closed in. I will be putting the finishing touches on it this weekend. I found THIS portable A/C unit on another thread on CP. I may order one and try it out. They have a 30 day return policy and I think that is enough time to try the unit out.
 
Do a search under Marc Sheldon as he had built a closet like humidor. If I remember correctly it was designed into his house and not a retro fit. Good luck with your project!
 
dtandrews said:
Thank you guys for the help in this matter. I almost have the closet closed in. I will be putting the finishing touches on it this weekend. I found THIS portable A/C unit on another thread on CP. I may order one and try it out. They have a 30 day return policy and I think that is enough time to try the unit out.
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If you are going to use that in a closet, it may be fine. See how many cubic feet is recommended.
For and average room, you need more like 8,000 to 10,000 btu. Also, the instruction manuals of the portable units I've researched always have a statement that the BTU rating is effectively lower than the one listed on the box.
 
Be careful with that AC unit. I just read the description and it says that it de-humidifies too. By nature, cold air drops the humidity level, while warm air helps raise humidity. If this unit has some feature that removes RH in addition to the natural way of decreasing RH (cold air), then you may want to look at another solution. Thought I might point this out, since you want both ~65% RH & ~70F.

Good luck, and looking forward to seeing pics soon!
 
I use a couple freezadors that work great for me. Keeps my smokes @ 64-66 degrees and 62-64 RH and only kicks on a few times a day with the temp controller. Have been using this type of setup for a good while and it works great here in hot ass AZ. You could even stash them in you walk in closet and when you move, just take them with you.
 
Good news, I figured out how to use a vented portable AC unit. I am building a raised floor and will run the vent hose under it. I can almost feel the coolness now...
 
Hopefully you don't mind me jumping in here on your thread as well. I'm in the very beginning stages of building my closet unit as well. Similar to a closet, my opening is currently sheetrocked and finished but there is no door. I've already done a lot of searches on the subject and have already spoken to Marc as well, I'm now currently looking into 2 different build and options.

Here's what I want ...... cooling, a built-in look and maximum storage. Unfortunately, a portable cooling unit would take up way to much space and I've allready looked into wine cabinets, fridgeadors, etc.. Here are my current 2 options.

Option 1: build a separate box out of plywood (mahogany) and then move it into the space. One in place I can do all of the trimwork, add a door, etc.. This would look more like a built in cabinet, or hutch, than a closet humidor when complete. I haven't figured out how to do the cooling for this option yet.

Option 2: build a "cool room" into the space using insulation panels, plywood, insulated door, etc.. Again, cooling such a space has me stumped.

Any ideas?


:cool:
 
NorCalCigarLover said:
Hopefully you don't mind me jumping in here on your thread as well. I'm in the very beginning stages of building my closet unit as well. Similar to a closet, my opening is currently sheetrocked and finished but there is no door. I've already done a lot of searches on the subject and have already spoken to Marc as well, I'm now currently looking into 2 different build and options.

Here's what I want ...... cooling, a built-in look and maximum storage. Unfortunately, a portable cooling unit would take up way to much space and I've allready looked into wine cabinets, fridgeadors, etc.. Here are my current 2 options.

Option 1: build a separate box out of plywood (mahogany) and then move it into the space. One in place I can do all of the trimwork, add a door, etc.. This would look more like a built in cabinet, or hutch, than a closet humidor when complete. I haven't figured out how to do the cooling for this option yet.

Option 2: build a "cool room" into the space using insulation panels, plywood, insulated door, etc.. Again, cooling such a space has me stumped.

Any ideas?


:cool:
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Would one of those units people use to cool their wine cellars (many times converted closets) not work in this situation? I've seen some that are pretty small and they look pretty "built-in" to my eye. They go right in the wall. I can't imagine they'd have much effect on the humidity as they are designed for wine cellars.
 
I certainly like the idea that Alan has presented, and I'm looking into that (I never thought of that).
I do know that there are air conditioners that are similar to what you have on a commercial airplane. Tubes and nozzles. But it is still a "conditioner" and as Rod had mentioned, lowers humidity. I would think that the resulting balancing act could become annoying.

There is also another type of compact unit made by a Japanese Auto Mfr. I'm trying to remember and will be doing some searching.

edit to add
 
Thanks guys, I have 2 of those units and ....

Hmmmm, I never thought about using a Beezaire type cooling unit, I'll need to look into that.

Hey MadMonk, thanks for looking for that compact unit.



:cool:
 
They are called Thermoelectric Modules, or Peltier devices.

"A Peltier cooler/heater or thermoelectric heat pump is a solid-state active heat pump which transfers heat from one side of the device to the other. Peltier cooling is also called thermo-electric cooling (TEC)."

They can be bought at electronics surplus shops for very reasonable prices. I will look to see what I can find.

Large Thermoelectric Device
1-3/16" Peltier Junction
Peltier Junction/3-12 VDC Electronic Heat Pumps
 
"NorCalCigarLover", don't worry about joining the thread. I am not that new to cigars, but I am new on collecting cigars and building humidors. I think it's good to have these discussions. I have learned so much from this site in only a week. I will post pictures of the closet when I am finished. I hope to have the AC and humidifier installed this weekend.
 
I have another few questions. I have spoken with some local cigar shops and they said I could use a good sealing primer and latex paint on the floor, walls, and ceiling. It would be kind of like a big coolerdor. They said that if I used spanish cedar or luan for shelves and that since the cigars will be in their respective boxes, that will be enough wood to keep the humidity. Is this right? I don't want to spend the time sealing and painting if it will not work. I plan to have (4-5) 5' shelves on both side walls and (3-5) 3' shelves on the back wall. Since most of my cigars are in the boxes they came in, will this be enough wood?

Again, thanks for all the great info so far. I hope that when I have enough experience with this, I can help others like you guys have helped me.
 
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