Keeping Cigars cool this summer

[SamClemmons]

Uh, jeffro, ain't you got something to say to the nice folks around here? The squirrel suit ain't fooling nobody.

NA

 

[ggiese]

The "blue ice" method works, and its really not all that difficult. I had two of the larger blue ice blocks. Put one in the coolerdor and would rotate them out every other day. Even with my house sitting at near 80 degrees inside during the heat of summer, inside of the cooler stayed well below 70 most of the time(usually 63-71 depending on how much i opened it and the ambient temp). Its really the only "cheap" way to do it and since im using vipers beads, it really doesnt affect humidity. Kind of a pain in the butt, but its worth it to save your stash without breaking the bank with outragous central air bills!

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Jethro - you really should insert apostrophe's in the words I've indicated in red. That is the key found on the right side of your keyboard:

The blue words need to be capitalized. There are two shift keys located on either side of the keyboard:

im(sic) is a REALLY tough word - the "I" needs to be capitalized and there needs to be an apostrophe inserted between the "i" and "m".

Oh, and outragous(sic) is actually spelled outrageous, and affect is actually effect.

 

[Jeffro600]

Anyone freeze their cigars? ???

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You can freeze them, just make sure you bring them down and back up to temp slowly. Bad thing about freezing them is that it basically X's out any chances of them taking on characteristics of a well aged cigar....and who really knows for sure how long they will last while frozen.

I freeze all my incomings for a few days before they see my humidor/coolerdor just for the simple fact that it adds a little peice of mind agasint beetles. Some argue against it....but whatever!

 

[ggiese]

Anyone freeze their cigars? ???

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You can freeze them, just make sure you bring them down and back up to temp slowly. Bad thing about freezing them is that it basically X's out any chances of them taking on characteristics of a well aged cigar....and who really knows for sure how long they will last while frozen.

I freeze all my incomings for a few days before they see my humidor/coolerdor just for the simple fact that it adds a little peice of mind agasint beetles. Some argue against it....but whatever!

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Getting better - much better.. but...

"peice" is actually peace, "agasint" is against.

Also - just a suggestion. You write, "I freeze all my incomings for a few days before they see my humidor/coolerdor just for the simple fact that it adds a little peice(sic) of mind agasint(sic) beetles.". You might want to consider wording it something like, "I freeze all my incoming cigars for a few days before they see my humidor/coolerdor. For me, it adds a little peace of mind in the event there are beetles." That just seems to flow a bit better...

 

[Pyre]

affect is a transitive verb. I believe he used it correctly.

Eg. "The heat can affect my cigars."

effect is a noun.

Eg. "The heat has a bad effect on my cigars."

 

[smokegetsinyoureyes]

affect is a transitive verb. I believe he used it correctly.

Eg. "The heat can affect my cigars."

effect is a noun.

Eg. "The heat has a bad effect on my cigars."

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effect can also be a verb

e.g., to bring about as in to effect a change

 

[LilBastage]

I've read in several places that household freezers do not reach a low enough temp to completely kill all of the beetle eggs. I've also been advised to leave cigars in the frozen state for 48-60 hours to have the desired effect if using a household freezer.

Having said this, I live in northern Minnesota. It gets a tad warm here for about 2 weeks during an average summer. I don't freeze my cigars. If I were in a warmer climate, I would probably try to avoid freezing them. If I had to do it, I would.

YMMV, and of course I'm a newb so take this info with that in mind.

Take'er easy

 

[ggiese]

affect is a transitive verb. I believe he used it correctly.

Eg. "The heat can affect my cigars."

effect is a noun.

Eg. "The heat has a bad effect on my cigars."

[snapback]278001[/snapback]​

effect can also be a verb

e.g., to bring about as in to effect a change

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Yeah... What he said...

 

[The Master]

I never freeze my cigars, and I live in Florida. As soon as I get my box I stick it in my cabinet which is 65-67 degrees. So far I have not had a beetle outbreak living here.

I would go with a temp controlled cabinet if you have a sizeable collection,you can sell your old cabinet to offset the cost of the new one. Avallo makes a great product as does Vinotemp, their 440 cigar(www.vinotemp.com) unit is very nice.

I own a Vinotemp but the model I have isn't made anymore.

 

[Aashton]

I'd like to see it sometime Harris. I hear it's quite a sight to behold.

 

[Gary-smoke]

Here is what I have done to keep the temp in check and it ran me about $350.00

It is a wine cooler and here is the break down:
Avanti model EWC28 thermoelectric ( only type to get for better RH control) I got it off ebay from anythingforsale it is a scratch & dent model with only small dents to the lower rear corners for $169.00 delivered, If you get one of these make sure you read the discription of the damage.
Link
http://cgi.ebay.com/Avanti-28Bottle-Thermo...1QQcmdZViewItem

To get the correct temp, mine wouldn't go above 58 deg, I bought a Johnson controler from Williams Brewing for $54.16 delivered.
Link
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/CONTROLLER_P762C100.cfm

I bought Polymers from Watersorm 2lbs for $15.00 delivered. Get the craft stuff it has no dust
Link
http://watersorb.com/prices.htm

You can also buy 65% beads but at a cost of $65.00 for 2 lbs I'll stick with the watersorb

I have 2 Oust Fans I bought at the Grocery store on sale for $5.00 each, don't use the scents just the fans.
link
http://www.oustodor.com/oust-fan/

I went to Rocker and bought Sp Cedar for about $70.00, I bought too much but will use the rest on the next Coolidor I'm building, you will need 1 pc. 5" x 48" and 1 2" x 48" to make 2 shelves. You don't have to get the Sp Cedar but it really makes the coolidor smell lika a humidor ;D ONLY GET SPANISH CEDAR FOR THE SMELL AND IT HELPS CONTROL THE RH
Link to locations
http://www.rockler.com/retail/retail.cfm

I bought selves from Bargin Humidors for $9.99 each plus shipping
link
http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/ProductI...uctid=ACC-TRAYS
And 2 Hygrometer, 1 in the top & 1 in the bottom, also from them.(not in Photo)
link
http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/ProductI...id=ACC-CALIBER3


So after all this I let it set for 5 days with the polymers in it to season and get the humidity to stabilize. It now sets at 68deg and 65% RH

I did also use a Cigar Oasis to help in the seasoning but it will cause condensation so I removed it once I put the cigars in it

 

[Jan Primus]

Nice work Gary, I may do the same.

 

[emodx]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

 

[Duckguy]

I plan to build a cabinet humi before long and after reading up it appears that a Peltier cooler will work quite well. If I'm not mistaken its what Avallo and Aristocrat use. They aren't very expensive and I've even seen where someone installed one in a cooler...it was intended to keep drinks cool but it would work great for cigars. Here's an example of a small one in a small cooler:

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000083048949/

Anyway, I'm a long way from starting my cabinet but I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Josh

 

[NorCalCigarLover]

To get the correct temp, mine wouldn't go above 58 deg, I bought a Johnson controler from Williams Brewing for $54.16 delivered.

Looks great Gary :thumbs:

I did pretty much the same thing with a wine cooler from Sears. I used a different method to deal with the temperature issue. I took apart the thermostat cover on the cooler and found the set screw. I then placed a thermo/hygrometer inside the cooler, set the thermostat dial to almost center and took a reading. I then rotated the set crew a quarter turn in one direction, waited 1/2 hour then took another temperature reading. I continued adjusting the thermostat set screw until my nominal temperature was ~65 dgrees. Once that was done I replaced the thermostat cover and adjusted the temperature to maintain 68 degrees.

 

[pierce652]

I havent even thought about how to keep them cool in the summer. Im still in the middle of fighting to keep RH at acceptable levels during the winter. One problem at a time...

 

[McPhenius]

I'm also in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale / Miami ara) and was wondering about keeping the humidor cool. My humidor is a desktop 200 count and I have no need for a larger cabinet. I like the idea of the blue ice as my temp is about 75-76 degrees in the humidor right now (in March). I'm afraid it will get alittle warmer as summer is coming.

Anyone else from Florida using anything different to cool down their humidors? I was thinking about a smaller "college" type refrigerater, but that wouldn't look good in the bedroom. Except if it would have room to keep a couple beers cool.

 

[RONINDICE]

At this point I am worried too. Summers in SoCal can get well above 100 degrees. And I don't have central air. I have a 100+ count desktop humidor and that is all I need at this point. I am thinking I need to invest in a larger size humidor (floor standing) with an electric humidifier and refridgeration system. It can get very hot in my room. I dont know what to do. AAAAHHHHH!!!!! I am ok now. I was just freaking out there for a moment.

 

[The Master]

The cheapest way too keep your cigars cool is a Haier Wine cooler. You can find them for around 200 bucks. If you have a sizeable investment then it is worth the money.

If you already have a cabinet and want to cool it, contact Matt from Avallo humidors. I think he has a unit that you can put in a cabinet.

 

[Fuscat]

Wow thanks for the detailed info Gary! On recent trips to home depot I have been eyeing the wine cooler systems thinking to myself: "if I ever have the need for such a large amount of storage, I wonder how hard it would be to convert one of these to a humidor?"

Now I know!! Thanks again! :thumbs: