Cabinet Humi Owners?

[AlohaStyle]

EDIT as of Feb 29th... Bob let me know my Aristocrat is ready to ship, yeah boy!!!


For all you cabinet humi owners, I'm looking for a little advice. I've been dying to buy a cabinet for some time now and I'm itching to pull the trigger on a decent size one. But here's my problem... I was hoping to wait until I bought a new house that has an air conditioner or at least a room that stays cool. But it looks like I'm staying in my current house for a couple more years and the house gets too damn hot in the Summer, even in Seattle. I'm talking it can get 90 degrees in my house and I have no cool areas.

But cabinets with cooling systems are so damn expensive compared to ones without! So, does anyone here own a cabinet without cooling that lives in a warm house? Can I get away with buying a cabinet without a cooling system knowing it will only get hot in my house 2-4 weeks out of the year? Will the cabinet be "insulated" enough or should I really spend the extra bucks for the cooling unit? Just looking at Avallo, the Triple D is $1,800 vs $3,700 to add cooling!?!

If I didn't have to buy a cooling unit, I would buy asap. The big jump in price for cooling units keeps me on the fence.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

I wish I could help you Ryan....I keep my house at 69% all year around so I don't have those type of problems! :cbig:

 

[hawaiian]

Why don't you just freeze your cigars for few days to kill all them eggs? I freeze all my new cigars before putting them in my humi. Don't matter where it came from, could be from someone that I know freezes cigars but I'll freeze them again for my peace of mind.
I don't ever worry about beetles and my living room usually is around 65-90 degrees year round.

 

[The EVP]

It might throw off your humidity a bit but I've resorted to using those blue ice packs that you use for coolers when I wasn't able to cool my house down enough. Normally, I live at 67 degrees but sometimes the AC just won't get the temp down enough when it's too hot out. Just place them on a towel or something like that because condensation will form.

Another idea, a little drastic though, is to put buckets of ice on either side but not touching the humi and drop a thick blanket or comforter over it. Looks ugly as hell but the blanket should act as an insulator. Haven't tried this approach yet but it may work.

 

[TravelingJ]

2-4 weeks where it gets hot? Just get a window A/C unit and crank it in that room, for a month. You'l able able to do that for a few years before before you hit the price difference.

 

[dpricenator]

They also sell standing unit ACs that are good for one room. Also, pm sent.

 

[AlohaStyle]

Good points about small A/C units, didn't think of that as I was hoping to get out of my house before another Summer hit.

Jim is exactly right that I wouldn't want such high temp swings not only for beetles, but for aging. I know I will be much happier in the long run going with a temp controlled unit so I don't have to worry at all, but a 5' tall x 40" wide x 26.5" deep Aristocrat Mxt is only $1969 vs the smaller temp controlled M Plus 4' tall x 38" w x 20" D for $3119!?!

At least my wife finally gave me the full green light even after I just told her prices! Woo-hoo! LOL

 

[TravelingJ]

I hear ya. That's a battle I've been fighting for a while in our RV. With the new rig we wanted to bring more of my cigars on the road, but I don't want the temp swings all the time for the obvious reasons. In the last rig we did use one of the standing units that Dave mentioned. It was great, and really helped to keep temps in line. Especially if you plan on moving soon, it's a much smaller investment than a cooled unit.

 

[AlohaStyle]

It really just boils down to if a non temp controlled unit has any "insulation" during warm temps? If the insides are pretty much room temperature then I will have no choice but to get temp controlled. But if they can stay 5 degrees or so cooler than the room, I would consider it. The reason I would have no choice is that most houses in the Seattle area don't have A/C's so even if I move, it's possible I get a house with no A/C or any cool areas/rooms.

So I bet I have a fat chance of finding someone that owns a nice cabinet humidor without temp control, and without A/C in the house, or a cool basement/room huh?!? LOL

 

[AlohaStyle]

I love your posts Jim, I love how you say it like it is! LOL

Sure I sound like a frugal cheap ass, but I just always try to shop for the best value for my needs. But, I'm very impatient when I decide I want something so I would much rather spend more to get something of quality than dicker around trying to find and do something on my own. If I tried to do it on my own, next thing I know, it's a full year later and I'm asking you guys the same questions! LOL

 

[hogfarmer]

I live near you, Ravensdale. I have a two cabinets similar to the unit you're looking at 6×2×2ft. I haven't had any issues with temperature swings, only a few degrees. I have them in a room that's the northern exposure in my house and a blind in the window. I've had them a couple years with no issues. I got lucky and found mine on Craigslist for $900 for the pair. Much nicer that a bunch of desktops.

 

[RaschNuts]

I was just gonna suggest the Monolith as well. I was originally looking at that until I found out about Avallo. I personally don't have the temperature issue in my apt since I have central air so I decided to go with the avallo to fit my Apt better then the monolith style.

 

[BesstR]

I agree with Jim's points that he brought up. However, with Avallo you get a custom built humidor. I am in the process of buying a house right now. One of the first things in the Man Cave will be a custom humidor. I might go the route that Jim went or buy a Avallo. But either way it will have to have temperature control for Arizona.

 

[orangedog]

What is a realistic cost break down for a DIY cooled cabinet?

Cabinet: $750
Thermoelectric Air Cooler x3: $750
Cedar Lining and Shelving: $500 (does not include pull out hardware)
Moisture Barrier/Backerboard: $75
Accumonitor with Sufficient Canisters: $325
Misc. Wiring: $25
Labor to assemble: $200 ($100 for woodworking, $100 for electrical)

With that list you're at $2,600, plus you have to go through the headache (or find a good handyman) that knows what needs to be done to account for condensation, etc. (the thermo air coolers are supposed to consolidate the condensation, so maybe a non-issue... I don't know).

If you buy a nicer cabinet that runs $1,000, you're up to $3,000. That said, on a dollar for dollar basis, you're DIY $3,000 will get you MUCH more space than a fully baked $3,000 cooled cabinet. You just have to deal with the details of design and assembly.

Here is another option, one I have yet to price. Companies that build custom wine cellars often have experience (and or contract with those who do) in building humidors. I know one nearby that will retrofit a cabinet for you. If you find a cabinet that is a suitable piece of furniture that you'd want to hang on to for a while, this could be an option.

That aside, what on the cost breakdown above do I have wrong, what needs to be added, etc. This is a great topic (one we discussed with Ben(SWEDEN) recently in another thread) as I am in the middle of planning a cabinet too. I am leaning heavily towards an aristocrat because I think they are nice long-term furniture pieces... but I figure it will cost $5,000 to $6,000 to get the same space as a DIY $3,000 project.

 

[RonC]

the cooling units will cost about $300 each. You will use 1 in a small cabinet, 2 in larger cabinets, and even 3 if you are dealing with a large cabinet in high temp areas.

the power supply will be $100 to $150

the Accumonitor will cost an additional $100 for adding the cooling control parts

besides building the basic cabinet, you have to insulate it, then line it. you have to do a structurally good job of lining it so you can attach all your rails and components. so think of it as building a cabinet, then insulating it, then building another cabinet inside of the original cabinet.

you have to make sure that you provide draining for condensation. pitching the cooling units so water does not go the wrong way.

 

[Danilo]

As J mentioned, get yourself a window AC unit for the room with the humidor, they are not that expensive, and just keep the door closed and use the AC unit for a few weeks a year. The cost of the Avallo (non cooled) + window AC and cost of running it will be far lower than the cost of the cooled cabinet.

 

[RonC]

As J mentioned, get yourself a window AC unit for the room with the humidor, they are not that expensive, and just keep the door closed and use the AC unit for a few weeks a year. The cost of the Avallo (non cooled) + window AC and cost of running it will be far lower than the cost of the cooled cabinet.

this has always been my opinion. cool down your room that the cabinet is in.

there is no way in hell that my cigars are going to be cool, and I am going to be sweating my balls off.

 

[Danilo]

1800 triple D
300 dollar AC unit + cost of running it for 6 weeks
is 2100-2200 bux, and you come in about 1500 under the Avallo cooled cost.

 

[orangedog]

1800 triple D
300 dollar AC unit + cost of running it for 6 weeks
is 2100-2200 bux, and you come in about 1500 under the Avallo cooled cost.

and with a $50/mo higher electricity bill? so the breakeven is maybe a two year period, or a bit longer? sound right?

Even at three years, if you are planning on staying in the cigar hobby I don't see that breakeven period making sense.

 

[orangedog]

the cooling units will cost about $300 each. You will use 1 in a small cabinet, 2 in larger cabinets, and even 3 if you are dealing with a large cabinet in high temp areas.

the power supply will be $100 to $150

the Accumonitor will cost an additional $100 for adding the cooling control parts

besides building the basic cabinet, you have to insulate it, then line it. you have to do a structurally good job of lining it so you can attach all your rails and components. so think of it as building a cabinet, then insulating it, then building another cabinet inside of the original cabinet.

you have to make sure that you provide draining for condensation. pitching the cooling units so water does not go the wrong way.

Great points Ron. So the $3,000 I came up with is probably short by at least $250, plus the labor of building the "inner" cabinet.