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Calculating how big a humidor/storage you'll need.

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How big a humidor should i buy? Need? This is a question that all cigar smokers have asked or been asked at least once. There are many different answers but the general concensus is buy bigger than you think you'll need. So most run out and buy the biggest thing they can afford only to find that A) it is too big for thier current stash so they feel the need to buy more cigars to fill it which leads to having a lot of cigars you really don't care for OR B) it's not big enough and wind up filling it within a month or two. I have come up with a little formula that i think will help people find the answer for them. I am no expert but came up with this using my own personal experiences. Hopefully some of you will find it useful.

1) First calculate how many sticks you smoke/plan to smoke in a month. If you smoke with a buddy and provide him with cigars coun't those as well.

2) Calculate how many sticks you buy/plan to buy a month. It's best if you estimate on the high side. If you buy 3-5 fivers a month go with 5 5ers i.e. 25 sticks.

3)Subtract the number of sticks you smoke a month from the number of sticks you buy a month

4) Multiply that number by the number of months you want it to last before filling up/buying your next humi. if you don't want to buy another humi for a year you would multiply it by 12.

5) add the number of sticks you currently have in your stash and that number is how large a humi/storage solution you should be looking for.


I know it sounds a bit confusing but here's a hypothetical example.
Johnny has a jar humidor at home where he keeps about 12 cigars for yard work, sunday BBQ's and weekly poker nights. He want to have a bit more variety but doesn't really have the room to put them in but doesn't know how big a humidor to buy. He smokes 3 cigars a week and on ocassion supplies the guys with cigars on poker night. So he estimates he goes through 20 cigars a month. He buys a 5er or 2 every week so he figures he'll be buying 35 cigars a month. He wants the humidor to last him a year before he'll need to buy another.

So using the above the calculations would go like this.

1) First calculate how many sticks you smoke/plan to smoke in a month. If you smoke with a buddy and provide him with cigars coun't those as well.
20
2) Calculate how many sticks you buy/plan to buy a month. It's best if you estimate on the high side. If you buy 3-5 fivers a month go with 5 5ers i.e. 25 sticks.
35
3)Subtract the number of sticks you smoke a month from the number of sticks you buy a month
35 - 20 = 15
4) Multiply that number by the number of months you want it to last before filling up/buying your next humi.
15 x 12 = 180
5) add the number of sticks you currently have in your stash and that number is how large a humi/storage solution you should be looking for.
180 + 12 = 192

So if johnny wants to buy humidor that will take him a year to fill he needs to buy something that will hold 200 cigars.

**Important to remember to never go buy a manufacture claims a humidor will hold. A humidor will realistically hold 75% of stated capacity so if it claims to be a "200 ct Humidor" it will probably only hold 150 sticks

****this method doesn't account for gifts, impulse buys, aging cigars, buddy storage, etc. The net result will be that your Humi will fill up faster than you had anticipated. The main purpose of the formula is to give people a baseline of where to start.
 
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I see how this would work for 1 year. Then you go from several 5'ers a month to several boxes and have to do the math all over again. It would still work
 

Craig Mac

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You are completely discounting any impulse buys and drunken purchases so multiply that number by 2, then multiply that number again by 1.5(we'll call this the BOTL factor), and then maybe, just maybe you will have a formula. Of course we also have to factor in any LE's or RE's that you have to have as well.

At the end of the day all this math will make your fucking head hurt. So, just go get a Wine fridge and a locker at your shop, once you fill those up start figuring out whether you can convince your wife in to letting you convert that closet you don't use very often in to a walk in.
 
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I see how this would work for 1 year. Then you go from several 5'ers a month to several boxes and have to do the math all over again. It would still work
Yes this is for the smoker who is relatively new or just starting to expand his collection. Not for guys who already have a 3 desktops and a cooler

You are completely discounting any impulse buys and drunken purchases so multiply that number by 2, then multiply that number again by 1.5(we'll call this the BOTL factor), and then maybe, just maybe you will have a formula. Of course we also have to factor in any LE's or RE's that you have to have as well. At the end of the day all this math will make your fucking head hurt. So, just go get a Wine fridge and a locker at your shop, once you fill those up start figuring out whether you can convince your wife in to letting you convert that closet you don't use very often in to a walk in.
Ah yes your talking about the "baller effect" multiply that number by a googol and you have a start but that's beyond my expertise
 

Clint

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Nice work, but you are overlooking one thing...

Many folks buy hum is to age their cigars. if so, that space needs to be considered. You also need to factor in the idea that although you may not initially intend to age any boxes, you very well might find a great cigar that you want to age.

My suggestion....figure your total based on your formula, and add 50% :)
 

Craig Mac

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I think your formula is good for a beginner and my post was made in good fun. For all intensive purposes I, like many, came here with a small humi and upgraded several times. Every time I thought it would be "more than enough". An extra 5er or a box here and there over the course of a couple years and you have really outgrown your original storage. It is really hard to say where you will be in a year, you could dive in head first or go the opposite way and lose interest. That is the beauty of the cooler route starting out. You can start small with a Tupperware and a Boveda pack if you really wanted to. As storage grows you go to a Coolidor(or whatever you prefer). Not to mention tupperware/coolers are fairly cheap. I forgot what exactly I read here early on and it was something like "take however many sticks you think you will keep on hand at any given time and multiply that by 3". So if you thought you would keep 2-3 boxes worth of sticks on hand get storage for 7-8 boxes. Everyone's results will vary, but one thing I have NEVER heard is someone say they have too much storage here.
 

javajunkie

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have to say this is a decent metric, and thanks! could we get this either stickies, or linked into one of the NFG threads?

and, just to voice dissent, there're will be those who plateau off of stop altogether. wait about a year at least before you look at long term solutions for storage, just so you do not get stuck with a monster cabinet or five desktops. and yes, i know that once someone finds BOTL, the odds are good they are committed (or SHOULD be committed!), but not everyone finds themselves in it for the long haul.

that being said, tupperware and coolers work even better: you backslide, you can still use them for food and drink. o)
 

Zedman05

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The "BOTL effect" is a real thing...I have been stricken by it, and it hasn't seemed to go away since Nov 2010. Do yourself a favor and buy as big as you can think of...cabinet right off the bat !
 
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Nice work, but you are overlooking one thing...

Many folks buy hum is to age their cigars. if so, that space needs to be considered. You also need to factor in the idea that although you may not initially intend to age any boxes, you very well might find a great cigar that you want to age.

My suggestion....figure your total based on your formula, and add 50% :)
Totally agree. or go with a rotational desktop where you can go with #'s 1,2 and 3 saving #'s 4 and 5 for backup end table or cabinet. G1
 

Jfire

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The first vino was filled after 5 months here. But one thing at least for me is, I've become happy with my Total cigar count after 4 years. I think that is a number people should try to figure out sooner then later. If I would of used the formula here my first couple of years (6 boxes a month) I would own 4 DDD Avallos.
Regards
Jfire
 
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Jfire raises an interesting point... Being happy with your total on hand amount... assuming then that you replace whats smoked with an equal number of new, at what point do you ever deplete your stash? Do people plan on willing them to their children? Im the same way, its just an interesting thought
 

Angry Bill

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That formula is good for someone that has not been on this board for any time, but once you get into splits, bombs, secret santa, pools, etc, its much easier to buy something you think you will never fill. Trust me, you will fill it. lol
 
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I bought a new 120qt cooler last month, thinking that would last me a while. I'm already looking down the barrel of filling that up too.

I have a buddy though, who does it with two desktop humidors. He stocks those up, then won't buy anything until most of his sticks are smoked, then he stocks up again. Obviously, he isn't doing any aging of any sort, but it works for him. To each their own, I suppose. :)
 
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I bought a new 120qt cooler last month, thinking that would last me a while. I'm already looking down the barrel of filling that up too.

I have a buddy though, who does it with two desktop humidors. He stocks those up, then won't buy anything until most of his sticks are smoked, then he stocks up again. Obviously, he isn't doing any aging of any sort, but it works for him. To each their own, I suppose. :)
Man, wish i had that kind of discipline, remember when i bought my cooler and said thats it no more storage for me, but then i see the 100qt on sale and think. well maybe one more, and that's it.
 
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