Looking for an upright aging humidor for boxes...

[soundbender]

Hey brothers and sisters,

My cigar collection is getting a bit more serious and I'm in need of a bigger humidor that can hold boxes for long term aging. I'd like to get an upright humi, but I don't think I want to go with a chilled version because I've read that they can cause mold on cigars that are stored long term? Is the mold thing a valid concern? Anyone have personal experience with wineadors? I'd like to get something with a glass door that can hold a few boxes that I'd like to age for 2-3 years.

Also, will I need to rotate cigars that I'm aging or will they be fine if they're just forgotten for a few years and never touched?

 

[boltman]

There are a legion of wineadore owners/users on this site. Myself included. If you browse this thread you will find tons of information on the purchasing, setup and use of a wineadore. You have come to the right place for information. Good luck.

 

[soundbender]

There are a legion of wineadore owners/users on this site. Myself included. If you brouse this thread you will find tons of information on the purchasing, setup and use of a wineadore. You have come to the right place for information. Good luck.

Thank you sir. I will take a closer look at what's been posted.

 

[mdwest]

How many sticks are you talking about? and whats your budget?

A wineador if for no other reason is an excellent option for most, due to the great seal most have. Nothing says you have to plug it in or use the "chilling" capability (although I think youll find after a little research that keeping your sticks at 65 degrees isnt going to encourage mold.. if anything cooler temps should help control mold... excessive heat/moisture is what you want to avoid with cigars.. an excess of either brings bugs and/or mold)...

but.. if you live somewhere that temp control isnt a big concern.. or if you keep your house temp somewhere in the 70 degree range all year like I do.. a wineador might not be your first choice (although, again, some really like them for their outstanding seals.. regardless of temp)...

The downside to a wineador (IMO) is size.. if youre talking a few hundred.. up to several hundred sticks.. there are several affordable options out there that can hold a collection of that size..

But when you start talking anything larger than that (several members here have collections 500 to several thousand sticks in size).. youre now looking at either having to step into one of the really big models.. which are significantly more expensive than the "common" 18-32 bottle wineadors that most people here purchase).. or having to purchase multiple wineadors..

Which may still be the best option for you... but.. depending on your budget.. and your needs.. there may be better options to consider..

If youre on a tight budget.. and temperature isnt a concern.. think about large coolers... I picked up a 150 quart coleman cooler last year for $60 at Wal-Mart.. shelves/drawers can be installed just lke a wineador (there are a couple of guys that can do this for you) if thats what you want.. or you can just throw your boxes/trays in there without trays/drawers if you are tight on cash.. a 150 quart cooler will hold more than a 32 bottle wineador, and is about 1/6 the cost... A cooler isnt going to give you the glass door or "display" capability youre looking for that other options do though..

If budget isnt a concern.. think about a cabinet (with glass doors).. you can DIY a cabinet like I did.. and have a "display" quality piece of furniture for less than $300 all in.. that will hold a couple of thousand sticks.. or purchase a lower cost, smaller scale cabinet that will hold roughly the same number of sticks as a 32 bottle wineador for roughly the same purchase price as a wineador.. if money is not an issue, you can step into the world of Avallo, Aristocrat, etc.. and get a cabinet that has all the functionality of a wineador (to include humidity and temp control), but also brings all the beauty of a high end piece of furniture.. but.. like most things in life.. youre going to pay for that sort of quality/capability..

Lots of options out there..

It really just depends on your budget and your tastes..

 

[Jfire]

A 28 count vinotemp winodoor will hold 20 boxes with just one shelf. Just food for thought! And lots of guys purchase "brand new" scratch and dent models for around 150.00!

 

[L.Mazzini]

Lots of great advice here, and I like what MD West said. I spent the coin for two aristocrat temp and humidity control and Bob does a great job. He's a real gent and the work is really stunning, and they function excellently in my humble opinion. Some tweaking depending on how big you go to get the RH & Temp how you like it. That all said, I bought those at a time when I went a wee bit overboard on cigars and accoutrements and such. While I recommend Bob (Aristocrat) hands down, Avallo are very nice as well from what I hear from many and a nice price point. I talked to Matt (I think that's his name), and he was like Bob, a gentleman, and very patient with me as I asked a bunch of questions.

Since I'm at a point in my life where I'm not sure what the place is that I want to settle down in for a good while, I think the wineadors are a very attractive option. I think many look great (especially with those custom shelves some gent makes), and are very functional. I will probably go with those in the near future I do believe. Coolers also, a great way to store a lot! Best of luck whichever you choose. Ah! Last thing. I don't think anything is really "set and forget." This is just my humble opinion. There are so many variables from where you live, to fluctuating temp and RH during the day, etc., that you would have to get really scientific...like DoD DARPA scientific lol! to really lock it down temp and RH wise. I think wineadors have a great track record with being close to set and forget...though if you're anything like me you spent a lot of time babysitting your cigars. I also buy multiple digital hygrometers, calibrate them, and set them around the various places in the humidor as I can't chance any collection getting too dry, too wet, get mold as you mentioned, and the worst...have a beetle infestation. That would be devastating. I've never had the beetle issue knock on wood. And whatever option you choose, the peace of mind will be worth it, I assure you.

Last note - anything located by the fan (peltier or otherwise), I would recommend you place the box(s) that are in front of it in a ziplock bag with the opening facing the door of the humidor you choose. Reason being is that when the fans kick on it can be blowing about 80% RH on whatever is in front of it. The ziplock back helps deflect a lot of that and circulate it around the humidor decently, from my experience. All the best to you. Cheers!

 

[soundbender]

Thank you @mdwest, @jolietilfire and @L.Mazzini for your time and valuable info. I realize there's a lot to consider and this is going to be a pretty serious purchase and long term commitment. As far as my budget goes, I think I'd need to cap it at around $300 or less. In terms of the number of cigars I want to store, I don't really know exactly. I plan to start off with a few boxes (6 or 7) of my favorites and then see where it goes from there. I'm currently smoking 1-2 per day and sometimes 3 on the weekends so I keep quite a few in rotation right now. I have a 50 stick humidor at the moment that's completely full. It actually holds more than 50 because I have 2 boxes of HE Nortenos in there along with many other more normal sized sticks.

I've only been smoking for 4 months but I feel like I'm ready to take the next step. I've found a few smokes that are truly my favorites and that's pretty much all I find myself wanting to smoke anymore. I want to try aging my purchases to get the maximum flavor profile from them. I keep reading many of the long time smokers here commenting on how many of their smokes would be a lot better after a 1-3 year rest. I know this is on a case by case basis as some cigars may not get any better with age, but it seems that most do. And I know I will always be addicted to trying new smokes so I'll always want room for the random singles and occasional 5ers.

I'd love to get a cabinet humidor in the $300 range that could hold a thousand sticks or more. I've been eyeing this Whynter - 2.5 Cu. Ft. Cigar Cooler Humidor for a while and have read that customers are having good experiences with that model. Something like that is pretty close to what I'm thinking so far, but I don't want something that's going to take a lot of maintenance. If I need to rotate the cigars periodically that's fine and I don't mind refilling the humidifier once a month or as needed. I don't want to have to worry about excess humidity building up or emptying any kind of humidity tray in this larger humi. The Whynter is kind of nice, but if I can get something that will hold a lot more sticks for the same price then I'm all ears.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[L.Mazzini]

Thank you @mdwest, @jolietilfire and @L.Mazzini for your time and valuable info. I realize there's a lot to consider and this is going to be a pretty serious purchase and long term commitment. As far as my budget goes, I think I'd need to cap it at around $300 or less. In terms of the number of cigars I want to store, I don't really know exactly. I plan to start off with a few boxes (6 or 7) of my favorites and then see where it goes from there. I'm currently smoking 1-2 per day and sometimes 3 on the weekends so I keep quite a few in rotation right now. I have a 50 stick humidor at the moment that's completely full. It actually holds more than 50 because I have 2 boxes of HE Nortenos in there along with many other more normal sized sticks.

I've only been smoking for 4 months but I feel like I'm ready to take the next step. I've found a few smokes that are truly my favorites and that's pretty much all I find myself wanting to smoke anymore. I want to try aging my purchases to get the maximum flavor profile from them. I keep reading many of the long time smokers here commenting on how many of their smokes would be a lot better after a 1-3 year rest. I know this is on a case by case basis as some cigars may not get any better with age, but it seems that most do. And I know I will always be addicted to trying new smokes so I'll always want room for the random singles and occasional 5ers.

I'd love to get a cabinet humidor in the $300 range that could hold a thousand sticks or more. I've been eyeing this Whynter - 2.5 Cu. Ft. Cigar Cooler Humidor for a while and have read that customers are having good experiences with that model. Something like that is pretty close to what I'm thinking so far, but I don't want something that's going to take a lot of maintenance. If I need to rotate the cigars periodically that's fine and I don't mind refilling the humidifier once a month or as needed. I don't want to have to worry about excess humidity building up or emptying any kind of humidity tray in this larger humi. The Whynter is kind of nice, but if I can get something that will hold a lot more sticks for the same price then I'm all ears.

Thanks again for your input.

I forgot about those! I have no personal experience, but if it does what it purports to do, that's a hell of deal! The nice thing also with such things is that you won't have the problem of investing a small fortune into something big and RH & Temp controlled if you are just starting out, but want the same functionality as the big boys. They are relatively easy to resell I think, or you can just keep and pace yourself with another one. I know a big time cigar smoker / collector and he has some ridiculous stuff. Old CC Davidoffs, ERDM, QdO, Cohiba, Monte, etc.....and he has probably 10 wineadors! It's a very appealing option to have that kind of versatility at a great price. Cool deal bro.

 

[boltman]

Thank you @mdwest, @jolietilfire and @L.Mazzini for your time and valuable info. I realize there's a lot to consider and this is going to be a pretty serious purchase and long term commitment. As far as my budget goes, I think I'd need to cap it at around $300 or less. In terms of the number of cigars I want to store, I don't really know exactly. I plan to start off with a few boxes (6 or 7) of my favorites and then see where it goes from there. I'm currently smoking 1-2 per day and sometimes 3 on the weekends so I keep quite a few in rotation right now. I have a 50 stick humidor at the moment that's completely full. It actually holds more than 50 because I have 2 boxes of HE Nortenos in there along with many other more normal sized sticks.

I've only been smoking for 4 months but I feel like I'm ready to take the next step. I've found a few smokes that are truly my favorites and that's pretty much all I find myself wanting to smoke anymore. I want to try aging my purchases to get the maximum flavor profile from them. I keep reading many of the long time smokers here commenting on how many of their smokes would be a lot better after a 1-3 year rest. I know this is on a case by case basis as some cigars may not get any better with age, but it seems that most do. And I know I will always be addicted to trying new smokes so I'll always want room for the random singles and occasional 5ers.

I'd love to get a cabinet humidor in the $300 range that could hold a thousand sticks or more. I've been eyeing this Whynter - 2.5 Cu. Ft. Cigar Cooler Humidor for a while and have read that customers are having good experiences with that model. Something like that is pretty close to what I'm thinking so far, but I don't want something that's going to take a lot of maintenance. If I need to rotate the cigars periodically that's fine and I don't mind refilling the humidifier once a month or as needed. I don't want to have to worry about excess humidity building up or emptying any kind of humidity tray in this larger humi. The Whynter is kind of nice, but if I can get something that will hold a lot more sticks for the same price then I'm all ears.

Thanks again for your input.

I purchased a Wynter 28 bottle wine cooler on Amazon(or eBay), I can't remember. It has a dent in the back but the company guaranteed it for 1 year. It has worked perfectly from day one. It took about 5 days to get my RH right. It runs at 67/65. I'll post pictures if you want. I got it for $119.00 plus $30.00 shipping. $149.00 total.

 

[Ethos]

I've been looking into the wineador posts today and I've found several 28+ bottle models on craigslist in my area for $40-$50. Just a thought if anyone is looking for one.

 

[StogieNinja]

If i had a large enough stash to need an "aging" storage unit, a large cooler with a remote hygrometer in the back of my closet would be the go-to solution for me. Inexpensive, will help to mitigate temp fluctuation, and is almost zero maintenance.

 

[boltman]

I've been looking into the wineador posts today and I've found several 28+ bottle models on craigslist in my area for $40-$50. Just a thought if anyone is looking for one.

Wow, that is a great price.

 

[atbat82]

I've been looking into the wineador posts today and I've found several 28+ bottle models on craigslist in my area for $40-$50. Just a thought if anyone is looking for one.

Just make sure they are thermoelectric. The ones with a compressor are not good for your cigars.

 

[soundbender]

I purchased a Wynter 28 bottle wine cooler on Amazon(or eBay), I can't remember. It has a dent in the back but the company guaranteed it for 1 year. It has worked perfectly from day one. It took about 5 days to get my RH right. It runs at 67/65. I'll post pictures if you want. I got it for $119.00 plus $30.00 shipping. $149.00 total.

Sure. Would love to see some pics of your setup brother.

 

[boltman]

Sure. Would love to see some pics of your setup brother.

Ok brother. I post some pictures tonight.

 

[boltman]

Here are the pictures you asked for.

The very top and bottom have kl and 65% heartfelt beads.
The top hygrometer 66/65
Bottom hygrometer 66/64
This is the fan from a Hydra Electronic Cigar Humidification system. I pulled the fan portion off and set it to 65%. When the humidity drops below 65% it kicks on. When it exceeds 65% it turns off. If I don't use the fan I can have a 5% disparity. So it can read 60% at the top and 65% at the bottom. This is a function of temp. differential. The fan fixes that. It's not so much of a problem in the winter.
The tupperware has singles in it.

 

[Lezanstar]

Thank you @mdwest, @jolietilfire and @L.Mazzini for your time and valuable info. I realize there's a lot to consider and this is going to be a pretty serious purchase and long term commitment. As far as my budget goes, I think I'd need to cap it at around $300 or less. In terms of the number of cigars I want to store, I don't really know exactly. I plan to start off with a few boxes (6 or 7) of my favorites and then see where it goes from there. I'm currently smoking 1-2 per day and sometimes 3 on the weekends so I keep quite a few in rotation right now. I have a 50 stick humidor at the moment that's completely full. It actually holds more than 50 because I have 2 boxes of HE Nortenos in there along with many other more normal sized sticks.

I've only been smoking for 4 months but I feel like I'm ready to take the next step. I've found a few smokes that are truly my favorites and that's pretty much all I find myself wanting to smoke anymore. I want to try aging my purchases to get the maximum flavor profile from them. I keep reading many of the long time smokers here commenting on how many of their smokes would be a lot better after a 1-3 year rest. I know this is on a case by case basis as some cigars may not get any better with age, but it seems that most do. And I know I will always be addicted to trying new smokes so I'll always want room for the random singles and occasional 5ers.

I'd love to get a cabinet humidor in the $300 range that could hold a thousand sticks or more. I've been eyeing this Whynter - 2.5 Cu. Ft. Cigar Cooler Humidor for a while and have read that customers are having good experiences with that model. Something like that is pretty close to what I'm thinking so far, but I don't want something that's going to take a lot of maintenance. If I need to rotate the cigars periodically that's fine and I don't mind refilling the humidifier once a month or as needed. I don't want to have to worry about excess humidity building up or emptying any kind of humidity tray in this larger humi. The Whynter is kind of nice, but if I can get something that will hold a lot more sticks for the same price then I'm all ears.

Thanks again for your input.

I have the Whynter you are referring to and love it. I use Mimi silica litter ($4/bag at Walmart) for humidification control and haven't had an issue with excessive moisture. The description says it comes with a humidification tray, but it is just a small plastic tray to hold whatever medium you choose. You will need several more trays to get enough medium to hold at a steady RH. I use small Pyrex containers in each shelf and the bottom for this. Hope this helps. Here is a pic of my setup a few months ago. Don't have a recent one.

 

[jmward21]

I got the same thing yesterday. There is a local auction site here in Cincinnati that sells Amazon returns. You take a risk when you buy things (since they are as-is) but you can get great deals. This particular model was brand new with no damage and I picked it up for $120.

I bought the other fridge a week ago and I was going to make shelves but then I found this one and it already comes with them. I'll probably sell the other one, but I might just hold onto it...

 

[sipnjd]

I got the same thing yesterday. There is a local auction site here in Cincinnati that sells Amazon returns. You take a risk when you buy things (since they are as-is) but you can get great deals. This particular model was brand new with no damage and I picked it up for $120.

I bought the other fridge a week ago and I was going to make shelves but then I found this one and it already comes with them. I'll probably sell the other one, but I might just hold onto it...

If you have not all ready sold the one I would hang on to it. Eventually you will need it. I started with one, then had to buy a second one, then ended up buying a Aristocrat cabinet.

 

[jmward21]

If you have not all ready sold the one I would hang on to it. Eventually you will need it. I started with one, then had to buy a second one, then ended up buying a Aristocrat cabinet.

It's funny you mention this....because both are already full. Haha.