Alibaba Cigar Coolers / Wineadors

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Hi folks.
So basically I'm in Australia - high tobacco taxes, and next to no electric cigar humidor options - except importing some. We use 240v and 50Hz, so there are problems importing. There is the Eurocave, but they cost upwards of $5,000 IIRC. I don't fancy selling a kidney to buy one.

I tried building my own, and it's failed. After throwing money at it, trying all kinds of beads, humidification methods, plugging drain holes, not plugging drain holes, and various other methods...
Before I tried my own, I did look at Alibaba. Some of their cigar coolers as they call them are actually really interesting.
However, reviews are scarce, and they cost about $550USD for anything that looks half decent. I'm wary of buying something without reviews.

So, I ask here. Has anyone bought one, have a friend who has one - what is your feedback on the item?

FWIW, the model I'm looking at is a Raching C150A. It's compressor and has a humidifier in it. I've asked for data logs and I received them.

So judging by that, it seems to hold well.
I'm looking at paying the same price for shipping as the actual unit itself. So easily over $1,000 US. Hence the hesitation.

I've totally given up on mine, and I'm very perfectionist and am not interested in trying to rectify it as it stays way too high (70%+) and have little to no motivation in it any more.

 

[Boudie]

Unless you are looking for fancy aka furniture I still think a used refrigerator with kegerator thermostat and sealable tuperdors provides a lot more storage for a lot less money. I'm very happy with the stability of my setup.

Sorry I'm not familiar with the unit in question.

 

[jasonatjl]

Yeah - I’d agree and say that’s a bit unreasonable in pricing.

You guys don’t have plug in thermoelectric wine coolers?

Do you need the cooling capabilities?

I ask the second question because I have a wineador and I’ve found that I don’t really plug mine in much (if at all). The RH stays right at 65 with beads and the temp usually floats around 70-73 in the “cooler” months and 76-79 in the “hotter” months in Southern California, so I haven’t found a justification in plugging it in.

Last but not least, have you considered importing from the USA vs. China, or is shipping to prohibitive? There’s a lot of US options and you might be able to just swap a power cable or get an adapter plug.

 

[StogieNinja]

Unless you are looking for fancy aka furniture I still think a used refrigerator with kegerator thermostat and sealable tuperdors provides a lot more storage for a lot less money. I'm very happy with the stability of my setup.

Sorry I'm not familiar with the unit in question.

This.

Particularly if you need to cool more than a few degrees, you will have problems even with thermoelectric coolers causing rH swings and have condensation issues.

Separating the temp control from the humidity control is the right way to go.

 

[fisherclive]

Unless you are looking for fancy aka furniture I still think a used refrigerator with kegerator thermostat and sealable tuperdors provides a lot more storage for a lot less money. I'm very happy with the stability of my setup.

Sorry I'm not familiar with the unit in question.

Would you mind elaborating on your setup?
PM is fine, I really don’t want to hi jack or derail the thread.
Thanks

 

[Boudie]

PM sent

 

[Ducttapegonewild]

Unless you are looking for fancy aka furniture I still think a used refrigerator with kegerator thermostat and sealable tuperdors provides a lot more storage for a lot less money. I'm very happy with the stability of my setup.

Sorry I'm not familiar with the unit in question.

Yeah, second on the forwarding.


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[Boudie]

http://www.botl.org/threads/how-to-setup-a-fridgeador.93155/
In lieu of the PMs I started a new thread if you are interested in the "fridgeador"

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

You guys don’t have plug in thermoelectric wine coolers?

We do. The one I am using is a thermoelectric type.

Do you need the cooling capabilities?

Yes.

I ask the second question because I have a wineador and I’ve found that I don’t really plug mine in much (if at all). The RH stays right at 65 with beads and the temp usually floats around 70-73 in the “cooler” months and 76-79 in the “hotter” months in Southern California, so I haven’t found a justification in plugging it in.

It's getting colder here, as such it doesn't run much. I leave it plugged in, though.
The power costs on average for most Australian families is $10/day baseline. When running AC it jumps up. It'd be cheaper for those who have solar... At present, we don't. Power costs is a huge problem out here.
I won't elaborate much, but we have a fuck tonne of Uranium and we don't have nuclear power stations. Only coal.

Last but not least, have you considered importing from the USA vs. China, or is shipping to prohibitive? There’s a lot of US options and you might be able to just swap a power cable or get an adapter plug.

Our power is 230V 50Hz. Some houses still use 240V. We recently switched. A voltage converter isn't hard to find, and relatively cheap. But the Hertz is different in the USA. As such electrical appliances may be damaged.
So, not really feasible.

Particularly if you need to cool more than a few degrees, you will have problems even with thermoelectric coolers causing rH swings and have condensation issues.

The humidity is too high. Hence my asking for reviews if anyone has bought any wineador from Alibaba

Separating the temp control from the humidity control is the right way to go.

I use an Inkbird that controls the cooling and humidity. At present, the humidity socket is taken by fans power.
I used to have beads and a humidifier. Never managed to get either right, always too high. So I got rid of the humidifier, changed beads, and that didn't work either.

I was sold HCM beads under the pretence that they'd catch any water before it started pooling. This wasn't the case. As such, I unplugged the drain hole and left the beads in. Humidity was too high. Lowered the RH of them following the guide, within 24 hours the humidity on them was in the 70's.

So at present - no beads, just bovedas. 2 shelves 2 drawers Spanish Cedar (made by John's woodworks). About 4 Boveda 60g (fresh) packs on each shelf. Fans kick on when the humidifier is meant to turn on. About 3 Camco fridge fans running 24/7.
Humidity stays in the 70's. Temperature stays 17 - 18°C.

Anyway, looks like it might be hard to find reviews. I'll have to take a leap of faith with an Alibaba unit.