My first post in this thread was before buying the Whynter 251S......my wife bought me one this last June for my B'Day and while I was a bit leery of setting it up because I have done a ton of research and read accounts of good/bad but since she actually bought me something that is geared towards cigars I'm not gonna miss this opportunity to seize the day. I followed the instructions to the letter.....and then some. Took my time with seasoning the cedar....wiping things down....blah blah blah.....and after 3 weeks or prep total time this thing is a Cadillac. The temp is on 66 degrees and the RH is 65-67% and it's filled at least 90%....doesn't matter if it's half or fully filled....the numbers are rock solid.
Fast forward another month and I found the same unit through Amazon and bought 3 more.....they were selling for $220 including taxes.....since my wife bought the first one through Home Depot I was able to get a discount from that purchase down to the ones I bought thru Amazon....that's less than $900 for 4 units and every single one works like a Swiss watch....I walk by and the numbers are always where they need to be.
Im convinced that some issues with these units are 'Pilot Error' because of the haste of getting it up and running and wanting to use them. Like anything there is a learning curve and good operational set-up and patience....once you do it right then the cooler works like a charm. Of course inspections are priority....check the seals...check the fan...check everything and turn it on without any cigars inside for a few days and check the numbers to ensure it works and put some DW inside....that will account for RH so don't be concerned what it will be but it will no doubt be in that acceptable area.....this is just to see that everything about the unit is working. After a week then you should have seasoned the cedar, cleaned the inside, blah blah blah and it's now time to put in your cigars and let them acclimate to their new home....mine took only a week and the numbers ....as I told you.....are what they are and this is 3 months later with barely a change in numbers. Most days I don't even need to turn it on and the RH is still 65% because my house stays in the 74 degree zone so turning the unit on doesn't make things any better.
I have 2 wood humidors that I bought a decade ago that cost more than my 4 Whynters so when I say that Whynters are well worth the money....you better believe it!