Metal isn’t very puro us so it should be good. I’d say you’re on the right track. If you have some smokes still in cedar boxes I like to toss them in if I don’t have cedar already in them. I have a couple coolers. One I added cedar the other is plain with a few boxes in to help keep things stable
Considering a Cigar/Wine Cooler
- Thread starter Capn_Jackson
- Start date
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
I do have some various cedar boxes that I’ll throw in, along with the trays. They’re pretty dry, so I’ll wipe them with DW like I am doing the trays. I’d like to get my smokes in there by this weekend, but maybe that’s pushing it a bit.
Some won’t agree with this but if you’ve got a lot of smokes to enter at one time I haven’t had much trouble with just loading a humidor after a couple days seasoning
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
That might actually work in this case. It is about 3.2 cubic feet, but I’m not seasoning all the cabinet, just the trays. I figure wipe, let them sit in there with some DW shot glasses, wipe again later today, and wipe again tomorrow. After that I’ll let it sit a few days and if it’s even up to 60%, I’ll throw in my sticks. If not, I’ll just DW them again, wait for them to dry, and toss in the stoges. We shall see.
That’s about how my process works. The cigars themselves will take care of leveling things off. At least that’s been my experience. Every time I’ve bought something for storage I already had overflow cigars. Which you’d think would cause me to just smoke what I already have. But then. Massive Christmas sales. Or Well you saw my one picture earlier
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
Morning after initial wipe-down. Rh seems to be upper 50’s throughout, according to a digital hygro on each “shelf.” I have 69% Bovedas throughout too, since I don’t have any 85% and didn’t want to buy more. Big bowl of DW in the bottom, and all my fancy Boveda holders throughout too. The holders are already seasoned, as they’ve been sitting in my other humis for over a year now, but I decided to wipe them too.
One thing’s for certain. The cedar scent has definitely overpowered any lingering “plastic” scent that might have remained. The trays line up a little wonky because they’re sitting on wine racks, with the curves and dips and all. I hope to get some Spanish cedar planks soon to repair that problem. Wiped it all down again, and hoping for higher RH later today.
For anyone still interested enough to read, I’ll keep updating.
One thing’s for certain. The cedar scent has definitely overpowered any lingering “plastic” scent that might have remained. The trays line up a little wonky because they’re sitting on wine racks, with the curves and dips and all. I hope to get some Spanish cedar planks soon to repair that problem. Wiped it all down again, and hoping for higher RH later today.
For anyone still interested enough to read, I’ll keep updating.
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
Seasoning went well. Even after opening the door for a couple minutes at a time, the humidity in those trays pops right back up pretty quickly. However, the hygros all read different RH’s at different levels, even when I switch the trays around, ranging from 64% to 68%. All the hygros were calibrated last week. So, I’m going to invest in a Cigar Oasis Excel. It’ll be in the bottom area, underneath all the shelves. I’m going to keep the Bovedas in the trays, and dial in the Oasis just barely under what the packs are. The packs are 65%, so maybe I’ll set the Oasis at 64%. That way I’m not overtaxing the packs trying to get DOWN to correct humidity. Hopefully this will get a slightly more even humidity throughout, and maybe even produce some airflow.
Honestly you should be good with just Bovedas, may just take longer than you’re giving it to stabilize (not sure of time frame between checks). I have a few 28 bottle coolers and they keep rock solid with drawers from Forrest (4 in each cooler) And 4 bovedas per drawer with a Xikar 250ct humidity bar at the bottom.
The problem with the excel is even if it’s not on it’s an open humidification device. So at first it will run to preset level desired but as the cooler stabilizes it will keep giving off humidity even when not running. I had one in a cooler a few years ago (similar situation to you, wanted to be extra sure) and it was set to 65% but after a few weeks it would read 70% and therefore never turn on but continue to add humidity to the cooler. Without airflow from the unit I saw a 3-5% difference between the top and bottom of the unit with the drawers or boxes keeping more humidity near the bottom where the unit was placed.
Fill it up, throw in 16 bovedas and stop opening it give it a week and see what happens. Being full without opening will give it a chance to even out and show you if you really have issues. Just my two cent worth nothing
The problem with the excel is even if it’s not on it’s an open humidification device. So at first it will run to preset level desired but as the cooler stabilizes it will keep giving off humidity even when not running. I had one in a cooler a few years ago (similar situation to you, wanted to be extra sure) and it was set to 65% but after a few weeks it would read 70% and therefore never turn on but continue to add humidity to the cooler. Without airflow from the unit I saw a 3-5% difference between the top and bottom of the unit with the drawers or boxes keeping more humidity near the bottom where the unit was placed.
Fill it up, throw in 16 bovedas and stop opening it give it a week and see what happens. Being full without opening will give it a chance to even out and show you if you really have issues. Just my two cent worth nothing
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
Definitely thanks for the advice and the experience! I haven’t been opening, for what that’s worth. I have Govee’s and the RH is being sent to my phone. However, I read that the Excel has a “closed vent” system, while the Plus has an “open vent” system. Not even sure what the heck a closed vent is, but apparently the Excel has one. I’m glad you told me this, though, and that you’ve had success with just the Boveda’s. Might return the Excel if it’s problematic.
Capn_Jackson
A Razorback lost in Texas land
I think it turns out you were right, and I might return the Oasis. Before even opening the Cigar Oasis packaging, I checked my digital hygros on the apps (some are Boveda Butlers, some are Govee mini’s), three times today, and my levels were absolutely consistent. 65% in the bottom two trays and 66% in the top three. I had a ton of 65% Boveda and placed, I think, around 35 Boveda in there - 6 to 8 on each level. I bought the Oasis because I thought circulation would help maintain equal humidity amongst the different shelves. Turns out, the Boveda is doing its work, even in a 3.2 cubic foot wineador. There are at least 30 cigars on each of the five levels, about 75 on one, which also helps.
Returning the Oasis would allow me to get more T52’s, Padrons, and Aging Rooms. Sounds like a plan...
Glad the rh% stabilized, overkill is always the best side to error on with expensive collectibles
Coolers are awesome environments for cigars; easy to set up, basically fool proof and least “porous”. Just make sure to set up the next one now for when you run out of room
