Plan sound solid?

[Troy]

Hello all,

Long time lurker. Finally signed up. Well my first post is of course a newbie type question. so here goes.

What I have: 1.) An Emerson 12 bottle cooler with 1 tray (from old humidor), 1 empty cigar box, 1 cigar box top, and a few wood dividers. The box, tray, and top each have had a container of distilled water sitting on top since Friday at 8:40 p.m. The cooler read 73RH at 3:13 Sunday (1st check since Friday) and currently at 79 R 2.) A calibrate hygromter. 3.) Kitty Litter and mesh bags 4.) Smokes coming Monday. 5.) Tupperware for temp storage of incoming number fours.


What I did: Thurs- Cleaned and aired out the cooler. Friday-started the seasoning process above. Today-covered the drain hole.

What I plan to do (I pieced this together from several sources:

1.) Give it till tonight at 8:40 (24hrs) to see if RH remains stable for a couple of days.
2.) If so, add dry KL, plug it in and keep the water until it stabilizes at 65 to 70 for a couple of days or so.
3.) Once stable, remove the water and check every 24 hrs until stable.
4.) If stable (temp/rh range) for at least 24 hrs add gars. If not "play" (wet some, add some/remove some, give time, etc.) with the KL until stable.


In the meantime, store my incoming smokes in tupperware with bodeva packs. Also, plan to figure out a way to deal with the condensation issue I read about (maybe hot glue a tube to flow it into KL or use a small container to catch it.

Questions:

1.) I cobbled this from several places. Does it sound solid? What would you tweak (beside the KL)?
2.) How much KL? I'm thinking a pound. I read use twice as much as HF beads. Maybe I should enter my dimensions on the HF site. I know some people :rifleaim:KL. But I read countless posts on this forum and others and I've decided to try it.
3.) How long will my gars last in the tupperware?
4.) I read some people dont turn the cooler on in the winter. But I live in AL. The fridge temp is 77 right now, so I dunno? I figured I should let the system going thru the cooling cycle a bit.

Thanks for any and all input! :yes:

 

[stroke]

:welcome: I see you've posted on a thread in the introductions forum, might I suggest you start a thread and introduce yourself? Great to have you here!

Have you considered purchasing the HF beads? I see you've been there and have been doing some reading. If you purchase the HF beads, as long as you purchase the right amount you won't have to worry about Rh; the beads will take care of that as long as you maintain them. Other than that, it sounds fine to me for starters.

With the Boveda packs, your cigars should be good for a good while in the tupperware. Boveda packs are solid. Running the fridge won't hurt anything in the winter. I'm in MS not far off the coast and my house has been rather cool lately (high 60's, low 70's).

 

[Troy]

Thanks for the reply! I know HF BEads are great. I actually forgot to mention, that I have some coming Monday also (ordered before I read TONS of info on KL). The thing is I'm on a budget and KL is so much cheaper. Thanks for the feedack on the plan. The whole-when to add the KL, remove the water thing is confusing. Thanks again.

 

[stroke]

I know what you mean by being a budget, I am as well. The HF beads are really worth it. They're too easy: just spray half of 'em with distilled water!

 

[iCraig]

I completely understand being on a budget, but if you're spending good money on smokes and keeping them stored reliably whether for long or short term, it makes sense to me to spend the extra money on proper humidification. I don't see buying kitty litter when I can spend a little extra and get reliable humidification from Heartfelt or HCM.

Just my 2cents..


Good luck and :welcome:

 

[Troy]

I know what you mean by being a budget, I am as well. The HF beads are really worth it. They're too easy: just spray half of 'em with distilled water!

Arent budgets fun? My hobbies tend to cost a lot (gars, xbox, golf, guns, everything except reading!). The KL can be sprayed also

 

[Troy]

I completely understand being on a budget, but if you're spending good money on smokes and keeping them stored reliably whether for long or short term, it makes sense to me to spend the extra money on proper humidification. I don't see buying kitty litter when I can spend a little extra and get reliable humidification from Heartfelt or HCM.

Just my 2cents..


Good luck and :welcome:

I appreciate the feedback and the input. I hear ya on the KL. But like I said I've read TONS of posts and info about them and people report them being just as reliable. Then I think about the two tubes I have coming from HF for about $34 after shipping....and I see this 10 pound bag of KL I got for 12.00. It's hard to say no. On another note you think the plan is okay? The "when" of when to add the humdification, remove the water, add the gars....basically the time frame for seasoning gets confusing.

 

[stroke]

Being that you're using a wine cooler, you shouldn't worry about seasoning. This is more for humidors which will absorb a lot of the moisture. The wine cooler will retain enough moisture until the wood evens out. I'd just swap out the water and the humidification, make sure they're holding a steady Rh, then add the cigars.

Cigars do require a certain amount of caution and care, but they are also somewhat forgiving. If you toss 'em in your desk drawer you'll be sorry, but you get the picture.

 

[iCraig]

Being that you're using a wine cooler, you shouldn't worry about seasoning. This is more for humidors which will absorb a lot of the moisture. The wine cooler will retain enough moisture until the wood evens out. I'd just swap out the water and the humidification, make sure they're holding a steady Rh, then add the cigars.

Cigars do require a certain amount of caution and care, but they are also somewhat forgiving. If you toss 'em in your desk drawer you'll be sorry, but you get the picture.

What Mr. Stroke said.

 

[CWS]

I appreciate the feedback and the input. I hear ya on the KL. But like I said I've read TONS of posts and info about them and people report them being just as reliable. Then I think about the two tubes I have coming from HF for about $34 after shipping....and I see this 10 pound bag of KL I got for 12.00. It's hard to say no. On another note you think the plan is okay? The "when" of when to add the humdification, remove the water, add the gars....basically the time frame for seasoning gets confusing.

Used KL for years. Works fine. A buddy actualy sent me a half bag. Used HF beads for years works fine. Stoke is correst you do not need to season a wine cooler or a cooledor. You can use cedar boxes many cigars come in and make sure you have them seasoned or if you use drawers in your new cooler, they should be seasoned first. Put the boxes or drawers in the cooler with a bowl of distilled water or a clean sponge with distilled water for 24 hours. Good to go.

 

[orangedog]

Plan sounds good. On the topic of seasoning - agree it is less of an issue with wineadors. You'll just want to make sure that the shelves and empty boxes and such are seasoned. Then, you'll probably fine that things are more stable once you've added more stuff - cigars, boxes, etc. The plastic interiors don't hold the humidity, so recovery (i.e. humidification stabilizing after opening the door) will improve once there is less room for air and more contents.

Also, I'm a big fan of rerouting condensation into the beads/KL. Don't be surprised if the KL starts to yellow a tad... it will do that from the wood/tobacco, etc. I just replace it every once in a while, although from what I understand even if slightly yellowed its no big deal. I'm open for others to correct that statement, though, if there have been contradicting experiences.

Keep us posted on how it goes and if you run into any problems!

 

[Troy]

Thanks guys. With the seasoning I was focusing on the empty tray (which I'll used for singles), the cigar box top, and the empty cigar box. The last two I was going to take my smokes out of my incoming box and put them in those (hence the seasoning). But it sounds like you guys are saying the boxes themselves (that I buy) will be enough? I appreciate the tips a LOT. On another note I have to figure out how to may my avatar show up

 

[Troy]

Also, I'm a big fan of rerouting condensation into the beads/KL.

Whats the easiest way to reroute? I'm not a handy man, so a ramp is out. I've read about flexible cutting boards (from walmart). What do you guys think? And should I do it before I add the gars?

 

[orangedog]

Whats the easiest way to reroute? I'm not a handy man, so a ramp is out. I've read about flexible cutting boards (from walmart). What do you guys think? And should I do it before I add the gars?

It will be easier to do it before adding cigars, plus if you use a sealant/adhesive with an odor (I'd avoid that) you'll need time for it to air out and/or set. (odor free silicone works)

I used a mini funnel (from one of those cake decorating squeeze bag sets) and some plastic piping from home depot. the drain in my unit goes out the back, so I drilled a hole back into the unit and routed the piping through there. my wine fridge is different than yours so.

I've seen, on the forums, the flexible cutting board work. may be a good place to start.

 

[daniyal]

Welcome aboard!

 

[ShortyStogie]

Hey there... good having you around! Enjoy your stay... and the longer you stay, the more you can kiss your budget's a$$ goodbye!

-Fauzi

 

[Troy]

Thanks a lot

 

[Troy]

It will be easier to do it before adding cigars, plus if you use a sealant/adhesive with an odor (I'd avoid that) you'll need time for it to air out and/or set. (odor free silicone works)

I used a mini funnel (from one of those cake decorating squeeze bag sets) and some plastic piping from home depot. the drain in my unit goes out the back, so I drilled a hole back into the unit and routed the piping through there. my wine fridge is different than yours so.

I've seen, on the forums, the flexible cutting board work. may be a good place to start.

I worked on it last night. I layered a few pieces of notebook vinyl (? I guess it's vinyl...froma three ring notebook) and used that as a ramp into some kitty litter. I think today I'll go check out those flexibile cutting boards they may be better in the long run. Oh, my cigars came in Yesterday and are in the fridge, prepping for freezing, so I have time. Thanks again.

 

[Troy]

It will be easier to do it before adding cigars, plus if you use a sealant/adhesive with an odor (I'd avoid that) you'll need time for it to air out and/or set. (odor free silicone works)

I used a mini funnel (from one of those cake decorating squeeze bag sets) and some plastic piping from home depot. the drain in my unit goes out the back, so I drilled a hole back into the unit and routed the piping through there. my wine fridge is different than yours so.

I've seen, on the forums, the flexible cutting board work. may be a good place to start.

I worked on it last night. I layered a few pieces of notebook vinyl (? I guess it's vinyl...froma three ring notebook) and used that as a ramp into some kitty litter. I think today I'll go check out those flexibile cutting boards they may be better in the long run. Oh, my cigars came in Yesterday and are in the fridge, prepping for freezing, so I have time. Thanks again.

 

[Troy]

Hey there... good having you around! Enjoy your stay... and the longer you stay, the more you can kiss your budget's a$$ goodbye!

-Fauzi

Tell me about it. On average I smoke 1 to 2 sticks a week. As it get's colder that may be 1. So I'm fine on that front. The problem is that my tastes are beginning to shift to the more expensive sticks. Thank goodness I have my bundle cigars that I love. But on the other hand, only smoking twice a week I can afford to be a little pricey.