Storage help?

[Dr. Xikar]

Alright guys, I need some help figuring out my storage for this coming summer.

My family is selling their house now that the last child is off to college, and moving into a renovated "cottage"...

The basic problem is that the cottage will not have AC, or a basement, and I will be there all summer helping them finish the building and getting them moved in. I want to come up with storage for while I'm there for the summer - I also want to come up with storage for the next few years at College since I won't be able to use their basement anymore to keep my humidors at a good temperature.

The logical solution to me is a Wine Cooler - I'm thinking a 28 Bottle model.

Here are my questions - I like my humidors, but they are not space efficient, and they do not keep cigars cool, so I will probably have to lose 'em in this move... Do I have alternatives to the wine cooler? (Reminder - No AC/cooling system, and it will be hot this summer and on campus)

Also, I like Heartfelt Beads - How many will I need for a 28 bottle wine cooler? I currently have a pound and a half in my igloodor. Would that be enough, or do I need another half pound or so?

Any other advice? I plan on, if I end up doing this, following the Wine Cooler 101 thread in my build, with the ETC... Probably no fans, since I will open it daily anyways.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Jeremy

 

[SailorAg]

have you considered a coolidor? If you keep it in a closet or something, it will minimize any temperature fluctuation. That'll be your best bang for your buck option, I think. Plus it can hold a good amount of cigars in a reasonably small footprint.

 

[Jwrussell]

I don't see any other really good options besides the winecooler in your situation. You could go with a cooled and insulated cabinet humidir (Avallo) but that sounds like it might not fit your situation best at this time. As to the bead question, check out Heartfelt's website, there should be a calculator. You'll need the internal measurements or the cubic inches of internal space.

 

[Dr. Xikar]

I have a regular igloodor - But it's going to get up to around 90* this summer, easy. I don't thinks that just shade will be enough to counteract that.

 

[orangedog]

wineador is the solution... it doesn't have to be fancy... and quite frankly, if budget is an issue, you don't need an ETC. I'm not advocating going cheap, but picking up a wine fridge on craigslist can be an inexpensive option that doesn't hit the pocketbook too hard.

as for beads... I have a 35 bottle wineador... and I use ~2lbs of beads. At one point I had ~1.5lbs and it worked fine, but I figured a little overkill won't hurt (and the incremental 0.5lbs were put in different spots).

also, instead of drawers, just use empty boxes... the wood from the boxes will help retain humidity when opening/closing the door, and provide incremental stability just generally. if you don't overstuff it, circulation may even be sufficient without a fan... just don't let anything touch the back wall of the fridge.

hope that helps
Matt

 

[Dr. Xikar]

I already use empty boxes in the igloodor, rather than shelves, so I intend to stick with that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

I guess I'll go ahead and sell off my humidors (or at least one of them) and pick up a wine cooler.

I may just grab an extra .5 lbs of HF beads - Two in the bottom, one in the middle, one in the top.

I'll probably skip on the fan too, since, like I said, I will open it daily.

Can anyone recommend a cheap brand/specific cooler? I'm trying to find it around 125$ - 150$... I figure I'll sell off one or both of my 100ct humidors to cover most of the cost of the wine Cooler/ETC, and keep one Humi and my Coolidor for future use or during the cooler months use.

Any other advice?

Thanks guys!
Jeremy

 

[Dr. Xikar]

Also, Can anyone with a 28 bottle wine cooler give me an estimate as to how many boxes I can fit in there? I've currently fit about 9-10 boxes into my igloodor - Would I get around the same amount wiht a 28 bottle-er, or would I get more? Less?

Thanks