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Humidor in a wine cooler?

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TL/DR Looking for something where I can get that Spanish cedar seasoning, high quality construction that’s totally dependent , but also not expose my cigars to high temp in summer.



Building a collection of rare cigars. Have a home that fluctuates temperatures into 80s in summer (outside its over 110 degrees some days). So thought a wineador made sense To keep cigars in pristine shape. That being said, some people more experienced than me say an all wood humidor is the best in general (been strongly recommended the Octagon by Prometheus) for good aging/flavor/air control. A lot of the wineadors on market also have complaints about equipment failures etc. I’m also not extremely confident I’ll do well at seasoning it (seems like a lot of ways someone unskilled like me could screw it up).

I’m a bit lost on what to do. Current crazy idea: put a Prometheus humidor inside a wine cooler???


I’m not handy but am willing to invest whatever is necessary to secure what I hope to be a serious long term collection.


please steer me back to sanity: what is the best storage solution to keep a treasured collection in perfect condition (particularly for someone with high temp fluctuations that are totally unavoidable)? Looking for something where I can get that Spanish cedar seasoning, high quality construction that’s totally dependent , but also not expose my cigars to high temp in summer.
 
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How large do you expect your collection to be? Are you looking at aesthetics or functionality. What kind of wine cooler do you have in mind? You can purchase something like a Whynter cigar cooler that provides the cooling and cedar shelves you are looking for.
 
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How large do you expect your collection to be? Are you looking at aesthetics or functionality. What kind of wine cooler do you have in mind? You can purchase something like a Whynter cigar cooler that provides the cooling and cedar shelves you are looking for.
I’m at 150 and could see growing to 250 so figure I could use space just past that to be safe. Saw the whynter with cedar shelves and also the Audew (much cheaper but seems to be an even higher review score on Amazon). Those both looked awesome! My only concern is the old school local humidor expert saying anything that’s not ALL wood is going to do a sub standard job (who happens to only sell wooden Prometheus humidors so don’t know if I can trust it).
 
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A good cigar cooler will give you the best of both worlds in a decent looking package. The gentleman selling the all wood humidor is correct, if you don't need cooling and if you do not use supplemental humidification. For the size of a collection and environmental conditions you are describing a Cigar cooler and Boveda packs are probably the best way to go.

Just make sure whatever cooler you select uses thermoelectric cooling to make it easier to maintain humidity levels.
 
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A good cigar cooler will give you the best of both worlds in a decent looking package. The gentleman selling the all wood humidor is correct, if you don't need cooling and if you do not use supplemental humidification. For the size of a collection and environmental conditions you are describing a Cigar cooler and Boveda packs are probably the best way to go.

Just make sure whatever cooler you select uses thermoelectric cooling to make it easier to maintain humidity levels.
Great advice! Looks like a cooler is in my future. If I truly wanted best of all worlds, would putting a standard wood humidor, like a Prometheus, inside the cooler be the ultimate method for my situation?
 
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Yep, redundant. If you want the wood humidor add a couple Boveda 62% packs and keep it on your desk to dry box the cigars you intend to smoke soon. The cigar cooler (in my opinion) should be kept between 65 - 68% unless you are storing all Cubans and then maybe keep it around 62%

I live in Southeast Louisiana so I'm very familiar with the high heat and humidity.
 
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Got it. I was confused by knowing all-wood humidors are best but also knowing I have to get my temp right. Sounds like I’m really not losing anything by not having an all wood humidor inside the cooler. I’ll move forward buying a cooler outfitted for cigar storage and post back pics.

will also keep my wood humidor for the “smoke soon” cigars. That’s another winning idea!


thanks for the advice!
 

Nacho Daddy

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find some cedar sheets, like from a box of CCs.
You can lay them in each box or between layers.

I have quite a few if you cannot find them locally.

OR, you could use slide top boxes (cabinets ) like I do, store cigars in them.

any B&M should be able to supply these.

I have aged my stock in cabs for 35 years.
 
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I would never trust an all wood humidor for long term storage unless I want to be checking it every few days forever. I use a winador and most of my sticks are in cedar cigar boxes inside the winador. I also have a bunch of cedar sheets laying in the bottom. The cedar adds some stability to the already small humidity swings, and also some aroma. The cedar aroma is nice but there is a lot of debate regarding if it actually improves the cigars over time.
 
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If you want the wood humidor add a couple Boveda 62% packs and keep it on your desk to dry box the cigars you intend to smoke soon. The cigar cooler (in my opinion) should be kept between 65 - 68% unless you are storing all Cuba
Wonder what’s the ideal amount of time for a cigar to spend in the “Smoke soon” dry box . Just a a few days? Couple Weeks? More?
 
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Depends on so many things. You'll have to make that decision based on how the cigars are smoking for you. You may not need to dry box at all and just use the wood humidor as a nice place to keep a couple of cigars on top of your desk. I was just making a suggestion as to what to do with a nice looking humidor since you don't need to keep it in your cigar cooler. With South Louisiana's humidity I find my cigars smoke better if they are a bit dryer(62) but they store better closer to 65 or 68%
 
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Winador setup following advice from thread. Took almost a month of cleaning to get most the smell out. Spanish Cedar sheets lining as many walls as possible and separating rows layers of cigars. Couple small boards of Spanish cedar seemed to really get the aroma right. Boveda packs doing fantastic at keeping RH right. Oasis II hygrometer on bottom and another one coming for top. Still some work to do but it’s operational.
 

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