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New wineador questions

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Howdy all!

Long time no log in...but still smoking.

I just purchased a NewAir 181E and have questions. And yes I've read the plethora of threads but information overload is a thing.

Do I need to plug the thing in or not? We keep our house at 72-73 year round, which most of the time means AC. But occasionally, like today, means heat and AC on the same day.

It seems I need to let it air out and then, possibly, stuff it full of newspaper. Or get 4872lbs of activated carbon in there to pull out the plastic smell.

Seal up the drain hole? Anyone have a link to proper silicone grout or just use electrical tape on the inside?

Then put either Boveda packs or gel type of Petco branded kitty litter in there. Any insight as to the best option? Just a rough guess but I'm sitting at about 100-150 sticks. Yes I know I'll be over storaged. For a bit.

Fans or no? Is there an easy way to get fans in there; i.e. wireless?

I'm planning on getting cedar drawers in there at some point and realize that will mess things up humidity wise.
 
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Plugged or unplugged is completely personal preference. At 72-73 degrees you’ll be fine going unplugged. If beetles are a concern, freezing can give peace of mind. For long term aging I think many suggest lower temps.

If you’re going plugged in, you may want to wait until you run it for a while before you make a call on the drain hole. If you have condensation issues, you may need it. You probably won’t, assuming you’re running mid-high 60s. That’s not significantly below your room temp so it will probably be fine. If you plug, I’d suggest the electrical tape route, simple and easily removed later if you need it.

Bovedas, evenly distributed throughout for humidification. I use eight 60g in my 28 bottle, and that works just fine. You could probably get away with as few as 5 or 6, but more never hurts.

As for additional fans, wait and see if you have a problem before you try to solve it. In that size unit, the built-in fan will probably be enough to evenly distribute the air. You may find a few degrees difference top to bottom is something you can live with. If you want to add a small fan you can do it at any point, wire through the drain hole or door. There are battery powered options out there as well. You shouldn’t have any large differences in humidity throughout, assuming you go the boveda route and distribute them evenly.

Give it a vinegar wipe down, and/or spray down with a baking soda solution. Stuffing with newspaper, baking soda fridge packs, activated carbon can all absorbs odors, but you’ll probably find that a faint plastic smell will return once you take those out no matter what you do, at least until you get it loaded up with cedar and cigars. One technique I’ve used on my coolidor is to put in some trays full of cheap ground coffee. I’m not sure if this approach actually absorbed odors, or just overpowered it with a more pleasant one, lol.

Also, wireless hygrometers are a great way to see what’s going on in there. Boveda Butler, sensor push, govee, etc.

Good luck and enjoy your new wineador.
 
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Only thing I can add to what Cwant said is that I used a baking soda spray and wipe down several times then came back with distilled water (maybe an extra unnecessary step) Also leave the door open a couple of days and let it air out. Old cigar boxes, cedar spills etc will improve the smell and add a humidity sink to even out swings.

Get everything stabilized before adding cigars and in my opinion 72 - 73 is on the high side of normal for most of us. As you are trying to stabilize the system let us know what issues you have and we can offer solutions. Take you time.
 
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Guess I got a 'dent' model.
back.JPG back_2.JPG back_3.JPG
Along with a New Air garage heater. I'm assuming they sent it as a "sorry we never replied" gift but I reached out to them to see if they want it back.

Aside from the decent sized ding it seems to be perfect.
 
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For the wineador, I don't even plug mine in, just Bodeva. Mine's Haier 18 tall. The house doesn't get too bad in the summer. Keep it away from the window.
It can hit 70+F in the wino during the dog days of summer. I don't have larvae so I don't have bugs. You can freeze your smokes as suggested before. I used to .
Do yourself a favor and be sure the RH is sitting where you want it before you throw your smokes in there. It might go up a little when you stock it, but the Bodeva will figure it out.

Hey about that garage heater, the sooner you send it back the sooner you can forget about it.
 
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I've been running a couple of wineadors, and after getting the smell out (timing worked well that I'd be out of town for a week, so a few days of newspaper, then a week of open door with newspaper and baking soda inside got it to the point I considered less noticeable) I plugged them in to make sure they worked properly (I've found the thermostat is either 3-5 degrees inaccurate, or my digital hygrometer is), and then loaded up with boxes and individuals. I couldn't be happier. A handful of Bovedas (65% for me). I haven't touched the drain as I never have even a drop of condensation. I only run it during the summers when I'm too cheap to run AC much...which of course is mind-boggling because the thousands of dollars of cigars in the house didn't trigger my cheapness, just using AC...but 8.5 months out of the year the house doesn't break 75. When it does, I run them at 66 degrees, which in reality is usually closer to 70 as reported by the hygrometer.

I also read all kinds of horror stories, mold stories, McGyver-esque tweaks and adjustments thinking I was going to need an MIT electrical engineering degree, maybe a dual degree with thermodynamics as well, but the reality of it is - I plug it in and run it sometimes. Sometimes I don't. Cigars are happy and I'm happy.

The one thing I did that made a world of difference was taking out the metal wire racks and putting in slats of cedar in the plastic slots where the racks can be placed. That lets me set my own height for shelves and be strategic in how I arrange boxes, while giving a flat surface to stack. It helped me add about 6-7 boxes that otherwise wouldn't have fit.

In my brief experience, Boveda plus...anything...is really freaking hard to screw up.
 
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Thanks for your insight Smokey.

Have had the door open since I got it. Stuck my face in there yesterday and it still smells like plastic, albeit only slightly.

Our house stays 72-73 year round as I mentioned in the original post so I'm hoping I won't need to run it at all. Suppose I can stick a thermometer in there and see what it's sitting at.

Got cedar shelves from Winedors coming. Eventually, if previous reports are still true.

Agree with you on Boveda's. They are all I've ever used. I have 84's coming to season the shelves once they arrive. Also got Butler to use as my hygrometer.
 
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