Think I Screwed Up My Coolidor Project

Streater

First off let me start by saying that no cigars were damaged.

So, I started my coolidor project a few weeks ago by buying an Igloo 60qt Cube cooler. I washed it with mild soap, and let it sit outside for 4 days to get the plastic smell out of it. Then, I got about 10 Spanish Cedar cigar boxes and cut them up to line the cooler. At the same time, I purchased a nice digital hygro, and ordered 1 lb of beads from Heartfelt.

Well, Friday I started gluing the pieces of wood inside the cooler. I used a stuff called Loctite Indoor Adhesive. I chose this because it was the only glue that I could find that claimed to have a low odor. It didn't seem to smell all that strong when putting the cedar in the cooler. I made a couple rails on the sides to put the trays I made. Then I let it sit till Saturday night with the lid open while the glue set.

My beads came in yesterday, so I put them in 3 mesh bags and added distilled water till they turned clear. I also wiped the cedar with a lightly dampened sponge (distilled water of course). Then set the bags in 3 separate trays, put them in the cooler, and closed the lid to season.

When I opened the cooler this afternoon to check the RH, the smell of glue was overwhelming. Everything inside the cooler, trays, beads and cedar lining smells like Elmer's glue (the kind we used in elementary school). If this stuff is considered low odor, I'd hate to see what normal glue smells like. You could smell it across the room.

Damn, I feel like a moron. Live and learn, right? I guess the worst that could happen is I have to replace the cooler. Thank God I didn't have any smokes in there yet. Still really ticks me off, though.

I put 2 Arm and Hammer Fridge and Freezer boxes in there and closed the lid. Any suggestions on how I can get the smell out? Your advice is appreciated.

-Streater

chemforever

Seems like if the baking soda doesn't work after 5 or so days I would rip the cedar out and any residual glue that may be on the walls of the cooler. You could probably remove the glue from the wood too and it would loose the smell over time.

The_Kid

Dirty socks,,lots of dirty socks,,lol,,,So you glued the cedar to the cooler??? I think the arm and hammer is a great idea,,may want to just leave it open for a week ,, perhaps outside covered patio /garage,,,i think the smell will subside ,, may want to use non scented kitty litter that absorbs odors too??

skweekz

Also try balled up newspaper. I believe it has to be black and white (not full colored ads and such) to be effective.

Smokindaddy

The cooler just might be a lost cause. I totally feel your pain as I have been putting together a wineador for the last few weeks. I would suggest if you decide to get another cooler to not glue the cedar to the walls. Cedar absorbs and holds. If you want to install shelving, do so but try using cedar boxes, lids and all as storage. That will disregard having to attach any cedar to the walls. If your dead set on lining the walls, loctite makes a putty that is used in water applications. It has no odor. I would appt some to the back of the cedar and then use self tapping screws to help hold the cedar in place, the apply the putty over and around the screws to prevent any RH loss. Again, I feel your pain. Hope this helps.

catfishbluezz

Oh man.... Before you go spending money fixing it, consider buying another one. No need to glue cedar all over it. Jsut buy the boxes and use them for storage and stacking. There will be plenty of cedar in the boxes, no need to glue it everywhere. I do think it is necessary to have a few strips of cedar to season it with form time to time as mine will fluctuate when I add boxes and needs an rh kick.

jgibv

Oh man - that stinks.
I'd give it some time to air out....baking soda & newspaper should help absorb the smell.

If you do remove the boxes and try to reglue them ---- I highly recommend using hot glue only. That's the only glue that will have 0 smell. If not, maybe some type of wood glue would work too.
In my experience, those Loctite/Gorilla/Super glues always have a smell - even if the packaging says "no odor"

I'd separate the beads out too - maybe they absorbed some of the smell?

bigharpoon

I'd try to fix it. Rip all the cedar out of there, clean up the cooler so no glue residual is left and begin again. Take the cedar and sand the glue off with 60 or 80 grit and a sanding block (or a palm sander if you have one). I think you can re-use your materials if you clean them up. Good luck.

Rhamlin

Somewhere in the forum is a post that mentions the type of glue commonly used by manufacturers of humidors. Wish I could remember what kind it was. But it sounds like your glue didn't get enough curing time. And there's a bunch of post by brothers who've made so nice coolidors by gluing cedar to the inside with great results. Search these out and send them pm's.

Streater

I appreciate all the advice. The cooler's outside right now with the lid off and all the trays out. I'm going to give it a few days. I can get another cooler if all else fails. Not my biggest concern.

My concern are the beads. Right now I have them in a Tupperware bowl with the 2 boxes of baking soda. I really hope that this takes the smell out. I'll be really ticked off at myself if the beads are ruined.

Any suggestions on the beads? Can I soak them in distilled water? What about leaving them out in the sun? I can't get much info on their site. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place.

Thanks again for your responses.

KingoftheCove

Streater:

I appreciate all the advice. The cooler's outside right now with the lid off and all the trays out. I'm going to give it a few days. I can get another cooler if all else fails. Not my biggest concern.

My concern are the beads. Right now I have them in a Tupperware bowl with the 2 boxes of baking soda. I really hope that this takes the smell out. I'll be really ticked off at myself if the beads are ruined.

Any suggestions on the beads? Can I soak them in distilled water? What about leaving them out in the sun? I can't get much info on their site. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place.

Thanks again for your responses.

Cooler - if you're going to set one up in vertical orientation, find a cooler that has "slots" already built into the cooler walls, then simply pick something for your shelves (acrylic or ?) and slide them in. imho, there is no need to line the walls of a cooler with cedar if you already have boxes of cigars in there.

Beads - (imo) - let them air dry at room temp for a day or two, spread them out on a big baking tray - just be sure the rh in the room isn't below 50%, or above 70%. Before using them again - put them into a ziplock bag for 12 hours, sealed tight. Then open the bag and smell immediately - if you even get the slightest wiff of glue, then you have to start over. You could try and save the beads using a slow/low temp oven bake, and then "re-train" them to 65%, or whatever RH you want - this will take time.

madurofan

Honestly, You can try all these suggestions and some may work. But at the end of the day YOU have to be comfortable putting YOUR cigars in there. If it was me the cooler would be stripped and cleaned and be used for holding beer and everything else would be in the trash, beads included.

Many will disagree with me on this but whatever. I've had tupperdors, coolerdors and Vinotemps NOTHING compares to a real Spanish Cedar humidor. To me tupperdors and coolerdors are great short term solutions but thats it. IMHO its like buying a Donzi(high end cigarette boat) and putting it under a tarp. Wine fridges are a better solution but IMO I would only go back to those if I had a large valuable collection and a temperature problem. I was having a temp problem in my house so I went through the wine fridge phase. Then I acted like a real adult who has a enough money to have this kind of cigar collection, and had the A/C guy come out, reconfigure the house and add new vents problem solved.


Kuzi and I used to bat back and forth on the idea of putting a peltier device in a real humidor. Wonder if you ever attempted it?

Streater

That makes a lot of sense, madurofan. I'm looking into a much larger humidor, but it will be a while before I will purchase it.

I ran a search and there were a couple people saying that if the beads got too wet, that they would cause this type of reaction and smell. I send an email to the manufacturer and will let yall know their response.

madurofan

I haven't personally heard that about the beads. But I'm not a big fan of beads by themselves as a humdification source. I've used beads many times but after a spotty results I only used them as secondary and only to absorb excess I always used the cigar oasis for my coolers and vinotemps and I'd place beads in there dry to absorb excess humidity. I use Xikar gel in my humidors with the Heartfelt sheet on the bottom to absorb any excess.

Streater

Good news, Fans! I brought my cedar lined cooler in, stuck my head inside and took a big whiff. All I could smell was Spiaish Cedar! No plastic, no glue,just the earthy sweet Cedar! After putting the beads in a cedar box, there was absolutely no smell other than the cedar. The bags, on the other hand, reeked like elmers glue. I think I have identified the source. From now on, the beads will live in small cedar boxes. I think I just dodged a bullet. Rah! Thanks for all your advice. I'll continue to air it out for another day, then start the seasoning process in a few days. We will see...

BigT06

You can take some fine grit sandpaper to the cedar and it will really release the aroma. Just make sure you clean everything up well when you're done.