Wineador?
insomnniapb
Posts: 590 ✭
Hey guys,
I'm considering building myself a wineador. I was wondering if anyone else has done this already (i'm sure a few have). I know that I could just do a cooler, but I would like to have something I don't need to stick in the basement to make sure it's at a safe temperature. I was leaning towards a wineador, because it seems to be the most stable environment I can get. I have found a 28 bottle wine cooler for around the top of my budget on that part of the project. It would give me about 66 quarts if compared to a cooler. This would be before I lined it with cedar. I know I could just buy a cooler for a bit less. I am currently unaware of my living situation though and may need to relocate soon, so something that is stable no matter where I put it seems worthwhile to me. I priced out some quality coolers around the same size (60 quart), and it seems to me that they are at least 1/3 of the price of a wine cooler. Does anyone have and feedback, comments, or suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not looking for price comparisons etc. I know a cooler will be cheaper (I don't care). sorry to be so forward about that.
I'm considering building myself a wineador. I was wondering if anyone else has done this already (i'm sure a few have). I know that I could just do a cooler, but I would like to have something I don't need to stick in the basement to make sure it's at a safe temperature. I was leaning towards a wineador, because it seems to be the most stable environment I can get. I have found a 28 bottle wine cooler for around the top of my budget on that part of the project. It would give me about 66 quarts if compared to a cooler. This would be before I lined it with cedar. I know I could just buy a cooler for a bit less. I am currently unaware of my living situation though and may need to relocate soon, so something that is stable no matter where I put it seems worthwhile to me. I priced out some quality coolers around the same size (60 quart), and it seems to me that they are at least 1/3 of the price of a wine cooler. Does anyone have and feedback, comments, or suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not looking for price comparisons etc. I know a cooler will be cheaper (I don't care). sorry to be so forward about that.
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Comments
Its a Vinotemp 26,compressor cooled unit. It takes a lot of work to get a compressor cooled unit to hold RH steady, but it can done. Your best bet is to find a thermoelectric unit and buy two pounds of beads. Clean out the plastic smell, plug the drain hole, get some cigar boxes for storage, season them, leave them in the cooler a few days before adding sticks. After that add your sticks and enjoy!!
1. Spanish Cedar: Either the kind you cut your own, or there are places online that will allow you to give them your dimensions and they will build you slats and shelves
2. Non-Ammoniated cleaning agent to clean the whole inside
3. Newspaper to crumple and fill the inside with for a few days to absorb the plastic smell
4. Hot Glue Gun for the best NON smelly way to secure your cedar to your walls
5. A Cork, to plug the drain hole of your wine-a-dor (more airtight the better)
6. LOTS of beads. Beads work best here for you will be dealing with a varying amount of temps (Thermo-electrics can usually only cool down about 10*F less than the ambiant room temp
7. Patience... You have to clean it, let it dry completely, fill it with crumpled newspaper and wait a few days for the plastic smell to be gone, glue your cedar to the walls and place your shelves in and then with ALL that cedar your initial seasoning will take FIVEever...
But once it's done, you will always look at it with pride!
P.S. I mentioned Thermoelectric earlier, I hope you know to NOT get one with a compressor, it will dry your cigars out
I definately recommend going this route to anyone and wish I had gone it initially. The smokes that come out of the wineador are perfect. Jiunn can chime in to with this.
Second, compressor units work just fine, as you can see from the pic above. Compressor units are built better and last longer. Thermoelectric units are known as throw aways, cause the only last about 3 years or so before you have to buy a new one, unless you spend money on a top of the line unit right off the top. A cheap thermoelectric will work and work well, just keep the rest in mind.
as far as cedar along the walls, totally not necessary. Cigars inside the cedar boxes will do them just fine. I actually took an extra step and put a boveda pack in all of my unsealed boxes (just to have that extra peace o mind). my wineador smells like a walk in humi but temp conrolled. pretty neato. you may want to overall do some googling and youtubing. jot down some notes on what folks are saying to do and not to do. I did that and it helped me quite a bit.
I apologize for dealing in absolutes in my original post, you CAN buy a fridge with a compressor, but it technically will dry out your air in the fridge. Yes, you can compensate with the amount of beads in it or an active humidifier, but you will use less distilled water with a thermoelectric unit.
Lining the walls with cedar is not a necessity, but it is also not a waste of money, the more cedar you have the more wood you have to add to the aroma and to help your fridge regulate swings in humidity.
Do all the research you can and make your own decisions and do what fits/looks/feels best for you