My humidor

10toes54

Going to be buying a inexpensive humidor ( I won't say cheap) AND would you believe that my hygrometer is more expensive than the humidor lol,   probably should buy a better humidifier as well I think they come with florist foam and I rather have beads!  not too sure what sticks to put in though as a first time smoker  though. Don't care too much for Connecticut wrappers ( too grassy) I would like maduros better I guess! What was your fiat stick that you still smoke??

peter4jc

Ah, the allure of a gorgeous humidor!  Even the cheap ones generally look pretty nice.

Consider this though...  you can save yourself some headaches if you just forget the wood and go plastic; a tupperdor is so much easier to start with - not to mention, live with - than any humidor, no matter if it's cheap or high-end.

My first purchase was a 5'er of My Father, Flor de la Antilles.  I got lucky on that blind choice - I thought the bands were cool, and read good reviews - and it's still a favorite.

Usaf06

Wood humidors are nice to look at but most are a pain to keep. Coolers, tupperware, and wine coolers are the way to go with beads or boveda packs. Take a look at the what are you smoking threads to see what everyone enjoys. 

90+_Irishman

I would wholeheartedly second @Usaf06, that is golden advice right there!

Brett

Wylaff

Do yourself a favor and glace through this thread.

http://forum.cigar.com/discussion/896591/veterans-advice-to-newbie-first-humidor

It's all the advice we would give someone before their first purchase.

miller65rod

Like many have said before if your gonna go cheap then a wood humidor is not the right choice. Cheap is what you will get. Why do they give away cheap cigars and cheap humidors. Because they are cheap. You will battle warpage, leaks and everything under the sun. Tupperware, coolers etc. are the way to go. Beads, kitty litter and boveda are your best humidification options. Buy an Xikar gauge it has a lifetime warranty. I have a few of them and they work great. 

I will say it again, many buy 30 dollar sticks and throw them in a humidor that does not work. What is the point? Get your humidor setup working first and then buy sticks. You can't enjoy them if they are not properly maintained. Your humidor setup is the most important piece of the puzzle. In the cigar world many buy tires and rims (Cigars) before they have a car (Humidor) to put them on. Makes no sense to me but it is a learning curve many have been bitten by. 

For starters a cooler would be the right choice. You can progress as your collection grows and it will grow if you are a smoker. Search the forum and read the advice and horror stories of many. GL with your setup. 

genareddog

Agree, cooler all the way. I have on humi with the top off inside of my cooler.

First smoke that I still smoke and love is the ava maria

johnnyB

genareddog said:

Agree, cooler all the way. I have on humi with the top off inside of my cooler.

First smoke that I still smoke and love is the ava maria

I saw that C.com has them on sale today 

genareddog

johnnyB said:

genareddog said:

Agree, cooler all the way. I have on humi with the top off inside of my cooler.

First smoke that I still smoke and love is the ava maria

I saw that C.com has them on sale today 

Stop! I keep hearing these noises in my head.

miller65rod

Ur all gonna be broke lol. Only takes another cooler to ensure you buy more. Easy decision if u ask me. 

eklektos44

So, if you're using the Boveda what humidity do you use? I just received 4 69% 60 gram. Is that too high or just about right?

skydiverD

A couple ceegars that got me started, didn't break the bank, and I still enjoy them now and always have on hand:


La Gloria Cubana (original in Wavell vitola)  http://www.cigar.com/cigars/81692/la-gloria-cubana-natural/#p-16324

Partagas (original in Robusto vitola) http://www.cigar.com/cigars/11796/partagas/

While my tastes have escalated to stronger profiles, I still enjoy these smokes and the price point is great for entry level.

10toes54

peter4jc said:

Ah, the allure of a gorgeous humidor!  Even the cheap ones generally look pretty nice.

Consider this though...  you can save yourself some headaches if you just forget the wood and go plastic; a tupperdor is so much easier to start with - not to mention, live with - than any humidor, no matter if it's cheap or high-end.

My first purchase was a 5'er of My Father, Flor de la Antilles.  I got lucky on that blind choice - I thought the bands were cool, and read good reviews - and it's still a favorite.

miller65rod

eklektos44 said:

So, if you're using the Boveda what humidity do you use? I just received 4 69% 60 gram. Is that too high or just about right?

Depends on your smoking preference. I like 65%, you may like 69%. Some like even higher. You can always get a 65% and store the cigars in a separate device to see what is best for you.

10toes54

Well I guess then it's time to go to Utube and see how to make one I will admit those wooden ones to look nice!!but a good friend of mine  from years ago put his in Tupperware (and I thought he was a bit crazy) well I guess he was the smart one lol thanks!!!

90+_Irishman

Go to Wally World and pick up a 50-60 qt cooler, and buy a handle of this kitty litter and some kind of dish or Tupperware with lid you can cut up to put the kitty litter in. If and only IF you want to then go to a local lounge and ask them for a half dozen to dozen empty cigar boxes, most give them away free. Then go home and either leave em as is or take the tops off or even disassemble completely and no you hav every single thing you need to make a 600+ cigar coolidor and all cost you less than $50 i chit you not. It's the exact thing I did and here are a few pics. I lined the bottom and sides of mine with th cedar I took from empty boxes and then used thin boxes with the tops off to make trays and a ceramic dish for $5 to hold the kitty litter and a few plastic bakers for loose cigars. You can even pick up a cheap hygrometer there only downside is that it's a big unit but in a coolidor I don't notice it or care, you can see it in the pic below. I used it alongside one I had already calibrated so I could figure out how high or low it was against true rH and just wrote in silver sharpie in the screen what it is off. If you want to go real fancy you can pick up some frigging sweet cedar trays to use in the coolidor instead on Amazon for a song. Hope this helps. When you get all the pieces parts either post and ask for how to season and setup or you can even PM me and I will walk you through step by step the whole way, I'm sure more than half the members here would offer to do that as well. 



PS needs to be this specific type of kitty litter as it is silicon crystal chips with zero additives which is why it is safe to use and naturally keeps rH between 65-70% which is perfect. Cost me $15 and will last me 10 years easy and I've been using with perfect results for years as have many many others. 

Best of of luck and we can absolutely assure you to get a brilliant and perfect setup for less than $75 out the door with tax, I guarantee it

Brett

Wylaff

Fun trivia: The cigar beads at cheaphumidors are made by the same company that makes exquisicat.

I don't even use cedar in my cooler. The only reason for cedar in a humidor is because it holds and regulates humidity. A cooler with kitty litter does the same thing. Just grab some plastic trays (mine were 25 cents a piece at wal-mart) and fill 'er up.

90+_Irishman

Only reason I add it is I like the smell, no other reason purely aesthetic for me. 

Brett

10toes54

Ok!! What if I want a smaller one?? Tupperware size? Like 12" by 6" can I still use broken up cigar boxes and beads ?? What about a hygrometer/temperature gauge and what kind of beads Bryan Glinn uses I'd like to try, what's the best beads is there any?? 

miller65rod

Yes.. Yes.. and Yes.

Heartfelt beads for me and there are many others. If you using a small cooler or tupperdor I would suggest Boveda. 

90+_Irishman

Heartfelt is th most popular for beads but pretty much any will work. You can make any cooler or Tupperware work, just need to make sure it's big enough for your sticks, the number you will grow into as well as your humidification device and hygrometer. When talking price there is very very very little difference between a modest sized Tupperware and a 25-50qt cooler. It's easy to have too much space, it's a real biooootch to have too little. Just my 2 cents. 

Brett

10toes54

90+_Irishman said:

Go to Wally World and pick up a 50-60 qt cooler, and buy a handle of this kitty litter and some kind of dish or Tupperware with lid you can cut up to put the kitty litter in. If and only IF you want to then go to a local lounge and ask them for a half dozen to dozen empty cigar boxes, most give them away free. Then go home and either leave em as is or take the tops off or even disassemble completely and no you hav every single thing you need to make a 600+ cigar coolidor and all cost you less than $50 i chit you not. It's the exact thing I did and here are a few pics. I lined the bottom and sides of mine with th cedar I took from empty boxes and then used thin boxes with the tops off to make trays and a ceramic dish for $5 to hold the kitty litter and a few plastic bakers for loose cigars. You can even pick up a cheap hygrometer there only downside is that it's a big unit but in a coolidor I don't notice it or care, you can see it in the pic below. I used it alongside one I had already calibrated so I could figure out how high or low it was against true rH and just wrote in silver sharpie in the screen what it is off. If you want to go real fancy you can pick up some frigging sweet cedar trays to use in the coolidor instead on Amazon for a song. Hope this helps. When you get all the pieces parts either post and ask for how to season and setup or you can even PM me and I will walk you through step by step the whole way, I'm sure more than half the members here would offer to do that as well. 



PS needs to be this specific type of kitty litter as it is silicon crystal chips with zero additives which is why it is safe to use and naturally keeps rH between 65-70% which is perfect. Cost me $15 and will last me 10 years easy and I've been using with perfect results for years as have many many others. 

Best of of luck and we can absolutely assure you to get a brilliant and perfect setup for less than $75 out the door with tax, I guarantee it

Brett

10toes54

That's great Brett but I'm just starting out how about something smaller ?? like a 8 by 12? what do I do then?? same thing as before?? 

Yakster

For a small tuppedor, Bovedas work well.

I picked up these at Daiso, for $1.50 and I have 4 Boveda packs in there (overkill, I know but I recently ordered a 12 pack).  This one is small enough to bring out to the patio and dig through for that second cigar.

I was thinking of loading up my cigars in multiples of these and throwing them sealed in a cooler with some ice packs with them to keep the temps down while having them sealed up to keep the humidity where I want them until I get a winedor (or it cools down).  June bugs are annoying enough in the summer without having cigar beetles hatching too.

10toes54

Yakster said:

For a small tuppedor, Bovedas work well.

I picked up these at Daiso, for $1.50 and I have 4 Boveda packs in there (overkill, I know but I recently ordered a 12 pack).  This one is small enough to bring out to the patio and dig through for that second cigar.

10toes54

No temperature gauge? or hygrometer?? Other than that it looks very easy 

90+_Irishman

If you are only using boveda packs then no need for temp or hygrometer imho. And that's a great answer that Yakster shared, great way to do it

Yakster

I have a Xikar hygro with temp gauge but it's in the bigger humidor right now with my main stash.  Sometimes I'll pop it in this one (this is my tuppedor that I keep cigars that others sent me to try) just to check, but it's been rock solid so I'm not worried about it.

If you have some sticks that like a different humidity multiple tuppedors would work too, or a separate one to keep the infused cigars separate from your general population, but at some point it's cooledor or winedor time.  Trying to avoid that for now.

I open this one multiple times a week so I don't have to worry about airing it out every so often.  You don't want to keep cigars in a sealed tuppedor without opening it indefinitely.  

0patience

To add to what they guys have said........
Don't over think this.
If you do, you will drive yourself crazy worrying about this and that.
Do what is comfortable to you.

Bovedas, kittylitter or regular distilled water, each one is just a different means of supplying moisture for the correct RH.

Now, my input on sticks.
Everyone knows I'm going to suggest Torano.
1916 is a great cigar for the price. But it's a cameroon and the wrapper can be tempermental, so you have to be careful going from inside to outside and visavera.

But all the cigars previously mentioned are great too.
Just like I hate spinach, some folks love spinach. 
Cigars are just like that. 
I love cameroon wrapper cigars. Does that mean you will?
Possibly. But possibly not.
But most folks like cameroon wrappers, so there is that. LOL!

And do NOT use price as a reference to whether cigars are good or not.
There are a ton of deals out there and some great cigars can be found at really reasonable prices.

Just my opinion. 

peter4jc

I started with this one;  http://irisusainc.com/p-835-ucb-ss.aspx

17qt. and works great.  Never mind what I ended up with, but the veterans have a hunch it didn't stay with that single 17qt. unit.

dirtdude

damn Peter, those are some funky seegars in that 17 qt