Refrigerator Thoughts

Smoke=Fire

I'm finally looking at buying a refrigerator to store my cigars in.  My thoughts are to simply put my humidors inside the refrigerator... is this advisable?

I'm also looking at buying a compressor style mini fridge, will this work for me or will I have too many humidity issues?   I live in the west where it's fairly dry.

miller65rod

If it's plugged in bad idea. Fridges run at a low RH. 

You are throwing money away IMO.

There are options available though like winedors. Browse the forum and you will find many threads regarding winedors. Much  better option.

TX98Z28

Refrigerators get way to cold for cigars. Wineadors are nice but the thermoelectric units or circuit board will eventually go out needing replacement and some are loud as hell!!!(NewAir 281E and CC-300)

I have a wineador NewAir 321ED (has 4 thermoelectric units is quiet but 2 units went out a month ago after 3 years) holds about 500 cigars mixed sizes and I'm about to move to a 150 quart cooler with spanish cedar shelfs etc. The house is kept steady at 68-75*F all year round so not worried about constant temperature control.

Also on the wineadors the top will he higher in temperature and the bottom lower and some people plug the drains then it fills up with water/ammonia mix at the inside drain reservoir and down the back wall of the unit causing high humidity issues at the very back…The white mold will grow (like on my neighbors filled with cubans) last 2 CC's I smoked from him had white mold on them and were definitely not at 65% despite all the heartfelt beads and seasoned spanish cedar.

Hope this helps some.


  

jlmarta

IMO, it's a bad decision to shy away from wineadores or any other cooling device that uses a thermoelectric unit simply because the unit may go t1ts-up on you when it's so easy and inexpensive to repair or replace most thermoelectric units. 

Youll need the part number of the unit, possibly a small tube of thermoelectric grease, and a few hours watching YouTube Videos of guys showing you how simple it is. Your biggest expense will be in time, not dollars. Research is the key......

TX98Z28

@jlmarta, They have their pros and cons, I'm just sick of dealing with them, all NewAir units 3 defective straight from the box...but my 321ED did last 3 years before problems.

Price, reliability, are the major cons I see with them. They have there place though. Work excellent for aging and look awesome.

Smoke=Fire

Boom

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Stainless-Steel-2-5-cu-ft-Cigar-Cooler-Humidor-CHC-251S/205392987

TX98Z28

Give it a try, looks to have the quieter more reliable thermoelectric unit.

peter4jc

I always figure if I stay awake long enough, I'll learn something new every day.

Here, I've been spelling it refridgerator all these years.  Thanks fellas.  Now I can go take a nap.

Guitarded

New is great if you can afford it.
 Check out Letgo, an online garage sale. I picked up two wine coolers for under 100 each. I removed most of the wire bottle racks, Tetris boxes in the bottom, plastic bins for singles on the top rack. 
Boveda 65 in the boxes and on top of the singles. Extremely dry and hot in the high desert so I recharge them often. Good luck! 

Yakster

I picked up a wine cooler off Craigslist for $40 or $50 and it's been working great.  Only had one rack, but I found I could cut down these cooling racks from Michael's to make my own shelves to put Spanish cedar trays on.

http://www.michaels.com/cooling-rack-by-celebrate-it/10058219.html

0patience

Smoke=Fire said:

Boom

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Stainless-Steel-2-5-cu-ft-Cigar-Cooler-Humidor-CHC-251S/205392987

Kind of tiny, isn't it?

TX98Z28

0patience said:

Smoke=Fire said:

Boom

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Stainless-Steel-2-5-cu-ft-Cigar-Cooler-Humidor-CHC-251S/205392987

Kind of tiny, isn't it?

It will fill up fast thats for sure.

bandyt09

Smoke=Fire said:

Boom

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-Stainless-Steel-2-5-cu-ft-Cigar-Cooler-Humidor-CHC-251S/205392987

So, does it come with the illegal Cuban contraband too? LOL

jgibv

keep an eye on this site: http://www.air-n-water.com/clearance/wine-chillers.htm 
 
they often have very good pricing on "scratch and dent" models

Smoke=Fire

So far so good.  The temp holds fine, though the humidity is  little high for you liking at 72%.

I need to find a source for some spanish cedar though to convert the shelves into trays with sides...any thoughts?

peter4jc

You can start with ebay.  When I was building my trays I found the spanish cedar lumber there and saw lots of 1/4" pieces available.

deadman

peter4jc said:

You can start with ebay.  When I was building my trays I found the spanish cedar lumber there and saw lots of 1/4" pieces available.

I got one of those humidor grates on there for the cooler.

Yakster

This is at a local thrift for a thou

It's making nose like it's running

Lycan

I use an unplugged mini-frig as my humidor in Phoenix,AZ. It maintains humidity great, keeping temperature regulated is a challenge in the desert.

GaryThompson

Lycan said:

I use an unplugged mini-frig as my humidor in Phoenix,AZ. It maintains humidity great, keeping temperature regulated is a challenge in the desert.

Hi @Lycan , welcome.  So what do you do when the temp inside climbs? Add a frozen cooler pack? A frozen bottle of water in a bowl to trap condensation? Just curious. 

Lycan

GaryThompson said:

Lycan said:

I use an unplugged mini-frig as my humidor in Phoenix,AZ. It maintains humidity great, keeping temperature regulated is a challenge in the desert.

Hi @Lycan , welcome.  So what do you do when the temp inside climbs? Add a frozen cooler pack? A frozen bottle of water in a bowl to trap condensation? Just curious. 

Just keep an eye on it for now. Although the temp has touched 80 degrees a couple of times in the heat of summer, I have not noticed any change in the cigars. 
I like the idea of the cooler pack, I’ll give that a try.

dirtdude

If it was on a timer and turned on for an hour a day to keep temps moderated, do you think that would foul up humidity greatly?

Welcome to the forum @Lycan.

Lycan

dirtdude said:

If it was on a timer and turned on for an hour a day to keep temps moderated, do you think that would foul up humidity greatly?

Welcome to the forum @Lycan.

A refrigerator by nature dehumidifies the air. When running it only takes a few minutes for the humidity to drop.

GaryThompson said:

Lycan said:

I use an unplugged mini-frig as my humidor in Phoenix,AZ. It maintains humidity great, keeping temperature regulated is a challenge in the desert.

Hi @Lycan , welcome.  So what do you do when the temp inside climbs? Add a frozen cooler pack? A frozen bottle of water in a bowl to trap condensation? Just curious.

The cooler packs worked well but have to be constantly monitored.

I recently ordered a Newair CC-100, cooling humidor, I'll see how well it works.

dirtdude

I'm going to use the mini fridge we got for beer for cigars. The fridge in the new house is smaller than the old house, which had 2 shelves dedicated to beer (Mrs. Dirt and Dirt Jr really like beer) so we bought a mini fridge for beer. Problem is this fridge isn't cold enough for beer so I throw a handful of boveda's in there and watch it for a few days and 65/65. I think I am going to use it, worst thing that can happen is I have to recharge bovedas more often.

90+_Irishman

Nice plan Randy! I have a thermoelectric wine fridge that I had drawers and shelves made for. Had it for like 4 years now. About a year and a half ago the motor went out and it stopped being a fridge. What I’ve found though is if you keep it inside a climate controlled room and out of sunlight you really don’t need it to cool the inside. Sure my cooking function doesn’t work anymore but the inside temp never gets above 75 F and it holds humidity even better than my cooler. So if it also works for you I’d encourage you to try using the fridge without it plugged in, watch the temp now and then but I bet you’d find you don’t need to worry about temp anyways, and that it will hold rH better and be more stable without the dry cold air the fridge would be pumping in there. Hope it helps

dirtdude

I too have been using a non functioning wine cooler but here the temps are closer to 80 most of the year. Since I have this somewhat functioning fridge I thought I would try it. I will say, even though the fridge is 2 1/2 times bigger, I had to pitch half a dozen boxes that don't fit that fit the cooler. Guess I have to develop a new tetris scheme

Rolanddeschain

I use a non-working mini cube fridge as a humidor with boveda packs. I love it and recommend it!