Best Cigar Cooler?

ericfincher67

Hey guys I’ve been suffering from a sudden onset of cigar beetle phobia.  I read several articles lately which all posited that cigar beetles can hatch in temperatures ranging from 72 degrees and upward.  Some said 74 degrees.  Seems to be some mixed opinion on this one.

Either way, I don’t want maggots crawling out the corners of my mouth when I light up a smoke, so I’ve been looking into cigar coolers.  I called my local B&M and asked if they carry any;  they acted like I was some kind of idiot and sounded as though they’d never even heard of a cigar cooler. “No,” responded a smirky little **** on the other end of the line, “we don’t carry refrigerators here.”

So anyway, what’s a good, reliable and reasonably priced cigar cooler? (I’m talking about the ones that stand on end, have a door that opens and closes and is built for humidification and cooling at temperatures between 56 and 75 degrees.)

CharlieHeis

People have been using wine fridges for years and they actually sell them specifically for cigars now, including Spanish cedar shelves and drawers. Your b&m needs to open their eyes. 
Search wineador on here and you should get quite a few threads. 

Trykflyr_1

A lot of guys use wine coolers for that.  But to be honest, with my limited experience here, I'm just using a basic medium sized plastic Igloo cooler with a couple humidity devices in it.   It stays at ambient room temperature and holds humidity better than anything else I've tried. Mine lives in an interior closet and sits pretty steady at 69 degrees and 70 rh.  Whole setup ran me about 50 bucks. Unless your house is pretty warm, I'd look at going that route.   Wine coolers or purpose built cugar coolers require power to run.  If the power goes out, so does your cooler.  That's a continual issue where I live.

ericfincher67

@Trykflyr_1 when I’m at home during the summer I usually set the thermostat for 70 degrees.  But when I’m at work (we work 10 hour shifts) I leave it at 74-75 degrees to save a couple bucks. 

Trykflyr_1

I did that as well, in reverse, with my heating for a year ir so.  Set it for 68 at home and 65 when gone with programmable thermostats.  Found I was actually burning through more fuel recovering the lost temp every day.  So I just leave at 68 and run it steady.  Your mileage may vary, but you may well be spending more by bringing the temps down those 5 degrees each day.  I suspect a lot depends on how efficient your HVAC system is.

peter4jc

It's easy to say don't worry. Many of us went through the same anxiety about beetles. But like the rest of my worries it wasn't worth worrying about. 

Yakster

You can freeze your cigars to kill beetles before putting them in your humidor if you're worried about it.

https://forum.cigar.com/discussion/900028/freezing-cigars

TNBigfoot68

What's little extra protein, call it a bonus snack. Seriously, I just monitor my Temp it stays between 68-71 never had an issue. I have often thought about converting a wine cooler, but have not. I can buy and smoke, more cigars with the money I would spend.

Bob_Luken

@ericfincher67 You should worry, very very much. If you aren't freezing your sticks or storing them in a wine fridge, you're just setting a table for the feast. 

Just kidding. Although I have actually had them on three separate occasions. I don't worry about it too much anymore. At that time, I started freezing everything before it went in my stash. It got to be a hassle so I backed off, and then, about half the time I was freezing. Now I'm very laid back about the whole thing. It's rare. Just ask these guys. Not many can even say they've actually had 'em. My advice is, learn what the signs are, and check your stash often and don't worry. It will probably never happen to you. On the other hand, if you absolutely can't relax because your house is five degrees above perfect, do whatever you need to do,.... in order to stay relaxed. 

Bob_Luken

Did you read the title of the thread and think,... wine fridge,... or coleman cooler? 

I was ready to give a recommendation for my favorite,..... Coleman Xtreme 70qt

Guitarded

Letgo online garage sale.
Wine refrigerators can be picked up for under a hundred.
Just make sure it is thermoelectric, not a Freon refrigerated unit.
Remove most of the shelves, Tetris in some boxes, get some plastic bins for singles, use Boveda 65% (can’t put too many in there). Set it for 65 degrees and done! 

Amos_Umwhat

What's the monthly difference in your power bill between 70F and 74F? 
Where is the break-even point? 
How many months of 74F will it take to pay for the unit? 
Is there no north-facing side of your house where the temp stays a little cooler?
Do you have a freezer that will hold the package of cigars when they come?
Did you catch that once frozen, no chance of a hatch out?

Yakster

Bob_Luken

Amos_Umwhat said:

What's the monthly difference in your power bill between 70F and 74F? 
Where is the break-even point? 
How many months of 74F will it take to pay for the unit? 
Is there no north-facing side of your house where the temp stays a little cooler?
Do you have a freezer that will hold the package of cigars when they come?
Did you catch that once frozen, no chance of a hatch out?

Very good points. And to test some of these for answers to questions like, "How hot does my cooler really get during a 24 hour cycle" you can get this hygrometer from wallyworld for less than ten bucks. It will record daily high and low temperature and humidity levels.