Storing 200+ boxes

[Lamar]

Hi all, 

I've searched this but haven't seen a good thread discussing, so figured I'd post. My accumulation/aging of cigars started 7+ years ago with NC's, and I transitioned to CC's 5 years ago. Like many here, I graduated from a 200 count desktop humi to a coolidor, then a larger coolidor, then a 150qt coolidor with custom cedar shelves. That filled up, and eventually I discovered Sterilite air tight tupperware. I now have 7 of the 54 QT tupperwares in my basement, and they are excellent at holding humidity, and cheap. 

It has been my daydream to one day have a great smoking room in my house with a nice large storage solution for all my boxes. I finally have that chance, as I've purchased a larger house and will be moving next month. What I'd like is a storage solution big enough to accommodate my 200+ boxes, as well as extra capacity to hold at least another 100 more... because you know.. cigars are a great investment 

I've looked at Aristocrat Cabinets, have read some of the threads about wineadors, and have seen some folks converting commercial sliding door beverage refrigerators into cigar storage. What is the consensus on the best option for storage of 200+ boxes? At what point is it silly to spend $3k+ on an Aristocrat, when I could start considering building a two-walled corner "mini walk-in" storage area into the corner of a room in my house. Is there a readily available commercial option for a sliding-door beverage type cooler?

I love USA's Cigar.land thread where he shares his massive collection, and I drew inspiration from some of his storage solutions:

But I haven't seen anything like these available in the US:

 

Would appreciate people's ideas and input on the best solution. 

 

Thanks

 

[stogieluver]

Congratulations on the new home purchase!  I think I would have to give serious consideration to building a walk in humidor in your new man cave.  If that's not an option, I would next give serious consideration to getting Bob to build a cabinet humidor large enough to hold your anticipated inventory.  I'm sure you've seen the advice, given frequently and freely here, to buy larger than you think you will ever need.  I have an Aristocrat M Plus, and thought I would never fill it up, but three years later I'm trying to squeeze in new boxes.

[SCgarman]

You need to build a moderate sized walk in humidor if you plan on having 200-300 or more boxes. Forget Aristocrat.

[Lamar]

50 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

You need to build a moderate sized walk in humidor if you plan on having 200-300 or more boxes. Forget Aristocrat.

That's the decision point I'm teetering on. The Aristocrat MXTPLus is advertised as a 150-300+ box cabinet, but I don't see how thats possible just given its rough dimensions. On the other hand, I have no idea if there are better alternatives to the largest Aristocrat that members use for a true 300+ box solution, in lieu of going the walk-in route. 

[Wertman]

I could only dream of having your dilemma.  Maybe someday 

[CigarAsh]

Part of the decision making for me in the size of a humidor I built for myself wasn't just the rough storage capacity.  I wanted room to not only store a lot of boxes but to be able to see those boxes as well.  Meaning a lot of extra room so I could "display" some boxes and easily see my stock.  To play around with it actually.  It's not nearly as much fun if you've packed every nook and cranny and can't see most of it.  

[Lamar]

4 minutes ago, CigarAsh said:

Part of the decision making for me in the size of a humidor I built for myself wasn't just the rough storage capacity.  I wanted room to not only store a lot of boxes but to be able to see those boxes as well.  Meaning a lot of extra room so I could "display" some boxes and easily see my stock.  To play around with it actually.  It's not nearly as much fun if you've packed every nook and cranny and can't see most of it.  

Exactly! You've said it perfectly. I want to be able to see the boxes, check on them, get to a particular box etc. This is why I like the first picture I posted, glass doors, interior lighting etc. Can you elaborate on the solution you came up with? Do you have any pictures?

[DONSVO]

First, bob at Aristocrat can build you whatever you want. Any size. He builds custom humidors to order. 

Secondly, Bob does a ton of work with businesses and personal clients building walk-ins using whatever humidification device that's needed. I priced him when I considered a walk-in conversion for my closet and it was stupidly cheap. 

Third, the MXT 26.5 holds 200 boxes.

 

[TomF]

And when you buy one more box than that thing will hold...then what...?

[DONSVO]

Hopefully you actually smoke cigars. 

[Lamar]

19 minutes ago, DONSVO said:

First, bob at Aristocrat can build you whatever you want. Any size. He builds custom humidors to order. 

Secondly, Bob does a ton of work with businesses and personal clients building walk-ins using whatever humidification device that's needed. I priced him when I considered a walk-in conversion for my closet and it was stupidly cheap. 

Third, the MXT 26.5 holds 200 boxes.

 

 

Thanks for the pictures and the firsthand testimonial, thats really helpful. When you say "stupid cheap", can you elaborate? What would actually be done to a closet to make it a walk-in and how could Bob do that without being local to do the install for you? Is it a kit of components that you would install yourself? Would he coordinate contractors to install?

[GWG]

Have you considered a room addition with a walk in for 500 boxes, 300 bottles of (my choice beer) or wine, spirits. Seating area for friends of the habanos smoker. TV wall, poker table, bar. I think you see my vision and it's not a far reach from your walkin idea.

[Jimmy_jack]

keep the room at 65% and just leave them laying around. 

[planetary]

1 hour ago, DONSVO said:

Third, the MXT 26.5 holds 200 boxes.

That's what I have.  The MXT 26.5 is advertised as having a 150 box capacity.  If I didn't have any 50 cabs or singles capacity, and didn't value good airflow, I could see 150.  In the real world, I do have 50 cabs (eight of them), singles capacity, and I do want good airflow.  I'm maxing out around 120, with my modest tetris skills and keeping all the shelves intact.

 

[Lamar]

2 minutes ago, planetary said:

That's what I have.  The MXT 26.5 is advertised as having a 150 box capacity.  If I didn't have any 50 cabs or singles capacity, and didn't value good airflow, I could see 150.  In the real world, I do have 50 cabs (eight of them), singles capacity, and I do want good airflow.  I'm maxing out around 120, with my modest tetris skills and keeping all the shelves intact.

 

Thanks, thats what I was worried about, and its great to get confirmation from an owner. I have a good number of 50 cabs, and didn't even consider that in my box count...

[planetary]

10 minutes ago, Lamar said:

Thanks, thats what I was worried about, and its great to get confirmation from an owner. I have a good number of 50 cabs, and didn't even consider that in my box count...

In case a visual would help, this is what 115 looks like.  (Understanding that there's a second and sometimes third layer of boxes behind the first, on each shelf.)  I recently offloaded about 10 boxes into a coolidor to improve airflow.

[luvdunhill]

50% off sounds nice

[zeedubbya]

3 hours ago, Lamar said:

 

Thanks for the pictures and the firsthand testimonial, thats really helpful. When you say "stupid cheap", can you elaborate? What would actually be done to a closet to make it a walk-in and how could Bob do that without being local to do the install for you? Is it a kit of components that you would install yourself? Would he coordinate contractors to install?

I second what others here have said.  You don't have to forget Aristocrat all together.  I've been talking with Bob about this a bit.  Measure the area you want to convert and ask him for a quote.  He sent me one over pretty quick.  My area is about 4'by 8' and he gave me an estimate of just over $2000 for materials.  Caveat-- I have the floor, the ceiling, the framing, and the door already there however.  Also I have a father in-law who is a custom builder with over 30 years experience to help for dime on the dollar.  

I would say for not a lot more than it costs for a very large cabinet you could get a walk in, or closet converted and have nearly all the space you'll need (for the foreseeable future).  

Get in touch with Bob, he is an expert at this as you can see from what @Hutch and @planetary have shown.  

EDIT:  I answered a question you asked someone else just to give you my experience and recommendation.  

Edited May 7, 2017 by zeedubbya
Clarification

[DONSVO]

To answer the question before with hard numbers... I have a hall closet I was going to convert. It has a total of 11.5 square feet of floor space and vent vertically to ceiling height. Pricing for the shelf setup I wanted, cedar paneling, and with his set-and-forget hunidification for that size of space (tanks, controller, 8 fans) was $900. The only reason I didn't bite the bullet was concerns for household storage space if we had a kid. We got pregnant not 3 months later. 

I was concerned with ripping out the Sheetrock and installing fresh for the cedar to cover. Bob told me I could install the cedar directly over the painted wall and it wouldn't cause an issue. Clean it really good and go. The damn door I wanted to replace the existing hollow core door with was almost half the cost LOL! 

[DONSVO]

11 hours ago, planetary said:

In case a visual would help, this is what 115 looks like.  (Understanding that there's a second and sometimes third layer of boxes behind the first, on each shelf.)  I recently offloaded about 10 boxes into a coolidor to improve airflow.

Is that an MXT? Mine is 40" wide 60" tall and that seems smaller. 

[PigFish]

Buying a humidor is not just about space! if it were just about space, you could just put the cigars in any closet.

What are you buying in a humidor? Why are you buying it? I think those questions have to be asked.

When you are done with those, I think you have to ask, will what I eventually obtain actually work?

Just because someone sells something, or you build something does not mean that it works, or that it necessarily works well, or will work for you and your ambient. Cigar microclimates are not the easiest things to build.

What you get and why will depend some on how you answer your own questions.

What part of the world do you live? How hot does it get there, how humid, how dry? How will your HVAC affect your storage...? Do you care?

The best solution is what I call a net rH negative temperature controlled room. With that, the cigar microclimate is by far easier to engineer and build. Basically a child can build one. This is largely the assumption made when you buy a pre-made humidor, that you have a temperature controlled space, with a net rH negative ambient. A package or localized HVAC unit that keeps the cigar 'macro' climate at the desired temperature, and dry is really the best way to achieve a stable environment for cigars. Most humidor makers are relying on your supplemental control of the 'macro' or the 'ambient' without actually telling you. This is because they do not, or cannot control both direct and reverse processes in the humidor that they sell you.

I would buy nothing before understanding the home or the location that you intend to store. Will that room (area) get morning or afternoon sun? Will it heat or cool wildly or simply maintain itself in conjunction with the rest of your home. Can you afford to 'climatize' your whole home with the conditions that you desire for your cigars? Is that your desire, or do you not care that much about performance?

I have assisted many people in building better humidor space. As intimated above without being directly stated, cramming a humidor full can render a humidor that may work into one that you judge does not work well. Contolled humidors need adequate circulation to work. Mine are no exception. If you cannot move both heat and water around in your controlled space, the space becomes stratified and stagnant. This means you have cigars develop differing EMC at different locations in the humidor. And this means that you will never achieve a consistent smoking experience from all your stock regardless of where you pull it from your humidor.

Ultimately a humidor should solve smoking problems and issues as well as being a defined space to store cigars. That is my opinion. With that said, I always hear the questions, how big is it, and how much does it cost, but never, does it really work...?

Best of luck on your journey!

-the Pig

 

[nanilla]

I am definitely interested to see which way you take this.  From my experience it becomes infinitely harder to have to control for both temperature and RH.  If you live in a colder climate or a basement that doesn't get much above 70F, and and a Pig mentioned an RH negative environment that is an ideal scenario for both a cabinet or a walk in.

[Lamar]

To answer Pig and Nanilla, yes the space is a finished basement with full HVAC that will remain stable and I ensure it is "net rH negative temperature controlled" at less than 70 deg F for storage of other sensitive items, therefore I am assuming that for example an Aristocrat with active humidification and circulation will work well for my purposes. Should I be reading between the lines, is there something fundamentally wrong with the way this setup performs?

[planetary]

3 hours ago, DONSVO said:

Is that an MXT? Mine is 40" wide 60" tall and that seems smaller. 

You know, you're right.  I'd forgotten that in my discussions with Bob and close measurement of my space, I elected to go with the 26" MXTHC 3660, which is 36in x 60in -- not 40 x 60.  With a dedicated singles shelf, the 3660 is rated for 100 boxes.  Without the shelf (my config), it's rated for about 120 -- which is actually right about what I've got.

(Apologies to @Lamar for this digression!)

[DONSVO]

30 minutes ago, planetary said:

You know, you're right.  I'd forgotten that in my discussions with Bob and close measurement of my space, I elected to go with the 26" MXTHC 3660, which is 36in x 60in -- not 40 x 60.  With a dedicated singles shelf, the 3660 is rated for 100 boxes.  Without the shelf (my config), it's rated for about 120 -- which is actually right about what I've got.

(Apologies to @Lamar for this digression!)

Ok that makes sense. If you saw the picture I put up earlier, I have several cabs down there and what looked like more width. It doesn't seem like it, but 4" makes a difference. My last artistocrat was a modified plus I got from a friend, Bob built it 'sideways' (doors on side not front) for fitment in his office. It was 22.5" deep. The 26.5" I have now seems cavernous. 

The boxes on the right go back 4-deep with gaps for airflow and they don't hang off the back of the shelf.