Electronic Cooler Humidors

[Joeysmoke]

Hi, all! The missus is prodding me for gift ideas for myself and I've mentioned a 400 count electric cigar cooler/humidor. (We've moved and I'm not sure how the new place will heat/cool through the summer.) Does anyone have experience with the likes of a New Air or Schmecke brand unit?

Thanks for your time!

[joey rockets]

Some folks like them as long as you don't get a leaker?  Living in Canada, I wouldn't think you'd need such a unit?  Of course, much depends on the temp/humidity you prefer.

[SenorPerfecto]

I use Newair. Love it.

 

BUT just get a regular wine cooler from them and stack boxes. Don't bother with the far more expensive "humidor" product they make. It'll save you $200. Same box.

[backbone]

I have one and prefer a cooler. 

It needs a lot of mods to make it work properly. 

[FireMedic]

I have a Whynter that I use, but the majority are in coolers. I put boxes in the coolers then when I unpack a box it goes into the whynter. I like it but limited space

[Chibearsv]

I too have a Whynter that works great as long as it's in a controlled environment.  Mine's in the basement and keeps 60 degrees constant and with 69 Bovedas, it holds 64-65 RH.  Since the Whynter is smallish, I just ordered the NewAir 400.  It was pretty inexpensive ($300ish) since I don't need the heating option, just the simple cooler.  My intent is to use it for longer term storage of boxes while the other is my smoking inventory.

[SansSin]

i have a Schmecke 400ct i got about a year ago and no complaints so far. i haven't had another brand wineador to compare it against but it does everything i need it to do without issue. just took me about a week with baking powder to get rid of the plastic smell and i had to plug the drain when i first got it. been steady at 65-65 for me since then, even when my room gets up near 80f. i like to keep a few inches around the fan in the back clear when i stock it so air can circulate easily 

[Subcomandante]

I bought a blemished Whynter one that is basically a perfect model just an open box. I wiped it down and seasoned the wood with distilled water and left the cup with distilled water for a few days. Wiping the wood down a few times. Had a little water build up near the drain and the humidity was higher than I wanted. Put the cigars in and humidity dropped to 62-65 RH within a day. 65 on the top shelves to 62 RH on the bottom with 65RH Bovedas scattered throughout the humidor. Temps and RH stays steady according to the wireless hygrometer. Less than 1 degree or RH % point. And I have it turned on 24/7 in Southern California heat. I would buy again. 

[WalterG]

8 hours ago, davidv said:

i have a Schmecke 400ct i got about a year ago and no complaints so far. i haven't had another brand wineador to compare it against but it does everything i need it to do without issue. just took me about a week with baking powder to get rid of the plastic smell and i had to plug the drain when i first got it. been steady at 65-65 for me since then, even when my room gets up near 80f. i like to keep a few inches around the fan in the back clear when i stock it so air can circulate easily 

I recently purchased a Newair cc300 and so far it's great. I plugged the drain hole since I got it but it's not fully sealed. Did you keep yours plugged and why?  

[Puro_Lover83]

I’ve had a newair CC300, no heating, just the regular one. I seasoned it for a good full week, and it’s been great so far (approx 5 months). Holds 63-65 degrees, and 62-66% rh with 69% Boveda packs. 

[rk1900]

If you have the space....skip straight to a freezador and thank me later. 

You will easily outgrow your 300/400 count Newair/Whynter/wine cooler in no time.  Future proof for additional boxes (because you know you wont be able to resist), less prone to temp swings due to better insulation, can control humidity at different levels via boveda packs, less maintenance..........  Those are some of the benefits.

Freezador = using a freezer plugged into a thermostat to control temp, with cigars stored in sealed containers and boveda packs

*Note-for those of you who own a Whynter and live in a warm climate area don't plug the drain hole.  In warmer climates the condensation build up needs to go somewhere.  If you clog up the drain hole it will flow back into the unit and end up at the bottom.  The water catch on the back of the unit is really small and if your not paying attention it will overflow easily and ruin your floors.  Install a piece of tubing and drain into a 1 gal bottle.

[Joeysmoke]

5 hours ago, rk1900 said:

If you have the space....skip straight to a freezador and thank me later. 

You will easily outgrow your 300/400 count Newair/Whynter/wine cooler in no time.  Future proof for additional boxes (because you know you wont be able to resist), less prone to temp swings due to better insulation, can control humidity at different levels via boveda packs, less maintenance..........  Those are some of the benefits.

Freezador = using a freezer plugged into a thermostat to control temp, with cigars stored in sealed containers and boveda packs

*Note-for those of you who own a Whynter and live in a warm climate area don't plug the drain hole.  In warmer climates the condensation build up needs to go somewhere.  If you clog up the drain hole it will flow back into the unit and end up at the bottom.  The water catch on the back of the unit is really small and if your not paying attention it will overflow easily and ruin your floors.  Install a piece of tubing and drain into a 1 gal bottle.

Have you got an example to share. I'm intrigued.

[rk1900]

Freezador=This is basically a 2018 Frigidare stand up freezer which I was able to purchase for about 300.00 on sale.  I have a total of 3 of these at different locations.

The black wire on the right is a thermostat which goes outside to a controller  Bottom number is the temp you want to keep, upper number is the current inside temp.  Temp hits 2 deg(configurable by user) above set temp, controller powers on and freezer cools inside till desired temp is reached then controller cuts electricity to the unit. 

The containers are weather sealed containers which I ordered from the container store.  By using weather sealed containers you have very little humidity loss so replacing boveda packs are minimal.  On cigars you like to age you can throw in a 69% on cigars you think you may be smoking withing the next year you can throw in 65% whatever your heart or desired preferences are.

You could order containers which fit the freezdor perfectly for maximum storage.  This happens to be my NC/CC going to smoke sometime soon mix freezador which I keep at home(I have 2 others at the shop max storage for aging) so I dont worry about space. 

[JoeyBones777]

5 minutes ago, rk1900 said:

Freezador=This is basically a 2018 Frigidare stand up freezer which I was able to purchase for about 300.00 on sale.  I have a total of 3 of these at different locations.

The black wire on the left is a thermostat which goes outside to a controller  Bottom number is the temp you want to keep, upper number is the current inside temp.  Temp hits 2 deg(configurable by user) above set temp, controller powers on and freezer cools inside till desired temp is reached then controller cuts electricity to the unit. 

The containers are weather sealed containers which I ordered from the container store.  By using weather sealed containers you have very little humidity loss so replacing boveda packs are minimal.  On cigars you like to age you can throw in a 69% on cigars you think you may be smoking withing the next year you can throw in 65% whatever your heart or desired preferences are.

You could order containers which fit the freezdor perfectly for maximum storage.  This happens to be my NC/CC going to smoke sometime soon mix freezador which I keep at home(I have 2 others at the shop max storage for aging) so I dont worry about space. 

Um...brilliant! I may end up doing this. Well played, sir!

[SansSin]

14 hours ago, Big Al said:

I recently purchased a Newair cc300 and so far it's great. I plugged the drain hole since I got it but it's not fully sealed. Did you keep yours plugged and why?  

yeah i don't see the point in leaving it unplugged, sealing it prevents rh fluctuations and bugs from getting in. from what i have read, condensation is only an issue if your outside ambient temps are too high, which i keep mine below 80, and the manufacturers say to keep it within 10°F of internal temps. i stuck a large heartfelt bead tube in the back on top of the drain too, just in case. i use 65% boveda with 2 large heartfelt tubes and it stays 65-65 with no issues so far

[prodigy]

Nice, I've seen that with beer brewers but not humidors.

 

 

 

[CaptainQuintero]

  Just a word of warning if people are buying fridges and thinking they are a plug in a forget system

  If you have any type of wine fridge storage you have to be extremely careful if you are going to turn it on and make sure you have dedicated systems to remove the excess humidity that having them on will cause. Plugging anything in that cools the inside to lower than the room it's in will create condensation/pooling. 

  They can work fine as long as you have them set up correctly and safely

[Monocle]

Is there really any difference between these three? Anyone best to get?

[Deeg]

Anyone have any experience with Wineador.com?  May be an option for actual shipping to Japan.