Why a Wineador?

I started smoking cigars about a year ago; and for starters I bought a starter humidor:

I furnished it with a round Xikar hygrometer and a small, 65% RH (relative humidity) humidity bead system from Cigar Sciences (http://www.cigarsciences.com)

This particular small desktop humidor claims to hold approximately 50 cigars, but the actual number is closer to 35 or 40. I currently have 31 cigars in it and it's getting too cramped for my taste.

So it's time to expand; and I had to ask myself: what is the right solution? Should I buy a larger desktop humidor? Perhaps a 150 count. And when I fill that up, I will always have this smaller humidor for overflow. But is that the best long term solution? Shouldn't I be looking to buy a humidor that I can grow into instead of one I will grow out of?

In addition to keeping RH between 65-70%, another issue cigar collectors have to contend with is temperature. Cigars should be stored under 70ºF, and ideally closer to 65ºF. But keeping the house under 70º is a waste of money and electricity; and temperature controlled humidors (below) are extremely expensive and generally hold thousands of cigars - certainly a humidor that I could grow into, but maybe a tad bit overkill.

Recently, there has been an explosion of people converting small wine fridges (18-28 count) into cigar humidors. These devices have been dubbed "wineadors" and it solves both of my problems. A properly built wineador should hold about 500-600 cigars and easily maintain a temperature under 70º. And now, several wine fridge manufacturers offer thermoelectric cooling (as opposed to compressor cooling) which should allow the creation of a stable RH environment.

So over the next few weeks, I will be building my own wineador and chronicling the build on this blog - with lots of pictures and links to where I acquired all the parts.

Accessories

While I wait for wineador supplies to arrive, I thought we could take a quick look at my cigar accessories. For my purposes, I really only need two: a lighter and cigar cutter. I currently have two of each (not including freebies I've received as promotions).

Lighters: IM Corona Old Boy (left) and Xikar EXII Havana (right)

I originally purchased the IM Corona after some internet research that steered me away from the super hot torch lighters often sold for cigars. Those blue flame lighters can easily scorch the tobacco, making the cigar taste bitter. A soft yellow flame produced with high quality triple distilled butane is the best way (apart from a wooden match) to light a cigar. The IM Corona Old Boy had positive reviews and a great, classic look. I also like that it can be used as a pipe lighter, with a 90º flame and built in tamper.

Unfortunately, the IM Corona is not windproof and that was a big issue since I only smoke outdoors. So I needed a lighter that was windproof and yellow flame. Enter the Xikar EXII: a soft flame torch lighter. It doesn't stand up to high winds like a standard blue flame torch lighter, but it does very well and I am pleased with both its looks and performance.

The IM Corona Old Boy comes in many styles. The price ranges from $130-$220, depending on the style. I got mine from Lighters Direct (http://www.lightersdirect.com/Old+Boy.819/)

The Xikar EXII also comes in several styles, all of which are $92 at Lighters Direct (http://www.lightersdirect.com/EX+II.901/)

Cigar cutters: Xikar MTX Multi Tool (left) and Xikar Xi3 Tech (right)

You need a way to open the cap of your cigar and, no, your teeth are not an option. Double bladed guillotine cutters, like my Xi3, seem to be the most popular, and that was the first one I bought. It's quick, easy and sharp. 

As part of a cigar mazo promotion, however, I was able to add on the MTX Multi Tool for $10 (regularly $50!) so I figured I would give it a try, especially since it had a screwdriver (handy for refilling my lighters) and a cigar poker (also handy for bleeding my lighters before refilling). I have to say, I really like the control I get with cigar scissors. It makes a great cut, and it's easy to shave off a little more if I'm not getting the draw I want.

The Xikar Xi cutters start at $40 and shoot all the way up to $400 (for fossil mammoth ivory handles). All of Xikar's cutters and lighters can be purchased directly from their website (http://www.xikar.com)

Wish list:

What would life be without a wish list, right? These gorgeous scissors are the Davidoff Pocket Cigar Scissors. They retail for $285. Classic and beautiful.

As for a lighter, the sky is the limit, right? I mean, this is a wish list. So I would have to go with the ST Dupont Ligne 2 Palladium plated Havana Alligator. $1990 retail. Wowzer!

Parts start to trickle in

UPS tracking says the wine fridge is scheduled for delivery today; but UPS doesn't get here until 7pm, so we'll save that for tomorrow's update. A few things did trickle in last night so let's take a look at them.

Hygrometers:

There are a plethora of hygrometer options on the market for the home humidor. Xikar makes 2 (I have their round hygrometer in my desktop box now), Western makes the popular "Caliber IV", and HygroSet has a full line as well. The most important thing is to make sure you are able to calibrate your hygrometer using a known RH environment. Some of the cheaper hygrometers come "pre-calibrated" but don't offer an option to perform the calibration yourself. Steer clear of those models.

I went with the 3 of the HygroSet II round Digital Hygrometer/Thermometers. I like the feature that allows the adjustment of the RH display after calibration.

There are a few ways to calibrate your hygrometer, but the most popular by far is the salt test. You can find a detailed explanation of the test here: http://cigars.about.com/od/humidors/qt/hygrometers.htm This is how I calibrated my current Xikar hygrometer.

I opted to go with a calibration kit for this go-around, if for no other reason than to check it out. The HygroSet hygrometers as well as the calibration kit can be found on HygroSet's website (http://www.hygroset.com)

Fan Kit:

In researching wineadors and talking with people who have built them, some people recommend additional air circulation above and beyond what the wine fridge fan provides. The cheapest and easiest option is to buy a battery powered fan. But then you are stuck changing batteries and/or constantly opening and closing the humidor in order to turn on/off the fan to save the batteries. Another option is a repurposed computer case fan. A lot of people seem to like these. But I found a fan kit which saved me the hassle of splicing and soldering wires. I went with the Dual 80mm set. The kits can be found here: http://www.coolerguys.com/cablite.html 

Not too many pieces.

Took me about 5-10 minutes to put it together.

Then I added some wooden dowels to lift the setup off the floor and give the fans some room to breathe. I purchased an indoor digital timer (here) with the idea that I can set the fans to turn on/off periodically, a few times a day, to assist the fridge fan in circulating the air inside the humidor.

The only challenge that remains is figuring out how to run the power in a clean, inconspicuous way. I won't have an idea about that until I see the fridge, hopefully tonight!

Arrival

The wine fridge arrived today, as promised! I went with the NewAir AW-280E, mostly because of looks and price. Stainless steel doors might look good if the unit was going into a kitchen, but not if I'm trying to integrate it in with other furniture. The all black case was the best option for me.

It's important to go with a thermoelectric model since humidity is such a key factor in a humidor. The popular models for wineador conversion are:

NewAir AW-280E ($239)
Koldfront TWR282S ($379)
Vinotemp VT-28TEDS ($387)

Here it is: unpacked and in, what will ultimately be, it's final location.

Now onto the seasoning; but first thing's first. I need to get rid of the plastic smell of the interior. I put a small bowl of baking soda inside to hopefully soak up a lot of the smell. I also added a small bowl of distilled water to start the humidification process.

I figured, as long as I was playing around, I might as well check out the fan situation. It turns out that I can fit the power cord out through the door hinge just fine. The rubber seal around the door should still keep the fridge fairly air tight. And I like this option, for the moment, over drilling a large hole in the back and having to reseal it with aquarium sealant. I should also mention that I will be leaving the drain hole open while I clear the smell, but then I will be covering it with a piece of electrical tape. Everything I have read has said the drain hole is not needed for a wineador conversion.

I also programmed the fan timer and got that working.

It wasn't difficult to program this timer at all. I have the fans set up to run for 30 minutes every 2 hours. They were supposed to kick on at 8am and, sure enough, they did. Again, this is a Utilitech digital indoor timer and can be found here.

So that's about it for the day. The next 2 things to arrive should be the humidity beads and the temporary cedar trays - hopefully in the next day or two.

Humidity

There are several different ways you can manage RH in your humidor. Most humidors come with a little sponge. This is the most basic (and least effective) method of humidification available. Basically, you saturate the sponge and put it in the humidor. Yeah, not for me.

Large walk-in humidors, like the ones you find at your local cigar shop, have active humidification. Cigar Oasis makes a full line of active humidifiers for home humidors. Their top of the line is shown below:

These units have built-in hygrometers and release water vapor into the environment when the humidity drops below your specified level. Although some models can take batteries, they run much more efficiently when plugged in. They can be found here (http://www.cigaroasis.com/products/humidifier-products.html)

The newest and most popular option nowadays is humidity beads. These beads both absorb and release moisture into the air depending on the environment. If humidity drops below a certain level, they will release moisture into the air. And if the levels are too high, they will absorb it. Just charge the beads with distilled water and they are good to go. Depending on the environment, they need to be recharged every few weeks. These beads are pretty amazing and I highly recommend them. For the wineador build, I stuck with the same brand I have been using successfully in my desktop humidor for a year.

This is the "Humidity Bead System" by Cigar Sciences (http://www.cigarsciences.com). The other popular option is Heartfelt beads (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=14). Both types can be purchased in either 65% or 70% RH versions, depending on your preference.

Hygrometers

I started the calibration process on my hygrometers. I tried using the calibration kit (seen below),

but the bag was small and I didn't like that the hygrometers were in direct contact with the humidity pack. Plus, these things are really touchy and the instructions on how to calibrate were not the most clear. But after some futzing, I think I got the hang of it. I transferred them into a bigger ziplock bag, added the standard salt cap and threw in my Xikar hygrometer for good measure.

After letting them sit overnight, the Xikar (which I haven't calibrated since the day I first purchased it) was dead on at 75% - making me wish I had just purchased 3 more instead of trying out the HygroSet model. But I think I've figured out the calibration process, so we'll give this another 24 hours and see if it works.

If you happen to go with the HygroSet hygrometers, I'll clarify the calibration instructions for you. Once the hygrometer has been in a controlled environment for 24 hours, it should read 75% RH. If it doesn't, you need to turn the knob up or down to adjust. If your hygrometer reads 73%, you need to turn the knob 2 clicks clockwise. This will NOT change the display. Just turn the knob 2 clicks and then hold the set button. THIS will make the adjustment and the new reading should be 75%. That is where I got confused. I was turning the damn knob all over the place and the display kept reading 73%. After a lot of trial and error (and removing the batteries to reset the units) I figured out what was going on. So now all the hygrometers are reading close to one another and we'll see what they all say after another 24 hours in the bag.

Temporary Cedar Trays

They're here! A day early to boot.

Because the custom Spanish Cedar drawers are going to take anywhere from 6-12 weeks to arrive, I purchased these temporary Spanish Cedar trays to pre-season the wineador and give a place for my expanding cigar collection to go while I wait. These trays can be found here: http://www.cheaphumidors.com/p_TRAY.html

I wish you guys could smell these. The aroma is just amazing.

They also don't look half bad in the wineador. You can see the humidity bead system and the fans down there at the bottom. It will probably take several days - up to a week - to bring the RH of this large space up to 65%. Hopefully tomorrow the hygrometers will be fully calibrated. We'll place them in the trays and see where we are at.

Calibration complete

After a few days, I finally figured out the calibration on the HygroSet II hygrometer/thermometers.

As you can see, they are all reading 75% RH. The 3 HygroSets are reading 74ºF while the Xikar reads 73ºF, but that's close enough. I will mention again, that the Xikar took no additional calibration to read 75% RH. I'm impressed with this hygrometer and would absolutely recommend it.

I have placed the 3 HygroSet hygrometers into the wineador. I will check the RH tomorrow and see how close we are to a stable environment. Once I am confident in the stability of the RH, I will move my cigars from the desktop humidor into the temporary trays of the wineador.

Load 'em up

The RH is still stabilizing in the wineador, but it's at a level which is acceptable for cigar storage - and it's time to get my cigars out of the Southern California heat (80ºF in my desktop humidor right now).

The temperature is holding nicely at 66ºF, and the RH is 70-72%.

Now all that is left is for the custom drawers to arrive, and for me to fill them up!

Still waiting...

I'm still waiting on the custom cabinets. I ordered them 3 weeks ago, so I have another 3-9 weeks to wait. But my cigars were looking lonely, so I got them some friends.

And finally they arrive!

10 weeks ago I ordered my custom wineador shelves and drawers from Forrest Price (www.wineadors.com) and today they arrived!

It took about 10 minutes to get them unpacked, attach the hardware and install them into the wine fridge.

I stuck on my calibrated hygrometers and presto:

The total cost of this complete build was about $800 start to finish. This is definitely a humidor that I will not outgrow for some time to come, if ever.