wine fridge humidor

Has anyone made a humi out of a wine fridge and if so how is it working and did you line the inside with spanish cedar, what are you using for humidity control ect. I am thinking of making a humidor out of a wine fridge roughly 45 bottle size worth of space but would like some info before I start investing in the materials and the fridge any advice, plans, experience ect with one of these would be appreciated.

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rdnstn

Someone here made one. I can't remember who it was off the top of my head but do a search and I'm sure something will come up.

urbino

Maddy. Maddy's your man. I think he's out of pocket right now, though.

Lasabar

urbino:
Maddy. Maddy's your man. I think he's out of pocket right now, though.

"Out of Pocket" Am I too young to know what that is?

urbino

Maybe it's a regional thing. It means he's not handy/we're not sure where he is.

j0z3r

Must be regional, usually whenever I, or anyone I know, uses that phrase it refers to buying something on our own dime, usually in reference to buying company materials "out of pocket" to be reimbursed later for the expense,

urbino

Yeah, we use it that way, too. Context. It's all context. And ball bearings.

dutyje

Come on guys, it's so simple! It's ALL ball bearings these days... maybe you need a refresher course!

urbino

Exactly.

madurofan

I am indeed out of pocket. I'm in bfe oklahoma and working long days. I am also the one with a wine fridge, however, I'm only using it to place my humidors inside of. I didn't convert it because it is compressor driven. If you have any questions on making one though I can point you in the right direction. First and foremost you need to buy a VinoTemp brand, they are the best and fairly cheap at Target. I can even point you towards a guy who makes Spanish Cedar drawers to replace the factory metal racks.

Stoogee

Why is the vinotemp the best I would think any thermoelectric wine cooler should be pretty much the same thing and the vinotemp they sell at target is a little small compared to what I wanted to build. I am looking at something that can hold 600-1000 cigars. Also I am fairly handy with wood so I will most likely just fully line the inside of the fridge with spanish cedar except where it is necessary to leave openings due to the refridgeration unit ect. Also I plan on putting a few fans in to keep the air circulating but for a fridge this size am I going to need a cigar oasis and if so which one should I get or will beads work fine.

madurofan

Well if you're a larger one then maybe a vinotemp isn't the answer. I just know that everyone I know that has sucessfully built one has used a vinotemp. I know of a few other that had issues with other brands but I'm not sure what brands they were.

I would also say if you're looking at something bigger than a vinotemp you'll probably need a combo of the oasis and beeds. The Oasis Plus is rated for 8 - 10 cubic feet but I'd use beads as well to help stabilize. I know some people also use the crystalline cat litter. I can find the exact brand if you're interested.

As far as lining the entire inside with Cedar, I think that might be over kill but I can't imagine it would harm anything.

phobicsquirrel

Aren't compressors a little un-reliable? I heard that somewhere, maybe it's a myth... Maddy, how many humis are you able to fit in yours? I was looking at some the other day, for wine mainly but since my temp goes anywhere from 64 some days and 74 others, I'm wondering if a wine fridge is my best bet.

Stoogee

phobicsquirrel:
Aren't compressors a little un-reliable?.

a thermoelectric does not use a compressor compressors tend to dry the air out is my understanding and that is bad for wine as well as cigars since it can cause problems with the corks.

madurofan

Stoogee:
phobicsquirrel:
Aren't compressors a little un-reliable?.

a thermoelectric does not use a compressor compressors tend to dry the air out is my understanding and that is bad for wine as well as cigars since it can cause problems with the corks.

Thats my understanding as well but rusirius who is experienced in these matters(I believe he's an electrician?!?) seems to think otherwise. I just know that the thermo electric seems to be the consensus way to go.

Now I have a compressor driven wine fridge but I use it only for temperature control I place my humidors inside of the fridge. I have a 48 count wine fridge with a coolerdor and a desktop humi inside.

iminaquagmire

Thermoelectric is what you want. A condenser will do just that, condense the humidity back into water and possibly ruin some cigars when it drips off the condenser plate. I made that mistake and have since gone to a thermoelectric. I have not refilled the Cigar Oasis in probably 8 or 9 months. Its in my basement but it does run and keeps a consistent 63 to 65 degrees. One of the keys is also to have a temperature controller. It uses a probe to sense the temperature and them supplies power to the fridge when needed, bypassing the internal thermostat. If you didn't have that, it would run much more erratically with wide ranging temperatures. Its an old pic, but you get the idea.

kaspera79

Quagmire.. Now that's a word I never typed before.. First of all Welcome.. I see you and I are neighbors. On an unrelated note, that is a very nice collection of cigars you have. And a great set-up. What are you keeping in there ?

iminaquagmire

Thanks for the welcome and the compliment. That's an older picture of when I first set it up, but I've got everything from Alec Bradley to Zino. I've tried to purge a lot of the stuff I knew I'd never get to smoking and mostly have middle of the road premiums and quite a a few supers and sentimental stuff I never seem to have time to fully enjoy. So it sits there while I smoke my usual stuff. Where are you located in the area?

kaspera79

Quagmire.. PM sent..

rusirius

madurofan:
Stoogee:
phobicsquirrel:
Aren't compressors a little un-reliable?.

a thermoelectric does not use a compressor compressors tend to dry the air out is my understanding and that is bad for wine as well as cigars since it can cause problems with the corks.
Thats my understanding as well but rusirius who is experienced in these matters(I believe he's an electrician?!?) seems to think otherwise. I just know that the thermo electric seems to be the consensus way to go.

Now I have a compressor driven wine fridge but I use it only for temperature control I place my humidors inside of the fridge. I have a 48 count wine fridge with a coolerdor and a desktop humi inside.

A compressor based unit will work just fine... PROVIDED you have an external control on the power tied to temperature... How do I know? Because that's exactly what mine is... An old fridge (full size) in the garage with a fan, light bulb, and the normal fridge element (i.e. compressor) installed... When the temp get's above 70 the fridge comes on (for just a second) and cools it back down... If it get's below 70 then bulb comes on for just a second and warms it back up... In reality neither one runs very often unless it's opened...

Speaking of opening... I also have a timer that only allows the compressor to run for about 45 seconds a shot max and then waits 5 minutes before allowing it to run again... This is in case I'd open it on a really hot day... Keeps the compressor from running long enough to get too cold and start condensing...

In my personal opinion, I don't see how thermoelectric can be any better... With everything I know about electricity and physics (no Maddy, I'm actually in the I.T. field, but do have a pretty extensive background in electrical engineering and physics) I just can't see why there would be any difference between the two...

EXCEPT of course that a peltier typically doesn't generate as much of a temperature difference across it's plates as a condensor unit can... Nor can it do so nearly as fast... So without precise controls, yes, it's entirely possible you could ruin a batch of cigars... So in that sense it's probably a better choice simply because it's much more forgiving...

There's one other advantage I can think of as well... I don't know if the wine fridges are already set up like this or not, but it doesn't sound like it...

You could very easily set up a set of thermometers and tie them to a relay... A "high" and "low" as it were... You could then set the high at 71 and low at 69.. In this way the relay could be used to reverse polarity across the peltier... In other words, providing both warmth or cooling depending on which was needed in one simple unit...

urbino

Welcome back, Shirley.

ede

Thanks for your post, please let me know the guy who makes the drawers! I am very interested in doing the vinotemp thing, as temperature controlled humidors appear to be much more expensive than a Vinotemp.

BTW, my main reason for wanting temperature control is so that I don't have to regulate my house to be at 74 degrees when we are gone during the day, it would be much more ecomomical to be able to keep the house at 80degrees when we are out of the house in the summer months. If this is not a big deal for cigars, let me know. I have heard the beetles like to come out and play when it is warmer... ??

TylerE

I live in Phoenix and this was an idea I am also looking at. My house in the summer is between 81-83. I was looking to put my desktop humidor into the wine fridge to make sure I stay as close to 70 degrees as I can. My concern is also beetles.

As long as my Humidor is at 70% humidity then it should be fine in the wine fridge around 65 degrees?