Humidor filled up quickly - Switched to a NewAir CC-280E Wineador!

[lukem]

So I started off with a 90 count desktop humidor which quickly filled up. I didn't have 90 in it but more like 50 including a few of my friend's who was "renting" space in mine. I'm not sure how they figured you could fit 90 cigars in it. So looking at all my options I decided to go with a NewAir CC-280E wineador. I got it in last week and it is up and running now with all my cigars in it. It's working great and looks fantastic. Here's part of my setup process and pics to go along

List of items and prices:
NewAir CC-280E from Amazon for $449.95
2 - Link Removed for $23.74 (They have gone up to $29.99 since then)
Link Removed - $5.61 (I already had one and wanted to calibrate them in separate kits just to be on the safe side, I've read that you can put two hygrometers in one kit though).
2 Lbs. of Heartfelt 70% beads, 2 Large Mesh bags and a fine tip syringe from Heartfelt Industries - $91.70
Bottle of Distilled Vinegar - approx. $1.50 from the grocery store
Newspaper - free from my sister

I received my hygrometers Tuesday morning so I put those into the kits right away so they could get a full 36 hours to calibrate.

Wednesday afternoon the wineador was delivered. It sat outside for about 3 hours until I got home. So the first thing I noticed is that it didn't have much of a "factory plastic" smell to it when I first opened it. As you can see from the pics below, the cedar shelves/drawers were stored inside so when I opened the door it smelled like cedar already. But I did want to clear down the inside just for good measure. I got a new sponge and wiped the inside down with Distilled Vinegar. You can see the black residue that came off the inside on the sponge in the pictures below. I read on another site that happened to someone who was using DV so that didn't bother me. After that I let it air out for 2 hours. It didn't smell like cedar as strong as it did before but still didn't smell very plasticky but I stuffed it with newspaper overnight just for good measure.

Thursday morning I took out the newspaper and it doesn't have a strong plastic smell but it was there. I wiped it down again with DV and added some containers with baking soda and let it run for a bit.

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[lukem]

Thursday night I came home and still had a faint plastic smell so I toss in some newspaper with the baking soda and left it overnight. Friday morning I took everything out and left it closed for about 10 minutes and then checked it. Didn't really smell anything so I tossed in the shelves and hygrometers. Left it for about an hour and they were reading 48% on the bottom and 52% on the top. I wiped down the shelves with a sponge soaked in distilled water. After 1 hour the top was reading 71% and the bottom was at 68%. I did another wipe down, waited another 2 hours and then did a third and last wipe down. I waited about 3 hours and then toss in my HF beads. After about an hour the top was reading 74% and bottom was at 69%. So I tossed in a box of Undercrowns that had come in on Friday. I let them sit for about 4 hours and both the top and bottom were readying 68%. So then I tossed in the 50 singles I had in my desktop humidor.

This morning I woke up and the top was sitting at 72/66 and bottom is at 67/68. I have some extra beads and bags that I can use if I want to mess around with but I'm going to leave it for now as I'm fine with those levels.

 

[lukem]

Here's some final pics.

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[gunnerbob]

Wow, you take that smoking thing pretty serious Luke.

 

[scrooster]

Nice Luke ... very nice.

I keep mine in a small Pelican with a wet piece of folded-up paper towel in a baggie. My Mexican and Cubans find them for me, I smoke them. I never have enough at one time to need a ceegar-fridge, but if I did ... I'd do it just like you did it. Thanks for the idea.

:big_boss:

 

[Northman78]

New to all this but enjoy a good cigar now and then. I bought a humidor, and it has been consistent at 68%. Is there anything else I need to know or should be doing. Do you leave the cigar in the plastic wrap/tube? I live in Tampa, Fl so I am able to get hand rolled (It's an art) when I am in that area of the city. I use distilled water in my humidor.

 

[Striker62]

New to all this but enjoy a good cigar now and then. I bought a humidor, and it has been consistent at 68%. Is there anything else I need to know or should be doing. Do you leave the cigar in the plastic wrap/tube? I live in Tampa, Fl so I am able to get hand rolled (It's an art) when I am in that area of the city. I use distilled water in my humidor.

If your humidor is cedar, wipe down the inside with distilled water. I still wipe mine down every month or so. To retain the humidity around 72-76, I add a Boveda packet, keep my humidification device full with distilled water and even add a shot glass of distilled water if needed. This usually holds for a month or more. All this depends how many cigars are in your box. I usually have around 10 - 20 at a time.

I usually take cigars out of the wrapper/tubes, but that also allows cigar flavors to mix with other cigars. I am not too sensitive to cigar tastes and flavors, but some cigar aficionado would call mixing cigars to be bad form.

 

[Northman78]

Just starting out with the humidor and supplies, I like sweet mellow cigars. And am from Tampa, FL. Any hints and tips for me would be appreciated.
Jim