The Dude's coolidor build
 

Well, the time has come to move beyond my desktop humi and enter the world of the coolidor. This is gonna be a "work in progress" kinda thread and I'll update along each step.

Today I ordered a pound of Heartfelt beads and one of the little mesh bags to go along with it. Anyone have an idea how long it will take the beads to get to Central Texas?

I was gonna use an Igloo marine cooler that's been sitting in my garage for a while now, but after pulling it down today and taking a look I think I'll just buy a new cooler instead. The Marine one isn't in the best shape and it's a lot smaller than I thought. I'm planning on using boxes for sorting and storage and I don't think my current cooler is big enough to hold the amount of boxes I'll need.

So tomorrow I'll do some cooler shopping along with a new hygrometer and some boxes. One last question for the experienced guys in this area; do I season the cigar boxes the same way I would normal Spanish Cedar? Thanks everyone, I'll update again tomorrow.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

in my cooler i have these spanish cedar trays on one side and still have room for boxes on the other. of course i am using mine for overflow storage since the wineador is full at the moment....not a bad problem to have :r

oh and start working on your Tetris skills...that is a never ending game :tu

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Did some shopping today.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...pse41e371e.jpg

Coleman 70qt cooler and a cheapie accurite hygrometer from Wal Mart. I'm gonna start the salt test for the hygrometer tonight and let the cooler sit outside with the lid open. Tomorrow it's off to one of the locals to get some empty cigar boxes.

I haven't heard anything from Heartfelt on whether my order shipped or not. Hopefully the beads will be here by the end of the week. Gotta say, things are coming together nicely.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Ahh, I see lots more room now for bomb fallout!

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Please, have mercy! I'm still piecing my box back together after the last bombing run.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

:r:r

You're the one who posted a pic of your new Cooler

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Looks like a good start. You can fill it with crumpled up newspaper to help get rid of the new cooler smell. Good luck and keep the pics coming

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Thanks for the tip! Fortunately I think the cooler I got must have been opened and closed a lot at the store since there isn't much of a plastic smell at all. Still gonna wash it out and take your advice with the newspaper since I'm waiting on the beads anyway.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Delete! Delete! Delete! Haha.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Looks like we're both headed down the slippery slope together :adam

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

I blame this entirely on you man. Looking at your thread got me thinking that I could use some more room.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

:r:r

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

co-enablers! :sl:sl

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Made some good progress today.

After 24 hours in the salt chamber the hygro is sitting at a solid 75% RH.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...psdaf0b0f3.jpg

Cleaned out the cooler with dish soap and baking soda. After drying there was ZERO plastic smell, still gonna leave some newspaper in it overnight though. Went to the local after that and picked up some empty boxes.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...psbf3be939.jpg

Took a Punch box and deconstructed it since there were some really nice SC pieces in it. Put the rest of the boxes into the cooler to see how much room I'll have. I should be good for a little bit still.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...psa08d00bf.jpg

I'm seasoning the loose pieces of SC now and will probably be attaching them to the sides and bottom of the cooler to help balance the humidity and give it some good aromas. Hopefully I'll get the beads here in the next couple of days and then I should be good to go for cigar storage.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

So your AcuRite is spot on, eh? Mine's off by about 2%.

I see persuasive ordinance in your future :r

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

It was dead on accurate up until right after the picture was taken. I went into the garage to get some pliers and when I came back in it was down to 71%:confused: maybe due to me moving the Tupperware around to get the pic?

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Interesting. :hm I don't think mine did that at all. It was pretty consistent with its inconsistency.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Didn't make much progress today. Just moved the cooler from the garage into the closet where it will reside permanently. Got the SC pieces sitting in some tubs and really just in a holding pattern until the beads arrive. I sent Heartfelt's customer service an e-mail earlier asking for a tracking number but they never responded. Hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

heartfelt usually takes a week to get things out to you (in my experience with them)

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Good to know. I ordered them at like 7am Monday morning so we'll see how the next couple of days go.

Re: The Dude's coolidor build
 

Got my beads in the mail today! Wetted them down and got them into the cooler a few hours ago. I'm gonna check the humidity level before bed then again whenI wake up in the morning. If it's holding around 65% then tomorrow afternoon/evening will be the big move in.