Keeping a coolidor...cool

[madwilliamflint]

Well, the two coolidors I've got seemed like a great idea. I've got a 70qt and a 100. (These Pepin events with their 2 for 1 boxes are really soaking up my storage.)

But I'm finding that while humidity is a breeze to keep up, temperature here in NYC is tough to keep down. I'm getting stable temperatures in the mid 70s and I REALLY don't like it.

What kind of options do I have? I'm actually not above picking up an arduino, a peltier unit and building something if that's a feasible solution. But I'd rather something that wasn't such a project.

Any ideas?

[bobarian]

Options:
1) Move coolers to the basement or to a inside closet
2) Freeze everything-Most cigars purchased domestically are already frozen at the distributor level. After you freeze, temps dont matter any more.
3) Add external cooling-Ice packs are one option
4) Purchase a Wine Cooler.

[madwilliamflint]

1) Can't. Wee 5th floor apartment. My closets might as well be ovens.
2) "After you freeze, temps dont matter any more." wha? Why not?
3) Good idea, but sounds like a lot of maintenance.
4) $$$.

I may look in to building something. Maybe an external unit that I can tap in to the drainage plugs on both coolers.

[T.G]

2) beetle eggs are dead man. It's game over for them. Scoreboard: we win.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by T.G

2) beetle eggs are dead man. It's game over for them. Scoreboard: we win.

The title implies that you are concerned with temperatures. Hi temps will only lead to beetle outbreaks if there are viable eggs and sustained temps of over 72-74degrees. Once frozen most if not all eggs are dead.

Mold will form with high humidity. High temps alone will not lead to mold formation.

[madwilliamflint]

Ah! I was thinking in terms of mold.

[T.G]

You are correct for mold; freezing only kills some active growth and forces the colonies into a dormant state and doesn't kill the spores. Mold spores are pretty much everywhere in the air naturally unless you have a very effective HEPA filter system, so you really can't avoid them. All you can do is keep the humidity down a bit, to avoid growth and colonies forming. I don't recall what the exact RH level is that they grow at, but I don't think I've never seen them form in a humidor kept at 65%RH or less.

[BTcigars]

From what Ive heard from peoples experiences, when the climate within a humidor starts to make its way past the 70/70 mark, thats when bad things start to happens.