Beginner Questions (Ask Them Here!)

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by omgbiscuit

I assume with the baking soda you just mean let a box sit in there for a few days rather than just sprinkle it in there?

Take about half a box and add enough water to make a paste. Scrub the inside of the cooler and leave it overnight. Rinse it out well the next day and leave outside overnight opened up to air out. Add your beads and cigars.
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Jeremy, Bill said it best...I bought a 150 count humi a few years back when I wanted to take this interest seriously. It was a matter of weeks before I was looking for something else to put sticks in. I have a few small coolers now, as well as ammo boxes that I have lined with spanish cedar, and they are so simple to maintain. You do not have to worry as much about leaks due to poor craftsmanship, and they seal so nicely. Good luck to You, and have fun filling it!

[Bill86]

No biggie on the trades, and definitely not a grave brother. I really owe it to all the people here that have helped me a long my way. I'm more than happy to pay my dues and give back to the excellent people we have here on this forum by helping anyone I can that joins. Just keep posting and the world of knowledge will expand to you, until then there is always great vendors and you can always shoot me a PM. I'm on the forums like 5 hours a day, no joke.

No just take the cooler and scrub it out really good, there might be a plastic smell in there you just want to scrub that out with hot soapy water and baking soda. Wipe it down really good. Chances are there isn't but hey this is hundreds if not thousands of dollars you'll be investing over the months (years) with this hobby so why take the chances eh?

Originally Posted by gravelman

Jeremy, Bill said it best...I bought a 150 count humi a few years back when I wanted to take this interest seriously. It was a matter of weeks before I was looking for something else to put sticks in. I have a few small coolers now, as well as ammo boxes that I have lined with spanish cedar, and they are so simple to maintain. You do not have to worry as much about leaks due to poor craftsmanship, and they seal so nicely. Good luck to You, and have fun filling it!

Sean is right, really a humidor only needs a very good seal. Anything would work, just as long as it has no smell and locks up very tight. A coolidor is great for those on a budget realizing they need A LOT of storage to warrant anything nicer being bought in the future. I started with a 300 count thinking I had all the space in the world, now it's nearly full and I "graduated" to a 120 quart cooler. I'll be seeing a few more of those in my future no doubt.

[omgbiscuit]

Great! These were the exact answers I was looking for

The idea of spending a little less on a humidor and having some more for some nice smokes just too appealing to me

[bobarian]

Coolers are an ideal budget solution to cigar storage. But I am an advocate of smaller coolers. 48-50qt coolers are easily stackable in a closet and it gives the ability to separate and expand as your collection grows. Smaller coolers are also easier to move around.

I would also recommend getting a small 70-100ct desktop humidor($50-75) for singles storage and for everyday smoking. Beads are the way to go. I use 65% Heartfelt beads, you'll need about 1/2 pound per 48qt cooler. If you find you prefer some smokes at a bit higher Rh, the smaller coolers will allow you to use a higher humidity in a separate cooler.

I've got a question for you guys. I received some cigars in the mail today from a trade with a brother from the pipe forums. He sent me some CC minis that got banged up in the post, some are dry, and some are cracked. I was wondering how banged up and dry does a cigar have to be to be labeled trash? Is there any hope for these little boogers? I can post pictures if that helps.

[bobarian]

If you can hold it between you fingers then try smoking them. You can repair some damage to larger cigars using liquid pectin. This is available at the grocery store near the canning jars. But minis are usually too small to repair.

I put them in my humidor and I guess I will let them sit in the 65% for a week and then switch it to the 70% for another week to try and regain humidity. Is there a better way to do this or is it the only way?

[bobarian]

Those appear to be Partagas Short's and JLP Petite Cazadores, much larger than mini's. Rehydrate to 65%, 70 is too high for Cuban cigars. You can repair those wrappers with a little bit of liquid pectin.

Oh I thought these are minis and smaller are cigarillos? What is the correct verbage so I don't make the mistake again?

Also, why is 70 too high for cubans? I believe you as youbare more experienced than me but I just had never heard that before.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

Oh I thought these are minis and smaller are cigarillos? What is the correct verbage so I don't make the mistake again?

Also, why is 70 too high for cubans? I believe you as youbare more experienced than me but I just had never heard that before.

The vast majority of smokers seem to like find their Cubans smoke better and taste better at 65% or below....I keep mine around 62%. At 70%, they seem to smoke "wet"....problemed burns, problems staying lit, flavor issues, etc. I know this from my own experience, but can't explain the "science" behind it.

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

Also, why is 70 too high for cubans? I believe you as youbare more experienced than me but I just had never heard that before.

70 is too high for anything, IMO. I find my sticks smoke best around 65. But if you like the way your sticks are smoking, don't worry about the numbers...
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[Bill86]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

Oh I thought these are minis and smaller are cigarillos? What is the correct verbage so I don't make the mistake again?

Also, why is 70 too high for cubans? I believe you as youbare more experienced than me but I just had never heard that before.

Minis and cigarillos are more like a ring gauge in the 20's. Party shorts are a 42 RG, I personally lump them in with the "Petit Corona sized sticks". Knowing all the correct sizing on every CC would be too much IMO. Technically the petit cazadores is a ....petit cazadores 4 1/8 x 43. But for my purpose and reasoning they are "PC sized sticks".

Thanks for the info fellas. I will post any more questions I come across.

Hi , I am a new member here and I am hoping that someone can help me with a humidor question . I live in Chiang Mai , Thailand and the weather gets real hot here so I assume that this is a problem for keeping cigars ?
I am thinking that a wine cooler is the best option ? I have found 4 or 5 wine coolers that I can buy here , a couple of different Sanyo's as well as a couple of Samsungs .
I hear that thermoelectric is the way to go but even after doing a lot of searching on the net , have not been able to figure out if these coolers are thermoelectric or not
So I guess my questions are :
1) Do I need to buy a wine cooler as it gets up to over 100F here in the hot season ?
2) How the hell do I figure out weather the cooler is thermoelectric or not ?
And asking the salesman here in Thailand is not the answer as very very few salespeople here have any knowledge of the product that they are selling .
These are the 4 coolers that are available in this area , any help is appreciated , thanks everyone in advance .

sanyo SBC-245K
sanyo SBC-725K
samsung rw52dass
samsung rw33ebss

[icehog3]

I looked through the internet for Samsung and Sanyo wine coolers and could not find anything, even without trying to use the model numbers. Do you have other wine cooler options available?

Hi and thanks for getting back to me , I will do some more searching and see if I can find a wine cooler that is thermoelectric , these are the only brands that I have come up with so far . I am pretty sure that the ones that I have previously mentioned are not thermoelectric and yes that language was Thai .
On a side note I guess there is no way that I can get away with not using a cooler here in Thailand as it is so hot ?

[bobarian]

I would talk to other enthusiasts in your area regarding the necessity of a wine cooler. They may have other alternatives or be able to steer you in the right direction. Good luck.

[Cornrow_Wallis]

I found them all online, but the sanyo website was only in Thai(I guess) and there was no mention of what kind of cooling unit the samsung ones used. The samsung site has a contact us section, have you tried calling or emailing?

The sanyo ones:
http://www.sanyo.co.th/coldchain/pro...llar/index.php

The samsungs:
http://www.samsung.com/ie/consumer/h...=specification
http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consume...il&tab=support

Compressor type coolers can be made to work, but most prefer thermoelectric. If you can't get thermoelectric, ya gotta make do with what you can get. I don't have any real experience with wine coolers, so maybe someone else can give a better answer.

If you can't get a hold of anyone over there, I could call their N. American help lines and see if they know anything.