Cheap Humidor Woes

[rodwha]

I'm guessing the issue with cheap humidors is the seal leaving you struggling to maintain a set humidity point. Are there other issues? And what is done to fix seal issues (non glass issues)? Why spend the money on an expensive humidor?

[herman]

Humidors are just nice to look at. If you can't get yourself a decent humi then use tupperwares until you can. I speak from experience. I just couldn't bear to look at an ugly tupperware so bought several cheapies and they all leak. I have fixed them with weather sealant, and stack some, but it's difficult to place right and can begin leaking again with time. Some will even leak from the bottom so they might require extra work.

I won't even look at glass tops because I'd rather have something with design as priority. I just peek in mine every few days to check things out.

[Dijit]

Even expensive humidors can and do have issues. Better to take your time and do the research to get the right humidor for you. Dont forget aesthetics will play a roll here too. My $30 Bally II glass top after I sealed the glass was easily one of the best small humidors I have owned. If money is really the issue and nothing else I recommend Coleman or Igloo. Get some Spanish cedar sheets that your local B&M is about to throw out and line it. You can find storage for a few hundred sticks for under $100 including humidification devices.

[AlanS]

The glass tops allow me to visit with my smokes and hygrometer without opening and losing humidity. Pluses and minuses both ways.

[FireRunner]

There are a variety of opinions on this topic because money is money. Personally, I do not care for cheap humidors made overseas by machines. They may look nice but they are crap, and by crap I mean there is no seal and over time it's just a pain to maintain cigars well.

My family has eight humidors. Six of them are hand made by Michael Dixon from Maryland. He's an amazing woodworker. Yes, his humidors are more expensive than a machine made humidor. But, for me and my family the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

Quality humidors have better seals to maintain the RH. You don't need to maintain the cigars as much. In all our quality humidors they are refilled about once a month (maybe twice depending on if they are open often). They look better. They are heavy. They have a lifetime warranty (anything goes wrong we can send it back to the maker and it's fixed for free - anytime). Of course they cost more. However, cost is relative if you take into consideration the time/energy/cost of maintaining cigars more often or having cigars lost due to humidor issues. These humidors will be around for decades.

Cheap humidors work 100% fine, however typically they require more maintenance and can have build issues over time. We have two cheap machine made humidors and they require refilling every single week, the hinges squeak, etc. The seals are bad, the wood is very thin and overall it's just a cheap product. However, many people don't care or have an issue with maintaining a humidor each week.

Overall, the purchase of a quality humidor over a cheap humidor depends on the person. It's the same as asking a golfer why buy a set of irons for $800 when you can buy a cheaper set for $300.

[rodwha]

I'm using a Tupperware container that stands them upright that I'm keeping in my fermentation chamber at 64*. It works well enough for now and is holding 24 ~50 ring cigars and a Drymistat humidifier with room for a few more. I'm OK with his for now, but would like a humidor for the desk top. For now it seems like ~100 ct would be sufficient.

I don't have any puffing friends yet, but would prefer a nice lookin (nothing fancy per se) humidor. Cost is always an issue to some extent and being a simple kind of guy don't care for frills, but also believe you get what you pay for to an extent.

I do have nearly a dozen ice chests of varying sizes, but would prefer a proper humidor.

As it stands now I'd likely purchase from Cheap Humidors from what little I've seen.

[TreySC]

You could go with one of these

http://www.bovedainc.com/store/tobacco/boveda-acrylic-humidor/

[StogieNinja]

I'm guessing the issue with cheap humidors is the seal leaving you struggling to maintain a set humidity point. Are there other issues? And what is done to fix seal issues (non glass issues)? Why spend the money on an expensive humidor?

There's also the very, very, very thin bottoms that are unfinished with felt glued to it. Even if you have a good seal around the lid, it's possible you'll lose rH right out the bottom.

Additionally, a lot of what looks like solid spanish cedar is in fact just mdf with a spanish cedar veneer.

Its really up to you, and you have three basic options:

1. Non-traditional, primarily functional options like cooler or tupperware
Pro: Hassle free, inexpensive
Con: Aesthetics

2. Inexpensive imported wood humidor
Pro: inexpensive, aesthetics
Con: Hassle to maintain proper rH due to poor seals, thin bottoms, etc

3. Quality wood humidor
Pro: Hassle free, aesthetics
Con: can be very expensive compared to the other options


Personally, function>form so I'll always skip Option 2. Money and preference dictate whether you go to Option 1 or 3.

[rodwha]

There's always Christmas too! I'm in no hurry for a proper humidor really, and getting a nice one as a present sounds like a much better option as I have too many other hobbies to spend my hobby funds on.

[RenoH414]

I have a cheap glass top one I bought years ago that never worked well. When I got back into cigar smoking a few weeks ago I tried to use it once again. It struggles to hold rh at all and it is nothing more than junk at this point. I keep it around thinking one of these days I will try the marine seal around the glass and see if that helps it. It is nice looking and I like to be able to see some of my sticks. At this point no better than it works I don't trust it and it really is just an oversized paper weight. If you're gonna buy a wood humidor do it right the first time. You'll be money ahead in the end. My next move will be to a winedor.

Reno

[rodwha]

If a cheap humidor can leave you needing to mess with it once a week that just won't work as we are known to take off for a week or two to visit family.

I do really want a glass top as they look nice and allow for a peek with just a glance. I think I'd opt for this and try to seal it if it fails to hold a seal.

I'm certainly leaning towards asking for one for Christmas so as not to need to save up my $100/mo hobby funds to buy one myself. I had been eyeing an 1862 Colt Police, but maybe that will wait a bit longer...

[RenoH414]

I'm certainly leaning towards asking for one for Christmas so as not to need to save up my $100/mo hobby funds to buy one myself. I had been eyeing an 1862 Colt Police, but maybe that will wait a bit longer...

Buy the Colt and some Tupperware!!! That's what I would do for sure. They make more humidors everyday but not Colts. Use the tupperdor until you can save enough for a good Marshall if you want a nice one that will last for years. That's what I wish I would have done. Just my $0.02 worth....

Reno

[rodwha]

What I'm looking at isn't an original, but a reproduction by Uberti. It's only about $375 or so... I'd behave like Gollum were it an original!

[rodwha]

Years?!?! A nice better last until I'm too old and weak to lift the lid!

[RenoH414]

Ah. I gotcha. That makes sense then.

Reno

[Mr Jones]

I avoid glass top humidors simply because I don't want light (any kind of light) hitting my cigars.

[Zeede]

I avoid glass top humidors simply because I don't want light (any kind of light) hitting my cigars.

Does your local B&M hand out night vision goggles for customers to browse the humidor with? :D

[AlanS]

Have had this 2yrs from cheaphumidors and never a problem! If there were they'd make it right. Shop with confidence.
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w366/awssr58/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/20150423_122118_zpsxueuwocp.jpg (http://s1072.photobucket.com/user/awssr58/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/20150423_122118_zpsxueuwocp.jpg.html)
Sorry about the fuzzy pic

[Demuths1770]

Does your local B&M hand out night vision goggles for customers to browse the humidor with? :D

with the turn over that cigar stores have light is not really an isusse for them lol. i would go with a tupperdor becuse once you start its your count will go up fast..... if you think a 100ct is going to work get a 200ct than. I started with a 30ct desktop and outgrew it very fast. made a tupperdor that held around 100 and it filled up. i have since built a tupperdor that holds over 200 i have a desktop i got in a pass that holds my higher end sticks that is full and the 30ct destop has infused in it. moral of the story... spend afew more bucks and go bigger

[HIM]

if you think a 100ct is going to work get a 200ct than. I started with a 30ct desktop and outgrew it very fast.

This is so true and happens to most in this hobby. Buy bigger than you'll need and don't get it in your head that you have to fill the extra space just because you have it. Your humi won't end up jam-packed and you'll be able to move stuff around or rotate stock every once in a while. Much easier than when its packed to the gills.
Many of us said "200 cigars would last me a lifetime thats plenty of space." Lo and behold 3 more tupperdors later your scratching your head wondering what the hell happened lol.

[Zeede]

I have a budget on Excel for my hobbies. It's the only way to keep control, hehe.

[FireRunner]

This is so true and happens to most in this hobby. Buy bigger than you'll need and don't get it in your head that you have to fill the extra space just because you have it. Your humi won't end up jam-packed and you'll be able to move stuff around or rotate stock every once in a while. Much easier than when its packed to the gills.
Many of us said "200 cigars would last me a lifetime thats plenty of space." Lo and behold 3 more tupperdors later your scratching your head wondering what the hell happened lol.

Very true in this hobby. This is what I tell every single person I know who starts smoking cigars as a hobby:

1. Figure out how many cigars you smoke, on average, a month. For example if a person smokes two cigars a week that's eight cigars a month.

2. Take your monthly number and multiple by 10. In this case it's 80.

3. Round to the nearest 50/100/150/200/etc. In this case 100.

4. Multiply by 2. In this case it's 200.

Now, go buy a humidor that is "built" to hold 200 cigars, because realistically it will only hold about 125-135 depending on the ring gauge/spacing/dividers/etc. Overall, I find this to be ideal because there is enough % to go around for random cigars, regular smokes, and rare smokes. You also have some room for cigars that are resting or even aging.

[rodwha]

Funny as I had bumped it up to 100 thinking 50 would be plenty, but in reality I'd like to keep a box of Avos, a box or two of something cheaper (<$100 shipped), room for new sticks to try, as well as room for a few really nice smokes. And then I also really like Souther Draw Kudzus so I may need some of them. Does any of this sound familiar? :stogie::stogie:

[droy1958]

I got a YETI Roadie 20 cooler 6-8 months ago that I've been using for box storage. They seal very well and have great insulation. Have yet to use any Bovedas in it yet and it holds high sixties. The cigars are the humidification as they come in a bit wet. I just transfer some over to my desktops as needed. I went on a little buying spree back when and couldn't fit anymore boxes in it so I bought one of those heavy duty five gallon buckets with the screw top lid on it for the overflowing boxes. Tossed some cedar and one Boveda 65 in it and it holds amazingly well with 4-5 boxes in it. I store it in a cool closet and it's worked for me...Whatever gets you through the night...

[rodwha]

I actually don't have an ice chest of the size I think I'd want, but figure this is a good way to go for now, and despite having nearly a dozen ice chests who couldn't use more?

[OtismyMan]

This is so true and happens to most in this hobby. Buy bigger than you'll need and don't get it in your head that you have to fill the extra space just because you have it. Your humi won't end up jam-packed and you'll be able to move stuff around or rotate stock every once in a while. Much easier than when its packed to the gills.
Many of us said "200 cigars would last me a lifetime thats plenty of space." Lo and behold 3 more tupperdors later your scratching your head wondering what the hell happened lol.

Truer words were never spoken... I bought a nice 125ct Humi and only had about 20 sticks...before the damn thing was even finished with the 2 week seasoning process with Bovedas I had out grown it :concern:

[allusred]

Does your local B&M hand out night vision goggles for customers to browse the humidor with? :D

There's a B&M in a nearby town that you almost need to be wearing sunglasses to view the overpriced and extremely over lit humidor.If the silly bugger"s still in business, which I doubt,since he will shadow anyone in the humidor, even tho he has two security cameras in the humidor.Have seen him try to get a guy looking at $29.95 bundled cigars to the two boxes of Ashtons, one open, one sealed he has. His biggest sellers, he said are Acids.