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View Full Version : Next best thing to an Aristocrat?


Goldie
10-25-2015, 07:20 PM
Hey everyone,

I'm in need of a little bit of help. My ever so lovely wife wanted to surprise me with a new humidor for our anniversary, but didn't realize how expensive a replacement for my 28 bottle Vino would be. It's been giving me troubles keeping a decent humidity level, and I think she's just tired of hearing me complain about it. A friend recommended Aristocrat when she reached out to him for a recommendation. Fortunately for him, the price of an Aristocrat is within budget, but not so much for me, unfortunately.

I was hoping someone here could give a recommendation on a humidor that has cooling and humidification built into it, but doesn't run in the four figure price range. If I could find something that held 750 loose cigars that would be pretty cool. Or something thereabouts. Does anyone here have something like this that wasn't so expensive? Perhaps around $500? Perhaps I'm crazy to think this is possible?

Any help is appreciated.


Drew

MarkinAZ
10-25-2015, 08:06 PM
How many loose cigars do you actually have Drew? 750 loose cigars (and depending on the rg and size) would translate somewhere between 30 and 37.5 boxes (depending on whether you are looking at 20ct or 25 ct boxes)...

WhiteMamba
10-25-2015, 08:56 PM
Put a cooler in the garage. Should be cool in the Ohio winter

AdamJoshua
10-25-2015, 09:23 PM
Hey Drew, a few guy here have had luck with keeping an eye on craigslist. I've seen some real steals so if you can use a cooler for now and can take your time looking you might find a great deal. :tu

I don't know if this is close to you and might be a bit out of price range, but there are some out there, this was right on the first page of results.


http://louisville.craigslist.org/for/5283421461.html

irratebass
10-26-2015, 07:46 AM
I have to agree with Mamba, a 120qt cooler is perfect, but if you are looking for something with more pizzazz to showoff....go with the Galleria or Lauderdale, but they do not have built in humidification system, but a couple of lbs of beads will be perfect:

http://www.cheaphumidors.com/humidors/cabinet-humidors.html

They used to have an "Make me an offer" option, but I'm not sure if they do or not, but when I got my Tower I offered them 15% which they accepted.

If you don't want to go the beads route you could spurge & get the Set It & Forget It from Avallo

http://www.avallohumidors.com/Accumonitor.html

mosesbotbol
10-26-2015, 08:49 AM
Why do you need cooling? I have two friends with them and I think it is a waste of money; takes up a lot of room, noisy, and of little use if the power goes out.

Stevez
10-26-2015, 02:51 PM
Hey Drew, a few guy here have had luck with keeping an eye on craigslist. I've seen some real steals so if you can use a cooler for now and can take your time looking you might find a great deal. :tu

I don't know if this is close to you and might be a bit out of price range, but there are some out there, this was right on the first page of results.


http://louisville.craigslist.org/for/5283421461.html

Wow; this darn thing is within a few miles of my house. Never priced one like this before; do you all think this is worth $1,000 for a VinoTemp? Not sure I would spend this much, but it's tempting.

Porch Dweller
10-26-2015, 03:18 PM
Wow; this darn thing is within a few miles of my house. Never priced one like this before; do you all think this is worth $1,000 for a VinoTemp? Not sure I would spend this much, but it's tempting.

Yeah, wow. A new one shipped is $4000+. That's quite a bargain. But I can't find any reviews online that speak to its quality, reliability, etc.

AdamJoshua
10-26-2015, 10:00 PM
Wow; this darn thing is within a few miles of my house. Never priced one like this before; do you all think this is worth $1,000 for a VinoTemp? Not sure I would spend this much, but it's tempting.

Looks great but that is a stock picture, could be worth it to go take a look make him an offer and see if you can haggle him down.

Stevez
10-27-2015, 06:20 AM
Thanks for the feedback; may do that this weekend if it's still available.

mosesbotbol
10-27-2015, 11:54 AM
That one in the CL ad looks great. If you haggle, get on splitting the delivery charge or see if he can deliver it. That looks like a b**** to move and you don't want to f it up while doing it.

AdamJoshua
10-27-2015, 12:05 PM
You could probably hire a local mover / truck for an hour if they are that close to your house, maybe you can get him to knock the 100 bucks off the price that you'd pay to move it, that being said it looks like it's a pretty good steal to start with.

AlohaStyle
10-27-2015, 01:08 PM
You are not going to find a large cabinet humidor with cooling unit for $500 unless you get absolutely lucky. If I were you, make sure you have an A/C in your house/apt and buy a nice cabinet without cooling.

Be careful with that Vinotemp on CL... it looks like a traditional compressor cooled unit which many people would not use for cigars.

There is a nice looking, large cabinet being sold in Cincinnati for $725.
Dimensions: 6ft 8.5inch Tall, 3ft 6inch wide, 1ft 5inch deep

mosesbotbol
10-27-2015, 01:27 PM
AC in a humidor is a waste of money unless it's connected to generator when the rest of the house is not.

CRIMPS
10-27-2015, 01:53 PM
Consider a non temperature controlled humidor, maybe? This would definitely cut the cost of a new humidor.

I'm not so sure there is a lot of benefit in keeping the temperature < 70 degrees if the humidor is located in a temperature controlled building. If you are concerned about beetles, then freeze your cigars? :2

AlohaStyle
10-27-2015, 02:07 PM
AC in a humidor is a waste of money unless it's connected to generator when the rest of the house is not.

I lived in a house with no A/C and my cooled Aristocrat was a life saver.

Goldie
10-27-2015, 07:27 PM
Evening everyone,

Sorry for my absence since asking for some advice. That's the life of a small business owner I suppose.

750 may be a little large for what I need currently. But I like the idea of having space to grow into. I would estimate now that I have somewhere between 425 - 475 sticks.

The reason that I am looking for something similar to my Vino is that we live in a 110 year old house. The HVAC isn't awesome, and due to the age of the house would require a load of money to upgrade. My Vino sits in my office that receives minimal AC or heat, so the temp in the room can be 8 or 10 degrees above/below the rest of the house. It isn't a real problem in the Fall and Winter in that the temp drops to the mid to low 60s. In the Summer when the room sits at 78 or so the cooling takes care of the climate inside the Vino. We unfortunately don't have a garage for a cooler, and don't have a basement that I would feel comfortable using for storage.

I like the idea of having the Vino in an area where I can easily grab a smoke if I find myself with a little extra time in the evening. Someone commented that the possibility of finding a cooled cabinet for $500 would be sheer luck, and I agree. I like the idea of having some room to grow, but an actual cabinet would be far too much room. It would be pathetic at how empty one would look.

I was hoping someone here had something they could recommend. If I Google for some options I can find some vendors who sell lower than others, but what I really wanted to avoid was dropping some cash on a humidor that just wasn't up to par. I love my Vino, I just hate that my RH is all over the place.

Wharf Rat
10-28-2015, 03:37 AM
Just as a kookie thought - Maybe you could put a packaged HVAC system, like what you might find in many hotel rooms into your office. Then, both you and your cigars would be more comfortable.

mosesbotbol
10-28-2015, 05:01 AM
Just as a kookie thought - Maybe you could put a packaged HVAC system, like what you might find in many hotel rooms into your office. Then, both you and your cigars would be more comfortable.

This is what I would focus on too. Great, your cigars ar 70 degrees, but the rest of the house is sweltering... Get the house or room comfortable and then you're all set!

AlohaStyle
10-28-2015, 11:41 AM
Exactly, go to Costco or Walmart and buy a portable A/C unit. Turn it on when needed, save energy when you don't. That is what I was going to do before buying a new house.

dmiller662
02-02-2016, 07:58 AM
Finding a nice T and H cabinet humidor for that price is and would be I would say impossible..

I have a Aristocrat cabinet, about 5 yrs. old, and is Humidity only, and close to 5K in it... and am in current discussions with Bob over at Aristocrat to build a Inwall unit that is both T and H controlled.. The price gets up there... You can could on doubling the cost from a humidity unit to a T and H unit... The biggest issue being a T controlled unit, will have to have insulated walls, and the TE units like a EIC can cost over $1k by itself and up.. So it adds up quickly on a build.

Ive never had a issue with mine, stays about 68.2 on the H, and T stays 70-71, only reason on doing a T on my new one, is im in the middle of a remodel, and im enclosing in the patio area, and sun will come into play in that area, as just installed a 4 pane glass door, and even though I will be using that room as a place to enjoy my stogies, I don't want to take chance of temp being not up to par in the room. I will be installing a split system in the room, but outside doors will be open/closed all the time to smoke...

a portable unit ac unit, is not so portable really, you still have to have it vented to the outside, so unless you can do this, I don't see that as a reliable option for you either.

Maybe look into a Whynter unit... Don't know much about them, but will be into your price range.. You can look at AJMadison, they carry then.. I also have a Liebherr unit, but they are very expensive ($3k), and don't hold all that much, hence is why I had Bob built me a cabinet...

Good luck on your search.