Went shopping for some supplies today; came back with a cooler, electric hydrometer, beads, and a couple cigar boxes (but no sticks :-) ). Plan on getting everything prepped so I can "season" it. It there any specific thing I need to do with the cooler in order to prep it? I've already read through some of the Humidor Seasoning thread, and I didn't see anything about cooler-dors. Do I just season the boxes and go from there?

Some pictures.
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Great start!!
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Accessories section of the forums has some good stuff for coolidor!
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59952
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http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=59952

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=61524

the "search" function is your friend..

that should be enough to get you started, if you need more help let us know.

have fun on your new project and get ready for the ride :-)
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Good reads, thanks guys :-) Will be cleaning out the cooler with baking soda/water shortly. Already have the hydrometer being tested, so that should be good to go tomorrow.

I know that this is going to be a very, very long ride for me. I "go all the way" when I get started in new hobbies. :-)
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Put there cooler where I plan on keeping it and took a look at just how big the wood boxes are. I think I'm gonna be buying another cooler in the near future. :-)
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Those aren't beads. They're "gel" (super absorbent polymer treated with propylene glycol if you want to get technical) .

And, they are "meh".

They're great for releasing humidity, but only mediocre at maintaining a set RH and really sluggish to absorb excess humidity out of the air.

My recommendation would be to return them and get actual 2-way beads from either Michael (cigarnut) at HCMbeads.com or HF beads from heartfelt.com
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:-)

I have the Coleman 150qt Marine cooler and with the lack of wood in these things, even with a bunch of boxes, there still isn't a lot of wood in them, you really need something that will absorb, as well as release humidity. If you buy a lot of sticks online, they normally arrive very 'wet'. Having beads are the only way to go, as they will stabilize your sticks (IMO) much faster. I use the HF beads in my cooler and in our climate (midwest) only have to add distilled water to them 2 or 3 times a year. The recovery time for a humi with beads in it is impressive. I used the gel in my small humi before upgrading to the cooler and they struggled to keep a stable level. If you do go with beads, go ahead and over estimate what you'll need, since they are 2-way, it'll help keep recovery times down. :-)
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i have a 28-bottle wineador with 3 pounds of HCM Beads and a 48 qt cooler for overflow with two pounds of HCM Beads, both are rock solid at 65% RH.
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I'll be ordering in some HCM beads soon. I just needed something to keep everything near where it should be until then.
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Looks like you're off to a great start man. Enjoy the journey, you'll have that sucker filled up in no time.
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:-) Hydrometer held steady at 65% during the test, which is 10% off, if I have read correctly. Will be adjusting it and putting it into the cooler shortly.
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That's really not uncommon if you bought a cheapie hygrometer. If it's adjustable then it shouldn't be a problem. I've gotta say man, your thread has inspired me to start up a cooler myself!
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You cant be worse than me. I skipped from a 50ct desktop to a 60+ box Aristocrat....
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Ended up buying a less cheap-o hydrometer. The one showed in the picture is a piece of junk. Spent $10 at Lowes and got a much nicer one :-) It's in a bag calibrating right now.
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You got a pic of the one you got from Lowe's? I was looking at the Accurite from Wally World, but from the reviews I've read it's completely hit or miss whether the one you get will be accurate. Some folks were saying that theirs were up to 15% off!
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That's probably the same one I got. You have me worried now!

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I'm a firm believer in getting what you pay for so I prefer the higher-end of the inexpensive hygrometers -- HygroSet, Xikar or Caliber. All of these can be calibrated and adjusted which is really nice and they can usually be had for $25 or less.

Having said that, many people use these cheap hygrometers or no hygrometer at all with great success. It's all about personal preference.
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I use the older version of that cheap hygro. I've calibrated it a couple times, and its usually around 10% off. I don't really care what the precise humidity is, I just know that I have more beads than I probably should have, and that when that cheap number thing has a 52 on it they smoke great :-)
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Don't worry too much Eli, if it's a bit off just figure the difference between what it reads and 75%. If it bugs you too much just take it back and get a new one.

I ordered a pound of Heartfelt beads this morning. Think I'm gonna clean out my cooler this evening then head to the local tomorrow for some empty boxes.
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