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Accessory Discussion / Reviews>Is it possible to convert to thermo cool?
Giant & 49er Fan 02:17 PM 02-19-2010
I have a tower humidor (not temp controlled). I was wondering if it was possible to convert my tower to a temperature controlled unit? Like a vino! Would it be cost effective as I love the size of the box and want to protect my smokes. Please help...
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bobarian 02:27 PM 02-19-2010
Yes it can be done. Whether its cost effective is up to you. But anything can be done for a price. I would give Bob Staebell a call and give him the dimensions of your cabinet and get an estimate on one of his systems. Then you can factor labor to install and decide from there. :-)
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Giant & 49er Fan 03:00 PM 02-19-2010
Originally Posted by bobarian:
Yes it can be done. Whether its cost effective is up to you. But anything can be done for a price. I would give Bob Staebell a call and give him the dimensions of your cabinet and get an estimate on one of his systems. Then you can factor labor to install and decide from there. :-)
Thanks. Spoke to Bob who convinced me that my cabinet would not make a efficient "cooled unit."
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Giant & 49er Fan 03:01 PM 02-19-2010
Mods can shutir down!
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ChasDen 08:25 PM 02-19-2010
Originally Posted by RPguy:
Thanks. Spoke to Bob who convinced me that my cabinet would not make a efficient "cooled unit."
That makes me very curious :-)

Is it the shape, cost, brand?

If you like it, I would be curious why not consider it.

Chas
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XTRazzer 08:28 PM 02-19-2010
Probably single pane glass? and a lot of it?
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ChasDen 08:54 PM 02-19-2010
That might be it.

BUT

A local shop around here has a huge display outside the walk-in they keep the really expensive stuff in and they modified it with a thermo unit, it always reads 68-70 in the summer even when its frigging hot out. Its all glass, 3 sides, 6 feet high, 6-8 feet wide a foot to two deep. The glass doors are no way 1/4 inch, probably double strength at best.

So its possible.

Chas
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XTRazzer 02:14 PM 02-20-2010
And they're probably sliding doors at that? Which shop? I might need to visit if not too far north.
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bob staebell 02:12 PM 02-22-2010
The "tower" humidors are not great candidates for conversion to temp control-if one plans to use peltier cooling units. They are only 17" deep & have a full glass door. I have found one has to use 1-2" of high R value foam to keep things efficient enough that it only requires a couple hundred watts of cooling power to get a 20 degree temp drop.

If you dont' use insulation, then it takes 6-8 times as much cooling capacity to get the same temp drop--that gets expensive & takes up a lot of cigar space.

There is a very high Rvalue custom vacuum panel available, but again it's very expensive & not cost effective. They also have not been around long enough for me to entirely trust the panels are going to maintain an effective vaccum for 20 years.

Net/net--A great many cabinets can easily be converted to humidity control, but not many are designed to retrofit with cost effective cooling/insulation and a good functional & elegant result.

cheers,
Bob Staebell
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