newbie question: Ikea cabinet Humidor?

[tandblov]

Howdy folks,

Im a newbie and am finally starting to purchase some boxes to be put down for a while hence my desire for a larger humidor. I have seen a guy around here, 'nub', who got a cabinet from ikea and turned it into a humidor, "Ikeador" is what he calls it. It appears that after weather stripping it it can keep the humidity at an appropriate level. Heres the cabinet:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...roductId=13102

My question is, has anyone else done something like this? If so what should I be thinking about before going through the hassle of putting it together. Somethings ive read makes me think twice considering that its made out of particle board and some people 'round here have suggested the glue in PB could outgas and effect the smokes.

Any opinions? Thanks y'all

[HamrWebDesign]

I haven't read the other post in question but can tell you I own the wardrobe version of that particular piece of furniture and weather stripping or not it's not going to produce a great seal. The things are not made with sealing in mind as there is a good 1/4" gap around the doors with quite a bit of flex in them and nothing in place to hold the door shut tightly. Those aspects would need to be solved before I'd try it. I'd also think one would want to line the thing with cedar as well.

[Smoker06]

I wouldn't do it unless I was going to completely line the cabinet with Spanish cedar with such tight tolerances that the cedar created the seal.

[pGator1]

Save your money and buy a good humidor. I have an Aristocrat, others have Avallo's. Both have owners who swear by them.

[LGHT]

Do a search I think I recall seeing someone converting one of those and posting the pictures up on there picture site here. I can't recall who did it, but i'm sure he / she put up a post about it.

From the looks at the pictures they basically used it as a frame and did the seels and linning over. It looked half way decent from the pics.

[the nub]

I did a fair bit of research before putting the Ikeador before. I posed the question regarding melamine finished particle board on this forum some time back and got a postive response from Matthew Allen of Avallo.

While there is potential for particle board to off-gas, consider that mdf and plywood, the material used for many humidors, contains similar glues as pb. If you have unfinished plywood in your humi, whether cigar boxes or sheething, you are exposing your cigars to that entire surface of plywood, since off-gassing of the glues can pass through the surface face.

Melamine is a factory applied sheething using high pressure, not contact cement. By the time it gets from the factory to your house, the off-gassing IMO has already occurred. The total area of exposed particle board in the humi is approx. 8" sq. There is a possibility that some fumes will remain, therefore, I let the components sit in the open for a few weeks plus another few weeks before the humidity came up. I didn't load anything until I felt it was safe to do so.

The seal on the door works fine. It is an aluminum framed door with a frosted glass insert using overlay hinges. Inset doors where the door sits flush with the face frame would be much more difficult to seal. Basically, the door on my cabinet overlaps the frame, therefore 4 strips of weatherstripping are required. I recharge the credo about every 4-6 months depending on the ambient, since I open it about every other day to grab a smoke.

As for lining it with spanish cedar, you could do that but I chose not to. The components that came with the Ikeador do not allow fitting additional materials since adjustable shelves and pull-out drawers would require reworking. I also don't like the heavy smell and the flavor that SC imparts on my smokes. The aroma from the cigar boxes are as much as I prefer. If I had a choice I would line it with mahogany instead.

The idea of these components flies in the face of what most people would consider acceptable materials and I'd guess I'd have a hard time convincing people that it works. Doesn't matter to me since I've been using this set-up for about 2 years and everything smokes fine. Look at my inventory; I'd be a fool to put my smokes in there if it didn't work.

One final thought regarding acceptable materials. Ever smell the inside of a cooler before you fill it up? Consider that coolers, shop applied finishes such as clear coats (latex and oil based), foam inserts and similar flammable and/or permeable materials have a much greater potential IMO to impart impurities in your cigars than a solid surface, sealed with a low pressure plastic, such as melamine. Yet those set-ups have been used to great success for years.

But, don't listen to what I say. Do your research on manufacturer's materials (and samples) if you have the time, before you do it. I did.

BTW total cost was about $200US +/- with a capacity of about 1500+/-

[the nub]

Link to Ikeador

http://galleries.cigarweekly.com/the...r-and-humidors

[HamrWebDesign]

So everything purchased for the Ikeador was in fact supplied from Ikea? They had the birch drawers, the door everything? Were they seperate components you pieced together as one component or was that how it came minus the weatherstripping for the door? It looks great!

[the nub]

everything but the cigars

those are all components from Ikea that are available for the cabinet.

[HamrWebDesign]

Do you recall what section of the catalog that was from. I'm assuming garage and storage? Thanks in advance!