Building a smoking room.

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

A few years ago I built a large humidor from a gun safe. I posted the build on here somewhere (no idea where). I think its the only post I made here.

So now for my next build... and I would love your advice and support again.

I am building a smoking-in-a-dark academy" theme.

it's about 10m2 so not that big, But big enough for 2 Chesterfields and a fireplace.

It is an insulated room in my garage.

I want to share the steps of the build here as they happen. It won't happen overnight. But I do aim to have it finished by February.

First I will upload some pictures so you can understand the location a bit better and the potential problems it may create.

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

Now this is what the room looked like before I started

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

So the floor is almost finished. It must be sanded and varnished but I will do this last.

But I wanted to do something a bit special with it.

You may notice that there is a 20cm border around the edge.

I want to have a 5mm brass line around the border (so 20cm from the wall)

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

The fireplace

I bought a used electric one for 30 euros from the Facebook marketplace.

Painted it black to keep with the dark theme

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

The Humidor

The plan is to have the Humidor inside the room.

This is where I need your help.

I don't want to heat this room when I am not in it.

It will not go below 5 degrees in winter but it will be too cold for the Cigars.

I think I have a solution.

A small Greenhouse heater inside the humidor Link

What do you think about this idea?

Would an air heater inside be a better idea? My initial thoughts were not.

[PeeJay]

You can freeze cigars so being inside an insulated humidor it will not get too cold for them.

[ha_banos]

Looks like a great project. Looking forward to following along.

I think there is/was folk who have some cigar stored in their smoking hut. Who will have some experience.

As temperature drops for the same relative humidity, there's more moisture available in the air. So cigars will absorb more moisture in the winter.

I pinched this chart from another forum to illustrate.

Because you have a sealed humidor there, doesn't matter what type of heater? I guess you don't want the temperature dropping to say 5°C in there for too long!

TobaccoIsostericstatesEMC.jpeg.5482f33759d70d6c5877beea30f942bf.jpg

[Midas]

I would worry more about the stale smoke smell penetrating the humidor than the cold so personally I would keep the humidor in the main house. Also I can't imagine putting a heater inside it would be advised.

Room looks really good though, I'd find myself smoking everyday in the winter if I had somewhere like that to relax. Looking forward to seeing the finished product, I love a bit of brass so the floor idea sounds very interesting.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ha_banos]

Caveat - I didnt register the heater would be inside the humidor. Although you can get ready made units with temperature control. I would look into how they work if you want to try something.

[Nicholas_By_Oscar]

Thank you all for your tips and advice. The room will have a posh air filter (i make or may not have "borrowed" from a clinic I worked in during Covid) and a direct outlet to the outside. So it should not leave too much smell.i would really like the humidor in the room if possible. Maybe I will just have to heat the entire room.... Next week I am hiding the entrance door to the room... will post pics once I'm finished...

[PeeJay]

I heat my cabin with a simple panel heater, during the winter I leave it on a low setting so it stops the cabin from getting too cold. Perfectly safe if you plug it into a circuit breaker.

[Simon Bolivar]

I heat my cabin with a simple panel heater, during the winter I leave it on a low setting so it stops the cabin from getting too cold. Perfectly safe if you plug it into a circuit breaker.

Could you send a link PJ, I was thinking about this to stop my Garden Cigar Lounge from getting damp. And if you have figured out how much it costs to run, appreciate that too.

[Simon Bolivar]

Hi Nic, Apologies for my delayed reply, was travelling Offshore. I have a few thoughts:
1/ Yes, you can chill & freeze cigars, it's what we do to Cuban's that are bought on the Island or from unknown sources (2days fridge, 3days freezer, 2 days fridge). And surprisingly this doesn't affect taste just kills any potential weevils. However cold cigars will be dry & not maturing & brittle, more likely to get wrapper damage. Will have less flav if smoked still cold so would have to be warmed to room temp before smoking.
2/ Understand your reasons for wanting your Humi in the room ( need to remove from house) but unless it really is air tight, then I would have thought stale tobacco smell will penetrate.
3/ As mentioned about Temp is linked to humidity & the amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
4/ Cigars generally prefer to be kept around room temp & 65% - 70%, your N.C.'s will be fine at 70%, I prefer my Cubans 63-65%.
5/ Another splendid project & I am sure it will be fab when finished. Must try & visit next year.

[Bigdog]

I personally think big changes in temp are not good for cigars, especially Cuban cigars which are densely packed with tabacco, the heat will swell the cigar and the cold will shrink it, if this happens to fast your cigar will split, cigars can be cold but need to stay cold or warm and stay warm, you can buy temp controlled humidor’s, but decent ones cost a few grand, maybe insulate the room really well, then monitor how much the temperature changes inside for a few weeks before putting any expensive cigars in there, the room I store my cigars in I try to keep between 19 - 23 degrees all through the winter

[PeeJay]

Could you send a link PJ, I was thinking about this to stop my Garden Cigar Lounge from getting damp. And if you have figured out how much it costs to run, appreciate that too.

Something like this Simon but you may wish to get one with a fan if you want to warm it up quickly

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russell-Hobbs-Protection-Adjustable-RHCVH2003/dp/B0DFMQCYL1/ref=sr_1_9?crid=26UDIM2C4091D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NFF502tNS4A2eB2wzWmZhZr0vSPikNMYzLfxsDwaWVZM39_5kLIJxfQHpaRH3Bloxob_g8Qy0ft4nxa09UfaS3dl3PH8G3uCUU75h_mdinKtFhfSRzTtHr0iZUhEpY3IKKzfTdOSFg94yulaXy2Qhj0qfGpwkHYdQrTzg3tHF-xU6YHBCyfr1S21nKJQWnI5pLiKZf6Sfx0RXIT6WNiK5HSYiXqvrqRn2OQZHwk5eug.K_-cixlej3eHPxE3l6y8GpwfHyw6YP8RE07kLR3UJew&dib_tag=se&keywords=panel%2Bheater%2Bwith%2Bthermostat&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731605482&sprefix=panel%2Bheater%2Bwith%2Bthermostst%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-9&th=1

No idea of cost but it doesn't seem to impact my bill too much.