Just got a shipment of stuff, after splitting and trading with another aficionado at work, I have the following to add to the humidor. Yum!
9 Montecristo Media Noche Edmundo
5 Oliva Serie O Maduro Torpedo
3 Padilla ‘68 Robusto
2 Padilla ‘68 Toro
2 Padilla ‘68 Torpedo
3 Padilla ‘68 Churchill
1 5 Vegas Series ‘A’ Robusto
1 5 Vegas Gold Robusto
1 5 Vegas Classic Robusto
My coolidor has stabilized and is holding quite a few cigars now so I thought I’d put a couple of pictures up and run down the very inexpensive parts list.
Total expense: $71.50. I could and should have skipped the boxes from CI since I immediately went crazy on Cigar Bid and bought 5 boxes of smokes, which along with the cedar tray would have filled the volume of the cooler just fine. So if you already have boxes or plan on buying boxed cigars you can do this for around $50 plus some shipping.
I began by filling the brand new cooler up with lukewarm water and 1/2 cup of bleach. I soaked it this way for about 3 hours, hoping to get the plastic scent out. I emptied it out and let it air dry overnight, then put a large shallow dish of baking soda inside and closed it up for another day or two. This process removed almost all the plastic smell.
Next, I wiped some of the empty cigar boxes with a sponge that was damp with distilled water and placed them into the cooler. This was a bit like a puzzle and I wound up with a few boxes that didn’t fit, but those will make nice gift boxes or I’ll give them to a friend to help with their own coolidor. I added a tupperware container that I had drilled a bunch of holes in the top (I might switch this to the pantyhose-covered version which would allow for maximum flow) and put the humidity beads in it. I dampened the beads with distilled water from the squirt bottle. These beads turn from opaque white to clear when they are saturated with water so it’s easy to tell when they need dampening. Then the Oust fan, which to my knowledge is no longer produced and will run about $10 minimum on eBay or Amazon Marketplace, went in, along with the hygrometer. It should go without saying that you don’t want to put the scented oil insert into the fan; also note that these run for 5 minutes on and 15 minutes off so you will frequently open the cooler and it will not be spinning. Everything sat for about 2 days to let the humidity stabilize.
Finally it was time to add cigars, which at this point was really needed because in anticipation of my coolidor I went a little crazy ordering almost 200 sticks!
Possible changes/additions: a larger cooler would allow for all the box sizes I had on hand and wouldn’t be such a challenge to arrange. I also plan to line the sides and top with thin pieces of spanish cedar, affixed with a hot glue gun, to help buffer humidity.
And finally, some pictures.
Note the highly prized and sought-after box of Chinchaleros 
I hope this post helped motivate anyone who’s thinking about making their own coolidor. It’s a simple and fun project, whether you’re doing it for aging or just so you can buy cigars by the box and save a bunch of money, which is why I did it. For example, the Gran Habano Corojo #5, one of my current favorites, is $5.69 at the local shop, $4 each in a 5-pack, or just $3.25 each by the box – a no-brainer to buy by the box. Happy coolidor building!