Fair enough... I think there's a WalMart somewhere around here, they have big ones for pennies right? I figure if I'm going to get a cooler, I'm going to get a large one. No sense in getting a small one if I'm only going to be upgrading again later right? :/
My 70 quarts were less than $30, and have seen on sale for less than $25, so, yes, very cheap storage!!! 70 qts are about as big as I want to handle, and still small enough to be easily storable in a closet.
My only real reason not to is that... ugh, it's nearly as humid down as most people seem to keep their stuff anyway, but I suppose I'm thinking about moving back to Northern California, where I'll actually need something, right? Now is probably as good a time as any.
Good coolers hold humidity fairly constant, but if you are in a humid climate, you probably need lower humidity beads a-plenty! Yours would be more for removing humidity than retaining it. Luckily, most long-term storage recommendations for aging are for slightly lower humidity, so 60% beads would work even in northern Cali.
If I get the cooper, I'll probably just use it for boxes (since they are already cedar and I can skip covering the inside) and use my little cabinet humi for tins, small boxes, bundles, and singles.
That's what I do. And finding boxes to put extra singles in is fairly easy!
I must ask though, why coolers rather than any other given container? I mean... realistically, it's all the same right? It's not like the cooler is going to keep it nice and cold like it would ice... I've always wondered this, never bothered asking though.
While coolers cannot "cool" without the aid of ice or other "outside forces", they are well insulated, and do tend to limit temperature swings when left closed, and especially when left in cool, dark places like deep closets! So, cigars will go thru smaller temperature variations.
And if I do the cooler, the general consensus is that beads are find, no need for any kind of active system right? After all, I'm not going to be going in there very often.
You might find the need for something extra if you move to a lower humidity area. After all, beads can only release humidity to increase the rh if they have humidity stored. I'm kinda like you are now. In central Bama, Rh is only lower inside because of A/C. Otherwise, I would probably spend much time drying out my beads.
As it is, I usually have a couple of pounds of 65% in each cooler, and will put two, sometimes three small water pillows in the coolers if the humidity seems to be low. It usually takes the water pillows 6 months to dry out!
