I'm actually in the process of making a coolidor now.
I picked up a 70 qt coleman cooler from Home Depot for $40. Gonna clean it out later today with baking soda and hot water. Thankfully it's been hot as hell here in Seattle so I'll be able to leave it open outside all day tomorrow with plenty of sunshine. Then in the evening after I bring it in, I'll put some baking soda in a bowl and leave it inside all night long hopefully it'll get any lingering plastic smell gone. Once it's ready, I'll be able to toss in some spanish cedar trays and the cigar boxes I've been hoarding to help "season" the coolidor and establish a solid environment. Only thing is, I had purchased two tubes of 65% RH heartfelt beads before I decided to make a coolidor in my regular humidor that won't be enough to adequately establish the RH and temp that's needed. Until then I'm waiting for a pound of beads to come in the mail as I'll need just a little less than a pound of the beads to establish the stable 65% RH.
I did have a few questions though:
-Does it matter if full cigar boxes are open or closed in a humidor? I've read a couple of different things, but I was hoping to get some thoughts from fellow geeks here. I would assume that it would be preferable to open them, but I guess it doesn't really matter in the end?
-I've noticed that some of my cigar boxes have metal hinges. If I want to age cigars, is it best to remove them from their original boxes so that the metal doesn't affect the environment in anyway like possible rust/corrosion?
-As far as wood in cigar boxes go, I'm assuming that all decent to higher-end cigars come in some type of spanish cedar box. But even though I can smell the spanish cedar in most of them, some I honestly can't really tell if it is as the smell isn't as strong and distinct like it is in other cigar boxes -is that an indicator that the box is possibly lacquered or is it just a none Spanish cedar based wood?
-My 50 count humidor is filled to the brim. I ordered some full cigar boxes but I can't put the cigars in the humidor and I don't have any extra humidity beads or tubes for plastic bags or tupperware during the building of my coolidor. How long can they last in the cigar boxes? Some of them are shrink wrapped so I don't know if that makes any difference.
I appreciate any advice and insight.
Thanks!