FistLoad Blog

My coolbox was full to bursting with cigars, and with my desire for a wider range of cigars available at my fingertips (that’s my excuse…) and more on the way I needed more storage. I do have a 10 litre Tupperware box that I am using for my non-Cuban cigars that has some space, but would prefer to keep them segregated as they just smell ‘different’.

After considering various possibilities, I thought I’d just try a large plastic storage box as these were easily accessible and cheap. They provide no insulation from temperature changes but I’m hoping this won’t be too much of a problem as it’s indoors, and the silica beads seem to cope well enough with relative humidity changes caused by temperature fluctuations. The proof is in the puffing, as they say…

I purchased a ‘B&Q Core Accessory Box (Includes Lid) Clear Large’ for £6.98 from B&Q, oddly enough. Brand name on it says Curver. It is a colourless polypropylene container that has a volume of 33 litres according to the Curver website. The lid clips on and seems to provide a good enough seal to slow air exchange to an acceptable level. It smelt a bit sweet at first so I gave it a good wash with hot water and unscented detergent then a bit of a soak in unscented bleach solution, then let it sit open for five or six days. Last night, I thought I’d chuck everything in and see how it fared.

It seemed to stabilise within minutes at 70% and I haven’t noticed it fluctuate more than 1% either way since then. Time will tell but I don’t really see what can go wrong. It does seem a little flimsy so I would recommend only picking it up from underneath. I have the Oust fan by my beads and there is plenty of space for air circulation around the boxes. I’ve opened them all a couple of mm (apart from one, which has a sealing collar) to allow the goodness in. I’m not intending these for aging as such, just smoking. If they happen to get old in the meantime, so much the better!

Here’s a couple of pictures from the front and side:

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