Vigilant Humidor

[RicoIsHere]

Saw this clip about a Vigilant Cabinet humidor, right in time for Father's Day!

 

[Cold Smoke]

Helluva stash.

[Mickey D]

 Very nice! 

[Digi]

Too cool!  Just ordered a 1500 sized custom end table from them.  Current delivery time...15 weeks😮

[RicoIsHere]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:50 AM, Digi said:

Too cool!  Just ordered a 1500 sized custom end table from them.  Current delivery time...15 weeks😮

Please let us know how how you like it!

[OregonDuck]

I have long been searching for a used one and they are very hard to find. There is a beautiful one at a great price on Ebay in Coal City, IL that I would buy if I lived close enough to pick it up. 

[Paladin865]

Very impressive

[Lfhard]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:50 PM, Digi said:

Too cool!  Just ordered a 1500 sized custom end table from them.  Current delivery time...15 weeks😮

Hey did you get your end table yet? I’ve been looking at the same one and wanted to see what your thoughts are on it. 

[Digi]

17 hours ago, Lfhard said:

Hey did you get your end table yet? I’ve been looking at the same one and wanted to see what your thoughts are on it. 

Ah you bet!  Have had the humidor for just about 4 months now.  I have a gallery for day of delivery here:

https://imgur.com/a/qKeg7tv

and one with it filled up:

https://imgur.com/a/5uwFOBQ

Overall, I'd say I'm satisfied but underwhelmed:

• Because I ordered it with full climate control, a good bit of the back is taken up with fans and air circulation space.  I feel that it's too much - a quarter of the total depth of the humidor is just empty space behind the shelves.  I figure it's probably 4 to 10 boxes of space, depending on what you'd be stocking.  Definitely would not order with climate control in the future unless I was going for one of the really large vault style cabs.
• The humidification unit's circulation fan doesn't blow into the large empty space in the back.  For some reason, the box is setup to blow directly on to the bottom of the lowest shelf - you can see that in the second gallery.
• You'll notice in the first gallery that the center panel on the door popped out when unloading.  It was not well secured - using a few small pieces of the finishing trim and wee tiny carpentry nails.  Had to send the door back and they fixed it up with more beefy trim and screws instead of nails.  It probably should have been done this way the first time.
• The humidification system is way, way, way off.  My calcs say at 65% the inboard system is -9% off and that caused some humidity problems upfront.  The system allows you to make permanent adjustments but I've noticed that the delta against actual moves depending on ambient humidity.  The higher the ambient humidity the larger the delta gets.  Yikes.  Temp sensor is bang on though.
• The climate control system greatly increases the humidity when running.  At this point, I've disconnected the climate system because humidity would spike up 5 to 8% when running and it wouldn't come back down.  I think this might be a function of the humidor size, which firms up my opinion on not needing full climate control.  
• While I've calibrated the sensors, I still need to set the humidity system to 59% to get an actual of 65% around the humidor.  Not sure why but this box really wants to sit at 70%.

The humidor cost $6,900, well over double the Aristocrat end table already in my office.  This was a custom job (sun burst stain and climate control) but still.  At that price, I should have sprung for a non-custom Vault style cab. Cigars coming out of the Vigilant are smoking like a dream, same as the Aristocrat.  While the Aristocrat has truly been set and forget, the Vigilant has needed pretty regular attention.  Am curious to see if that eases up over the first year of ownership.  My last comment is that Vigilant's communication when speci'ing out and building the humidor was not good.  I asked several times if the project manager thought I could get 40 boxes in and it does not.  Not even close.

So...all that to say...it is working great as a humidor.  If I was going to do it again, I would shy away from anything custom and go with one of their standard builds.  I'd also avoid climate control unless it was a very big cab.  Only thing I might add is an additional fan or two.  

[Lfhard]

13 minutes ago, Digi said:

Ah you bet!  Have had the humidor for just about 4 months now.  I have a gallery for day of delivery here:

https://imgur.com/a/qKeg7tv

and one with it filled up:

https://imgur.com/a/5uwFOBQ

Overall, I'd say I'm satisfied but underwhelmed:

• Because I ordered it with full climate control, a good bit of the back is taken up with fans and air circulation space.  I feel that it's too much - a quarter of the total depth of the humidor is just empty space behind the shelves.  I figure it's probably 4 to 10 boxes of space, depending on what you'd be stocking.  Definitely would not order with climate control in the future unless I was going for one of the really large vault style cabs.
• The humidification unit's circulation fan doesn't blow into the large empty space in the back.  For some reason, the box is setup to blow directly on to the bottom of the lowest shelf - you can see that in the second gallery.
• You'll notice in the first gallery that the center panel on the door popped out when unloading.  It was not well secured - using a few small pieces of the finishing trim and wee tiny carpentry nails.  Had to send the door back and they fixed it up with more beefy trim and screws instead of nails.  It probably should have been done this way the first time.
• The humidification system is way, way, way off.  My calcs say at 65% the inboard system is -9% off and that caused some humidity problems upfront.  The system allows you to make permanent adjustments but I've noticed that the delta against actual moves depending on ambient humidity.  The higher the ambient humidity the larger the delta gets.  Yikes.  Temp sensor is bang on though.
• The climate control system greatly increases the humidity when running.  At this point, I've disconnected the climate system because humidity would spike up 5 to 8% when running and it wouldn't come back down.  I think this might be a function of the humidor size, which firms up my opinion on not needing full climate control.  
• While I've calibrated the sensors, I still need to set the humidity system to 59% to get an actual of 65% around the humidor.  Not sure why but this box really wants to sit at 70%.

The humidor cost $6,900, well over double the Aristocrat end table already in my office.  This was a custom job (sun burst stain and climate control) but still.  At that price, I should have sprung for a non-custom Vault style cab. Cigars coming out of the Vigilant are smoking like a dream, same as the Aristocrat.  While the Aristocrat has truly been set and forget, the Vigilant has needed pretty regular attention.  Am curious to see if that eases up over the first year of ownership.  My last comment is that Vigilant's communication when speci'ing out and building the humidor was not good.  I asked several times if the project manager thought I could get 40 boxes in and it does not.  Not even close.

So...all that to say...it is working great as a humidor.  If I was going to do it again, I would shy away from anything custom and go with one of their standard builds.  I'd also avoid climate control unless it was a very big cab.  Only thing I might add is an additional fan or two.  

This was spot on. All the info I was looking for to help me with my decision was answered. Thank you very much for your input and review. I really wanted the climate control because I live in Colorado and the summers can get hot. My wife doesn’t like a cold house she loves the heat so sometimes she turns the AC off and I don’t want my cigars to suffer. The cons seem to outweigh the pros though on the climate control. I’ll have to think about that some more. I was hoping it would hold more than 40 boxes though. From the pics it looks like it should. I guess the empty space in the back from the fan really takes up more room than it should. Thank you again for your review and response. 

[Eric05]

On 12/3/2021 at 7:46 AM, Digi said:

Ah you bet!  Have had the humidor for just about 4 months now.  I have a gallery for day of delivery here:

https://imgur.com/a/qKeg7tv

and one with it filled up:

https://imgur.com/a/5uwFOBQ

Overall, I'd say I'm satisfied but underwhelmed:

• Because I ordered it with full climate control, a good bit of the back is taken up with fans and air circulation space.  I feel that it's too much - a quarter of the total depth of the humidor is just empty space behind the shelves.  I figure it's probably 4 to 10 boxes of space, depending on what you'd be stocking.  Definitely would not order with climate control in the future unless I was going for one of the really large vault style cabs.
• The humidification unit's circulation fan doesn't blow into the large empty space in the back.  For some reason, the box is setup to blow directly on to the bottom of the lowest shelf - you can see that in the second gallery.
• You'll notice in the first gallery that the center panel on the door popped out when unloading.  It was not well secured - using a few small pieces of the finishing trim and wee tiny carpentry nails.  Had to send the door back and they fixed it up with more beefy trim and screws instead of nails.  It probably should have been done this way the first time.
• The humidification system is way, way, way off.  My calcs say at 65% the inboard system is -9% off and that caused some humidity problems upfront.  The system allows you to make permanent adjustments but I've noticed that the delta against actual moves depending on ambient humidity.  The higher the ambient humidity the larger the delta gets.  Yikes.  Temp sensor is bang on though.
• The climate control system greatly increases the humidity when running.  At this point, I've disconnected the climate system because humidity would spike up 5 to 8% when running and it wouldn't come back down.  I think this might be a function of the humidor size, which firms up my opinion on not needing full climate control.  
• While I've calibrated the sensors, I still need to set the humidity system to 59% to get an actual of 65% around the humidor.  Not sure why but this box really wants to sit at 70%.

The humidor cost $6,900, well over double the Aristocrat end table already in my office.  This was a custom job (sun burst stain and climate control) but still.  At that price, I should have sprung for a non-custom Vault style cab. Cigars coming out of the Vigilant are smoking like a dream, same as the Aristocrat.  While the Aristocrat has truly been set and forget, the Vigilant has needed pretty regular attention.  Am curious to see if that eases up over the first year of ownership.  My last comment is that Vigilant's communication when speci'ing out and building the humidor was not good.  I asked several times if the project manager thought I could get 40 boxes in and it does not.  Not even close.

So...all that to say...it is working great as a humidor.  If I was going to do it again, I would shy away from anything custom and go with one of their standard builds.  I'd also avoid climate control unless it was a very big cab.  Only thing I might add is an additional fan or two.  

Man! To spend $6900 is tough, there product is so expensive. I think that is more then double then bob's unit. I tell you Bob could be making so many more. Its a shame someone couldn't replace him. I am very happy with the unit I just purchased tho. Humidity is holding very well(running bob's unit) 66 bottom to 64 top. Steady and all day long 

 

also the other thing I don't like with their humidors, solid wood shelves. No air flow in between. 

[PrairieSmoke]

That price hike is no joke. 
 

FWIW — I have not noticed any I’ll effects to my cigars from increased temps in the summer time. I have the Vigilant Armoire 2000. I just pull the humidification unit out in the summer and use large Boveda packs to keep the humidity down. (No AC in the home) Northwestern Michigan 

[el chino]

Thanks for sharing Digi.  Looks nice, and very interesting to see the climate control.  Is that a thermoelectric unit?  From the back of your humidor, what is that black box at the bottom of the humidor?

Are you saying that it's spot on in temps but not needed?  I plan to age my cigars but I've heard 62'ish degs and 65% RH is the approx range to be in.  I wonder in Vigilant sells just the climate control part?

[Digi]

On 12/8/2021 at 12:54 AM, el chino said:

Thanks for sharing Digi.  Looks nice, and very interesting to see the climate control.  Is that a thermoelectric unit?  From the back of your humidor, what is that black box at the bottom of the humidor?

Are you saying that it's spot on in temps but not needed?  I plan to age my cigars but I've heard 62'ish degs and 65% RH is the approx range to be in.  I wonder in Vigilant sells just the climate control part?

Totally missed this chino - sorry about that!  They do sell the systems separately but there's nothing special about the hardware itself, you could easily pick that up from Amazon or Alibaba, for example.  The key is the control unit - make sure the hardware comes with one or specifies what kind of control it needs.  The black box at the bottom is the control unit and water reservoir.

I'm a year in with the cab and I've fully disconnected the temp and humidity control.  Even with 60% beads and the inboard humidity systems turned off, I can't get the thing to sit below 70% at 65 degrees.  The inboard hygrometer is consistently -10% against actual and the control box won't let you set below 60% - not very useful so that has been turned off too.  The humi now has 65% beads and a few Xikar Humifans to keep things moving.  It sits in a separately air conditioned room at 65 degrees and is rock solid.

I finally got around to opening a support ticket with them today - will see how it goes.

I'm in the market for another cab but can't imagine reaching for a Vigilant unit again.

[gormag38]

On 12/2/2021 at 3:46 PM, Digi said:

Ah you bet!  Have had the humidor for just about 4 months now.  I have a gallery for day of delivery here:

https://imgur.com/a/qKeg7tv

and one with it filled up:

https://imgur.com/a/5uwFOBQ

Overall, I'd say I'm satisfied but underwhelmed:

• Because I ordered it with full climate control, a good bit of the back is taken up with fans and air circulation space.  I feel that it's too much - a quarter of the total depth of the humidor is just empty space behind the shelves.  I figure it's probably 4 to 10 boxes of space, depending on what you'd be stocking.  Definitely would not order with climate control in the future unless I was going for one of the really large vault style cabs.
• The humidification unit's circulation fan doesn't blow into the large empty space in the back.  For some reason, the box is setup to blow directly on to the bottom of the lowest shelf - you can see that in the second gallery.
• You'll notice in the first gallery that the center panel on the door popped out when unloading.  It was not well secured - using a few small pieces of the finishing trim and wee tiny carpentry nails.  Had to send the door back and they fixed it up with more beefy trim and screws instead of nails.  It probably should have been done this way the first time.
• The humidification system is way, way, way off.  My calcs say at 65% the inboard system is -9% off and that caused some humidity problems upfront.  The system allows you to make permanent adjustments but I've noticed that the delta against actual moves depending on ambient humidity.  The higher the ambient humidity the larger the delta gets.  Yikes.  Temp sensor is bang on though.
• The climate control system greatly increases the humidity when running.  At this point, I've disconnected the climate system because humidity would spike up 5 to 8% when running and it wouldn't come back down.  I think this might be a function of the humidor size, which firms up my opinion on not needing full climate control.  
• While I've calibrated the sensors, I still need to set the humidity system to 59% to get an actual of 65% around the humidor.  Not sure why but this box really wants to sit at 70%.

The humidor cost $6,900, well over double the Aristocrat end table already in my office.  This was a custom job (sun burst stain and climate control) but still.  At that price, I should have sprung for a non-custom Vault style cab. Cigars coming out of the Vigilant are smoking like a dream, same as the Aristocrat.  While the Aristocrat has truly been set and forget, the Vigilant has needed pretty regular attention.  Am curious to see if that eases up over the first year of ownership.  My last comment is that Vigilant's communication when speci'ing out and building the humidor was not good.  I asked several times if the project manager thought I could get 40 boxes in and it does not.  Not even close.

So...all that to say...it is working great as a humidor.  If I was going to do it again, I would shy away from anything custom and go with one of their standard builds.  I'd also avoid climate control unless it was a very big cab.  Only thing I might add is an additional fan or two.  

Thanks so much for your info. I have been looking at a used Vigilant Reliance 1500 with only the digital humidity control.

The price would be pretty good at roughly a few hundred dollars, but your review scares me a little bit. My main purpose in looking for something else is I needed something bigger than my tuppers and 1500 count thermoelectric cooler. In both of my units I can never seem to get the rh to settle at 65, despite using 62 bovedas. Based on what you've stated, it seems your Vigilant end table doesn't seem to want to sit below 70. Have you gotten your rh to come down and be stable at all? 

I noticed your humidity fans were pointed directly underneath the bottom shelf (which doesn't make a ton of sense) and the one that I'm looking at seems to have the fans built into the bottom board with port holes for the humidity to come into the cab. These are also placed near the front by the door (see pic above). Do you think this would help move the humidity throughout the cab a little better? 

Again thanks for the review. It has been SUPER helpful. 

[Digi]

4 hours ago, gormag38 said:

Thanks so much for your info. I have been looking at a used Vigilant Reliance 1500 with only the digital humidity control.

The price would be pretty good at roughly a few hundred dollars, but your review scares me a little bit. My main purpose in looking for something else is I needed something bigger than my tuppers and 1500 count thermoelectric cooler. In both of my units I can never seem to get the rh to settle at 65, despite using 62 bovedas. Based on what you've stated, it seems your Vigilant end table doesn't seem to want to sit below 70. Have you gotten your rh to come down and be stable at all? 

I noticed your humidity fans were pointed directly underneath the bottom shelf (which doesn't make a ton of sense) and the one that I'm looking at seems to have the fans built into the bottom board with port holes for the humidity to come into the cab. These are also placed near the front by the door (see pic above). Do you think this would help move the humidity throughout the cab a little better? 

Again thanks for the review. It has been SUPER helpful. 

You bet gormag, glad to provide my view point!  The price is right for sure - I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Vigilant cab in the 3 figure zone.  I have finally gotten it under control but really had to start from ground zero.  Pulled the boxes out and packed them into coolers with Boveda 320s at 58%, left the humidor open for three weeks with the water reservoir empty - after installing some humidity control, the house sits between 50 and 55 percent.  After waiting for the humidor to dry out, I added 15 Boveda 320s at 62%, set the climate to 65 degrees, left the reservoir empty and closed'er up.  Left it for a month and found humidity floating between 60 and 64 percent.  Loaded the boxes back up, humidity dipped into the high 50s for about a week and now it has been hovering consistently between 61 and 65 percent.  Will see how the next 6 months or so shape up but my hope is that the Bovedas will keep it in check.

Based on the pictures, I think your fan location is much better - there should be a gap between the front end of the cedar shelf and the door.  Looks like the fans will blow right up that gap, which I figure will provide better circulation.  

Now that I've struggled with the cab for a year the current learnings are:

• If you have climate control, get the cab's temp stable first before loading it up.  I've never subscribed to the notion of seasoning a humidor but temp is a different animal.
• Humidity is like salt - easy to add more, very difficult to subtract.  Start low, like in the high 50's, and pull your humidity up (if needed) slowly over time - like months.  
• Boveda 320s are really expensive and the prospect of buying 15 of them twice a year (or so) is annoying.
• Get circulation fans!  Without additional fans, I need to reduce the amount of boxes by 15 to 20 percent to promote passive airflow.  A couple two/three fans running for a minute or two every few hours can help you maximize storage space and have decent circulation.
  • Will say, the Vigilant electronics don't lend themselves to self installation of these fans.  I ended up using Xikar HumiFans as the solution.

 

[gormag38]

On 8/31/2022 at 3:03 PM, Digi said:

Based on the pictures, I think your fan location is much better - there should be a gap between the front end of the cedar shelf and the door.  Looks like the fans will blow right up that gap, which I figure will provide better circulation.  

That was my thought exactly. Figure that way at least it can travel upwards through that gap. 

On 8/31/2022 at 3:03 PM, Digi said:

Humidity is like salt - easy to add more, very difficult to subtract.  Start low, like in the high 50's, and pull your humidity up (if needed) slowly over time - like months. 

Funny you say this, because as I was laying in bed the other night I found myself thinking this is how I need to attack it. Slowly work my way up until I'm getting readings that are acceptable. 

 

Glad to hear that you've gotten things to stable out a bit, even if it did take some extra fan installs and 320g bovedas. I've looked at CPU fans in the past before but never at the Xikar HumiFans...I'll give those some research for sure. 

 

Again thanks for all your input/data gather. It has been supremely helpful. 

[PrairieSmoke]

Glad you got it leveled out Digi! I agree 100% with those bullet points. 
 

Adding RH is easy! The hard part is keeping it low if your exterior RH is high, or if you are adding higher RH cigars.