Advice on home made humidor

Here's a question for you that really know.

I have a real hard time controlling the atmosphere for my cigars. I am away from home a lot.

Recently, one of my original wine coolers took a crap. Seems to hold at room temperature, and does not run.

So here's what I was thinking - drink all the wine , then store the cigars inside, and use crystals to keep the humidity where it needs to be for an extended period of time. It is a 42 bottle cooler, so would hold a plenty of cigars.

The door seals on the cooler are fine, it is the compressor that went out.

I see they sell all types of crystals - so, what lasts the longest, and how much should I buy? Looking at the coooler, I am guessing it is 4 to 5 cubic feet of open space in there.

Summer is almost here and I am starting to stock up for my weekend smokes on the dock.

5 cubic feet of space MINUS the space occupied by the cigars.

It will take a lot of crystals.

I'd suggest you buy a humidifier. http://www.cigaroasis.com/

I used one of those to turn a china cabinet into a humidor and it works like a charm.

One thing I'd actually worry about in a refrigerator (wine cooler) is that it may be too airtight?

I went to that page - I am going to use their contact form to throw my idea at them. They should know!

Nothing wrong with using a worn out wine cooler for a humidifier. The size of the humidifier needed would vary with the quality of the seal on the reefer and the number of times opening. Two ways to go. There electronic humidifiers available. About $150 at JR the last time I was there, or use large mechanical devices. I don't think you need as much humidification as you would think. I've done ice chests, and a couple of humitubes does the job.