Most collectors arrive here at the same point: three desktop humidors are full, one of them is drifting, and topping up sponges every week has stopped being a hobby. The Redford Lite is a powered, climate-controlled storage cabinet in black oak, rated to 1,250 cigars or equivalent storage. At 25 inches wide and 52 tall it fits a study, a home office or the end of a lounge wall, and it holds its conditions through a hot August and a dry January.
Who it suits
The right size for a home collector past a few hundred sticks who is still buying faster than smoking, and for a small tobacconist keeping back-room stock separate from the walk-in. Two honest caveats. If most of your inventory arrives and stays in boxes, the rated figure will not apply to you, and the taller six-shelf Remington Lite is the more sensible choice. And as a retail display piece, flat drawer shelves show far less than angled ones.
Climate control
The distinction that matters is active versus passive. A traditional humidor has no power: it holds whatever the room gives it, buffered by cedar and a sponge, and it drifts with the seasons. This cabinet runs heating and cooling alongside electronic humidification, so it drives toward a set point instead of trailing the room.
- Temperature 41°F–71°F. The window most collectors target, roughly 65°F to 70°F, sits inside that range with headroom either side. The cool end is well below anything you would use for cigars.
- Humidity 56%–78%. The usual 65% to 70% target is mid-range. Note the floor: this cabinet does not go below 56% relative humidity, so it is built for material that wants a damp environment, not for anything needing drier air.
- Adjustable hygrometer, push-button digital panel. You set the numbers you want and the cabinet works to them. The panel is push-button rather than touchscreen.
- De-mist function. Glass fogs when the interior is cooler and wetter than the room, and the moisture settles on the inner face of the door. That is physics, not a fault, and it is worst in humid weather or just after the door has been open.
- Auxiliary fan. Still air stratifies, leaving a damp bottom shelf and a dry top one. The fan keeps the interior mixed, so a reading at the sensor means something at every shelf.
- De-humidification assist. Useful when the room itself is humid, or the door has been open a while and the interior has taken on more moisture than you want.
Capacity in the real world
Treat 1,250 as what it is: a maximum. It assumes loose single cigars of ordinary ring gauge, laid tight across every shelf and the tray, dividers set wide. Store in boxes and expect roughly half that, often less, because a box wastes the vertical space above the cigars and boxes do not pack against each other the way loose sticks do. Large cabinet-selection sticks cut the count again, since fewer fit across a drawer's depth. The layout is four drawer-style shelves on metal slides plus one removable tray, with three adjustable dividers per shelf. Those dividers are what make it usable day to day: they stop a half-empty shelf sliding into a heap every time you pull it out. Plan on a working number well under the rating.
Build and finish
The exterior is a black oak finish, squared off and plain, which is why it reads as furniture rather than as an appliance in a room with modern joinery. Trays and shelves are cedar-lined, and the cedar is functional: it takes up and releases moisture as conditions move, buffering the interior between humidification cycles, and its oils are traditionally credited with discouraging tobacco beetle. The door is tempered tinted glass with a heavy-duty seal. Tempered matters on a household object that gets knocked; the seal is what your running costs depend on, so keep it clean and keep the cabinet level. White LED lighting runs across all shelves, cool enough not to fight the cooling system, and the metal slides keep drawers moving smoothly as the timber takes up humidity.
Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|
| Capacity | Up to 1,250 cigars or equivalent storage |
| Exterior dimensions | 25" W × 24" D × 52" H |
| Finish | Black oak |
| Temperature range | 41°F–71°F |
| Humidity range | 56%–78% |
| Shelving | 4 drawer-style shelves on metal slides, plus 1 removable tray with dividers |
| Dividers | 3 adjustable dividers per shelf |
| Interior lining | Cedar-lined trays and shelves |
| Lighting | White LED on all shelves |
| Door | Tempered tinted glass with heavy-duty seal |
| Controls | Push-button digital control panel with adjustable hygrometer |
| Climate system | Heating and cooling with auxiliary fan, de-mist function, de-humidification assist |
| Humidification | Built-in electronic system with refillable water reservoir |
| Power | 110/120V (220/240V available on request) |
Setting it up
What follows is general practice for a cedar-lined climate cabinet. The manufacturer's manual is the final word on this unit, so read it before you plug anything in.
- Season it first. New cedar is dry and will pull moisture out of anything you put next to it. Season the interior before a single cigar goes in, using distilled water only, and expect several days before it settles at a steady reading.
- Never use tap water. Minerals in tap water scale the reservoir and foul the humidification system. Distilled or reverse-osmosis water only, for seasoning and for refills.
- Placement. An interior wall, out of direct sunlight and away from radiators, heat vents and A/C exhaust. Sun through the glass will fight the cooling system all afternoon. Leave clearance so the system can exhaust rather than recycle its own warm air.
- Level it. A door seals only if the carcass sits square to the floor. Check the footing on both axes before you load it, particularly on old timber floors.
- Power. It runs on 110/120V, with a 220/240V version available on request.
- Load gradually. Let the cabinet hold its set point for a few days empty, then load in stages. Filling a freshly seasoned cabinet in one go swamps the system.
Delivery
A cabinet this size and weight ships by freight rather than parcel carrier, moving on an LTL service and arriving crated on a pallet. Freight delivery is normally kerbside: the driver brings it to the end of the driveway, not into the room, so arrange help and plan the route in advance. Measure doorways, any turn at the top of a staircase and the lift if there is one against the 25" × 24" × 52" cabinet, remembering the crate is larger again. Inspect it for damage before you sign, and note anything you find on the paperwork at the time.
Common questions
Can I store boxes in it?
Yes. The shelves are drawer-style on metal slides and the dividers adjust, so boxes sit fine. Work to a realistic number rather than the rating: boxes waste the air above and around the cigars, so plan on roughly half the loose-cigar figure, less again with deep ones.
Does it need a drain or plumbing?
No. Humidification comes from a refillable reservoir you fill by hand, so there is no water line and no drain. How often it needs topping up depends on your room, your set point and how often the door opens, so check weekly at first and learn the cabinet's rhythm.
Will it work in a garage or an unheated room?
It is designed for conditioned indoor space. In a garage the cabinet fights ambient temperature constantly, which means the system runs hard, and a cold snap or a heatwave can push the interior beyond what it can correct. Keep it inside the heated envelope of the house.
Is the glass UV-protective?
The door is tempered tinted glass. The tint cuts glare and visible light, but no ultraviolet rating is published for it, so do not treat it as UV protection. Site the cabinet out of direct sunlight regardless, since sun through glass adds heat as well as light.
How does this compare with the dark cherry Redford?
Same rated capacity of 1,250 and the same four drawer-style shelves. The dark cherry Redford is the larger carcass at 26" × 26" × 52¾", adds embossed wood side panels and crown moulding, and uses a touchscreen where the Lite uses push buttons. The choice is finish, controls and room.
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