Well, I think I did it! I built the smallest kiln in the world. Why such a small kiln?.. Why not? Actually I've been longing for some Wolf Brother's Rum Crook's lately and since they went out of business years ago I decided to make my own. I'm trying a technique I read about from a guy that soaks his cigars in rum and then places them in a proofing box at 130F for 3 months. I didn't want to use my gigantic kiln so I made one specific to my needs.
Here is my kiln. It is made out a Nuc box. A Nuc box is a small box used to raising honeybee queens. It is VERY dense polystyrene. The coffee cup gives you an idea of its size. It is 4"x5"x7" which is 140 Cubic inches (355 Cubic Cm).
Here is the inside. I placed a piece of stainless steel on the bottom and glued on a small 10 watt heating pad which was then hooked up to my temperature controller. I had to shave off some inside stuff to make the box work for me.
Soaking the cigars. This is homemade Rum that a friend gave me. It has a very pleasant molasses smell to it.
I put these in a plastic bag but I've never liked the idea of food+heat+ plastic so a few hours later I found a small jar to put the cigars in.
I also made a small shelf for the cigars to set on so they would not be setting on the heating element.
So that's about it. I'll probably sample one every 2 weeks. I do find it a little hard to believe that these need to cook for 3 months but we shall see.
My next step is to obtain a Rum Crook cigar mold. There are a few on ebay now but they are way too expensive... I'll wait.
Here is my kiln. It is made out a Nuc box. A Nuc box is a small box used to raising honeybee queens. It is VERY dense polystyrene. The coffee cup gives you an idea of its size. It is 4"x5"x7" which is 140 Cubic inches (355 Cubic Cm).
Here is the inside. I placed a piece of stainless steel on the bottom and glued on a small 10 watt heating pad which was then hooked up to my temperature controller. I had to shave off some inside stuff to make the box work for me.
Soaking the cigars. This is homemade Rum that a friend gave me. It has a very pleasant molasses smell to it.
I put these in a plastic bag but I've never liked the idea of food+heat+ plastic so a few hours later I found a small jar to put the cigars in.
I also made a small shelf for the cigars to set on so they would not be setting on the heating element.
So that's about it. I'll probably sample one every 2 weeks. I do find it a little hard to believe that these need to cook for 3 months but we shall see.
My next step is to obtain a Rum Crook cigar mold. There are a few on ebay now but they are way too expensive... I'll wait.
