Edgestar Humidity Problems

[blancohawke]

I recently purchased the Edgestar Wine cooler for a humidor conversion.

I am having a problem maintaining RH. I have three 8 oz bags of Shilala beads in the unit. When the unit is not powered on the RH stays aroung 72-75% however if I power on the cooler the RH drops to 55%. It seeems to me that the fan running continuously is drying out the moisture.

You should also know that I do not have an ETC nor is the drainage hole plugged. I know some people will say that you need to plug the drainhole and I did try that and it did not make a difference. In addition even with the daniage hole unplugged and the power off the RH is fine at 72-75%

Is my Edgestar defective or should I buy an ETC so that the unit will only come on occasionally?

Does the RH drop significantly in your coolers when the unit is running?

Hydrometer has been calibrated

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

 

[keinreis]

first off do you have the drain hole plugged? I am not familiar with the Shilala beads, but I had swings in mine till I plugged the drain.

 

[blancohawke]

first off do you have the drain hole plugged? I am not familiar with the Shilala beads, but I had swings in mine till I plugged the drain.

Yes I plugged the drainhole thats not the problem. Even when the drainhole was unplugged the RH was a 75%

The RH only drops when the wine cooler is running

 

[PLUSH]

Have you calibrated you Hygro? I have a smiler setup and I have no issue. If anything it is the other way around.

 

[blancohawke]

Have you calibrated you Hygro? I have a smiler setup and I have no issue. If anything it is the other way around.

Yes Hydrometer has been calibrated

 

[jwyatt55]

Get a temp controller. When the unit kicks on your rh will drop but should quickly recover after the controller turns the fridge back off.

Also during the warmer months when the unit runs more often you should check regularly for any condensation in the bottom of the unit (if you plug the drain).

 

[slave2theaxe]

YES...when the unit runs, the rh will drop, but should recover to your set range when it kicks off.

This is where the ETC comes in. If the unit is running constantly, you will have a hard time maintaining optimal rh.

 

[OB-Left]

Ever see a metal window during the winter. Because the metal is cold it condenses water our of the air (on the inside) onto the cold surface. That water then usually builds up a layer of ice. Your edgestar is doing the same thing. When the unit is running, the thermoelectric plate gets cold. That cold plate pulls moisture out of the air, it runs out your unplugged drain hole to the back of the unit to evaporate. The more the unit runs the harder time you will have maintaining your RH. That is why you need an ETC. With the ETC it will only run when it has to. Plug the drain hole and find some way to collect the water that will form when the unit runs. Slave built a ramp. I installed a new tube.

http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=49147

You will drop RH when the unit runs. If the drain is plugged that water will evaporate back into the air once the unit stops running. Nothing wrong with your Edgestar, just basic Physics.

Mine is stocked and holding at 68%, have more questions, you can send me a PM

 

[mav_sd]

What's the model of fridge bro?

Sounds like the typical issues which come from using one of the compressor driven wine fridges. Because a compressor system cools a plate on the back wall (or as a freezer) you will have condensation... Those beads of moisture come out of the air which will fool you hydro into thinking the moisture is gone, even though it's just on the cooling plate.

These issues are worse in smaller units. The best way to tell is to look at the back wall of the unit... If you only see a fan grill, things are off to a good start. However, if you have what looks like a stair in the bottom back... Or a large drippy cold plate with ridges... You have a compressor.

This advice does not apply and your problem becomes stranger if you have a thermoelectric unit. The big things to check there are that your drain is plugged, your unit is full-ish and that you aren't opening it fifty times a day.

If your rh doesn't come under control you might want to consider storing your singles in old boxes. This will serve as a barrier of sorts to keep your sticks in a smoother and less spiky environment.

Best if luck.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[CigarNut]

First, since the beads were put in the Edgestar with an open drain, you should check the RH of the beads. They may be high now. If they are then follow the instructions to lower the RH (not hard, just takes a little time).

Once the beads are OK, plug the drain, put the beads in the Edgestar, put a plastic tray on the bottom up against the back wall to collect any condensation.

Let your Edgestar (with cigars and beads) run for a while. It can take a week or even two weeks to reach equilibrium. During this time, your cigars will be OK -- they are quite resiliant.

Depending upon how the RH is you may want to empty the tray with the consensation. Eventually, the beads will handle everything. You may also need to go through a second cycle of reducing the RH of the beads -- it all depends upon how much moisture is in the Edgestar's system from running with the drain open.

 

[blancohawke]

The problem is not with the RH being too high, the problem is the RH being too low when the unit is running. The RH drops to 58% or so when the cooler is ruunning.

Do you think I need more beads? I have three 8 oz bags in there now.

Where did you plug the drain? On the inside hole or outside hole? How did you plug drain?

I am also wondering if my Edgestar is not running cool enough. The oustide temp is 74 which the temp in the cooler is only 68 on coldest seetting. Would you use an ETC to control temp?

 

[Starbuck]

I think I'd def add more beads to the cooler. Based on what I've seen a lot of coolers your size, 28 bottle are running with about 2 to 2.5lbs of beads. Add a few more beads, monitor for a couple of days and go from there.

 

[CigarNut]

I would not rush to add more beads. The RH will drop when the cooler is running, but it is OK as long as the beads take it back up. Just make sure that your beads are still set to your desired RH.

The drain's on my coolers are plugged from the outside. You can use a rubber stopper, silicone sealer or plumbers putty to plug the drain. I used Silicone Sealant.

I would not jump out and get an ETC until I had exhausted every other possibility. The key thing is just to give it some time.

Are your cigars smoking OK?

 

[blancohawke]

The problem is that the Edgestar runs 24/7 or at least the fan does and I beleive its the fan that is sucking the moisture out of the cooler. I have monitored unit for hours and noted temp and RH levels. When the unit is plugged in and running the RH drops immediately to high 50's, when I unplug the unit the RH will increase to around 70-71%. That is why I think I may need an ETC although I would rather not deal with the extra hassle of purchasing an ETC and installing it. Its just that at the present time the RH will remain in the high 50's if I leave unit plugged in and running.

What are your thoughts? I currently have the unit hooked up to an old fashinioned wall lamp timer and it is set to run for 20 min then go off for another 20 and so on all day.

 

[slave2theaxe]

A humidity drop while the unit is running is normal.

Your problem is that the unit is running all the time. What temp is it set to? Is it at the warmest setting and still running all the time? If this is the case, an ETC is your only option (other than what you are doing now and controlling the power with a timer).

 

[dpricenator]

PM incoming

 

[CigarNut]

The problem is that the Edgestar runs 24/7 or at least the fan does and I beleive its the fan that is sucking the moisture out of the cooler. I have monitored unit for hours and noted temp and RH levels. When the unit is plugged in and running the RH drops immediately to high 50's, when I unplug the unit the RH will increase to around 70-71%. That is why I think I may need an ETC although I would rather not deal with the extra hassle of purchasing an ETC and installing it. Its just that at the present time the RH will remain in the high 50's if I leave unit plugged in and running.

What are your thoughts? I currently have the unit hooked up to an old fashinioned wall lamp timer and it is set to run for 20 min then go off for another 20 and so on all day.

If the drain is plugged it will become a sealed system and eventually the RH will not drop so much. Also, since your ambient temp is 74 and you have your cooler set to 68, it is going to run a lot or even maybe all the time...

As I said before, I would try to get it stablized and let it sit for a while...

 

[SuprHasan]

Blanc,

The problem you are describing is IDENTICAL to the problem I had with my wine cooler.
Here's what I did:
1. Plug the drain.
2. Put a very shallow tupperwear (as wide and long as possible to increase surface area) on the floor of the cooler to catch the condensation.
3. Position the first wire rack at the lowest possible position leaving about 2" for a fan to be mounted to the bottom of the rack. The fan blows air DOWN into the tupperwear on a timer of 15 on, 15 off.
4. I'm now slowly removing excess condensation from the tupperwear to ensure there is as little liquid in the cooler as possible.
5. Compensate the fan off cycle with 3x8oz of HCMs.
6. 1x8oz HCM stays inside my humidor which itself is inside the cooler for added stability. This is exclusively for my Cubans. All NC are in boxes/tupperwear in the cooler.

It took me over a year to figure out this system, but now it's 100% maintenance free. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here are a few pics for your entertainment.

 

[mav_sd]

Which model of Edgestar is it?

 

[Jwrussell]

Blancohawke, any update?