Something strange...

[Jwrussell]

I figured I'd just start a new thread on this. If anyone's read "The Day is Here!" then you know aobut my trials with my Wine cooler. Well, I've been trying to dry her out by leaving the door open here and there, and obviously it works for the time the door is open, but then I go and close the door and the humdity skyrockets. It was up in the high 70's yesterday! I could see a more specific trend inside a mostly full cab. The remote hygro would jump 3-4% shortly after I opened the door. Once I closed it it would settle back down.

Anyone have any clue what's going on here?

 

[Wasch_24]

Is the cooling mechanismputting off moisture?

 

[Jwrussell]

How so? There was some condensation on the back panel the other day which I wiped off. Is that what you mean?

 

[AZsteelman]

Man, I fight just the opposite problem. I have beads and a Cigar Oasis XL just to keep my humidity up living here in the desert. I re-read your other posts and it sounds like it's set up right. By the way, that piece of plastic you were asking about in the back was probably the catch tray for moisture to keep it off the compressor...Do you have a drain hole in the rear for moisture to escape? I do and had to plug mine to keep moisture in...

I'd just move out here to the desert and be done with it...

 

[Jwrussell]

As far as I know. Never have touched it. Opened it up today, pulled out the beads, let her drop to ambient RH (48%) and have now closed it to see where it ends up. :dunno:

 

[Wasch_24]

How so? There was some condensation on the back panel the other day which I wiped off. Is that what you mean?

Yeah.

 

[MichiganM]

Jeez Jason sorry to hear of all the troubles with the wine cooler. I've heard mostly good things about them, and am in the middle of hammering out a deal for a Haier 20 btl. I was going to get one of the thermoelectric Avanti's because of all the trouble you're having, but the deal may be too good to pass up. I hope things get better for you. Maybe you might want to try a different humidification method. Beads are not speed racers when it comes to reacting to the environment. Maybe a CO or something else may be a better idea? To be honest, I'm not sure why you're having so many troubles. The only bad thing I've heard about Wine Coolers is that they lower RH when the compressor is on, which is why Thermo is a better way to go. Never heard of the trouble you're having. Best of luck!!

 

[Jwrussell]

Yeah, a CO would actually be worse I think. I think my current strategy has worked. After this morning's airing out I'm right around 63-64%. I'm adding the beads back in slowly. WE'll see how it goes.

 

[Jwrussell]

Not to jinx myself, but rock-steady at 63% currently with all the beads back in (the open air helped to draw some of the humidity out of them while they were out)...

 

[MichiganM]

Well hopefully it stays that way for ya. I ended up picking up a thermoelectric so I don't have as many rh swings. Good luck in keeping it in the 65 range.

 

[Headbanger]

(Thread Jacking Alert) I am looking at a Heier HVF042ABL coolerhttp://www.haieramerica.com/products.php?pid=99 . Seems well priced with good amount of storage. Two real questions: 1. Will it be a problem if the hi end of temperature only goes to 60 degrees, or is this ideal? 2. I have 1lb of 65% beads, my thinking is I will need another pound and spread them around top and bottom, correct? Maryland temps & RH vary depending on the season for my indoor environment. I.E. winter now 65-70 degrees with RH 45-55%. The summers 72-78 degrees with RH around 65-75%. Will this unit that maxes out at 60% be a problem? All coments much appreciated.

 

[Jwrussell]

HB, it really shouldn't be too big of a problem. 60 degrees isn't all that far off from 65. You'll probably slow down aging some which to some would be a good thing. Also, if you decide you just have to go higher, there are thermostats you can buy to make the temp go higher. Do a search on Wine Coolers and you'll find a few mentioned in different threads. You will definately need more beads, if I'm right without looking at the actual link and you are looking at a 42 bottle cooler. Find out the inner dimensions and go over to Heartfelt's website or check the faq at the top of this page. My guess is you might need close to 3 lbs for something that size? Mine is a 32 and 2lbs is just about right.
Considering your temps you may be able to unplug your cooler in the winter. No way to tell until you have it during the winter and can try it out, but my guess is it'll hold below 70 degrees in the winter just fine. Of course, you may not want your temps swinging around at all if you are doing long, long term storage.

Others will have some more indepth info for you I'm sure, but there's my .03.


Oh yeah, and rock steady at 63% on the second shelf for the second day in a row. top shelf looks to be about 60-61%. I'm guessing it goes from 60% up top to somewhere around 67-68% on the bottom. Hopefully it'll stay solid and my worries will be over. I've got cigars in boxes on the top shelf, my tray on the second shelf and my NC's down towards the bottom.

 

[MichiganM]

Steve,

I'd recommend a thermoelectric first of all. For cigars there is really no other choice. The compressor on those suck out humidity. You may have a hard time keeping consistent humidity otherwise. A few friends of mine use thermos and they're as rock solid as a cooler. The avanti 28 btl thermo runs around 150 online. You could almost get 2 for what that Haier lists out at. Just my 2 cents on that. As far as beads you'll probably need 2 pounds. The below is quoted from Viper over at HF:

"Here are some quantities for various containers.
5 cubic feet requires 1 pound of humidification beads.
1/3 pound of beads per 50 quarts (coolerdors)

Calculating the cubic area of your humi:
Measure the depth, width and height of you humi (example is 24” depth, 36” wide and 48” height)
Multiply the three; 24x36x48=41472 cubic inches
Divide 41472 by 1728 (number of cubic inches in a cubic foot) 41472/1728= 24 cubic feet
Divide the cubic feet by 5 (number of cubic feet per pound) 24/5 = 4.8
You would need 4.8 pounds of humidification beads for this humi."

 

[Headbanger]

Thanks guys and glad your cooler RH getting better. Right after I posted, I went to another site and found TONS of stuff. Not I have to look up the thermo ones now. DOH.

 

[Jwrussell]

The thermo-electrics are always a good choice, I've just found them to be few, far between, and more expensive than the standard compressor. And after researching other bro's setups I came to the conclusion that it really wasn't that big of a deal. It's a bigger deal if you are going to store your smokes in trays out in the open. If everything is going to be in a box, your cigars will not notice the changes in humidity from a compressor. I stuck a remote hygro in one of my cabs and it never varied by more than 1%. Now, on the outside, in the open? It'll vary 6 or 7 degrees from when the compressor kicks on to when it equalizes (which takes between 5 and 10 minutes I would guess). Fans help with moving the air around (check out computer fans if you are somewhat handy, oust fans if not).

And M's got you hooked up with the formula for beads. :thumbsup:

 

[MichiganM]

Thermoelectrics are definitely not more expensive. The closest relation between the 2 I can find is at compactappliance.com. The thermoelectric Avanti 28 bottle is 190 and a Haier 30 bottle (non-thermo) is 350. That's definitely not cheaper. The 42 bottle runs a little more than the 350, plus it's higher in shipping because of it's slightly larger size. You can actually find thermoelectrics cheaper than that like an Everstar. I really can't find any reason not to get one. They maintain humidity better and they're cheaper. You can even find scratch and dent models that work perfectly for 150 DELIVERED. Can't beat that deal with a stick. :thumbsup:

 

[Jwrussell]

Very true M. Guess my past research was flawed. I know I didn't want to have something delivered, and I didn't want to mess with a second thermostat. Everything that fit my needs at the time was the standard compressor cooled so I guess that's why I went there. If you can find a thermoelectric for the same or better price than a compressor unit, and it will cool to the temp you want, certainly go for it.

 

[MichiganM]

I agree Jason, I say go with whatever works for ya. I'm fresh on the stick because I was researching this all weekend. I was honestly shocked when I seen that thermoelectrics go for less. Who woulda thought? Thermoelectric or not, I'm just glad I can keep my cigars in the 65 range. Oh and to mention something about an earlier question you can get those brewing thermostats online in quite a few places. Or you can just keep your wine cooler on the highest setting and turn it off so that it warms up to an agreeable temp. Basically what I'm saying is just run it sparingly. You could easily maintain a decent temp this way. A bit more aggravating then spending the 50 on a brewing thermostat though lol.

 

[Headbanger]

But they seem smaller, PM coming to you MM Jason.

 

[tobby4]

See that was one of the issues that i was thinking about when i was considering a wine cooler... if you have issues like this in the winter, when the humidity is low, what is going to happen this summer when the humidity down here gets crazy?