Something strange...

[Headbanger]

65% BEADS and dry them out regulary will be my solution. IF I pull the trigger soon, I want to get ready for the humidity issues and get to know the thing inside and out first. The AC should TC most of the high humidity. I do not want beatles eating up my sticks cause the offices get hot in the summer. That also includes MichiganM beatles eating them also.

Props to MM (Jason) for the extra help tonight, much appreciated.

 

[Jwrussell]

Clay, don't let my experience deter you. I can tell you that I am almost 100%convinced that the issues I've had were caused by me when I first set up the dang thing. I just made it way too humid in there to start with. And I really don't see any issues in the Summer. The seal on this sucker is TIGHT! If it weren't, I wouldn't have ever had the issue I had with too much humidity.

 

[MichiganM]

I agree with Jason, Clay. Your wine cooler shouldn't feel any effects of your outside ambient RH. It's the same as coolerdors. It's all about how good your seal is.

 

[tobby4]

Well I stayed away from it... Sticking with the cooler... and i just move it into the closet during the summer....

 

[AZsteelman]

FYI, I just got one of these for a little more control of the temp...love it!

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4100

 

[caudio51]

FYI, I just got one of these for a little more control of the temp...love it!

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4100

That sounds like it would work great. Let us know how it is.

 

[Claudius]

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?

Hmmm... Strictly physically speaking, and assuming that your wine cooler is at a significantly lower temperature than the air around it, it is pretty obvious that the relative humidity raises when you open the door: the warmer air outside of the cooler contains more water since the warmer the air, the more water it can absorb.

In comparison to the air contained in the cooler, the outside air may well have lower relative humidity (relative being the key word here), but contain more water in absolute terms. Thus, when entering the cooler wine cooler, the lower air temperature inside will increase the relative humidity of the entering air (by refridgerating it), causing relative humidity to raise.

 

[Jwrussell]

Damn Claudius. I hadn't thought about that aspect. I keep looking at the room-RH and seeing that it never goes above 55% or so, but that's at 73-77 degrees for the most part.

 

[Claudius]

Damn Claudius. I hadn't thought about that aspect. I keep looking at the room-RH and seeing that it never goes above 55% or so, but that's at 73-77 degrees for the most part.

55% RH at 75 degress F equates to (from the top of my head) 80% RH at 65 degrees (which is probably what your cooler is set to?), so sure the RH increases when you open the cooler's door.

Just like where most of you guys live in the US, here in Southern Europe it gets pretty warm, especially during the summers. Not ideal conditions for cigar storing, not even mentioning cigar aging.

I happen to have discussed the problem you are describing with a humidor specialist last week, because I am looking to store a number of boxes to be able to smoke "aged" (from 5 years of age and above) cigars one day (tired of ammonia but aware of the potential of those Cuban ladies :wink: ). I wanted a cooled cigar cabinet with proper RH and temperature throughout, to create the ideal, stable climate required for good cigar aging.

What the guy said regarding temperature in cooled cabinets is that the problem is:
- the variation of temp and RH when opening the door (not good for the cigars)
- water condensation inside the cabinet, both because of what happened to you with the temp difference but also because of the extremely low temperatures the Peltier units reach, causing condensation in the area they're installed into

All this makes perfect sense when you think about it... but it doesnt solve the problem!

 

[Jwrussell]

LOL, too true Claudius. I've just ordered another pound of beads to see if that will help to aleviate any further issues. I think just for the complete hell of it I'm gonna get a tupperware container, leave it sit on the counter in ambient RH and temp, throw in a remote hygro, and then close it up and put it in the cooler. Should be interesting just to see what exactly comes out of it.

For those who have plugged the drainage hole, how did you do it? With this new info I'm thinking I really need to do that...

 

[caudio51]

Good info Claudius! :thumbsup: