Wine Cooler Condensation Problems?

[darb21]

Ok, so last year I bought a wine cooler and got it all decked out... problem is that it creates crazy amounts of condensation. I'm talking 32oz of it over the course of 2 weeks or so (I'm collecting it in a cup and dumping bi-weekly)... I thought it was maybe just a crappy cooler, so I bought the Edgestar last week when my alert for it went off. Got that one in and have it empty, but its making an awful lot of condensation too. Its in a room that is 75 degress, and the internal temp stays right at 64 degress (on warmest setting ) Does anyone know the secret weapon against condensation in a wine cooler? I simply don't understand how anyone does NOT have condensation problems! It all comes down to the science of dewpoint, which at 64 degress ambient temp and 65% RH, is 52 degrees. So the problem as I understand it is that once the thermoelectric plate starts cooling, and goes below 52 degrees (which it does every time it kicks on), it will start making condensation.

I'm about at my wits end here, but I know some (most) of you guys have no issues. Do you just have your wine cooler in a colder room than I do ?

 

[Clint]

PM RonC

He is our resident expert in RH!!

Good luck

 

[dpricenator]

An external temp controller form Ranco or Johnson. I thin the Ranco is more user friendly. It will aloow you to get the temp a bit warmer, so the cooler does not have to run so often.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

This is a damn good post to read also....

Wine Cooler 101

 

[swat253]

My brief condensation problems led to the eventual loss of a handful of coveted sticks... Don't let it linger Bro! I keep it a bit warmer now (67-68) and the condensation is rare. I recently bought the Ranco controller - I just haven't installed it yet...

 

[darb21]

My brief condensation problems led to the eventual loss of a handful of coveted sticks... Don't let it linger Bro! I keep it a bit warmer now (67-68) and the condensation is rare. I recently bought the Ranco controller - I just haven't installed it yet...

Yeah, I'm definitely interested in folks who have an ETC installed to hear what they have to say. I'm game for investing in one if it would help the situation, but I still don't see how it could help that much as even if you kept it right at 70, the peltier would still drop below the dewpoint when it does kick on.

Man I tried everything with that other unit. I even went frankenstien on the electronics in it. I put a variable voltage regulator so that I could control the voltage getting to the peltier in an attempt to keep it from getting so cold. I found that if I limited the voltage to about 4 volts, the peltier only got to about 55 degrees. This worked, but it ran pretty much non-stop... which I concluded would just be too much airflow.

 

[mcroom]

The condensation problem is due more to the ambient relative humidity %. The higher the humidity and the more the wineadoor door is open, the more of a problem one will have with condensation. If ambient RH is 65% or less, then this is a non issue since, for me, I use 65% beads. I keep house at about 60% RH and so with 1 lb of 65% beads I have seen little to no condensation with temperature of 65*. I use one Oust fan as well.
I do have the drain hole of the Vinotemp plugged; the reason is outside air can come in through this drain hole.

 

[twenty5]

Read through the wine cooler 101 thread if you havent. Some things you may need to look into:

Plug drain (Any air entering through a crack or hole WILL create condensation in the warmer months)

Get an ETC so the cooler is not running all the time. With a room at 75* and a preferred 65* inside the cooler, I would assume the cooler should run for 2-3 minutes maybe 3-4 times an hour. This varies obviously (the amount of times it is opened etc.) but this is generally the amount of time mine runs.

Add more beads. You can never have enough beads. Right now I have 1.5 lbs of Shilala beads (1lb on top, .5 lbs on bottom) .5lbs of heartfelt beads against the back wall where the condensation drips down to soak it up, and the heartfelt bead sheet cut and attached to the back wall to catch drips.

 

[SmokeProper]

Dang, I thought these were kind of fool proof. I've been thinking about them since I can't keep my ac at 70 in the house. Buy if they create other problems them maybe not....
I admit I have done little to no research or reading on them. Maybe I'll read the link above....duh.

 

[twenty5]

Dang, I thought these were kind of fool proof. I've been thinking about them since I can't keep my ac at 70 in the house. Buy if they create other problems them maybe not....
I admit I have done little to no research or reading on them. Maybe I'll read the link above....duh.

I would say they are pretty much set it and forget it, 16 oz/ week is crazy. I think there has to be something else going on w/ the seal or something.

 

[PLUSH]

Not really sure what little, some or much is? I chose some as it does. I do have issue with at that area the rh is high, but at the top away from the cooling unit is is 66.

 

[snooper800]

Dang, I thought these were kind of fool proof. I've been thinking about them since I can't keep my ac at 70 in the house. Buy if they create other problems them maybe not....
I admit I have done little to no research or reading on them. Maybe I'll read the link above....duh.

I live in the central valley; my new Avanti has been up and running over a month now with no problems. There sometimes is a drop or two of moisture near the drain, but other than that, things are good.

I chose not to plug the drain and I am running 2 lbs. of beads with two skeletonized Oust fans running on the middle, rear shelf directed upwards.

The internal fan does a nice job of moving air, but it feels like it moves more air in the lower half than the upper half. Might be able to fashion a deflector of sorts to delineate more air towards the upper half.

Other than that, it is doing a great job.

 

[darb21]

Just as a further note. ALL condensation I am getting is coming off of the thermoelectric unit... none on the glass or anywhere else. I understand that plugging the drain hole is the common accepted wisdom on a wine cooler, but 25 (or anyone else), can you explain exactly why (given that the air in the house is 20% drier than the air in the cooler)?

Plug drain (Any air entering through a crack or hole WILL create condensation in the warmer months)

My house is at 45% RH, so in my mind, it really doesn't matter that much as the effect would be a drying one... But lets put that aside for a minute. As I understand it, The root of the problem is still that the thermoelectric cooler is getting well below the dewpoint of 52*:

So given this, ANY air that is at 65*/65% that gets blown across the thermoelectric cooler (that is at say 35*) will create condensation on the cooler. And thus if it runs at all, its going to condense... the more it runs, the more it will condense. Is my reasoning wrong here?

 

[dpricenator]

The ETC will keep you from running so often , but even when it does kick on, some condensation will appear. I have 2 oust fans blowing over the area where the condensation appears so it can evaporate more quickly.

 

[twenty5]

I would think that having the drain unplugged, although the room RH is lower, you would be allowing a constant flow of warm (75*) air into an environment you would like to keep at 65* causing the the unit to run longer and more warm air to come in contact with the heat sink on the peltier (cold side). The warmer air in turn would condensate, in your case this seems like an extreme amount of condensate. There are a couple of things I would suggest for you to try before advising you go purchase an ETC.

1. Put a hygro in there that you have recently tested and found to be correctly calibrated. What is the RH?

2. Make sure the temperature is what the wine cooler says it is. Put a thermometer (or hygro) that you know is correct in and get a better reading of the temperature (at the top and the bottom of the unit). I have read that some peoples wine coolers were off 10-15 degrees in extreme cases compared to what the digital read out said it was.

3. Tape (electrical and duct) over the drain. Its not permanent like the direction I went but will tell you if that is the problem.

4. I assume you are using beads. What color are they? In your case I would dry them out until they are about 25% clear / 75% white to absorb some extra moisture.

5. If you dont have one in already, add a fan (oust, cpu, whatever) to move that air around a bit.

6. This may be a pain in the ass but... Put a cheap thermometer in there with an alarm or something, as soon as it gets to your desired temp, unplug it. When the alarm goes off that the high point is reached, plug it back in. Do this for an hr or 2. Its basically the same damn thing an ETC does except it would save you the $70+ to see if this would help before hand. If there is little to no water at the end of this, an ETC would help, if nothing changed, save your money.

I have never heard of anyone saying they were pulling that much water out weekly. I wish I could help more but for right now thats all I can think of.

 

[dpricenator]

$60 free shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ranco-Electric-Temp-Control-112000-00G-24VAC-/170501627039?pt=BI_Control_Systems_PLCs

 

[jjon90]

$60 free shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ranco-Electric-Temp-Control-112000-00G-24VAC-/170501627039?pt=BI_Control_Systems_PLCs

This one is missing the power cords. Easy to add if your good with electrician stuff.

 

[dpricenator]

This one is missing the power cords. Easy to add if your good with electrician stuff.

the power cord on these comes un attached normally and I guess he just lost it. it is basic instalation, screw down the copper wire and you're good. But the other on is $70 and complete, so I would do that for convenience sake

 

[darb21]

So to those of you that have the ETCs... are you all just drilling through the back to get the ETC to the inside of the unit???

 

[dpricenator]

I did, the filled the small hole with the expando foam, and used electrical tape over that to matcht he black color.