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Wineador active and passive humidification

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So I have found a few threads but they are older. From what I have read it shouldn’t be a problem. I bought a whynter CHC-251S used in Dallas. It was broken. It would not cool so I bought a new Peltier on amazon and fixed it. It has shelves and holds temp steady. I went a little crazy on cigarauctuoneer.com and bought a cigar oasis ultra 2 for my big desktop humidor and a cigar oasis plus for my wineador. I also bought 1 pound of heartfelt 70% beads and 2 half pound bags for them. Bought a 12 pack of 69 boveda and I will recharge them. I have put together a 3 computer fan system with power and I am working on mounting them behind the shelves facing the front door to spread out the humidity. I plan on getting a bit more HF beads another pound and 2 more bags or a few tubes of them. I will have some on each shelf and I am mounting the boveda holders under each shelf in the cedar holders. I will set the CO plus for 67 % to get it back to RH as quick as possible after opening. This will hold daily smokes and my desktop will hold my aging smokes. It maybe overkill and I don’t mind that but do you think it will cause an issue? From what I read it won’t but those threads are a few years old. I live in central texas and my house tends to stay around 65-75 degrees and I will run the cooler at 66F which is why I chose the 70% beads. My RH average in my area is 67% yearly according to one source. Thoughts on my set up? I will post pics when I get home. I have quite a few xikar hygrometers to keep track of RH. Any input is appreciated.
 
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Seems a bit overkill. I’ve got the same wineador and all I use is 1lb. of HFBs @ 65RH.

I feel like the fans might be helpful, but I haven’t even plugged mine in for over a few days since the weather here has been “cold” in SoCal. Maybe in the summer I’ll run it, but haven’t saw a need for it yet.

Once seasoned it should hold humidity just fine as long as the seal is good. If it’s not you can order spare parts from Ambient Stores online.
 
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Boveda recommends that you do not use more than on type of humidification, as they will fight each other. I use the Cigar Oasis, but I have been thinking about trying the Boveda 320g at 65% humidity. The CO is nice, but it was difficult to get it set where I want and it takes a bunch of space. In my opinion (which really ain't worth crap), you're asking for trouble with that many types of humidification. The CO will only add humidity, but the HF beads and the Boveda packs with take humidity out of the air too.
 

Glassman

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So I have found a few threads but they are older. From what I have read it shouldn’t be a problem. I bought a whynter CHC-251S used in Dallas. It was broken. It would not cool so I bought a new Peltier on amazon and fixed it. It has shelves and holds temp steady. I went a little crazy on cigarauctuoneer.com and bought a cigar oasis ultra 2 for my big desktop humidor and a cigar oasis plus for my wineador. I also bought 1 pound of heartfelt 70% beads and 2 half pound bags for them. Bought a 12 pack of 69 boveda and I will recharge them. I have put together a 3 computer fan system with power and I am working on mounting them behind the shelves facing the front door to spread out the humidity. I plan on getting a bit more HF beads another pound and 2 more bags or a few tubes of them. I will have some on each shelf and I am mounting the boveda holders under each shelf in the cedar holders. I will set the CO plus for 67 % to get it back to RH as quick as possible after opening. This will hold daily smokes and my desktop will hold my aging smokes. It maybe overkill and I don’t mind that but do you think it will cause an issue? From what I read it won’t but those threads are a few years old. I live in central texas and my house tends to stay around 65-75 degrees and I will run the cooler at 66F which is why I chose the 70% beads. My RH average in my area is 67% yearly according to one source. Thoughts on my set up? I will post pics when I get home. I have quite a few xikar hygrometers to keep track of RH. Any input is appreciated.
At a glance it sounds waaaay overkill.
But it'll probably be handy to have the extra stuff if you need to spread out in to coolers and tupperdors.
One fan is probably enough, but I think you'd want it directing circulation, not blowing directly on the cigars.
Might try to set it up so that you're dialed in 65 - 67. Most of what I smoke doesn't seem to to as well any higher than that.
 
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It’s sounds like a bit of overkill to me too. I’ve got an edge star wineador with 5 shelves from Forrest. I’ve got a Boveda 69% on each shelf with two PC fans in the bottom. Once there is more than a 4% difference in humidity between the top and bottom, the fans turn on to circulate air and normalize the humidity. This setup has been working well for me. Good luck!


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@seeharrison what fans are you using? Auto on/off by humidity sounds like a great feature...
The logic isn’t in the fans, it’s in a back end system. I’ve got the tags that read temp/humidity and I have a tag in each drawer of the humidor. I’ve got a smart outlet with a set of dumb PC fans I bought from amazon. When the tags hit their humidity threshold, they send a command via the cloud to the outlet which turns on the fans. Once the humidity has normalized, the tags send another command to turn off the outlet. I’ve got the tags doing other things (like texting me if the temp or humidity drastically changes or turning on a light if moisture is detected) so they’re not just for circulating air. I hope this helps!
 
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The logic isn’t in the fans, it’s in a back end system. I’ve got the tags that read temp/humidity and I have a tag in each drawer of the humidor. I’ve got a smart outlet with a set of dumb PC fans I bought from amazon. When the tags hit their humidity threshold, they send a command via the cloud to the outlet which turns on the fans. Once the humidity has normalized, the tags send another command to turn off the outlet. I’ve got the tags doing other things (like texting me if the temp or humidity drastically changes or turning on a light if moisture is detected) so they’re not just for circulating air. I hope this helps!
Can you tell me a bit more about this setup? Is Tag a brand name? I would be interested in setting something like this up as well.
 
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The logic isn’t in the fans, it’s in a back end system. I’ve got the tags that read temp/humidity and I have a tag in each drawer of the humidor. I’ve got a smart outlet with a set of dumb PC fans I bought from amazon. When the tags hit their humidity threshold, they send a command via the cloud to the outlet which turns on the fans. Once the humidity has normalized, the tags send another command to turn off the outlet. I’ve got the tags doing other things (like texting me if the temp or humidity drastically changes or turning on a light if moisture is detected) so they’re not just for circulating air. I hope this helps!
I mean... it helps open up a whole new level of questions! haha

Can you tell me a bit more about this setup? Is Tag a brand name? I would be interested in setting something like this up as well.
I agree with this. Do you ahve a write up of your setup somewhere that I can read?
 
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Ha! I’m glad I could open up a new world of questions. I don’t have a write up yet because it’s taken me close to a year to figure everything out. Let me sit down when I’m in front of a real keyboard and write something up for you guys. There are only a handful of components in my setup and I’ve got maybe $175 invested in it. I’ll get something over to you @5280Nomad and @Erikis35.


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So I have found a few threads but they are older. From what I have read it shouldn’t be a problem. I bought a whynter CHC-251S used in Dallas. It was broken. It would not cool so I bought a new Peltier on amazon and fixed it. It has shelves and holds temp steady. I went a little crazy on cigarauctuoneer.com and bought a cigar oasis ultra 2 for my big desktop humidor and a cigar oasis plus for my wineador. I also bought 1 pound of heartfelt 70% beads and 2 half pound bags for them. Bought a 12 pack of 69 boveda and I will recharge them. I have put together a 3 computer fan system with power and I am working on mounting them behind the shelves facing the front door to spread out the humidity. I plan on getting a bit more HF beads another pound and 2 more bags or a few tubes of them. I will have some on each shelf and I am mounting the boveda holders under each shelf in the cedar holders. I will set the CO plus for 67 % to get it back to RH as quick as possible after opening. This will hold daily smokes and my desktop will hold my aging smokes. It maybe overkill and I don’t mind that but do you think it will cause an issue? From what I read it won’t but those threads are a few years old. I live in central texas and my house tends to stay around 65-75 degrees and I will run the cooler at 66F which is why I chose the 70% beads. My RH average in my area is 67% yearly according to one source. Thoughts on my set up? I will post pics when I get home. I have quite a few xikar hygrometers to keep track of RH. Any input is appreciated.
Biggest issue most people seem to face with wineadors is condensation. Not sure what wrinkle active humidification will add in a space that size, but if condensation occurs it'll happen greatest on the surface of the cooling plate. Since you seem to have a plan (overkill or not), the only advice I'd add would be to point the fans so they blow across the peltier, which should help keep condensation to a minimum. Many seem to hook their fans up to timers, but I just leave mine on... couple of low rpm case fans don't draw enough to matter that much to my electric bill.
-Ape
 

Cigary43

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One thing about seasoning is the easiest approach otherwise you'll be dealing with conflicts. While I use both active and passive my "fix it" approach when things tend to go south is a closed top small bowl of DW ( with holes in the lid to let the DW do it's job )....depends on the size of the humidor but within 7 days the RH goes to around 80% and then I removed the bowl and leave one....(1) media type to do the work. I would only use fans if you have a humidor that holds at least a 1000 then find one that isn't blowing like a friggin tornado. The whole idea is "marinating" with the ideal RH on a low level instead of having a windtunnel. JMHO
 
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Ha! I’m glad I could open up a new world of questions. I don’t have a write up yet because it’s taken me close to a year to figure everything out. Let me sit down when I’m in front of a real keyboard and write something up for you guys. There are only a handful of components in my setup and I’ve got maybe $175 invested in it. I’ll get something over to you @5280Nomad and @Erikis35.


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Thank you very much sir! Will be greatly appreciated.


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Thank you very much sir! Will be greatly appreciated.


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@Erikis35 and @5280Nomad
Ok fellas, here goes...

Components in my setup:
  • Wireless Tag Sensors - Link (Full disclosure this is my link and it will give you a discount as well as me a discount on my next purchase) These are the fancy little tiles that I use to detect temperature, RH, motion, light and vibrations in my humidor. At $29 per tag (with the discount from the link) I decided to put them in my humidor, fridge, freezer and gun cabinets.
  • Wireless Tag Manager - This is a small device that plugs into your ethernet network. It allows the tags to talk back to the web interface and for you to see your data. If I recall correctly, the tags have about an 800ft range from this tag manager.
  • SmartThings Hub v2 - Link This device talks to the web interface for the wireless tags and talks to the Inoveli smart plug. This essentially serves as the bridge between your tag sensors and your fans.
  • Innoveli Smart Plug - Link This is the smart plug that my wineador and wineador fans are plugged into. This switch talks to and is controlled by smartthings.
  • WebCoRE Smart App - Link WebCoRE is a free smart app that runs on the SmartThings platform. This is app is what allows me to turn my wineador on and off based on temperature and allows me to turn my fans on and off.
So how does it all work you ask? I've got two tags in my wineador, one in the top drawer and one in the bottom drawer. These tags are polled by the tag manager and the data is uploaded into a web portal. My SmartThings hub has an interface into that web portal and is specifically monitoring for temp and humidity. I have a script (they're called pistons) in WebCoRE that says "If the temperature goes above 69 turn on the plug for the wineador. If the temperature drops below 66 degrees, turn off the plug for the humidor" I also have one that says "If the humidity between the top drawer and the bottom drawer is equal to or greater than a difference of 4%, then turn on the plug for the fans. If the humidity between the top drawer and the bottom drawer is less than a difference of 4%, then turn off the plug for the fans." I've also got some other pistons running that text me every day at 5PM to let me know what the temp and humidity of my setup is. It will also text me if the temp or humidity is too high or too low. I know it sounds like WAAAAAY overkill for a wineadoor setup, but I'm a nerd at heart and loved setting this up. As a result I've got an extremely consistent setup and delicious smokes. Here are a couple of pictures to give you some ideas. I hope this was helpful!

The iOS app for the Wireless Tags




SmartThings view of tag



Temperature Historical Data

 
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I've just recently created a setup using a raspberry pi and a number of different sensor types to monitor my humidity in my humidors. BUT this is far more like what I wanted.
I'll definitely be going this route @seeharrison

super cool write up - thanks sir!
 
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Just my preference, but I see active humidification, Cigar Oasis and the like, only helpful when you have storage that is constantly losing humidity. If you're in or out of it once or twice a day, 2-way humidification, the beads and Bovedas, are the best way to go. The Boveda's and beads will likely suck up the water in the Cigar Oasis and as you refill it those 2-way devices will get saturated and then you'll get to the point where you start seeing humidity rise if you're not losing humidity from the enclosure.

Wineadors, especially with the drain hole plugged, hold humidity well. I have a 28 bottle wineador with a pound of beads on the top shelf and one on the floor and haven't needed to do any maintenance to them in over two years.
 
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Hi Harrison,


I am working on setting up something based on your setup. I am using a LARGE Edgestar wineador a friend sold me for a deal with the cedar shelves. 166 bottle to be exact. I will be using an tower setup active humidifier from Bob Staebell at Aristocrat with 2 extra circulation fans on a timer. It's a little small for the estimated 22cu ft (2'x2'x5.5' interior) of the fridge but I dont think thats a problem due to the fridge being able to hold it's humidity. I will also use a few pounds HF beads set on various shelves as "ballast" the humidity. The fridge draws air in the middle and sends it out via 2 fans in the middle of the upper and lower 3rds of the fridge. So far I have the humidifier and 3 sensor tags on order. I still need the manager, hub, plugs and app. Just wondering if you have any thoughts about this or anything you would change after months of use. Thank you much

Clif



@Erikis35 and @5280Nomad
Ok fellas, here goes...

Components in my setup:
  • Wireless Tag Sensors - Link (Full disclosure this is my link and it will give you a discount as well as me a discount on my next purchase) These are the fancy little tiles that I use to detect temperature, RH, motion, light and vibrations in my humidor. At $29 per tag (with the discount from the link) I decided to put them in my humidor, fridge, freezer and gun cabinets.
  • Wireless Tag Manager - This is a small device that plugs into your ethernet network. It allows the tags to talk back to the web interface and for you to see your data. If I recall correctly, the tags have about an 800ft range from this tag manager.
  • SmartThings Hub v2 - Link This device talks to the web interface for the wireless tags and talks to the Inoveli smart plug. This essentially serves as the bridge between your tag sensors and your fans.
  • Innoveli Smart Plug - Link This is the smart plug that my wineador and wineador fans are plugged into. This switch talks to and is controlled by smartthings.
  • WebCoRE Smart App - Link WebCoRE is a free smart app that runs on the SmartThings platform. This is app is what allows me to turn my wineador on and off based on temperature and allows me to turn my fans on and off.
So how does it all work you ask? I've got two tags in my wineador, one in the top drawer and one in the bottom drawer. These tags are polled by the tag manager and the data is uploaded into a web portal. My SmartThings hub has an interface into that web portal and is specifically monitoring for temp and humidity. I have a script (they're called pistons) in WebCoRE that says "If the temperature goes above 69 turn on the plug for the wineador. If the temperature drops below 66 degrees, turn off the plug for the humidor" I also have one that says "If the humidity between the top drawer and the bottom drawer is equal to or greater than a difference of 4%, then turn on the plug for the fans. If the humidity between the top drawer and the bottom drawer is less than a difference of 4%, then turn off the plug for the fans." I've also got some other pistons running that text me every day at 5PM to let me know what the temp and humidity of my setup is. It will also text me if the temp or humidity is too high or too low. I know it sounds like WAAAAAY overkill for a wineadoor setup, but I'm a nerd at heart and loved setting this up. As a result I've got an extremely consistent setup and delicious smokes. Here are a couple of pictures to give you some ideas. I hope this was helpful!

The iOS app for the Wireless Tags




SmartThings view of tag



Temperature Historical Data

 
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I'm running a CO with bovedas in my wineador. no issues for me with this setup. i'll be curious to see how it does once the dry winter air rolls in though.
 
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@seeharrison thanks for that excellent info. I’ve been curious about setting up fans in my wineador to help circulate/stabilize humidity between drawers, and the setup you posted about seems right up my alley.

My current setup is a NewAir cc100 with two 320g Boveda packs and eight 60g Boveda packs spread throughout the wineador. I’m running the 65% packs, however the humidity readings I’ve been getting are usually 67-69%.
 
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