Zmilin's Wineadore build (New Air 180E)

[Zmilin]

I pulled the trigger a couple weeks ago on a wineador build. I opted for the New Air 180E as the platform to build from since I felt it offered a lot of growth potential without taking up space I didn't have (the wife has been supportive on finding space for it though). Hate to say it but I probably could have done a 280 now that I know where its going. Oh well, more room for growth and another project down the road.

After some ordering some supplies here is where I stand with it...
- 1.5 #s of heartfelt 70% beads ordered and arrived.
- Two empty medium tubes for beads ordered and arrived.
- Boveda hygrometer calibration kit ordered and arrived.
- Xikar 833XI (rectangular) hygrometers ordered and arrived.

Since it all arrived while I was out of town it was all here for me to begin set up when I came home. This is a blessing as I am not normally a patient person.
- First order of business get the New Air out of the box and aired out. This only took a couple days with the cooler plugged in, door open and setting on my workbench in the garage. It was actually good after a day but I left it for one more just for good measure. I had the wife sniff it (I think she's part bloodhound) and she was good with it as well.
- I then divided the 1# bag of heads between two shallow tupperware dishes added distilled water per the recommendations and set them on the bottom.
- I inserted one hygrometers in the wineador so I had some idea of what was happening while the other one was placed in the calibration kit and left it for 24 hours (2/3% off). The next day i swapped them and the reading was way off but I had to head out of town for a couple more days so I just left it in there. When I got back and checked it today it was only 1% off. The second one took longer to get a good reading but in the end it got up to 74% (in the calibration kit). Not bad and I guess its acceptable BUT not for that money. I ranted in another thread about these and I have adjustable units ordered.
Ive not used the remaining 1/2# of beads yet. They are in the tubes and ready for use if needed. Maybe once I get drawers/shelves and cigars in there I may need them.

Today the whole kit was moved upstairs and placed at the bottom of the pantry (its new and approved home). I noticed a good amount of water build up at the bottom of the New Air so Im going to need to rig it up to drain into the tray like others have done. I saw that heartfelt has humidifying sheets. Maybe I could get one of those and just let it soak up the condensation. The good news is that the beads are keeping it at 70% and I have made arrangements to move forward.

More stuff ordered:
- Two round Hygrometers ordered from Boveda (these are adjustable) and I got two for the price of one Xikar.
- Four cedar trays from Cheaphumidors (plus a few sticks for tasting because one does not simply visit a cigar website without ordering cigars).
- I'm #1 on the December waiting list for a drawer/shelf set up from John. The wife is picking up the tab on these as part of my xmas gift (she really is awesome)!

Now all I have to do is wait for more stuff to show up, reroute that condensation into a dish and start filling this thing up.
Oh, I also need to figure out of Im going to go with a temp control system or not. I got a couple good recommendation on another thread but I also found this today and though its a bit more spend it seems to be plug and play. Check it out here: http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc111000000-prewired-digital-temperature-controller-p-87.html

We all like pictures so heres a couple for you:

In its new home. The power cord will be secured out of the way later once I figure out what Im going to do for temperature regulation.

Full money shot here. I had that bog of La Glorias that were so dry they were falling apart so I tossed the sticks but kept the box. I put it in the cooler to help with RH and for a nice aroma.

 

[Griz]

sweet fridge/humi, but I am more impressed that you can sit on the floor and cross your legs..... ah, I remember those days.

 

[ZaneG]

Should be a nice setup.

 

[Zmilin]

sweet fridge/humi, but I am more impressed that you can sit on the floor and cross your legs..... ah, I remember those days.

Getting up was like watching an elephant try to tap dance though. :hysterica

 

[JuzCallMeDee]

im a little jealous since my beads have yet to arrive...smh. considering the "family emergency" situation im being patient but there is no communication at this point. this is gonna be a nice set up though.

 

[Zmilin]

**Update after moving it upstairs**
Yesterday I moved the wineador to its new home and last night I noticed a spike in RH level to about 74/75.
I checked again this morning and it was still steady at 74/75. This is odd since when it was in the garage it was closer to 69/70.
I also noticed this morning that one container of beads was completely dry and there was a build up of condensation at the bottom of the fridge. Since I did this Im thinking that I should really have all the beads in one tray now.

I have remixed the beads to even out hydrated and non hydrated beads (seemed like a good idea) and hydrated up with a couple squirts of a small spray bottle. I also added a condensation diverter (a cut out portion of the plastic gallon jug my distiller water comes in) to keep the condensation from just poolin up at the bottom of the fridge.

My thinking is that the standing water (condensation overflow) was too much and over hydrating. The dried out beads probably happened due to the condensation issue.

I wonder if I should unplug the unit so the fan doesn't run all the time like it is now.

If Im way off please tell me.

 

[GreekElite]

I keep mine in my basement/coolest room so the ambient tempt doesn't make the unit have to run constantly. Have the cooler be at 66* or whatever it is also.

 

[Zmilin]

I have kept it at 66 the whole time. I wish it went higher but the only one that did was a smaller cuisinart that went to 68. This is the reason I'm thinking of adding the ETC1100. I can then have that kick the wineador on/off at specific temp ranges.

When I left today it had come up to 72 RH (calculating for the discrepancy in the xikar hygrometer it puts it right at 70). So I think I got it resolved. I won't be home till tomorrow so well see what happens then.

 

[Griz]

)[/QUOTE] Getting up was like watching an elephant try to tap dance though. :hysterica[/QUOTE]

I am picturing this in my mind..... now that's funny and its also the way I look, if I dare to get down there in the first place

 

[Jesse]

I'm having all sorts of issues with mine but it's due to my house getting into temps of 90* with this heat we are having here in Cali. Here's how I solved my condensation problem though.

I used a water bottle and some clear hose I got from Home Depot, zip ties and zip tie mounting pads.


Drilled a hole in the cap to fit the hose in so that I don't have to worry about loosing RH.




Mounted the pads on the inside of the back panel and zip tied the bottle, leave them loose so that you can pull out the bottle once it's full.




Attach the other end of the hose to the drip fitting. Just make sure the hose doesn't curve up or else it won't drip into the bottle.


Hope that helps you.

 

[Zmilin]

Jesse, thanks for listing all that. Its similar to what I do with my portable AC for the three days a year the temps up here in Seattle get over 80 (don't hate). Issue is that the bottle still needs to be emptied and for that to happen it means pulling the wineador out of the pantry which is not convenient to be doing on a regular basis. NOW, if that reservoir was bigger.... Hmmm...

The good news is that the RH has stabilized again and my Xikars are reading 72 and 74 respectively. A bit high but its already been determined they are not as accurate as one would believe.

I did get the Boveda Hygros yesterday and have now placed them in the calibration bag. After only a few minutes both read 75/61 (temp/RH). how nice to see that they are both consistent AND if they are off I can adjust them. :blob:. Now to wait 24 hours so I can really see whats going on in my wineador.

 

[Jesse]

I've since switched to a Gatorade bottle so that I empty it a little less, my main problem was that the water sitting inside was killing my RH and soaking up my cedar drawers. This way it keeps the water out of the cooler, I guess you could set something up so that it's on the side of the cooler so you can see it and have easier access to it. Mine is next to my couch so I can get to the back fairly easy. Hope you get yours solved.

 

[Zmilin]

**UPDATE 9-25-14**
Temp trays showed up today. These are the "Display II or Display 7" trays (10 ¼” W x 8” D x 1 ½” H) from Cheaphumidores.com.
They are just about perfect for the NewAir 180E. There is about 3" of depth behind each tray that is currently not being used.
I have tupperware containers and Boveda packs standing by in case the RH drops in excess due to the addition of the trays. My sticks will get a temp home until it can level out.
Here are some pics to wet the appetite

My Bahia Blu drawer. A budget smoke thats good enough to have any time, any where, any reason.

A couple Opus X Perfection As and a vintage box of Royal Jamaica's that Im hoping will come back from near death. I smoked one a couple days ago and it had more flavor pre light than it did after I lit it up. If not then its just taking up space for now.

This is my "have to try these" drawer. Usually singles that I am buying to give them a try and see if they are to my liking or not. There are a couple of "I need someplace to put these" drawer as well.

This is my Fuente drawer...

This is my special drawer. Padrons and Habanos (and a Liga that snuck in there. That will need to move up to the "have to try these" drawer).

 

[Jesse]

This is my "have to try these" drawer. Usually singles that I am buying to give them a try and see if they are to my liking or not. There are a couple of "I need someplace to put these" drawer as well.

Those MF and Davidoff's are just terrible, you should give them to me so I can dispose of them properly. :halfgrinw

Looks great man, nice work.

 

[Zmilin]

Those MF and Davidoff's are just terrible, you should give them to me so I can dispose of them properly. :halfgrinw

Looks great man, nice work.

Only if you start paying the bills man.

I need to get to smoking some of those. I do blame the S/BOTLs here for a few of those cigars (Undercrown, Liga, MFs and Aging Room). I happen to run across them this afternoon and had to get them in the collection to try out. Under those are some Bahias I wanted to try as well. I enjoyed the Blu so much I was really wondering about the rest of the line.

Thanks! Im having fun with this little wineador project. Now I only need to learn some self control.

 

[PuffPuffSigh]

Why are some of your cigars labeled October 2014? Are you from the future? Can you PM me the mega millions #s for the lotto this week?

 

[Zmilin]

Why are some of your cigars labeled October 2014? Are you from the future? Can you PM me the mega millions #s for the lotto this week?

Thats because Im "special"... and didn't fix my months till after I took the pics. :rolling:

 

[bstevens311]

Great write up! I currently have the same cooler, shelves, and hydros on order now, definitely love the look and can't argue with the price! Leaves more money in the budget for the sticks we love best. cheers!

 

[Zmilin]

Thanks for the compliment and if you have any questions please ask. Im not expert but Im learning a lot and have learned a lot. This is a great little wineador.

I guess its time for another update. This one will be short but I will add more later.

* I am now running a pair of Caliber IV hygros.
The Hygroset were not as reliable as I was hoping for. I order two but received four. I tried to return two but they would not return email and I didn't have time to sit on hold. After a few calls I gave up and put them all in calibration bags. One was impossible to calibrate so I tossed it. The other three seemed stable but after a few days were showing readings that were off. I moved them around the humi and they all went back in the calibration bags and were all off. After a duple of days of adjusting and checking only two were close so it was at that point I ordered the Calibers and long story short they are stable and by far the best solution I have found for price/accuracy and stability.

* I liked the idea of knowing what was happening without opening the door so I ordered an Ambient Weather system WS-07-X2, calibrated and am running it with the calibers still in place. So far so good and its been a couple weeks. http://www.ambientweather.com/amws07x2kit.html

* I found an ETC on ebay at a great price so I ordered it. I knew I wanted some better temp control and didn't expect to need it till next summer BUT the temps here in Wa dropped this last week and I came home to a colder than expected wineador. Ill be adding the ATC this weekend and will update with pics after the install.

* I also ordered and have received a pair of Adaptec PCI cooling fans that I don't think Im going to need but have on hand in case I do need them after Johns shelves arrive (ETA December).

* I will be adding the ETC this weekend and will post some pics after I do. Since Im adding this I will also prewire for the fans and will be re-routing the drain back into the wineador so I can get rid of rigged drain routing device (one side of a gallon jug taped to the back of the unit ).

The good news is that the HF beads are solid. Since adding the calibers I have not seen the humidity make any drastic swings. I believe the temp drop is causing more of a RH fluctuation than anything but I was not able to make that statement until I knew I could trust my hygros. At its worst the RH has never gone above 72 but I have seen it drop as low as 67 BUT again you must account for hygro accuracy and figure that those are excellent numbers. Since the calibers have been in place it sits steady at between 68/69.
The cigars are all smoking very well and I have no complaints.

This is a fun project!

 

[bstevens311]

Ok thanks and I may take you up on that if I get to the point where I start banging my head against the wall, the one thing I am going to do different is use KL instead of beads, from what I've read they seem to be a little more self sufficient and definitely cheaper which goes a long way for me.