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Last post 6 years ago by Zigarro. 20 replies replies.
Wineador Help Needed and Greatly Appreciated
Mitch65 Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
Hey Guys!

Need some advice from some fellow BOTL.

I set up a wineador over winter and everything has been perfect. Humidity has been holding rock solid at 65% and the temp in my house during winter stays about 64-66 degrees so no need to plug it in. I feel that this was ideal for my smokes. They were PERFECT for my taste.

Here is my problem.

Fast forward to right now and rising temps. With the AC on my house usually stays about 73-74 degrees during the day and about 72 or so at night. I thought this was a tad warm for cigars so I plugged in the Wineador last week (newair 28 bottle thermal-electric). I use 1.5lbs heartfelt 65% beads spread throughout.

Once its plugged in and set to 66 degrees (max setting) the temp inside stays about 63 degrees but the humidity is jumping up to 71%. Why is the humidity jumping from 65% to 71% when I plug it in? I have 2 calibrated hygrometers in there and the top and bottom humidity is usually withing about 4% so no problems there. The hygrometer closest to the fan always shows 71% while the Hygrometer on the bottom usually shows 67-68%. Recovery is very quick. Within 45 mins of closing the door it recovers to the above humidity.

Why when I plug in the wineador and get the temp down to 63 is the humidity raising to 71%? Its like clock work and holds steady right at 71% no matter what when running.

Should I unplug it and have 73-74 degrees and 65% or leave it plugged in and have 63 degrees and 71% humidity?


frankj1 Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 02-08-2007
Posts: 44,211
there's humidity, and relative humidity...what matters is RH.

but beyond that I am less help than this post.
Mitch65 Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
Yes. I believe RH is the amount of humidity in the air based on the temperature and how much humidity the air can hold. Ugh my brain hurts!

Does that mean 71% is ok if the temp is lower (63 degrees)? Seems high to me but maybe that's the same at 65% at 72F
bgz Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 07-29-2014
Posts: 13,023
My guess is because you didn't have it plugged in, the humidity wasn't being circulated to all sections of the enclosure.

So you probably had really moist sections in there before, with some relatively dry sections.

My advice is get your RH right and keep it plugged in all the time.

I don't think I've ever unplugged mine. I used to have some fans in the bottom circulating, the air as well, but I found they didn't make a bit of difference (the box itself has a fan), so I don't run them anymore (Guess I could put them in my computer case, hmmm Think )

Mine usually sits about 63 - 65 at the top (keep some beeds up high), 61-63 in the top drawer, 63 - 65 middle drawer, and 66 - 68 in bottom/bottom drawer (most of the beads are at the bottom).
frankj1 Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 02-08-2007
Posts: 44,211
get Commissioner Gordon to light up the T-Gerbs signal over Gotham
Mitch65 Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
bgz wrote:
My guess is because you didn't have it plugged in, the humidity wasn't being circulated to all sections of the enclosure.

So you probably had really moist sections in there before, with some relatively dry sections.

My advice is get your RH right and keep it plugged in all the time.

I don't think I've ever unplugged mine. I used to have some fans in the bottom circulating, the air as well, but I found they didn't make a bit of difference (the box itself has a fan), so I don't run them anymore (Guess I could put them in my computer case, hmmm Think )

Mine usually sits about 63 - 65 at the top (keep some beeds up high), 61-63 in the top drawer, 63 - 65 middle drawer, and 66 - 68 in bottom/bottom drawer (most of the beads are at the bottom).



Should I just let it run for a few days and see if it balances out? My beads right now are about 30% wet and 70% dry (white) Its only been plugged in for 3 days but I unplugged it because the 71% scared me. plug back in?

Unplugged its at 72f and 65% right now
bgz Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 07-29-2014
Posts: 13,023
First, I don't know where you keep your hygrometers, but I keep mine in the drawers/very near the cigars so I can get an accurate reading. If you have them on the front of the drawers, your RH might even be higher than 71.

What I've done when they were too high is take the beads out for a few, then put them back in and let them do their magic.

Another thing I do is keep boveda 65 packs in the drawers in conjunction with the beads to help out with stabilization.

Right now, I'm to the point where I just hit the beads with a couple sprays every couple months and that's all it needs.

The cigars themselves will hold humidity as well, so I don't follow a percentage rule when spraying the beads, I just hit em when my rh drops outside my normal ranges.

Probably the most important tip I can give, is keep that thing full, I think that helps with regulation more than anything.
Mitch65 Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
I have one on the front of a drawer towards the bottom that is in acceptable range when the wineador is running 66-67%. The one that shows 71% is 3/4 of the way up. I have 4 boxes in front of the fan and the it's right infront of the boxes towards the glass.

It's the one by the fan that always shows humidity high when the wineador is on. I between 250-300 cigars in it.
delta1 Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
Living in SoCal in a desert environment, the temp in the house is difficult to maintain at 70 from late Feb to late Nov. My wife is too frugal to run the AC unless the internal temps climb above 80. During that time, the temp reading in my end table humidor is between 72 and 76 degrees. The RH is also difficult to keep in the 62 -65 range, which I consider optimal. It rarely goes above 65-66, but can drop to the mid 50's when the ambient RH dips below 45 and stays there for days at a time. When that happens, I have to add water to the beads and put in some Boveda packs.

I've had the end table humidor for 5 years and the cigars in there are fine. No mold issues or beetles. I don't think temps at 72-73 with RH at 65 are problematic.That would be ideal for me in my home. The 71 RH seems too wet to me, from past experience with smaller desktop humidors.

The hazard zone would be temps above 80 and RH above 75 constantly...then you may have mold issues and beetle issues
Mitch65 Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
Thank you to everyone for helping me and the great answers!

Guess I just need to decide if I want it plugged in or not.
bgz Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 07-29-2014
Posts: 13,023
I would plug it... that's just me though.
NWStogie Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 07-25-2016
Posts: 736
Plug it in. You'll get more circulation from the unit's built-in fan. I added small computer fans to mine at the bottom, where I keep the majority of my beads in shallow trays. They draw air from behind the trays at the rear, blowing across the trays to the front of the unit. I didn't want to fight the built-in fan at the center-back. Humidity is a bit more uniform with them. Fans are powered from a universal AC adapter run through the drain hole. I have beads placed in all other drawers/shelves, as well, to help stabilize things.
bgz Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 07-29-2014
Posts: 13,023
Oh... I misread the question, I thought you were asking if it needed to be plugged as in plug the drain hole.

If the drain hole isn't plugged, you should plug it...

:)


And ya, leave it plugged in.
Mitch65 Offline
#14 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
It's been plugged in and running for 4 hours now. Top is 63f/66% middle is 63f/69% and bottom is 63f/66%. Going to leave it plugged in for a few more days and let it stabilize. My goal is 65-67% throughout. At this point I think it's Acceptable and I'm just nit picking
Mitch65 Offline
#15 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
It's been plugged in and running for 4 hours now. Top is 63f/66% middle is 63f/69% and bottom is 63f/66%. Going to leave it plugged in for a few more days and let it stabilize. My goal is 65-67% throughout. At this point I think it's Acceptable and I'm just nit picking
abjd14 Offline
#16 Posted:
Joined: 08-08-2012
Posts: 396
When you lower the temperature the air molecules will contract and you will have a lower volume of air but the same mass of water vapor and your humidity will increase. So when you lower the temp the humidity should go up and vice versa without adding or subtracting any beads or otherwise. If u plan to keep the temp lower u need to take some beads out.
NWStogie Offline
#17 Posted:
Joined: 07-25-2016
Posts: 736
After running the power for my extra fans in through the drain, I plugged it. About 1% difference in humidity between top and bottom. 65-66%.

The major drawback to a wineador is that humidity escapes quickly when door is opened and I am rummaging through the drawers. Coolerdores, with their top opening, don't seem to suffer as much. (I have both.) Fortunately, beads can buffer this. Humidity comes right back up in short order.
NWStogie Offline
#18 Posted:
Joined: 07-25-2016
Posts: 736
No need to remove beads with lower temp, as long as they aren't oversaturated. They will draw in excess moisture.
Mitch65 Offline
#19 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2012
Posts: 416
I think Im in the clear everyone! Not sure why or how but for the last few hours it has been steady at 64% and 63 degrees through the wineador. Top, Middle and bottom are all holding exactly 64%. I think it was what bgz said. It was never plugged in during the winter so I may have had some wet and dry stops but now that the fan is running its equalized. Ill see if it holds and stays that way
Zigarro Offline
#20 Posted:
Joined: 02-19-2015
Posts: 17
Mitch65 wrote:
Thank you to everyone for helping me and the great answers!

Guess I just need to decide if I want it plugged in or not.


I bought a 32btl. wine cooler 2 1/2 years ago and found that when plugged in, humidity fell. I freeze all incoming gars for 4 days and leave the unit UNplugged and with several shallow trays of kitty litter, I get a constant 67 percent and since my apt. is a/c'd, the temp stays about 74. I run around 400 sticks in it and I enjoy every one I burn.
I had six cedar drawers made as well as two shelves and I get into it at least twice a day, which helps the air inside circulate.
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