Wineador Help

[mrg5500]

I purchased my first wineador, a NewAir AW-121E. I put heartfelt 65%beads in there Friday along with 2 Spanish cedar trays from cheaphimidors.com. The temp on the wineador is set to 65. The humidity by 11pm Friday night the humidity had gotten as high as 76%. By Saturday around noon the humidity level had dropped to 65%. I thought awesome now to just let it sit for about a week and then I'd be good to go. I only checked it once yesterday (Sunday) and the humidity was around 67%. I didn't check it this morning, but when I got home a couple of hours ago the humidity was up to 78%. Is this normal? I have about a half of pound of beads in there.

A couple of thoughts... first, that is weird. Try this - recalibrate your hygrometer. Let the wineador sit for about a week and stabilize to see what the actual humidity level is. When you set-up the beads, how much water diid you add? If I remember,correctly, you need to spray those and not soak them. At any rate, don't add much water. Easier to raise the humi level than lower it. If the beads are too wet, see if some of the guys here can suggest how to properly lower. I recall something about putting the beads in the fridge, but timing is important on that.

[mrg5500]

Thanks for the reply. I had purchased a new hygrometer and calibrate it with the boveda kit. It was stable for 2 days inside the plastic bag that comes with the kit. I didn't spray the beads, I followed heartfelt's website instructions which called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of distilled water.

[shilala]

If there's nothing else in her, you've done good to get readings that good.
Patience, brother!!!

[AdamJoshua]

I'm guessing you plugged the drain hole.

Are you in a hot area, if you are in a nice cool area you don't really even have to run the thing (just mention that as a side note).

I will say I learned to set the beads using the sponge / dish / zip lock bag / hygrometer method instead of spraying them down, just easier to actually set the beads by letting them absorb moisture from the sponge.

[mrg5500]

Yes the drain hole is plugged. I'm located in east texas, so yea it gets pretty warm.

[wonmotyme]

I too have the new air. I bought mine more so to control the temp as it gets really hot here in Fontana. My humidity fluctuates also. If my wineador is not even close to half full, will this have an effect on the humidity levels?

[AdamJoshua]

Hey Al could be many things, including the simple fixes such as is your winador on carpet or on hard ground, on carpet the magnetic seal might not be optimal at times as there can be some twisting. That would be the first question, have you had a chance to look through any of the other numerous winador / issue threads?

[wonmotyme]

Yes, I was snooping around reading other posts but didn't find an answer. I know you guys have probably covered this numerous times. Sorry if I haven't looked hard enough.

Ive read different takes on whether to plug or not plug the drain hole. Mine isn't plugged. Also, mine is on hardwood floor and seems to be pretty level. I think i have 2 lbs of heartfelt beads. No cedar shelves, just the metal racks.

[wonmotyme]

I wanted to add, that my RH will set to around 68 and stay for a couple weeks then it will drop to 58 and Ill check the beads and they're bone dry.

[CigarNut]

Three things you should do - plug the drain hole (by definition a humidor is a sealed environment) and be patient. Changes take time. And, enjoy a cigar or three while you wait

There's a lot of good info on CA -- Search is your friend.

[wonmotyme]

Ok I've done two of the three... Now working on the patience part.. Thx guys

[RJrocker]

Originally Posted by wonmotyme

Ok I've done two of the three... Now working on the patience part.. Thx guys

I'm with you bud, patience is difficult

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by RJrocker

I'm with you bud, patience is difficult

Go and smoke a cigar or three -- patience is much easier that way

[AdamJoshua]

Yah i would say the drain plug was your problem, just letting humidity in and out at will, so the ambient RH outside the box was just messing with you.

[Louistogies]

I would add more cedar! I would add cigar boxes and or more cedar trays. This will help stabilize you wine-a-dor. Any time you open that door you're immediately losing that humidity because it has nothing to hold on to. I've noticed they stay more consistent/stable the more cedar they have inside.

[wonmotyme]

Thanks. Wineadors.com still the place to go?

[wonmotyme]

By the way. I covered the drain hole with electrical tape and it's been steady ever since. Also moved to a cooler room in the corner. Thanx fellas

[shilala]

Do yourself a favor and plug up that hole right.
What you want is electrician's putty, or duct seal. This stuff, exactly.
It doesn't get hard, doesn't shrink, you can remove it later if you want to convert your humidor back to a fridge, and a pound block of that stuff will last you a lifetime. It never goes bad.
It's like duct tape, good for a million things. Like sealing holes in the house where pipes and wires come in, or if you make holes in the car for speaker wires, you name it.
There should be a lump of that stuff in every junk drawer.

[wonmotyme]

Kool. I actually have some in my work van. We actually use it for sealing innerduct in our electrical pull boxes. How convenient. Thanks