Trouble keeping coolidor humid

[44stampede]

Hoping for some tips on my coolidor. I have 1.5 pounds of the 65% beads in it totally filled with distilled water. I still can't manage to get the humidity over 50%. It's a 12 bottle one but I couldn't say how many square inches. It is pretty small.

Is this the danger zone of drying out? It's at a temp of 20 degrees C.

Thanks guys. I would HATE to come back to some of these sticks and find out that the taste is less or changed...

[Ogre]

It sounds like you have an air leak or a Hyro that is not calibrated. I would recommend putting a flashlight in your cooler (in a dark room) and see if there is any light coming from the cooler. Also try and calibrate your hydro.

[Blak Smyth]

12 bottle one? Is this a winedor?

[Bill86]

What do you mean by "total filled with distilled water"?

Either you messed up the beads, or the hygro is sh*t, or you are leaking like all hell.

How are your cigars smoking?

[44stampede]

Originally Posted by Bill86

What do you mean by "total filled with distilled water"?

Either you messed up the beads, or the hygro is sh*t, or you are leaking like all hell.

How are your cigars smoking?

Yeah sorry I meant wineador.

I mean that since I saw the hygrometer at 45-50% I filled the container with the beads so that they are all submerged instead of just partial hydration.

They are smoking fine for the ones I have had lately but I don't even smoke too regular so it's tough to know. Also I am fairly new to this and thus so are most of the cigars so I don't really know if it is only a matter of time before they turn.

I live in 90% humidity and 26-30 Degrees Celcius. I don't imagine that putting them in a regular humidor (non-temp controlled) with dry beads would be better?

[Bill86]

What beads are you using? Heartfelt are suppose to be like 2/3 clear and 1/3 white.

Even if your beads are 100% clear (or fully saturated) you would get higher RH readings if you were in a more humid setting because the white beads wouldn't be able to absorb the excess humidity. Either it's really warm where you are keeping your cooler (68 degrees F sounds good though), your hygrometer is erroneous, or you have a serious leak somewhere and/or a combination of said variables.

[CigarNut]

Have you plugged the drain hole? If not that is likely one of your problems. You can use some plumbers putty to seal it -- or for the short term just put some duct tape over the hole.

[44stampede]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

Have you plugged the drain hole? If not that is likely one of your problems. You can use some plumbers putty to seal it -- or for the short term just put some duct tape over the hole.

I'll take a look at this when I am home today.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[big pete]

Is it a compressor type wine fridge?

[emopunker2004]

do you keep it running all the time? if not try that and see if it settles down. also, the coolers seem to suck the humidity when under high load.

[44stampede]

Originally Posted by emopunker2004

do you keep it running all the time? if not try that and see if it settles down. also, the coolers seem to suck the humidity when under high load.

yeah it's always running.

[Blak Smyth]

Did you test your hygromter? It sounds to me like it may be reading incorrectly.

[BigJPinDC]

Big Pete nailed it I think - compressor fridges kill humidity, that's why a general rule is to not plug them in if used as a humidor.

[CRIMPS]

Also, I would think you would have the opposite problem, living in Singapore. But, if you are running the wineador, this could explain why the humidity is lower than that of your beads spec.

[bobarian]

It doesnt matter if its thermo electric or compressor. Either can and have been adapted for use with cigars. The biggest problem with compressor type is that the high temp is often below 40degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the temp the more likely to have condensation inside. You may need an external temperature controller to get the temp in the 55-65 range.

Also, in any cooler the Rh of the air is irrelevant. It may swing 20-30% each time the unit cycles. Put your hygrometer inside one of the boxes and see where your cigars are reading.

Lastly, depending on the type of beads you are using only 2/3 should be clear or moistened. Beads sitting in water will lead to mold growth.

[OLS]

Put WINE in that cooler and use an ice chest for your smokes, you are in the tropics.
Do you cool your home with an air conditioner?? If you DO, you could switch to an ice
chest I think. And like Bobarian said, don't keep your beads IN water. Just keep em
moist and clear...Most people with perfect setups need to keep some white beads ready
to absorb excess moisture. START off that way and see if they EVER get all clear. I doubt
they ever will unless you re-moisten them.

[44stampede]

I don't use AC in most rooms unless it's the bedrooms and that is not where I keep the cigars.
The beads seem to lose water quite quickly. I think because the temperature around the wine cooler is around 23-24 degrees C so the fan is on quite a bit.

I have a large desk top humidor. Would I be better off using that and just sucking the humidity out of the air?

I imagine Florida to be a similar climate both in temp and humidity. What is the best storage in those conditions?

Thanks