New Large cabinet humidor, humidification suggestions?

[grateful1]

Contact www.habitatmonitor.com

They originally supplied Bob his 'Set and Forgets' (now Bob puts together his own).

I have two end tables, one with the original HM from when Bob sold it and one new one from HM direct. Both work great.

I just got a small add-on fan to help move the air!
They didn't just sell me what I wanted...they actually talked to me.
Very helpful.

Nope...I don't work or schill for them...I'm just a very happy customer.

[Lucky_Hippo]

I have almost the same size cabinet (the Verona) and I use a combination of beads and a lg Hyrda. I keep three lbs of beads spread around and usually only really run my Hydra during the winter time.

I couldn't be happier with the cabinet or the set up. It's worked perfect for two years now.

Enjoy your new Humi, it looks great!

[GoatLocker]

Originally Posted by NotFromHere

The guys at Avallo have some nice systems as well. I know guys with them that are very happy with the performance.

I have the Avallo Accumonitor system, and while it has performed flawlessly, the build quality is terrible. It looks like it was cobbled together in someones garage. Of course, you don't notice it much when the humi is full of cigars.

I gotta agree with NFH, spend a little extra now and you won't regret it later.

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by Lucky_Hippo

I have almost the same size cabinet (the Verona) and I use a combination of beads and a lg Hyrda. I keep three lbs of beads spread around and usually only really run my Hydra during the winter time.

I couldn't be happier with the cabinet or the set up. It's worked perfect for two years now.

Enjoy your new Humi, it looks great!

Same setup in my Tower of Power cabinet. I think I could run the Hydra less if I just fixed the door seal.

[Aero95]

Is that a pull out shelf on the bottom? if so I would just put beads and maybe a fan on a timer switch. I would try and get a set and forget system from Aristocrat Humidors with watersorb crystals but that might be a bit out of your price range. Good luck and have fun!

Originally Posted by aero95

Is that a pull out shelf on the bottom? if so I would just put beads and maybe a fan on a timer switch. I would try and get a set and forget system from Aristocrat Humidors with watersorb crystals but that might be a bit out of your price range. Good luck and have fun!

Yes, there are two pull out drawers that had the old humidifiers with floral foam. I removed them so they are empty right now.

[jdawg]

Really nice cabinet! Great buy!

I've been wanting one for awhile now.

This is RonC from Cigar Solutions, and I would like to comment about the "build quality" of the Avallo Accumonitor.

The Accumonitor is made at the Avallo factory in Nashville, TN. Of all the brands mentioned, it is the only humidifier that is "Made in the USA". Matt from Avallo buys all the plastic cases that house the Accumonitor from another US manufacurer. All the cutting of the cases gets done right at the Avallo shop. Matt does not own any million dollar CNC routers, so cutting does get done by hand. So while the cuts are not as pretty as cuts done in some "Made in China" factory, the ugly cuts are not a negative on its performance.

The Accumonitors engineer lives in Nashville too. So again, you have a designed in the USA product. Matt meets with his engineer in person whenever he feels an improvement might need to be made.

Regarding parts, anyone who has compared an Accumonitor to a "Made in China" system knows that the humidity canister fans are much more powerful than the competitions. The Accumonitor will also power up to 8 fans. This extra capability requires Matt to use more expensive parts. So for about $50 more than one of the larger imported models, you have a system that can humidify a much larger cabinet, and humidify it at a much faster rate.

Regarding construction itself, Matt and 1 other employee make these by hand. They do all the wiring and soldering and assembly. As a result, Matt knows this system inside and out. Troubleshooting for customers is easy. Customization for customers is easy. Even for out of warranty service, Matts knowledge of the parts makes replacements and repairs extremely cheap for his customers. He knows that there are times when just sending a new $20 sensor will fix the problem instead of replacing a whole unit for $200.

Bottom line is there is nobody else out there who engineered, designed, and constructs a "Made in the USA" humidification system. It does not come in a fancy box, it does not have fancy packaging, and it sure aint pretty. But the bottom line is that it is the best system out there, and the price can not be beat.

[captain53]

Ron C - (don't need to quote all that info this soon)

You have made some very good points there (as you usually do) and for sure Made In The U.S.A. carries a lot of value!

Thanks for sharing the info.

[Bubba - NJ]

I have the Hydra LG and got it from the devil site for $96.00 plus shipping . If I could get another for the same price I would pass on it , just doesn't seem to work well enough . I replaced the floral foam after a couple months with water pearls , it has helped but still doesn't work that well . I have 2 extra fans for it running constantly(with one blowing across the unit) because the unit measures the humidity level right at the unit , might be better if RH was measured at the corded remote . The extra fans have to run constantly and that bothers me but it does help the unit to work better . I have a very similar cabinet to yours called the Sentinel . I am happy with the cabinet , just not thrilled with the Hydran LG . You might want to try the Moist n Aire . I'm pretty sure I'll go for the Avallo or the Staebell system when I have the extra coin . As a side note I have about 2 lb's of Heartfelt beads inside and they help immensely . Good luck with your cabinet . I sit in front of mine every day wishing it was warmer , drives me nuts !

[shilala]

Originally Posted by RonC

This is RonC from Cigar Solutions, and I would like to comment about the "build quality" of the Avallo Accumonitor.

The Accumonitor is made at the Avallo factory in Nashville, TN. Of all the brands mentioned, it is the only humidifier that is "Made in the USA". Matt from Avallo buys all the plastic cases that house the Accumonitor from another US manufacurer. All the cutting of the cases gets done right at the Avallo shop. Matt does not own any million dollar CNC routers, so cutting does get done by hand. So while the cuts are not as pretty as cuts done in some "Made in China" factory, the ugly cuts are not a negative on its performance.

The Accumonitors engineer lives in Nashville too. So again, you have a designed in the USA product. Matt meets with his engineer in person whenever he feels an improvement might need to be made.

Regarding parts, anyone who has compared an Accumonitor to a "Made in China" system knows that the humidity canister fans are much more powerful than the competitions. The Accumonitor will also power up to 8 fans. This extra capability requires Matt to use more expensive parts. So for about $50 more than one of the larger imported models, you have a system that can humidify a much larger cabinet, and humidify it at a much faster rate.

Regarding construction itself, Matt and 1 other employee make these by hand. They do all the wiring and soldering and assembly. As a result, Matt knows this system inside and out. Troubleshooting for customers is easy. Customization for customers is easy. Even for out of warranty service, Matts knowledge of the parts makes replacements and repairs extremely cheap for his customers. He knows that there are times when just sending a new $20 sensor will fix the problem instead of replacing a whole unit for $200.

Bottom line is there is nobody else out there who engineered, designed, and constructs a "Made in the USA" humidification system. It does not come in a fancy box, it does not have fancy packaging, and it sure aint pretty. But the bottom line is that it is the best system out there, and the price can not be beat.

I hear ya, brother. I certainly see where you're coming from, too.
There's a lot to be said about pride in craftsmanship, and all the words or excuses in the world aren't going to cover up a lack thereof.
That's not a dig at all, I'm a big fan. It's just a suggestion to do better. There's no reason to settle for "good enough", ESPECIALLY when it's made in the USA.

[OldDirty]

I sure am looking forward to fiddling around with my EZ I just ordered after Ed is done building my new humidor

Originally Posted by RonC

This is RonC from Cigar Solutions, and I would like to comment about the "build quality" of the Avallo Accumonitor.

The Accumonitor is made at the Avallo factory in Nashville, TN. Of all the brands mentioned, it is the only humidifier that is "Made in the USA". Matt from Avallo buys all the plastic cases that house the Accumonitor from another US manufacurer. All the cutting of the cases gets done right at the Avallo shop. Matt does not own any million dollar CNC routers, so cutting does get done by hand. So while the cuts are not as pretty as cuts done in some "Made in China" factory, the ugly cuts are not a negative on its performance.

The Accumonitors engineer lives in Nashville too. So again, you have a designed in the USA product. Matt meets with his engineer in person whenever he feels an improvement might need to be made.

Regarding parts, anyone who has compared an Accumonitor to a "Made in China" system knows that the humidity canister fans are much more powerful than the competitions. The Accumonitor will also power up to 8 fans. This extra capability requires Matt to use more expensive parts. So for about $50 more than one of the larger imported models, you have a system that can humidify a much larger cabinet, and humidify it at a much faster rate.

Regarding construction itself, Matt and 1 other employee make these by hand. They do all the wiring and soldering and assembly. As a result, Matt knows this system inside and out. Troubleshooting for customers is easy. Customization for customers is easy. Even for out of warranty service, Matts knowledge of the parts makes replacements and repairs extremely cheap for his customers. He knows that there are times when just sending a new $20 sensor will fix the problem instead of replacing a whole unit for $200.

Bottom line is there is nobody else out there who engineered, designed, and constructs a "Made in the USA" humidification system. It does not come in a fancy box, it does not have fancy packaging, and it sure aint pretty. But the bottom line is that it is the best system out there, and the price can not be beat.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Since budget is an issue right now, I'm going the cigarmony bead route. I just ordered 3 lbs, to add to my 2 8oz bags I already have. I hope these help, if not I will invest in a good electric to supplement the beads.

My biggest concern is that. Live in Phoenix, and even keeping my old 300ct desktop above 65 rh was a challenge in the summer, we see single digit humidity come July...

Currently the humidor is around 45% and very slowly climbing. When I got the cabinet it was in a garage so I'm sure the cedar was about as dry as it gets. I suspect this will take a week or two to properly season.

Will adding some oust fans help season? Perhaps the airflow will help push the dw I have at the bottom around a bit better?

Thanks again!

-Bill

[captain53]

From my experiences that humi has too much space for Oust Fans to make any difference at all, they move very little air. Suggest you save your money there for a future active unit.

If it has been in a garage in Phoenix then it would probably work best to treat the interior. Wet a new clean sponge with distilled water and wipe down the interior wood wait overnight and do it again then it should come on up easier.

Enjoy!

[beyonder]

Bill,

I picked up a similarly sized cabinet a few months ago and got a lot of input on humidification beforehand as well. Mine is the same size and design as yours except that mine has some rows of small drawers in the middle of the cabinet separating the top portion from the bottom portion.

I got the Hydra LG with mine and, while it worked well for the initial seasoning of the humidor, I ended up going through two units and neither of them worked properly.

I initially had gone with the Hydra and three pounds of beads thinking that the beads would keep it largely stable and the Hydra would provide humidification periodically when the humidity dropped quicker and move air around in the cabinet.

After the problems with the two Hydra units where neither of them worked properly I ended up going with four pounds of beads, two pounds in the upper and two pounds in the lower, and the humidity is completely stable with just beads.

[GoatLocker]

Originally Posted by RonC

This is RonC from Cigar Solutions, and I would like to comment about the "build quality" of the Avallo Accumonitor.

The Accumonitor is made at the Avallo factory in Nashville, TN. Of all the brands mentioned, it is the only humidifier that is "Made in the USA". Matt from Avallo buys all the plastic cases that house the Accumonitor from another US manufacurer. All the cutting of the cases gets done right at the Avallo shop. Matt does not own any million dollar CNC routers, so cutting does get done by hand. So while the cuts are not as pretty as cuts done in some "Made in China" factory, the ugly cuts are not a negative on its performance.

The Accumonitors engineer lives in Nashville too. So again, you have a designed in the USA product. Matt meets with his engineer in person whenever he feels an improvement might need to be made.

Regarding parts, anyone who has compared an Accumonitor to a "Made in China" system knows that the humidity canister fans are much more powerful than the competitions. The Accumonitor will also power up to 8 fans. This extra capability requires Matt to use more expensive parts. So for about $50 more than one of the larger imported models, you have a system that can humidify a much larger cabinet, and humidify it at a much faster rate.

Regarding construction itself, Matt and 1 other employee make these by hand. They do all the wiring and soldering and assembly. As a result, Matt knows this system inside and out. Troubleshooting for customers is easy. Customization for customers is easy. Even for out of warranty service, Matts knowledge of the parts makes replacements and repairs extremely cheap for his customers. He knows that there are times when just sending a new $20 sensor will fix the problem instead of replacing a whole unit for $200.

Bottom line is there is nobody else out there who engineered, designed, and constructs a "Made in the USA" humidification system. It does not come in a fancy box, it does not have fancy packaging, and it sure aint pretty. But the bottom line is that it is the best system out there, and the price can not be beat.

The performance of my Accumonitor has been great. It has been chugging along for over a year without a hiccup. Usually "Made in The USA" and "Hand Made" are indicative of quality workmanship, but there is a lot of room for improvement in the sample I received. I certainly don't want to hijack this thread, and the OP has made his choice. Maybe Matt can take this as constructive criticism and improve his product...

[GoatLocker]

Originally Posted by mrawdtsi

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Since budget is an issue right now, I'm going the cigarmony bead route. I just ordered 3 lbs, to add to my 2 8oz bags I already have. I hope these help, if not I will invest in a good electric to supplement the beads.

My biggest concern is that. Live in Phoenix, and even keeping my old 300ct desktop above 65 rh was a challenge in the summer, we see single digit humidity come July...

Currently the humidor is around 45% and very slowly climbing. When I got the cabinet it was in a garage so I'm sure the cedar was about as dry as it gets. I suspect this will take a week or two to properly season.

Will adding some oust fans help season? Perhaps the airflow will help push the dw I have at the bottom around a bit better?

Thanks again!

-Bill

Like Dave said, that humi is too big for Oust fans. One of the benefits of the electronic systems is most have a fan controller built in to move air around. My Avallo kicks on circulation fans for a few minutes every hour to keep the humidity even throughout the cabinet. If you want to go with beads, you should invest in an electric timer and mount some small fans to do the same in your cabinet. That is what I do in my wine cooler.

[dmatzkin]

I know this is a very old tread but I was wondering if anybody ever used a good standard room humidifier for a large cabinet.

Thank you!

Dan