Extreme Temperature Edgestar Modifications

[kydsid]

DISCLAIMER: This thread is intended for: Those of us that laugh when someone posts “I don’t have my vino plugged in all the time.”, those of us who would need a jacket if we kept the house at 70, those of us who put away a small amount a money each month to buy another vino next year to replace the one we have when it dies due to overwork. In other words if it hasn’t been over 110 in the last month where you live and you had no idea that the weather service puts out heat index advisories then it probably isn’t for you but you might enjoy it anyways. Or this might be for those of you with an Edgestar wanting to see how I modified it as it is different from a Vino




FORWARD: I began smoking cigars in 1998 ago but only started keeping a humidor in 2003 while living in Alaska. Temperature wasn’t an issue, at least for storage, as baseboard water heaters and a boiler are really efficient even at -20F. After moving back to the Texas border I knew heat would be an issue and started looking for an answer, enter the Vino. As the Vino’s were expensive I went with an EdgeStar TWR282S which is nearly the same in size to the classic 28 bottle Vino.







BACKGROUND: My house varies in the day from 85 degrees to 78 while home. This is simply unavoidable unless I want a $400 electric bill as the outside temperature is over 100 since early June. I do keep the Edgestar in the most interior and therefore coolest room to avoid portions of the house that go above 85 in the day.




TESTING: I used open cedar shelves from various humidors with some boxes in the vino. I tried a combination of beads and hydra. With the Hydra and up to 2lbs of beads and an open drain humidity varied between 49% and 79% with top and bottom readings within 3-5% of each other. Up to three fans were used plugged into the hydra expansion to even out the humidity but did not help change the swings. Water was required to be added to the hydra every day and would collect in the drain tray. In fact I found that I could pour the contents of the drain right back into the hydra to fill it up. Three pounds of beads were used with an open drain and again rH varied from 52% to 64%. Water condensation in the drain continued and constant maintenance to the beads needed. After the drain was plugged the hydra continued to see rH swings from 54% to 72%. Finally three pounds of beads were added with it stabilizing at 58% to 65%. Water continued to collect at the bottom of the Edgestar however and a MacGyver solution was required. With the mods and two pounds of beads, the extra pound provides no benefit; the rH at 85F room temp is 61 to 63% and will stabilize and maintain 65% at 78F all day long.



TO PLUG OR NOT: After attempting to keep the rH constant I say plug it. As you can see in the pic the Edgestar has a train in the middle of the back. Conveniently the drain is threaded and a nice 5/16”-18 Acorn nut with some plumbers ptfe tape does it quite well.







MODS: The Edgestar doesn’t have the S drain. The cooling unit drips to a collection point on the back wall and into the drain assembly. Due to the temperature variations and the fact the unit is always on due to the amount of temp difference condensation is unavoidable. So a pound of beads at the bottom in an aluminum pie tin with a tape ramp for water drips. A fan is powered by the source of a hydra and is always on to dry out the excess water dripping into the pie tin. This also provides enough circulation to dry out the bottom of the Edgestar. Next while awaiting ChasDen’s shelves I MacGyver’d some stackable trays from the universal French store with a bulls eye logo to put my singles in and reduce the effects of humidity swings on those sticks. Another pound of beads is divided in four bags, two at the top and two sort of in the middle.