Vinotemp Runs Constantly

Alright, so I went out and bought silicone putty and i plugged the hole completely and put a small silica sheet over the drain and rested a bag of beads over the drain to collect condensating water. The humidity is 65% in the middle of the humi but its sitting still at 57% on the bottom of the humi. I know humidity rises so its possible that over time the whole humi will aclimate to 65% rH. The one thing I did notice was that the temperature was real low when I woke up this morning... 60 degrees... I think the fact that i plugged the drain air tight helped keep in the temperature. Hopefully humidity will be locked in the same. I have about 2 and half beads in there all of which are located on the bottom of the humi and I have a cigar oasis running on the top shelf near the cooling fan. When I get home tonight i'll give another update as to the status of the humi.

Thanks again for all your help guys.

[rack04]

I have the opposite results in my Vinotemp. My Vinotemp runs constantly but I have a problem keeping the humidity down. It probably has something to do with the ambient relative humidity. One thing to be sure of is that you are reading the humidity inside of the cigar boxes. If not, you are getting skewed readings due to the humidity swings in the Vinotemp. Well, this assumes that you store your cigars in boxes. At times I have reported humidity inside the Vinotemp at 74% but inside of cigar boxes the reading is 67%. Right now mine holds true to 64% top and 67% bottom.

I would say 80% of my stogies are in drawers... I have about 4 or 5 boxes on the shelves currently... I just like to see my sticks in the nude. Also, I have noticed that putting them in drawers gives me more space. It has been relatively humid in NYC lately... When I open the door to my humi the humidity shoots up real quick indicating this fact.

My friend in Indiana has the same problem that you have... He has trouble keeping his humidity down. But he put his wine cooler in the basement where its cool and humid so it makes sense. I am feeling pretty good about the drain plugging. The way i have everything set up now no water should be pooling at the bottom. The beads should collect everything. I also have a few fans to get things circulating.

[BORIStheBLADE]

You mentioned that you have AC in your apartment?

Originally Posted by BORIStheBLADE

You mentioned that you have AC in your apartment?

I do have an AC unit in my apartment but i only keep it on when i sleep at night... I turn it off when i go to work to avoide ridiculous energy bills... I spend enough money on stogies as is... added untilities are not need haha

[BORIStheBLADE]

Originally Posted by Golfman

I do have an AC unit in my apartment but i only keep it on when i sleep at night... I turn it off when i go to work to avoide ridiculous energy bills... I spend enough money on stogies as is... added untilities are not need haha

Did you think about having it set on a reasonable temp to help keep the vino from cycling too much in the day? Is it one of those ones that go in the window?

You don't have to keep the room at 72F, but maybe low 80's?? Its a thought.

1) You have a low end product from some Chinese sweat shop. Based solely on periodic, competitive bids, Vinotemp will change providers routinely. (and we all know the level of quality control China enforces.) Any number of "brand names" are produced by the same manufacturers of small appliances and modified dorm refrigerators.

2) Thermoelectric cooling is based on TD (temperature differential) and, therefore, by definition will function differently depending upon the environment in which it's placed). As temperatures - and the humidity levels RELATIVE to that temperature vary, so will the interior conditions.

Cheap equipment, combined with inappropriate "technolgy" = crap shoot. The nature of mechanical systems and Mother Nature are such that there are no exact answers to performance issues, absent extensive analysis in a controlled environment, combined with extensive knowledge of the Laws of Physics. Obvioulsy such isn't feasible / practical for most people.

3) Whenever "warm meets cool" there will be condensation. More than likely, the enclosure is not airtight, thus the excess rH is being manifested by excess condensation.

4) Thermoelectric is totally inappropriate "technology" for cigar storage. Neither temperature, nor rH can be accurately controlled other than bychance.

Even and active, compressor-driven, Vinotemp (or whatever marketing label any other importer may apply) "humidor" remains an under-engineered, questionably effective, dorm refrigerator.

5) Any "off the shelf", inexpensive hygrometer will require re-calibration on a regular (2 - 3 weeks) in order to maintain any semblance of accuracy. The only means by which to accurately monitor RELATIVE humidity is with a quality sling psychrometer.

6) I have a small collection of stogies .... passively stored in a nice box with a sponge @ ~ 72 degrees (household temp). Even if I forget to wet the reservoir for a week or 2, the cigars have always come back and I've not seen a single beetles in the past 10 years.

Apologies for any typos .... Long ashes to everyone!

Marcus

[tuxpuff]

I have mine in a room that stays in the low 80'sF and it does a good job of holding humidity. I have found that I need to keep the boxes away from the back of the unit. When they were jammed up against the back I would get condensation.

So as an update, I re-arranged my humi after plugging the drain air and water tight with caulk. I placed all my cigar trays on the bottom and I put a cigar oasis in one of them. It is interesting because the tray right above the cigar oasis reads 55%rH but the cigar oasis itself is reading around 66%rH. How is that possible? In less than a centimeter rH is different by 10%?

The top shelves, where i have some boxes resting, are holding constant at around 63%rH which is perfect for me. The temp has been very stable ranging from 64 degrees when the AC is on and I am home to 72 degrees when the AC is off and I am not home. I have two pounds of beads on the bottom of the humi with a small fan up against the wall to get some circulation going.

I feel like i am inches away from a care free humidor but I just cant quite get the trays to 65%rH... I am not quite sure how to fix that aspect.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Golfman

I feel like i am inches away from a care free humidor but I just cant quite get the trays to 65%rH... I am not quite sure how to fix that aspect.

Patience.

One other thing I saw, you has beads laying in the puddle soaking up water. That's the absolute worst thing you could possibly do.
It's a mold problem, and it is a great destabilizer of humidity.
If you have puddling, use a computer fan, point it at the puddle area, and let it evaporate the water and return it to the air.
The cigars, wood, and beads will readsorb that water, and you'll have a nice thing going.

Originally Posted by shilala

Patience.

One other thing I saw, you has beads laying in the puddle soaking up water. That's the absolute worst thing you could possibly do.
It's a mold problem, and it is a great destabilizer of humidity.
If you have puddling, use a computer fan, point it at the puddle area, and let it evaporate the water and return it to the air.
The cigars, wood, and beads will readsorb that water, and you'll have a nice thing going.

I thought the beads would absorb the water and disperse it that way? I actually havent checked the bottom of my humi since sealing the drain so I dont know if water is pooling down there or not but I would assume so. When I get home today I'll take a look and see what the deal is and turn the fan around if there is pooling.

[captain53]

One problem from my experience is that Cigar Oasis, they are not dependable and because they actively spray mist (be it very very light and thin it is still mist) the hygro does not read from anywhere but the immediate area. I have an Edgestar 28 (I agree with MarcusWheat, they are all low bid chinese built) and the temp holds a steady 65-67 but I have been working on the humidity. I think I am close now but have gone up 1/2 pound at a time on beads from 1.5 pounds to now using 2.5 pounds. I live in a moderate humidity climate. I am using Scott's beads, I really like his containment system on them. Following his instructions I have raised them to maintaining 68% so as not to get too low with the swings that are a part of wine cooler humis and 2 Oust fans also but not sure how much good they do with such limited volume. When I open the door it shoots up to 70-71% but simmers back down in only a few minutes. I am using It is a hit and miss process to find what works in your situation, one problem I have never had is high humidity levels.

Just be patient with it and keep experimenting. Also most people seem to load the bottom of the cooler with beads. Water sinks in air so doing this does not make a lot of fundamental weather sense. I have moved 1/2 pound bead bags around and found best results with one at each level top to bottom. Trial and Error.