Shilala's Perfect Frigidaire Wine Fridge How To

[T.G]

You know what SWAG means, right? I don't put much stock in those ideas, even though I presented them.

Scientific Wild Ass Guess.

[G G]

Originally Posted by T.G

You know what SWAG means, right? I don't put much stock in those ideas, even though I presented them.

Scientific Wild Ass Guess.

It's funny you should ask. I didn't but bing didn't either. It said it means Secretly We Are Gay. I didn't think that's what you meant LOL. THEN I FIGURED IT OUT. SIMPLY WILD A&& guess. In matters pertaining to humis your guess is better than mine.

[G G]

I missed the scientific part in the above post. LOL

[G G]

Okay, so the wife messages me and tells me that the boveda pack came in the mail today. I will have to wait til tomorrow to check the hygrometer with it because I am at work until 8 am in the morning.

I did make a small change. Before I got the temp control I had an awful amount of cendensation that was building up in the drain area. It would build up so much that I had to dry it out every week because if I didn't it would have eventually spilled over. Shilala assured me that when I got the controller that it would have less condensation and it did. With the temp set at 65 and a differential of 5 the temp controller would shut off at 60. With this temp there was still some condensation, not as much as previolusly but enough that I didn't like it. I changed the temp to 67 so that it cuts off now at 62. There is very little condensation if any. With this small change the temps are almost uniform through the interior. It gets up to around 68 or 69 in the bottom where it seems to be warmest with the middle and top being right where it's supposed to be.

I knew how it worked from talking to Shilala. I was kinda surprised how much of a swing in the humidity you observe when it cycles or when the door is opened. The humidity will drop to the high 40s or low 50s when it cycles and it happens very quickly as well as when you open the door. It also rebounds right back up to where it should be very quickly when it cycles off. Shilala says it's perfectly the way it is supposed to work.

I hope Shilala doesn't mind me sharing his text, but here is his words on the subject:

That's exactly what it's supposed to do.
The water in the air collects on the evaporator, which is the back wall.
Then your fans dry that off and return it to the air.
Instantaneous readings really mean nothing.
You want a net aggregate.
If, when it's not running and the back is dry, your rh reading is around what you want it, you're done.
If you want to test that RH point, turn the compressor off.
See what it says after a few hours.
You don't need to do any of this because you already know it's okay, plus you don't have it filled.
In short, you're all good, stud!!!

[shilala]

Now you just gotta fill the thing up.
Like I said, if you don't have enough boxes of cigars, fill it up with something.
Lots of guys use plain old boxes with wadded paper in them.
I think I mentioned I'd go beyond that, but only because you have more than plenty of beads. The paper and boxes is a good idea if a guy needs to hold a bit of extra water vapor, but I don't like chance of a box getting pushed back against the evaporator, getting wet, and molding.

Rubbermaid bowls full of water or sand WITH THE LIDS ON are a great idea. That's a great heat sink that'll help your unit stabilize quickly when it cycles.
That's essentially because once they're to temp, they just stay that way. All you're really cooling is the air.
By filling the unit, you vastly decrease the volume of air you need to cool, effectively decreasing the cycle time AND amount of water that gathers on the evaporator.

I can't stress enough that readings a guy gets when the unit is empty (or mostly empty) are almost worthless. They're useful to predict the final result of the project, but in no way reflect how the unit is going to cycle when it's full. Not even remotely.
But when a guy understands all the things going on, those numbers are a great help in telling if settings and fan direction and amount of beads are close.
I can tell Greg with complete confidence that he's good to go.
All he needs to do is get everything ready for the long haul by filling her up.

This has taken forever, but it's been fun.
Greg mentioned to me that he has about 200 bucks in this unit.
It will last a lifetime, literally. Plus it has tons more space than his previous broken almost new winador.

It's long been said that guys can't use compressor driven units for winadors.
Here's about the 20th one I've taken part in or built myself.
So that little piece of knowledge can be filed with the "woosh test" which is equally wrong.

I sure hope this helps guys along!!!
Thanks for all the help, Adam!!!

[G G]

It has been fun and I say thanks to Shilala for all the answered texts and aggravation I put him through. Also thanks to Adam as well for the messages and pointing me to the right temp controller. Thanks for anyone else that has added to this project.

I would also say that with the vino it was always struggling to keep the temps cool enough in the summer since I live in Florida. With this unit that is no longer a problem at all.

I also think when I get the hygro calibrated I doubt very seriously I will worry about it too much, since we know the efficiency of the beads to be almost perfect I doubt I will have to mess with it for years.

[G G]

Just an update: I got the boveda calibration pack. Put the hygro in it and let it sit for about 30 hours. It was steady at 71, which means it's reading about 4 points low. Took it out of the pack and put it back in the humi. It is reading around 64 or 65, which means my humidity is a little higher than I would like at 69%. I think I will just leave it for now and see what happens as I add more cigars to it, or maybe use a couple of Shilala's ideas to take up space in it. I like this setup tons better than I ever did the vinotemp.

[BigAsh]

Done already?...seems like only 4 months ago that you started this project!!...congrats Double G...lets see some finished pics!

[G G]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

Done already?...seems like only 4 months ago that you started this project!!...congrats Double G...lets see some finished pics!

Keith, since cigars don't fall out of it when I open the door I am hesitant to post pics because someone might think I don't have it full enough. LOL I already posted some and it don't really look any different than the last one's. Just getting the humidity and hygro, and the temp control all dialed in. It has been a long project but it was fun. I always have fun when I am working with Scott, even though it's probably not fun for him.

[G G]

Just a quick update after a couple months.

I haven't filled it up yet although I have a pretty fair amount of cigars in it. As stated above my hygro is reading about 4 points low. It is usually pretty steady at reading around 64 to 66%. Basically it's at 68 to 70% according to the boveda pack I calibrated with. I finally decided I don't care. It's doing great with pretty big swings when the unit cycles, but that's to be expected. It rebounds very quickly when it shuts off. The cigars smoke fine and burn even so I aint stressing worrying about the humidity NO MO. LOL

[G G]

Just figured I would post an update since it has been a while now. This thing is rock solid and never changes. With the temp control the temp is rock solid and the humidity never changes. I don't even pay it much attention anymore since it's so stable. I would definitely recommend going this route if you ever get the chance.

[shilala]

I told ya it'd work.
If anyone has any questions in the future, just pm Greg.
If you need his number, pm me.

[G G]

Originally Posted by shilala

I told ya it'd work.
If anyone has any questions in the future, just pm Greg.
If you need his number, pm me.

haha, I will definately be willing to help. Scott put up with all kinds of stupidry from me and answered all my questions.