Aristocrat Upgrades

[Sadden]

So the brains died on my aristocrat S&F. Bob was his usual helpfull self and was very apologetic, my unit died 4-6 years before its expected lifespan. So he gave me a super deal on a new controller and I will send my old one back too him so he can see what failed and make improvements for the next generation.

Since I was getting a package anyways I ordered a secondary humidifier but rather than just getting another 1.5qt, I*opted for a XL hurricane 2 humidifier. Bob installed a slightly smaller fan on this one as its a tad large for my humidor. He said more and more people are ordering them like this.

The 1.5qt comes with a 19cfm fan
The Hurricane2 I have has a 35cfm fan installed
The Hurricane2 normally comes with a 120cfm fan

So as the package is enroute it gets detained in customs, spending 10 days in ontario so the CBSA could charge me 25$ for the time lost....

So i figured I would give my Plus48 a good cleaning. I also grabbed some aquarium grade silicone and sealed up the cable passthrough better, as well as one seam that I didnt like the look of.


Bubba finally made it here. 1.5qt clear top vs 4 qt hurricane 2.


Bob included the additional wiring, Im going to run it up the main artery in the back right hand side. I moved the 1.5qt up too the top of the unit and put the H2 at the bottom where the 1.5qt used too be.



Video to come....

[Sadden]

Video here

[elderboy02]

Very cool! I would like to do this to my 48 plus, but the new unit looks too large. Bob is a great guy though!

[CigarNut]

Very cool, Colin!

[markem]

Nice! Nice video as well. Bob is the gold standard.

[Ashcan Bill]

That Hurricane II is massive looking. Did you upgrade because you wanted more water capacity or were you having humidification issues?

My 48 plus is around 10 years old and I imagine someday I'll have to replace at least some of the set & forget system. My controller is the old LCD unit. I'm curious why you went to what appears to be a bigger system. Might be something I'll consider someday.

We typically have single digit humidity out here in the desert yet my 1.5 quart system has always handled the environment fine. If you're planning to run both humidifiers, aren't you concerned you may end up with a tropical rain forest effect?

[Sadden]

That Hurricane II is massive looking. Did you upgrade because you wanted more water capacity or were you having humidification issues?

I wanted more water capacity and faster rebound times. In the winter time I was refilling every 2-3 weeks. Sealed better now with some silicone in a couple spots and some door adjustments. This should quadruple my time between fills.

My 48 plus is around 10 years old and I imagine someday I'll have to replace at least some of the set & forget system. My controller is the old LCD unit. I'm curious why you went to what appears to be a bigger system. Might be something I'll consider someday.

My controller died. Which is why I made an order for additional components in the first place. Bob took good care of me as the controller died 4-6 years before the end of its expected lifespan. I figured since i was changing the controller too a newer model anyways I would add the H2 that I have been eyeballing for a few months now.

We typically have single digit humidity out here in the desert yet my 1.5 quart system has always handled the environment fine. If you're planning to run both humidifiers, aren't you concerned you may end up with a tropical rain forest effect?

Yes I am running both humidifiers simultaneously.

The 1.5qt has never had a problem keeping up, even with our <10% RH winters. This is an unneccassary upgrade for most people. I wanted the additional water capacity and the faster rebound times.

Not concerned with over humidification no. Theres also 14pds of HCM Beads in this humidor. And this new controller responds too RH changes super fast. Between that and the beads I think it will have a hard time overshooting, even if I installed the massive 120cfm fan....

[Ashcan Bill]

Appreciate the info.

[Sadden]

So i have been away from work for 16 days. The day before i left I turned it up the final 2.5% from 65 too 67.5%. Then threw the stash back in.

So after 16 days, raising the RH and getting the stash back too par, here is what the water levels look like. I would say the extra sealing has helped. 16 days would have been 3/4 of a resevoir on the 1.5qt. Even without the added work of raising the RH and reconditioning a couple hundred sticks. Im pleased with the results.





That Sapele though....