Vinodor Question

[area51]

As some of you may or may not know I recently bought a vino and have been storing my humidor in it because of the summers here. Like every BOTL I know, bigger is always better so im looking to expand. I have a 34 bottle vino but it is compressor not thermo-electric...I know I know. Now here is my hold up. I could

A. Buy another 100 count humidor and shove it in there
B. Buy the beads and completly convert the whole cooler as many do.

I know compressor vinos are usually frowned upon because of the RH swings but I have monitored it the past couple days and it likes to sit right at 55% rh, so I'm not really seeing any swings.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do?

[Drez]

How bot does it get in the house during the day?

What temp is the vino holding at at the warmest setting?

What do you have in it right now?

What are you using for humidity currently (beads?)

One of my vino's is also compressor driven but I do not plug it in. It will never get warmer than 73 degrees where I have it. Depending on how hot your house and vino get i would just unplug it and use all the available space. In the long term if you are serious about having alot if stock then I would either

A. Snag up a thermo electric unit (open bid or scratch and dent)

Or

B. Buy a cooler and save the money for more sticks

If the house gets too hot and you "need" to cool your smokes then invest in the thermo electric unit. It's one of those things that you are scared to pull the trigger cause of cost but once you do you will never regret it!!! I guarantee it!!!

[area51]

Yeah the house gets to hot to keep it unplugged.

The vino holds 63 at its warmest setting with an rh of 55% with no beads. Its doesn't fluctuate much if at all, that's why im thinking off pulling the full convert.

[Drez]

Originally Posted by area51

Yeah the house gets to hot to keep it unplugged.

The vino holds 63 at its warmest setting with an rh of 55% with no beads. Its doesn't fluctuate much if at all, that's why im thinking off pulling the full convert.

i know of guys who have done it. i would order the beads and see where your at then. if it hold humidity and the sticks smokes good then

[area51]

I guess what my main question is, is since it holds steady at 55% with no beads do you think it would hold a steady 65% with beads. I know compressor units are notorious with rh swings but so far Im not experiencing any and I wanna be sure before I drop 60 dollars on beads.

[area51]

Originally Posted by Drez

i know of guys who have done it. i would order the beads and see where your at then. if it hold humidity and the sticks smokes good then

I appreciate the responses, and that you agree brother. I'll have to see how this unfolds.

[Drez]

does the hygro you have in there now measure the high and low and is it calibrated. there is no way of saying that it will work or wont. remember if you put enough beads in it it will cut back the recovery time/swings but will more than likely not eliminate it. you could also look into getting a johnson control so that you can have it set for say 70 degrees and it will run less often.

[area51]

Yeah it does the high I saw was 59 and the low being 55 again W/O beads. I guess I'm just going to have to try it and see what happens.

[Drez]

Originally Posted by area51

Yeah it does the high I saw was 59 and the low being 55 again W/O beads. I guess I'm just going to have to try it and see what happens.

[688sonarmen]

I think adding beads or a humidification device is what would cause the large swings. Since there is little humidity in the fridge it stays at 55%. Now if you could get it to stay at a temp the whole time your RH should stay constant. Anytime temp goes up or down the RH will shift as well, so when that compressor kicks on I would imagine it's a blast of way colder air than whats in the vino, the thermostat regulates how long to cool to get the desired temp and not an adjusted cooling setting. Does that make any sense? So maybe buying a hydrometer that has high and low points in a 24hr period might be the first step to accurately tell if you are having swings. It took 6 years in Va summers for beetles to hatch for me. After that happened I rushed and got a wine cooler (newair) off ebay for 170$, then bit the bullet and froze my stash. After that I really did not need the wine cooler but the extra space helps And had zero issues with my frozen sticks. I would recommend freezing what you have or buying a wine cooler

[area51]

I think I may just go the humidor route when the time comes after all. Put two more 200 count humidors in there with thir own bead tubes and call it a day. I figure the pricing will probably be the same as if I were to get shelves. Thanks for all the input guys.

[Brutus2600]

With my thermo unit I still saw swings in RH even with beads until I got my chasidor drawers/shelves in there. Do the full convert if it's steady at 55% right now. The drawers/shelves/boxes/beads will only help to keep it more steady IMO.

[area51]

I honestly don't want to risk it. When the time comes I'm going to just make a coolerdor wineador haha. I'm just gonna throw some airtight containers in there with some beads that way the compressor just chills it and doesnt mess with my RH.