So I thought I'd add some more control and monitoring to my wineador, and since I'm on vacation what better time to go completely overboard on a project. Here is a list of the new mods I've installed. Hopefully I can get some pics up tomorrow when the lighting in my media room is better. I go away for work for months at a time (dirty roadie) so I wanted to design a system that would almost take care of itself. This way the wife won't have to check on it or do to much to keep everything where I want it.
Heating and Cooling:
I picked up an STC-1000 thermostat controller for the "brain" side of this. I've heard a bunch of people talk about using an ETC and i figured I'd use this one as it does heating and cooling. The cooling side is covered by the thermoelectric cooler that is in the Newair 281e. The room it's in can get a bit on the cold side in the winter, especially while I'm out on tour and not running most of the electronics that usually make it the warmest room in the house so I wanted to install some sort of heating element in the Newair to keep temps as constant as I could at 65F. I picked up a under tank heating pad, the small size, and mounted it on a pane of glass a little larger than the pad itself. Then used the rubber feet it cam with on the pane so it doesn't sit right on the floor of the Newair. This is controlled by the heating side of the STC-1000. With this setup my stash will stay at 65F with a 1 degree variance in either direction.
Humidification :
I use 2 1/2 pounds of heartfelt 65rh beads in the unit as well as some 65rh Boveda packs. I also picked up a WH-8040 humidistat that will turn on a modified Humidicare electronic humidification unit when the RH in the box falls below 60rh, reintroducing moisture into the beads and packs. Hopefully this will keep the system at the desired rh for longer.
Monitoring:
I installed a La Crosse Alert system in the box. This system will let me monitor both temp and rh from the internet and my iphone and ipad while away from home. It will also send me an alert via email and text when temps go above or below what I have set, and it will also do this for rh as well. It also works as a data logger so I can see how the system performs over time and make adjustments accordingly.
Everything is wired, tested, and mounted in a project box that sits on top of the Newair. Currently the aquarium sealant is curing overnight to make sure no odor stays in the box. The cigars, drawers, and shelves are all resting comfortably in a temporary tupperdore and should go back in tomorrow. So far I'm really pleased with the way it all came out. Now to get it all dialed in!
Sorry for the long post but I'm pretty proud of this project! And yes I named the wineador Hal.
Heating and Cooling:
I picked up an STC-1000 thermostat controller for the "brain" side of this. I've heard a bunch of people talk about using an ETC and i figured I'd use this one as it does heating and cooling. The cooling side is covered by the thermoelectric cooler that is in the Newair 281e. The room it's in can get a bit on the cold side in the winter, especially while I'm out on tour and not running most of the electronics that usually make it the warmest room in the house so I wanted to install some sort of heating element in the Newair to keep temps as constant as I could at 65F. I picked up a under tank heating pad, the small size, and mounted it on a pane of glass a little larger than the pad itself. Then used the rubber feet it cam with on the pane so it doesn't sit right on the floor of the Newair. This is controlled by the heating side of the STC-1000. With this setup my stash will stay at 65F with a 1 degree variance in either direction.
Humidification :
I use 2 1/2 pounds of heartfelt 65rh beads in the unit as well as some 65rh Boveda packs. I also picked up a WH-8040 humidistat that will turn on a modified Humidicare electronic humidification unit when the RH in the box falls below 60rh, reintroducing moisture into the beads and packs. Hopefully this will keep the system at the desired rh for longer.
Monitoring:
I installed a La Crosse Alert system in the box. This system will let me monitor both temp and rh from the internet and my iphone and ipad while away from home. It will also send me an alert via email and text when temps go above or below what I have set, and it will also do this for rh as well. It also works as a data logger so I can see how the system performs over time and make adjustments accordingly.
Everything is wired, tested, and mounted in a project box that sits on top of the Newair. Currently the aquarium sealant is curing overnight to make sure no odor stays in the box. The cigars, drawers, and shelves are all resting comfortably in a temporary tupperdore and should go back in tomorrow. So far I'm really pleased with the way it all came out. Now to get it all dialed in!
Sorry for the long post but I'm pretty proud of this project! And yes I named the wineador Hal.
