#4 I kept all my humidity material in (Pound of beads and 2 Xikar bricks both 70%). I added 3pc- 75% boveda bags and put a small tray with a sponge and DW in. I waited 3 days till it measured 75% for about 18 hours.
#7 I have it set at the highest setting (66 degrees) and on the hottest days 100+ outside and 80+ inside when I got home before AC was turned on it kept it about 72-73 degrees inside the winador and rarely if ever shut off. Although soon I expect the seasonal change will allow it to shut off some if not most of the time.
#8 I have seen intermittent condensation once or twice a very small amount at the back bottom of the machine but up to this point it has not really been a problem. Although I would like to know why it has only happened a couple times.
OK, here's what I think.
1. Your wood wasn't seasoned enough initially. Getting to 75% just means the ambient rH inside the wineador hit 75%, it doesn't mean the wood was saturated. Once the wood was saturated, and the bovedas were saturated, the rH should continue to rise as the bowl of water continues to saturate the air inside. My guess is that the Bovedas and sponge were releasing rH at a faster pace than the wood was absorbing, causing the ambient rH to climb to 75% and stay there. As the wood slowly drank, the sponge put off more rH, and the Bovedas regulated, causing the rH to stablize at 75% even though your wood was still thirsty.
2. The constant running of the fan and cooling unit is messing with your rH. If you turn off the fan unit and let it sit for 24-48 hours, I'm willing to be dollars to donuts you'll see a major spike in rH. I know thermoelectric coolers are touted as not affecting rH, but in my opinion they do, especially if there's a large difference between the temp setting and the exterior temperature. When the units are running constantly, it does something inside that causes the hygrometers to read a much lower rH. I don't know if the movement of air causes it, or if the condensation occurs in such a way that the wood hold on to the ambient rH, or what, but it happens. I stopped using the cooling fans on both my wineadors because of this, and just try to keep the house a little cooler.
Try turning off the fan and seeing what happens, and let me know. As I said, based on how much water you've added, I'm willing to bet you see an rH spike show.
Finally, I'd highly recommend you drop the overall rH down to 65%. 70% has always given me too wet a smoke, causing a harsher smoke with a wonky burn. Dropping to 65% cured a lot, and I've found 62% is really where I prefer almost everything.
Cheers,
-Derek
