Varying humidity in wineador (cc-300)

[nevernamed]

I'm sure this isn't an uncommon question. I got my humidor last month. I seasoned it with a sponge in a dish with some distilled water.. it sat at about 80% for a week before I took it out. I have since gotten silica beads, which can be trained to maintain whatever I train them to be set for.. When they come they're pretty much clear, and when you spray them down they whiten up. When I first put them in the humidor, I must have over sprayed them as they held close to 80.. I took them out for a day, then it started to hang around 75.. Problem is I get different readings.

The top shelf, has the lowest % (around 68%), a couple shelves down I have the highest humidity sometimes getting up to 73%, and just above my highest drawer (so about 1/3 from the bottom) my humidity reads about 69%.. So for some reason, that middle point reads higher than whats above and below it.. I've tried swapping hygrometers around, no difference. I've opened the humidor and left it unplugged for 12 hours a couple times with the AC on, and it has brought down the average a few points, but I'm still getting a variance in the exact same way between these areas.. It's starting to drive me crazy because I've been very patient with this process, hell, I've been trying to allow it to stabilize and lower it to 65% for 3 weeks now.

So basically my question is.. What do I do?

Also, I have 2 lbs of these beads.. I broke them into 8 4 oz bags. Currently have 3 of the bags on the bottom of the wineador, and distributed the rest among the shelves/drawers.. Is this the right way to be doing this? Should the beads be distributed like this? Or should I have them all at the bottom, or half at the bottom and the other half grouped together higher up? I'm just getting confused. And frustrated, I'm putting off an order of cigars until this thing is stable, but now I'm running out of cigars!

I hope some of the experts here can help me out!

 

[Boudie]

Don't over think it. Install another fan or two. I've also never heard of beads being trained?

 

[nevernamed]

Don't over think it. Install another fan or two. I've also never heard of beads being trained?

yeah they're not set at all. apparently you condition them to hold whatever you want. i assume this is just by how 'wet' you make them, and how the environment is, they'd just more or less regulate..

 

[Boudie]

I don't think that's how they work. They are designed for specific humidities. The instructions should tell what % of beads should be clear. I think you are over hydrating the beads the fan is important to even out the wineador

 

[nevernamed]

s

I don't think that's how they work. They are designed for specific humidities. The instructions should tell what % of beads should be clear. I think you are over hydrating the beads the fan is important to even out the wineador

thats what the seller told me.. they're not pre set, but that you can essentially set them

 

[nevernamed]

I don't think that's how they work. They are designed for specific humidities. The instructions should tell what % of beads should be clear. I think you are over hydrating the beads the fan is important to even out the wineador

i do think over hydrating is an issue. i think i'm close to where i want to be. just trying to figure out how to even it out

 

[Boudie]

Would you post where you got the beads, this is a new one on me.

 

[nevernamed]

canada humidor

 

[Boudie]

There are much better products available that are designed to maintain a specific RH. The beads you have appear to regulate humidity by you removing them when the RH is too high and putting them back in when the RH is too low. A rag soaked in distilled water will do the same thing. Look around for bead systems that will provide a consistent humidity with a lot less work. Boveda, Heartfelt Industries, Cheap Humidors etc, just to name a few, all have better products. You can use what you have but the RH range stated on their site would be too wide for most of us.

 

[mpomario]

I had the same issue in the same unit. I installed cooler guys fans kit with speed regulator and that helped a bit, but I had to vary the fan speed quite a bit to get it close to even. Just gave up and turned them up about a quarter of the way. I have been able to keep a range of 70% to 65% from top to bottom during the summer . If I try to get the top lower, it would cause the bottom to go lower than 64% which is acceptable as I usually move smokes to an on deck glass top I keep at 64% anyway. I will usually try to get the top to 68% and bottom 63%ish. Hope this helps. I use KL btw. About 2 lbs.


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[mpomario]

Oh yeah, I did move one of the fans to the outside on top of the cooling unit to help with the cooling aspect of the unit as I had sent my first unit back because I thought there was something wrong with it not knowing it was doing the best it could. Texas summers are a bitch. You are lucky if you get a 10 degree temp difference between ambient room temp. But, set at 66 degrees it will stay at 68 degrees with the fan on the outside even at an ambient temp of 77-78. It didn't make much difference having one or two fans inside as far and RH distribution or level is why I bring that up.

 

[knw247]

I'm sure this isn't an uncommon question. I got my humidor last month. I seasoned it with a sponge in a dish with some distilled water.. it sat at about 80% for a week before I took it out. I have since gotten silica beads, which can be trained to maintain whatever I train them to be set for.. When they come they're pretty much clear, and when you spray them down they whiten up. When I first put them in the humidor, I must have over sprayed them as they held close to 80.. I took them out for a day, then it started to hang around 75.. Problem is I get different readings.

The top shelf, has the lowest % (around 68%), a couple shelves down I have the highest humidity sometimes getting up to 73%, and just above my highest drawer (so about 1/3 from the bottom) my humidity reads about 69%.. So for some reason, that middle point reads higher than whats above and below it.. I've tried swapping hygrometers around, no difference. I've opened the humidor and left it unplugged for 12 hours a couple times with the AC on, and it has brought down the average a few points, but I'm still getting a variance in the exact same way between these areas.. It's starting to drive me crazy because I've been very patient with this process, hell, I've been trying to allow it to stabilize and lower it to 65% for 3 weeks now.

So basically my question is.. What do I do?

Also, I have 2 lbs of these beads.. I broke them into 8 4 oz bags. Currently have 3 of the bags on the bottom of the wineador, and distributed the rest among the shelves/drawers.. Is this the right way to be doing this? Should the beads be distributed like this? Or should I have them all at the bottom, or half at the bottom and the other half grouped together higher up? I'm just getting confused. And frustrated, I'm putting off an order of cigars until this thing is stable, but now I'm running out of cigars!

I hope some of the experts here can help me out!

This is not only common, it's mandated by science. I see a lot of guys saying they don't have any fluctuation from top to bottom, but in those cases, I'd wager the temp in the room is close to the temp in the unit. Here is the science of what is going on. RH is the reading of relevant Humidity. That means, how much moisture is being held in the air relative to how much moisture the air is capable of holding. That is important to understand. Warmer air is capable of holding more moisture then cooler air. So, if the % of water molecules is constant from top to bottom (as should be the case because of how the diffusion of gasses work). So assuming the amount of moisture is constant from top to bottom, the areas with higher temps (even a few deg) will have a lower RH (because that area has the potential to hold more moisture). The only way to avoid this it to find a way to get the temp constant from top to bottom. Fans help but only moderately.... Soooo to answer your question about what do you do? First, accept that a wide range of RH is acceptable. Set your high tolerance and your low end tolerance. For me, its 62-72. Place some Boveda bags throughout the unit for peace of mind. They will help keep a drawer or box within your limits. I use 65s. Remember, if your not having issues with the way a cigar smokes, your probably ok. Another note: If you have singles with no cello, avoid having them near any direct fan flow. I've found that when you open the door, depending on the temp variance inside and outside the unit, condensation can form. That condensation tends to be focused on any exposed sticks directly in front of those fans. The fix, singles without cello can be placed in other locations, or using empty boxes for these. Good luck.

 

[Fusion555]

A week is no where near long enough to season that unit, now your trying to season it with your beads and they wont do it, put the DW back in for another 2 to 3 weeks, dont take it out until your readings are where you want them. You will always have a top to bottom difference in RH even using fans, as long as its only a small difference dont sweat it.

 

[knw247]

A week is no where near long enough to season that unit, now your trying to season it with your beads and they wont do it, put the DW back in for another 2 to 3 weeks, dont take it out until your readings are where you want them. You will always have a top to bottom difference in RH even using fans, as long as its only a small difference dont sweat it.

I respectfully disagree, The unit is already above the RH he will be shooting for. The plastic cannot be seasoned. To quote @sofc " don't overthink it and Throw the sticks in" I would then add, allow the unit to stabilize. It it settles too dry, add some moisture in the form of a some boveda packs or a shot glass filled with DL. If its too wet, open the door for a few hours and recheck. Also.... and this is very important!!! Never wipe water of any kind directly onto the wood. This is very likely to cause a mold friendly environment.

 

[Fusion555]

Plastic? oh i do apologize, i was under the impression that this unit came with Cedar drawers and shelves. My mistake

 

[nevernamed]

A week is no where near long enough to season that unit, now your trying to season it with your beads and they wont do it, put the DW back in for another 2 to 3 weeks, dont take it out until your readings are where you want them. You will always have a top to bottom difference in RH even using fans, as long as its only a small difference dont sweat it.

i took the sponge out after a week and it held steady at 80% for another 5 days before I introduced the beads

 

[nevernamed]

Plastic? oh i do apologize, i was under the impression that this unit came with Cedar drawers and shelves. My mistake

it does have cedar drawers and shelving but the interior is still majorily plastic

 

[nevernamed]

Oh yeah, I did move one of the fans to the outside on top of the cooling unit to help with the cooling aspect of the unit as I had sent my first unit back because I thought there was something wrong with it not knowing it was doing the best it could. Texas summers are a bitch. You are lucky if you get a 10 degree temp difference between ambient room temp. But, set at 66 degrees it will stay at 68 degrees with the fan on the outside even at an ambient temp of 77-78. It didn't make much difference having one or two fans inside as far and RH distribution or level is why I bring that up.

where I live (toronto), its been pretty decent here, and with the AC on the unit doesn't seem to have to work too hard. it's maintained 65 F fairly effortlessly

 

[mpomario]

where I live (toronto), its been pretty decent here, and with the AC on the unit doesn't seem to have to work too hard. it's maintained 65 F fairly effortlessly

Yeah during the cooler times it barely runs at all.


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[nevernamed]

Do you guys tend to distribute beads evenly, or should all or almost all be at the bottom?