I was wondering when would one need to go with it? Is it the size of the humidor or the amount of sticks? I guess both go hand in hand, but I was curious.
thanks
thanks
I have one pound of beads in my Vinotemp and it has held steady a 66% for three months.I have a cigar oasis XL+ in my 28 bottle wine cooler which is crazy full...I use it because I had 1.5 lbs of 65% beads and it just wouldn't get over 60%, even recharging the beads every week or so. My house stays around 78º and 45% RH normally in the summer, so with my cooler set to 68º (with a Ranco ETC) the wine cooler kicks on pretty frequently, which I guess sucks out humidity.
With the cigar oasis and beads, I hold 65% and 68º perfectly.
I use active in my 120 qt coolers (CO & Hydra) mainly for the ease of use. I never had much luck with beads/KL alone but use them in my desktops with great results. I keep about a 1/2 lb in each cooler mainly to be seasoned for my desktop humidors.
I've modified the Set n Forget, CO & Hydra's to use Super Absobant Polymers instead of wicks and/or florist foam. This works well for me and I don't worry about over/under humidified cigars.
How big a space are you trying to humidify and how well does it seal, an XL should work well in any cooler or wine cooler. They seem to struggle in the larger made in China cabinet humidors. Beads/KL should help regulate humidity but imho it takes too many lbs to do more than a 50qt cooler alone.
Well since we live in the same part of the country, and have the same wine cooler, and have the same household conditions and same outside weather, it makes sense that we'd have the same humidity problems.I just guess I'll have to go with the beads also. Sheep told me the XL alone wouldn't be enough and like most things he says, he was right. I have my XL set at 71rh and can't seem to keep it above 63-64rh. My house temp and rh are the same as Sheep's so there's another 34 bucks. :dunno:
Well since we live in the same part of the country, and have the same wine cooler, and have the same household conditions and same outside weather, it makes sense that we'd have the same humidity problems.
It also goes to show that the answer to the original question really is "size and environmental conditions" like everyone has been saying.
:waving:
In theory that should be the case but in practice it seems the outside rh does effect the outcome.Condition wise all you guys are talking about is temp right? because outside humidity shouldn't matter since the wine coolers are sealed right?
In theory yes.. however in practice you're bound to open it from time to time and have it filled with boxes of cigars. So the cigars absorb humidity and there are major humidity swings every time you open the cooler so the outside humidity interacts with your ambient conditions and after your done and close the door the humidity needs replacement how much your ambient environment changes when you open the door depends on the conditions of your house.Condition wise all you guys are talking about is temp right? because outside humidity shouldn't matter since the wine coolers are sealed right?
So seal up the drain hole.Actually, the outside RH does seem to matter--possibly because my wine cooler isn't 100% sealed due to the drain hole? <shrug> I dunno.
So seal up the drain hole.
I ran two wires through the drain hole of my vino and connected a PC fan to a DC converter wall plug which is plugged into a timer.
I then sealed up the drain hole with some electrical tape.
The fan runs once per hour. I have 2 lbs of beads and my Vino has been rock solid AT 67.5* and 65% RH sicne the day I fired it up.
I waited a week to let my cedar trays and shelves to acclimate and then moved all my sticks into it
Glorious.
I keep the beads in a nylon bag near the drain hole in case of condensation. They will suck it up. None so far and my house is at 74-5* 45% RH.
Trust me, seal up the drain hole and you will keep your RH much more stable.
So seal up the drain hole.
I ran two wires through the drain hole of my vino and connected a PC fan to a DC converter wall plug which is plugged into a timer.
I then sealed up the drain hole with some electrical tape.
The fan runs once per hour. I have 2 lbs of beads and my Vino has been rock solid AT 67.5* and 65% RH sicne the day I fired it up.
I waited a week to let my cedar trays and shelves to acclimate and then moved all my sticks into it
Glorious.
I keep the beads in a nylon bag near the drain hole in case of condensation. They will suck it up. None so far and my house is at 74-5* 45% RH.
Trust me, seal up the drain hole and you will keep your RH much more stable.