Wine Cooler 101

[Tobacco Giant]

my only issue i have been having is that in the top of my edgestar the humidity has jumped to around 74, i took half a pound of the beads from the bottom and put them in the top, and that brought it down to like 70 to 72, but then the bottom dropped to like 63%. Mine seems to run constantly looking to get one of those ETC contollers and do that. Overall i have 2lbs of heartfelt beads, do i need more, just cant seem to get it to hold rock solid...

I'm having the same issue. I've got 1.5 pounds of heartfelt industry humidity beads spaced throughout my unit and the RH is 75% up top, 65% on the bottom.

Have you solved this issue yet? I've read the entire thread and didn't see an update.

 

[twenty5]

I'm having the same issue. I've got 1.5 pounds of heartfelt industry humidity beads spaced throughout my unit and the RH is 75% up top, 65% on the bottom.

Have you solved this issue yet? I've read the entire thread and didn't see an update.

What type of beads do you have?

Do you have any internal fans?

We need a little more info to correct the problem for you.

Without anything though, I would say to make sure your beads (if using heartfelt) are mostly white (dry). You may need to rotate the bags, top to bottom, every so often.

 

[Tobacco Giant]

What type of beads do you have?

Do you have any internal fans?

We need a little more info to correct the problem for you.

Without anything though, I would say to make sure your beads (if using heartfelt) are mostly white (dry). You may need to rotate the bags, top to bottom, every so often.

65% beads. I looked around at all the B&M stores in my area for any leftover Oust fans only to be disappointed, so no internal fans, unfortunately. I was thinking of picking up 1 or 2 off ebay for $13+shipping.

I'll try rotating the beads, maybe even letting a 1/2 pound bag sit out for a couple days and throwing that up top.

Btw, awesome write up about 6 pages back. I'm sure I'll need it some day.

 

[twenty5]

65% beads. I looked around at all the B&M stores in my area for any leftover Oust fans only to be disappointed, so no internal fans, unfortunately. I was thinking of picking up 1 or 2 off ebay for $13+shipping.

I'll try rotating the beads, maybe even letting a 1/2 pound bag sit out for a couple days and throwing that up top.

Btw, awesome write up about 6 pages back. I'm sure I'll need it some day.

If the beads are not mostly white, throw them in the freezer for a day or two to bring the humidity down. Fans are the answer to your problem and an alternative to oust fans are small CPU fans like myself and others use.

 

[Tobacco Giant]

Thanks, twenty5, I threw a half pound of beads in the freezer to help them dry out. I'll keep looking for an Oust fan or may just buy 1 off ebay, I don't think I'm handy enough to throw together one of those CPU fan contrapments

 

[keinreis]

Wanted to stress how much additional fans are. I had no issues keeping mine at a decent temp/ rh when it had lots of room for airflow. Within the last 6 months I have been fighting huge variations from top to bottom. I have beads in every drawer, some on the top, and on the bottom, but until I installed additional fans there seemed to be pockets of low rh.

 

[sonarman]

I am checking this model out, it's advertised as having a temperature controller on it. From your opinion would I need the ETC?


http://www.air-n-water.com/product/AW-280E.htm

To get back to this I purchased the Newair 28 seberal months ago and have had 0 issues with Rh or Temp, no mods other than plugging the drain hole. I can see two sides to an ETC one it cuts down on the run time of the fan and electronics but the other side is the cycling that occurs with power being applied and disconnected which could cause an issue as well. Pick your poison.

 

[c1ark]

I'm in the same boat as you sonarman ... no ETC and no extra fans. Just 2# of beads and a plugged drain hole and she stays rock solid.

 

[twenty5]

To get back to this I purchased the Newair 28 seberal months ago and have had 0 issues with Rh or Temp, no mods other than plugging the drain hole. I can see two sides to an ETC one it cuts down on the run time of the fan and electronics but the other side is the cycling that occurs with power being applied and disconnected which could cause an issue as well. Pick your poison.

Every location will be different, thats with any humidor. There are too many factors (Location, house temp, elevation, etc. etc. etc.) to tell you what will work before you try anything, I think we can only suggest fixes to problems.

For me, with an ETC, I have literally not had to add or remove humidity for almost a year. Not sure I can contribute it soley to the ETC but I think I have the right combination for my location/house combo.

 

[keinreis]

I'm in the same boat as you sonarman ... no ETC and no extra fans. Just 2# of beads and a plugged drain hole and she stays rock solid.

That is exactly how mine was till I jammed it totally full. There is no way for air to circulate to some areas, and I found "dead" pockets with low RH

 

[NCost]

Sounds like a lot of work to me. Just buy an Avallo and be done w/ it. :smokingbo

 

[sonarman]

Every location will be different, thats with any humidor. There are too many factors (Location, house temp, elevation, etc. etc. etc.) to tell you what will work before you try anything, I think we can only suggest fixes to problems.

For me, with an ETC, I have literally not had to add or remove humidity for almost a year. Not sure I can contribute it soley to the ETC but I think I have the right combination for my location/house combo.

That's a good point. Like the advice you gave me to get it and see how the wineador operates. I think that is what people should take from thies before investing $.

 

[keinreis]

Sounds like a lot of work to me. Just buy an Avallo and be done w/ it. :smokingbo

Trust me I would if I could.

 

[Tobacco Giant]

Wanted to stress how much additional fans are. I had no issues keeping mine at a decent temp/ rh when it had lots of room for airflow. Within the last 6 months I have been fighting huge variations from top to bottom. I have beads in every drawer, some on the top, and on the bottom, but until I installed additional fans there seemed to be pockets of low rh.

I still have the big differences in RH from top to bottom, and the RH will be a good 6% lower in the morning than in the evening. I have 1 Oust fan, and I also tried some Bath and Body Works Scent Bugs (same output as an OUst, but it runs all the time) and I'm still having some issues. Still trying to work out some kinks, here.

 

[Mathen]

Bookmarked. Thank you.

 

[OB-Left]

When the unit is running you are always going to have some differences. Colder air at the bottom will show a higher percentage than the warmer air at the top. Due to the warm air's ability to hold more than the cold. Hence the different percentages. Stronger fans will help even out the temp. differences and along with that lessen the humidity diff. also.

 

[Mickeymorris626]

Twenty5, is there a reason you went with a 30mm fan instead of a larger one like an 80mm like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150007&cm_sp=Pers_InterAlsoBought-_-35-150-007_2_PM-_-35-119-047

was it just space related or would the near 10x as much air flow cause some sort of problem or harm to the cigars. the smaller 30mm does 3.7CFM vs the 80mms 31.7

 

[twenty5]

I needed something small. My cooler is filled with trays so the only space is on the bottom (3/4-1" from floor to bottom tray), the top (1 1/2"-2" from top tray to "ceiling" of cooler) and along the back (1" from back wall to rear of trays). I decided to use the small fans in the back to blow air up and down.

 

[Mickeymorris626]

Ah I see. Plus with the 30+CFMs I think I might be worried about a bit too much force. I think I will do the same with the 4 smaller fans. Thanks for the help. This thread helped me get my project up and running

 

[CigarSaint]

twenty5, thanks for the effort put into this thread. I've ordered everything I need to get set-up and will post pictures when I do.