Question for current Aristocrat THC owners.

[Infinity]

No doubt Bob is good people. His quality and service is exceptional.

I have a question for you Aristocrat owners though and would ask if you could do a test to answer this question.

The Aristocrat comes with an hygrometer fitted in the middle of the unit. I added two extra hygrometers, one
on the top and one at the bottom. I also added sufficient beads, I think 1.5 pounds of 65% RH, placed all over the unit. Mine
is the larger Aristocrat with 2 Peltier fans.

My unit's RH is not the same, top, middle and bottom. The top is always lower, then the bottom and the middle is
the highest. This is not about my hygrometers, I have good one's and they have have been tested as well as swapped
around to ensure my readings are correct.

As mentioned, the top (drawers) is always 3 to 5 degrees lower than the middle. At times it may drop a little lower and I will
add some distilled water to the bag of beads I have in that section. The lower RH is no big deal as I do store loose ISOM sticks
in that section so around 60% RH is fine.

I have a 180 box humidor that never changes RH from top to bottom. It also has 4 pounds of Viper's 65% beads in bags placed around the cabinet.

My question is... have any of you experienced this? If you only use the center hygrometer, please place hygrometers on the top and bottom
then measure to see if there is any discrepancy. If several of you do this my question will be answered.

Thanks.

Brian

 

[Mark Twain]

I wish I could afford an aristocrat, but I like the cabinet I retrofitted.

I’ve noticed this issue of lower RH on top and higher RH on the bottom. I think it varies in my cabinet by 3-5%. I put in an Oust circulation fan and this helped, but the RH still reads higher toward the bottom.

I’ve been told that humidity naturally settles to the bottom and that fans can fight this process to a point, but I have no clue to how much they should stabilize humidity in a cabinet.

 

[BlindedByScience]

The shape of your cabinet will matter a lot; I'd guess that tall, vertical cabinets will have more top to bottom variation than one with a closer to square aspect ratio.

I'll bet the amount of cigars that you have in the cabinet makes a difference as well. Being very hygroscopic, I'll bet they retain moisture and actually help equalize the humidity.

I'm also sure that a couple of points, top to bottom, won't matter at all......

Regards - B.B.S.

 

[Infinity]

The shape of your cabinet will matter a lot; I'd guess that tall, vertical cabinets will have more top to bottom variation than one with a closer to square aspect ratio.

I'll bet the amount of cigars that you have in the cabinet makes a difference as well. Being very hygroscopic, I'll bet they retain moisture and actually help equalize the humidity.

I'm also sure that a couple of points, top to bottom, won't matter at all......

Regards - B.B.S.

Good point - thanks!


There are several guys here that have the same and/or similar size to my Aristocrat, just like to hear what they have to say. I think that 5 to 6 % difference from middle to
top, which is not a large space, is a little high.

Brian

 

[grateful1]

No doubt Bob is good people. His quality and service is exceptional.

I have a question for you Aristocrat owners though and would ask if you could do a test to answer this question.

The Aristocrat comes with an hygrometer fitted in the middle of the unit. I added two extra hygrometers, one
on the top and one at the bottom. I also added sufficient beads, I think 1.5 pounds of 65% RH, placed all over the unit. Mine
is the larger Aristocrat with 2 Peltier fans.

My unit's RH is not the same, top, middle and bottom. The top is always lower, then the bottom and the middle is
the highest. This is not about my hygrometers, I have good one's and they have have been tested as well as swapped
around to ensure my readings are correct.

As mentioned, the top (drawers) is always 3 to 5 degrees lower than the middle. At times it may drop a little lower and I will
add some distilled water to the bag of beads I have in that section. The lower RH is no big deal as I do store loose ISOM sticks
in that section so around 60% RH is fine.

I have a 180 box humidor that never changes RH from top to bottom. It also has 4 pounds of Viper's 65% beads in bags placed around the cabinet.

My question is... have any of you experienced this? If you only use the center hygrometer, please place hygrometers on the top and bottom
then measure to see if there is any discrepancy. If several of you do this my question will be answered.

Thanks.

Brian

My kitchen is smaller than that friggin' humi!


...and my Aristocrat runs pretty spot-on!

Why would you use beads in a humi that contains a humidification unit?

 

[Infinity]

My kitchen is smaller than that friggin' humi!


...and my Aristocrat runs pretty spot-on!

Why would you use beads in a humi that contains a humidification unit?

The beads are put in dry, they help to stabilize the humidor at the required RH. Viper, who manufactures humi's will tell you the same thing.
As I said, my 180 count humi runs at 65% top to bottom. B.B.S makes a good point about the shape of the cabinet as well as the quantity of cigars.

Gary, have you put a hygrometer top, middle, bottom and left them in there for a couple of hours to make such a definitive statement? The point I am
making is that the middle hygrometer, pre-set by BoB, is not the reading for the entire cabinet.

Brian

 

[grateful1]

My kitchen is smaller than that friggin' humi!


...and my Aristocrat runs pretty spot-on!

Why would you use beads in a humi that contains a humidification unit?

The beads are put in dry, they help to stabilize the humidor at the required RH. Viper, who manufactures humi's will tell you the same thing.
As I said, my 180 count humi runs at 65% top to bottom. B.B.S makes a good point about the shape of the cabinet as well as the quantity of cigars.

Gary, have you put a hygrometer top, middle, bottom and left them in there for a couple of hours to make such a definitive statement? The point I am
making is that the middle hygrometer, pre-set by BoB, is not the reading for the entire cabinet.

Brian

Yes...I put in 2 others...they are within 1-2%. I pulled the middle(only tray) forward an inch and have the fan/H2O unit on the bottom - in the back. This, I believe, allows for circular flow in the humi. Heck - I'll change some out and try again....it could be more off than I think.

 

[LouieD]

My kitchen is smaller than that friggin' humi!


...and my Aristocrat runs pretty spot-on!

Why would you use beads in a humi that contains a humidification unit?

The beads are put in dry, they help to stabilize the humidor at the required RH. Viper, who manufactures humi's will tell you the same thing.
As I said, my 180 count humi runs at 65% top to bottom. B.B.S makes a good point about the shape of the cabinet as well as the quantity of cigars.

Gary, have you put a hygrometer top, middle, bottom and left them in there for a couple of hours to make such a definitive statement? The point I am
making is that the middle hygrometer, pre-set by BoB, is not the reading for the entire cabinet.

Brian

Yes...I put in 2 others...they are within 1-2%. I pulled the middle(only tray) forward an inch and have the fan/H2O unit on the bottom - in the back. This, I believe, allows for circular flow in the humi. Heck - I'll change some out and try again....it could be more off than I think.

OK...I'll start my test tonight. I have a small digital RH unit that I will put in several places in my M Plus THC. Give you a report in a couple days.

Lou

 

[smokelaw1]

I have roughly 2-3 pounds of beads in my Aristocrat. The top shelf is exactly 4 % lower than the bottom.

SO now I answered your g-damned question...happy?

 

[Infinity]

I have roughly 2-3 pounds of beads in my Aristocrat. The top shelf is exactly 4 % lower than the bottom.

SO now I answered your g-damned question...happy?

Thanks Josh, you are so sweet :love:

Ok, so it's not only my unit. My top shelf fluctuates between 4 and 6%. I have 2 Peltier fans, if I remember correctly, you have one.
A good humi should not do this IMHO.

Brian

 

[tone-ny]

Brian where is your cabinet located? Are there vents near the unit and at what level?

 

[grateful1]

Good point Brian....I think we may want to ask Bob about this and see what may or may not be solutions.
or
If that's just the way RH works?

 

[Infinity]

Brian where is your cabinet located? Are there vents near the unit and at what level?

It's in a well ventilated room which is constantly at 70% ambient. In summer I run my air con, this keeps
the temp constant. As I mentioned, my large humidor stands alongside, has no fan and runs like a dream,
65%. I have had the Aristocrat for almost a year, it has done this from the outset. It's not just the top, the middle
and bottom are also different.

Brian