My Wineador setup *update*

[CigarSeeker]

Just wanted to thank everyone with their help, advice, and opinion. I started earlier yesterday on my Wineador project. So far it's a success. I thought I'd share a small write up and some pictures incase anyone ever needs this.

I'm using a whynter CHC-251s 2.5 cubic ft cigar cooler. Also, I went with Hydra electronic humidifier personal series. I ordered some refill water beads to switch the foam inside the water reservoir with to avoid any mold issues, etc..

I let the water refill beads soak in glass container with only distelled water and few drops of Xikar PG mixture while I get the foam out of the water reservoir with a butter knife so I don't scratch or damage anything inside. Getting the foam out took less than 10 minutes. The foam was hard and easy to cut through. I rainsed the reservoir after with only distelled water (paranoia but that's just me). I highly recommend these cigar oasis beads, they were very quick to absorb the water. After about an hour I filled the reservoir with the beads.














I set the Hydra humidifier on the bottom of my Wineador. I let the slim ribbon access out of the side. I used a double side tape to stick the adapter on the side. Turned on the humidifier and set it to 68 and left it alone.







12 hours later and everything was reading at 69-70. 3 hygrometer (two standalone and one that's built in my Hydra Humidifier). 24 hours and I'm at 68-69 reading on all 3. Please note that my Wineador was already seasoned and was using it with beads prior to this. I'm thinking I should already start moving my boxes in to let it regulate? What do you think?

 

[MNBrian]

Awesome job!

Looks great all around! I'd always recommend more patience than less just to be certain but I'll let the other guys weigh in on when to move the boxes.

 

[CigarSeeker]

Yea, I'm thinking waiting another 24 hours and monitor any changes just to be sure. For the time being I went and got a 1 1/2" spade drill bit and installed those two in the drawers. I'm liking it.

 

[whylieineedacigar]

Nice job! Let it sit for another 24-48 hours and then start adding boxes.

 

[MichaelD]

I like the idea for drilling out a space for a recessed hygrometer.

 

[CigarSeeker]

I like the idea for drilling out a space for a recessed hygrometer.

It looks killer but for some reason it's not accurately reading anymore.. Both dropped by 4 to 5 in reading. Not sure why but I'll try to figure it out.

 

[MadMonk]

It looks killer but for some reason it's not accurately reading anymore.. Both dropped by 4 to 5 in reading. Not sure why but I'll try to figure it out.

Did you drill the holes completely through the wood? Do you see vents, or any feature that looks like it's where humidity can get to the internal sensors?

 

[CigarSeeker]

Yes the holes are completely drilled through ... The vents in the back of the hygrometers have exposure. Its very strange .. I threw in the drawers some
Boveda packets maybe it'll help but it's still the same.

 

[CigarSeeker]

The hydra hygrometer and my middle hygrometer are both reading in the 68 range which is what I set my hydra humidifier on .. But both drawers are reading different ...

 

[MadMonk]

Only other thought I have is that the drawers aren't getting the max humidity. Are they full, or have you left some unobstructed air channels?

 

[CigarSeeker]

The drawers are empty .. There is air slots on the bottom of the drawers .. One of the drawers is right above the humidifier .. I ordered an additional plug in fan for the Hydra. We'll see if that helps. I'm also thinking of throwing my middle hygrometer in the drawers and monitoring that as well.

 

[MadMonk]

Swap the drawers too, to see if the levels read the same?

 

[CigarSeeker]

That's a good idea and won't hurt.

 

[bucfan444]

Wow. Great set up. As far as getting humidity consistent on all drawers, my unit always shows a -/+ 1-2% range variance between shelves. I even have two large PC cooling fans running on a timer in an attempt to evenly distribute humidity throughout the unit. Enjoy the great wineador.

 

[CigarSeeker]

Wow. Great set up. As far as getting humidity consistent on all drawers, my unit always shows a -/+ 1-2% range variance between shelves. I even have two large PC cooling fans running on a timer in an attempt to evenly distribute humidity throughout the unit. Enjoy the great wineador.

That makes more sense now... I did switch my hygrometers around. I place the one in the drawer on the middle shelf and it went up to 66 while my middle shelf hygrometer inside a drawer and it went up to 67. It looks like my drawers are less by 1-2% plus those small hygrometers are a bit off as well since there is no way to calibrate them.

 

[MadMonk]

Not to insult your intelligence. I want to make sure that you are aware of a more complete definition of "calibrating" a hygrometer, especially those that don't have adjustable calibration.

If you get a Boveda pack, say their specific 75% calibration offering, and place it and the hygrometers in a ziplock back, one may read 73 and the other 77. On each specific hygrometer, you would just add or deduct the difference to get a reading. I'm old and feeble minded, so I use little removable avery adhesive backed labels with a plus or minus value recorded to keep it all straight. Placed in an inconspicuous place, so I maintain the museum quality look.

When one reads 67, I now know it's 69, and when the other reads 71, I know it's 69.

 

[CigarSeeker]

We are on the same page sir. What I meant is that they were not adjustable.

 

[flamchop]

Nice setup! Man I'm loving those drawers with the hyrdos you built in.

For my wine fridge, I have 3 hydros, 1 at the top, 1 middle, 1 on the bottom. They never read the exact same temp and RH. But I may not be as picky as others. As long as they are generally in a safe range I'm happy. I've driven myself nuts in the past, especially with fans, to try to keep it all even. A few years has taught me to ditch all that stuff and just go with some properly spritzed heartfelt beads, set it and forget it. If and when the day comes that I want to spend thousands on a perfectly temp and rh controlled setup, I'll just be happy with smokes that don't get so hot and humid that I get beetles, and aren't so cold and dry that I can't taste a damn thing.

Good luck!

 

[Old Smokey]

Your setup looks great. I don't know how often you open it up and mess with it, but if it was mine I would go ahead and pull out a few smokes for the next few days and just leave it closed and see where it is in 4-5 days. Let everything settle down and find its equilibrium. It looks really good and you can make small adjustments as needed. Personally I like my NC cigars around 65rh and my CC's at 62rh. They just seem to burn, taste and smoke a little better than closer to 70.

 

[CigarSeeker]

Your setup looks great. I don't know how often you open it up and mess with it, but if it was mine I would go ahead and pull out a few smokes for the next few days and just leave it closed and see where it is in 4-5 days. Let everything settle down and find its equilibrium. It looks really good and you can make small adjustments as needed. Personally I like my NC cigars around 65rh and my CC's at 62rh. They just seem to burn, taste and smoke a little better than closer to 70.

I actually finished a recent project which is small antique box that I turned into a desktop humidor for my weekly smoke. I did this just to avoid opening my Wineador often.