Matthew Adam
New Member
I came into a deal I couldn't pass up for a collection - 6 humidors and a ton of cigars.. The humidors are 2 sentinels, and 4 half size units similar to the sentinels.
Right now I am using one of the large sentinels and one of the small glass top ones in another location. The other 4 I don't need.
The larger ones came equipped with hydra LG units. There are also 2 small hydras I won't be using. And the smaller unit I have filled will be using the rectangular floral foam filled brick style humidifiers. That's what I have right now. I know the general consensus on using heartfelt beads instead and it's definitely something I intend to do later on. But as for right now I'm trying to get my feet under me with what I have and trying to stabilize and use everything I have properly. After I stabilize this, I can get rid of the other stuff I won't use and apply that money toward beads and such.
I'm in luck, to start, that it's summer and the humidity is up around here. Nothing is going lower than 55 RH, so it helps give me a bit of time considering I'm a newb. I realize I jumped in too fast for my knowledge level. But based on the deal I got I just couldn't pass it up and I can make it work. It saved me way too much $$ on smoking for a long time for me to pass it up.
Now here's the concerns.
To start I did condition the large unit to some degree. Where I'm at right now is the proper use of the hydra, and getting the RH in there up a bit.
First problem is that the large unit door doesn't really seal well. I noticed that right off the bat. I'll see what I can do fixing that with some heavy duty magnetic cabinet catches at top and bottom. I have carpentry and cabinet experience so that will help. Just noting that, because bear in mind that as of right now I am aware the seal is a problem and it will have to be attended to in due time.
My questions revolve around the hydra and it's use.
Can I salt test this unit?
Right now I am in the process of salt testing 3 small hygrometer units. However, do I try to bag the hand held control of the hydra to test it, or do I have to bag the whole unit?
I ask about testing it, because in the cabinet I had one of the small hygrometers literally right next to the hydra unit and hand control. With the hydra not running fans, the small hygrometer read around 55 RH. The hydra read well above that at around 77. Which is why it wasn't running. I'm assuming the small one is much more accurate as the other small ones around the house and in my small humidor have all been showing a generally ambient RH of that same 55 range.
Now I've set the hydra at 87 RH so it's continuing to run. That brought the small hygrometer to high 60s, around 68. Which is where I want things for now.
I need to calibrate this hydra to get to the 55 everything else is showing, or at least salt test and reset it. It's clearly well off. The little knob to tweak the RH isn't ranging widely enough to fix a 15-20% variation. Is there another way to reset this thing?
Lots of questions, I know. It seems there is little information on the use of this machine on the net, and even on the instruction sheet for it that I downloaded, there's no note of how to totally reset the RH. I also searched here but no one mentioned anything about salt testing and resetting these units.
Any help is mucho appreciated.
Right now I am using one of the large sentinels and one of the small glass top ones in another location. The other 4 I don't need.
The larger ones came equipped with hydra LG units. There are also 2 small hydras I won't be using. And the smaller unit I have filled will be using the rectangular floral foam filled brick style humidifiers. That's what I have right now. I know the general consensus on using heartfelt beads instead and it's definitely something I intend to do later on. But as for right now I'm trying to get my feet under me with what I have and trying to stabilize and use everything I have properly. After I stabilize this, I can get rid of the other stuff I won't use and apply that money toward beads and such.
I'm in luck, to start, that it's summer and the humidity is up around here. Nothing is going lower than 55 RH, so it helps give me a bit of time considering I'm a newb. I realize I jumped in too fast for my knowledge level. But based on the deal I got I just couldn't pass it up and I can make it work. It saved me way too much $$ on smoking for a long time for me to pass it up.
Now here's the concerns.
To start I did condition the large unit to some degree. Where I'm at right now is the proper use of the hydra, and getting the RH in there up a bit.
First problem is that the large unit door doesn't really seal well. I noticed that right off the bat. I'll see what I can do fixing that with some heavy duty magnetic cabinet catches at top and bottom. I have carpentry and cabinet experience so that will help. Just noting that, because bear in mind that as of right now I am aware the seal is a problem and it will have to be attended to in due time.
My questions revolve around the hydra and it's use.
Can I salt test this unit?
Right now I am in the process of salt testing 3 small hygrometer units. However, do I try to bag the hand held control of the hydra to test it, or do I have to bag the whole unit?
I ask about testing it, because in the cabinet I had one of the small hygrometers literally right next to the hydra unit and hand control. With the hydra not running fans, the small hygrometer read around 55 RH. The hydra read well above that at around 77. Which is why it wasn't running. I'm assuming the small one is much more accurate as the other small ones around the house and in my small humidor have all been showing a generally ambient RH of that same 55 range.
Now I've set the hydra at 87 RH so it's continuing to run. That brought the small hygrometer to high 60s, around 68. Which is where I want things for now.
I need to calibrate this hydra to get to the 55 everything else is showing, or at least salt test and reset it. It's clearly well off. The little knob to tweak the RH isn't ranging widely enough to fix a 15-20% variation. Is there another way to reset this thing?
Lots of questions, I know. It seems there is little information on the use of this machine on the net, and even on the instruction sheet for it that I downloaded, there's no note of how to totally reset the RH. I also searched here but no one mentioned anything about salt testing and resetting these units.
Any help is mucho appreciated.