Now it's the wineador...

[Spad31]

Okay, so I'm kinda at a loss here and could use some advice.
 
Wineador temp fine, humidity steadily creeping up over 70 (avg 72)
 
SITREP:
 
28 Bottle wineador - Temp set 64F - GTG
Oasis meant for huge set at 65RH - Running, GTG (currently off, showing 75%RH)
3 lbs. 65 beads - various stages of wet...90% dry.
6x (were) perfectly calibrated digi hygrometers. (2x caliber 4R, 4x round adjustable)
Small fan to move air - bottom shelf
 
Oasis is on top shelf, fan on bottom, blowing down to pull air from top.
 
Temp is good. What the heck could be causing inside humidity to keep rising? Stayed at solid 65RH for months.
 
Office inside ambient currently 76F/49RH
 
Several new boxes of smokes added two+ weeks ago, nothing since.
 
No open water or black ice or other humidity devices
 
Boxes can't be ADDING that much humidity, can they? Dry beads (on all shelves) not absorbing?
 
Oasis cable flat, through side of door, so no leaks (humidity would drop)
 
I'm missing something and have looked and tried everything I can think of before posting this. This seems to be new, and has been a sort of worry for a couple weeks now.
 
Not panicking, but could use some words.
 
-Trey

 

[flamchop]

I have nearly the same setup, just running 65% beads and no fans, no oasis.  The only difference is I'm using about half as many beads, but from what I gather, the more beads the better, especially if you're keeping less than 50% wet, because the dry beads will absorb.  It's possible new boxes are spiking the RH temporarily, I would imagine after a couple weeks it'll regulate again.  It's also getting warmer and more humid outside, I know it's a sealed humidor but it does tend to have a slight effect on things.
 
You could always try to drop down to 60% beads and see if that works?  Also, are you opening the door a lot lately to check on things?  Maybe throwing off the RH, if you're in a humid environment.
 
With that said, I've noticed my RH and temperature fluctuate big time, mostly because I'm lazy at upkeep, but I can say I've noticed no difference at all in my smokes when things fluctuate.  I think it's all good unless you're noticing bad things with your smokes, and your RH is staying under 75.  Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

 

[{tpc}]

Are the boxes near the gauges?  Maybe they aren't releasing a lot of humidity but close enough  to affect the gauges...just a guess though.  I have a small wineador but i noticed  fluctuations in rh with temp in the house.  Yours is a much better setup than mine, but just means I have to monitor mine a bit  more.
 
I think it was likely the new boxes.  If that is truly the only thing that has changed, other than ambient temp, what else could it be?  You could try removing  some beads, but you just might make the  fluctuations more noticeable by doing that.

 

[Spad31]

Are the boxes near the gauges?  Maybe they aren't releasing a lot of humidity but close enough  to affect the gauges...just a guess though.  I have a small wineador but i noticed  fluctuations in rh with temp in the house.  Yours is a much better setup than mine, but just means I have to monitor mine a bit  more.
 
I think it was likely the new boxes.  If that is truly the only thing that has changed, other than ambient temp, what else could it be?  You could try removing  some beads, but you just might make the  fluctuations more noticeable by doing that.

To both you and flam...yep...boxes are close to hygros...I have one on every shelf...wouldn't have thought new boxes would spike so high so fast for so long, but...
 
Gianni suggested moving Oasis to bottom...let the humidity/airflow go up...so, tetrist'd and made that work. We'll see.
 
Thanks for the words!
 
-Trey

 

[tomthirtysix]

Not that it solves the problem of the humidity rising, but the fact that your setup is at 75% with 3lb of 65% beads that are 90% dry confirms my thoughts that beads don't actually absorb extra humidity. 
 
Pull everything out of the bottom shelf and look towards the back. Sometimes my wineador has a small drip from the cooling fan that runs down the back wall to the drain hole in the back. Maybe water is accumulating there?

 

[Spad31]

Tom...good words. Checked...no accumulation. Have beads over the drain hole for drips.
 
Since posting this and talking to G and moving Oasis around, things seemed to have settled a bit. Hygros are all within 3-4 of each other (odd), but on the low end.
 
And Tom, I agree...dry beads ain't doing squat.
 
-Trey

 

[Spad31]

Tom...good words. Checked...no accumulation. Have beads over the drain hole for drips.
 
Since posting this and talking to G and moving Oasis around, things seemed to have settled a bit. Hygros are all within 3-4 of each other (odd), but on the low end.
 
And Tom, I agree...dry beads ain't doing squat.
 
-Trey

 

[Spad31]

Well, shoot. How the heck do you delete a double post?
 
Oh, you can't?
 
*sigh*
 
This won't end well.

 

[Setharsis]

Have you inspected the seals on the OASIS, making sure that there isn't a humidity leak from the source?

 

[vortex]

Have you inspected the seals on the OASIS, making sure that there isn't a humidity leak from the source?

Remove the oasis from the winador - at least temporarily. I do this every year around now but my ambient humidity is high on the Delmarva peninsula.

 

[MadMonk]

Yea, I've tried several "experiments" seeing if beads are 2 way and have never had them absorb water from the air or from a large bowl next to them, in a sealed container, after several months.
 
How is the air flow? Do you have enough air channels? Does the oasis have a large opening with water showing? Wondering if too much water exposed for a small wineador? If it is, perhaps a partial blocking of the opening might settle down the passive exchange?
 
IIRC you have cedar shelves which should buffer nicely but, if passive exchange is too high, they might absorb too much moisture?

 

[Spad31]

Danno,
 Maybe. Air flow is "eh"...I mean, shelves and drawers are full, but should be, right? I wondered about the cedar absorbing too much moisture. While playing tetris in there, I noticed the drawers seemed...well, not wet, but not the dry like you'd expect in a big humi. Hard to describe. Pulled the Oasis and will watch for a few days to get a feel.
 
Thanks for the words, Brother. Quick! Go hug that boy! Older than you think faster than you think!
 
-Trey

 

[MadMonk]

If you have the beads in each drawer then I would think airflow is less critical. If only one source of humidity then, imo, yes, it is critical and there should be a channel  from the oasis UP to the top of the box. I figured that out with my Aristocrat. I think taking the Oasis out is a good diagnostic; especially if it has exposed water. Also, record each hygrometers reading then shuffle the Hygrometers to see if you get the same RH levels on each location. Humid air travels down so, the reading should be a tad higher near its source if you have oasis on bottom. 

 

[Spad31]

Copy all. Thanks Danno.

 

[TomF]

If fact, humid air is less dense than dry air. If left undisturbed the more humid air will rise to top of your humidor. In a winedor the air is being moved around by a fan, so this should not be a factor.

 

[MadMonk]

If fact, humid air is less dense than dry air. If left undisturbed the more humid air will rise to top of your humidor. In a winedor the air is being moved around by a fan, so this should not be a factor.

You are correct. I added air inadvertently. So this is only partially true. Water (H2O) is, molecularly lighter than air. If it wasn't, it would never rain. However, once you get some mass to it, like blowing it out of a unheated, evaporative, humidifier, it isn't.