Are beads the answer?

[pembroke3355]

I have a mini cabinet humidor with a Hydra with 2 fans for my humidifying system. To make a long story short my girlfriend get cold easily I have central air conditioning. As the temperature is getting hotter I was putting the settings on the central lower to keep my cigars in good condition. To be fair to her I got a window air conditioner for the room I store my humidors.

I have 2 humidors the mini cabinet and a 150 count desk top. I have 2 salt tested digital hydro's in the mini and 1 in the desktop. My Hydra is set at 65%(It has not come on in a long time). At about 68-70(which was the temp range with the central air)my smokes stayed at 65-66% RH. Now with the window AC 5500 BTU it is a small room. Today it got really hot and humid so I put the AC at the #8 setting it usually around #5 setting and the temperature was getting over 70 in the humidors and my RH was at 66%.

I went back into the room 1 hr later and the temperature was 64.5 but my RH was at 72%. I stayed in the room and watched for a while and every time the compressor was on of course the temperature went down but the RH went up and when the fan on the AC was on the temp went up slowly and the RH went down.

I have googled the effect of ambient temp on RH and I would be lying if I said I fully understood it all. My questions is on hot humid day like today when the middle setting of the AC is not enough to keep the temperature under 70 degrees constantly and I have to set it to a higher setting and that messes with my RH. Will 65% beads help control that problem? I would like to keep the room at about 65 degrees and keep the RH at about the same and I cannot do that right now.

Another question a air conditioner also de-humidifies the air my Hydra seems completely unaffected by any of this. I figured that the AC would cause the Hydra to have to come on every once in a while and that is not the case. Anyone got any thoughts on that or can clarify why this is.

Best Regards
Don

 

[Seanholio]

I have a mini cabinet humidor with a Hydra with 2 fans for my humidifying system. To make a long story short my girlfriend get cold easily I have central air conditioning. As the temperature is getting hotter I was putting the settings on the central lower to keep my cigars in good condition. To be fair to her I got a window air conditioner for the room I store my humidors.

I have 2 humidors the mini cabinet and a 150 count desk top. I have 2 salt tested digital hydro's in the mini and 1 in the desktop. My Hydra is set at 65%(It has not come on in a long time). At about 68-70(which was the temp range with the central air)my smokes stayed at 65-66% RH. Now with the window AC 5500 BTU it is a small room. Today it got really hot and humid so I put the AC at the #8 setting it usually around #5 setting and the temperature was getting over 70 in the humidors and my RH was at 66%.

I went back into the room 1 hr later and the temperature was 64.5 but my RH was at 72%. I stayed in the room and watched for a while and every time the compressor was on of course the temperature went down but the RH went up and when the fan on the AC was on the temp went up slowly and the RH went down.

I have googled the effect of ambient temp on RH and I would be lying if I said I fully understood it all. My questions is on hot humid day like today when the middle setting of the AC is not enough to keep the temperature under 70 degrees constantly and I have to set it to a higher setting and that messes with my RH. Will 65% beads help control that problem? I would like to keep the room at about 65 degrees and keep the RH at about the same and I cannot do that right now.

Another question a air conditioner also de-humidifies the air my Hydra seems completely unaffected by any of this. I figured that the AC would cause the Hydra to have to come on every once in a while and that is not the case. Anyone got any thoughts on that or can clarify why this is.

Best Regards
Don

With a good seal, the RH swings in the room should not impact your humidors too much.

The temperature, though, will cause swings in the RH in your humidors. Let me see if I can explain this properly, and the scientists our there can correct me. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air. So if you take some cool air at RH 65%, and warm it up, it is going to change to be a lower RH. If that warm air is then humidified to 65%, and the temperature is dropped, the RH will rise to a higher level. You've seen this in action with your humidor and AC unit.

I think beads would be a very good idea, and the fans could keep the air moving around. This way, when the humidor warms up, they will release some moisture to keep the air humid. When it cools back down, they will absorb that same moisture and bring the RH back to the desired level.

 

[pembroke3355]

Thank you very much. I was not sure if I needed beads with the Hydra but it looks like I will invest in some.

Best Regards
Don

 

[Seanholio]

Thank you very much. I was not sure if I needed beads with the Hydra but it looks like I will invest in some.

Best Regards
Don

Don,

The combination of the Hydra and beads can get complicated if the hydra is set higher than the beads. This will cause the hydra to keep humidifying and the beads to keep absorbing until the beads are saturated. be sure to keep this in mind after placing the beads in your humi.

 

[pembroke3355]

Thank you very much. I was not sure if I needed beads with the Hydra but it looks like I will invest in some.

Best Regards
Don

Don,

The combination of the Hydra and beads can get complicated if the hydra is set higher than the beads. This will cause the hydra to keep humidifying and the beads to keep absorbing until the beads are saturated. be sure to keep this in mind after placing the beads in your humi.

Thanks I will keep I eye out for that.

Best Regards
Don