Humidity Level ?

[rynmoon]

I have an Avanti 28 with a Ranco ETC temp controller. I have two calibrated Hygro's and a pound and a half of 65% beads in the thing. By the calculations that is a half pound of overkill on the beads. My cooler is set to cool to 65 then warms to 70 and back to 65. The cycle is on for 15 to 20 mins. then off for 15 to 20mins. I have also put a container with distilled water in there. There is 8 empty boxes and several spanish cedar blocks to fill some of the space. It has been sitting for about 48 hours. My RH level is about 61% when off and swings to about 58-59% during the cool down process. I understand that it takes time for everything to season and adjust so I am will let it sit for 2-3 more days before any adjustments are made. But if it continues to hold at this RH what shoud I do?
My best guess would be to order 70% beads and maybe they would keep the RH at like 64% to 66%. I would also think that my beads will be drying out quickly because they never stop emitting humidity. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

FYI- The seal I don't think is a problem because my power went out yesterday for about an hour and when the temp in the cooler was about 75 degrees the RH was at 65%. The problem is I bought this cooler to keep the temp around 68-70 degrees. My desktop sits at 77degress with 68% RH so there is no point having the cooling if I have to keep it at 75 to get the RH right. Another question though is if the RH will stabalize at 65% with the cooling off would I be better to unplug the thing for a couple days and let the RH sit at 65% with no cooling since there are no cigars in there or is it better to let it work itself out under normal operating conditions?

 

[hojadepuro]

I do not know a bunch about the whole process of cooling and such, but I do think you should let it sit a couple more days to let things soak up he humidity. That cedar might have been awfully dry, unless you had it in another cooler or humi. Give it a couple days and see where you are.
And I probably don't have to say this, but you never know. Make sure the seals are good. If the humidity is leaking somehwere then it will never hold true. Hope this helps.

Brandon

 

[N2Advnture]

Using a wine chiller is a little more difficult than a wood cabinet for two reasons.

1.) The wood in a cabinet helps stabilize the RH, even in cooled cabinets, the wood helps reduce the wide RH swings when the cooling unit comes on.

2.) It is well know that the compressors from the wine chillers will and can create great RH swings when they kick on to cool.

I would try adjusting the temp to be tighter so the compressor doesn't have to stay on as long. (try 68 degress instead of 70 for the peak)

Hope this helps
~Mark

 

[centurycigar]

Using a wine chiller is a little more difficult than a wood cabinet for two reasons.

1.) The wood in a cabinet helps stabilize the RH, even in cooled cabinets, the wood helps reduce the wide RH swings when the cooling unit comes on.

2.) It is well know that the compressors from the wine chillers will and can create great RH swings when they kick on to cool.

I would try adjusting the temp to be tighter so the compressor doesn't have to stay on as long. (try 68 degress instead of 70 for the peak)

Hope this helps
~Mark

I would also attached the capillary bulb (use tape or some sort of lip) of the Johnson control unit to where the cooling plate is, usually at the back.
Try to find the spot in the wine chiller that gets colder the fastest.
That way the wine chiller would shut on and off quicker.

 

[rynmoon]

I have actually tried that. It helps as far as not getting the 3 degree swing in RH it is more like 2. The swing I am not that worried about seeing as I will keep the cigars in boxes but I would like the swing to be 65% to like 62%. Not 61% to 58%. If it does not adjust I think I will order a pound of 70% beads and see what that does. I am sure once I start loading the thing up it will help also.

 

[CoventryCat86]

I keep my cigars at 60% so if I were you, I wouldn't change anything.

 

[indy]

There was a similar thread over at CW a short time ago. What Mark says is what ended up helping reduce the swing in RH for that guy. You will need to adjust the temp range to the smallest window that you can, preferably 1* maximum range. I have a 12 bottle TE winecooler with 1/2 lb. of beads in it that runs for 2-3 minutes and is then off for 5 minutes. My temp stays between 64.6 and 65.5, and RH remains between 62-65 depending on if the cooling unit is running or not. Many smaller cooling cycles seem to keep the RH more steady than fewer large cooling cycles. But, even if you end up having larger swings in RH in the wine cooler the cigars in boxes won't ever see much change in RH because the wood of the boxes will buffer the changes. It will probably take at least a week before the wood you've put in there is seasoned. You're doing exactly what I did with the additional water dish in there until the wood absorbs what it can. I kept a dish of water in mine for several weeks. The beads and the wood will abosorb a lot more water than you'd think. The more mass you can keep in your cooler, the better. When you get some cigars in there they'll help too, so fill that baby up.

 

[Infinity]

I keep my cigars at 60% so if I were you, I wouldn't change anything.

I agree!

Most people have the problem of bringing down the RH. If you want
your cigars around 65 RH then anywhere between 60 and 65 is good.
Besides, it will stabilize over time.

Brian