Wineodor Humidity Zones

[Cira]

I recently switched to a Vinotemp wine cooler with 1lb of 65% beads in 2 sock things from Heartfelt. I have 1 up top that I keep moist a few times a week and 1 in the bottom to catch the drips in the back from the cooler unit. I have 1 Oust fan in the back on the very bottom laying on it's back pointing up. I just recently calibrated both of my hygros. The weather here in the northeast has been terrible lately, 95-100F and 75-80% humidity.

This set up was running rock solid 62F 64% for like a month. In the last week or two, the humidity has been all over the place. Very dry near the top (50s), very moist near the bottom and back middle near the cooling unit (70-75). When I open the door, my humidity shoots up from 62% to like 75%. In about an hour it levels back off in the 60s but then the next day it's in the mid low 50s. Is there any way to help level these zones out? What could be causing this? Things I'm thinking...

- I've added like 50 new stick in 2 boxes in the last month. They came out of shops humidors so I would think they are already pretty stable. Too much new stuff?
- Do I need more fans? Where do I put them so they aren't blowing on smokes and drying them out? I already keep singles out of the middle so the cooler fan isn't blowing on them.
- Do I need more/less beads? Should I move to a dish rather than the socks?
- The outside weather being so hot and humid is causing the cooling unit to do more work and produce more moisture and ait movement?

Anyone have recommendations or just ride out this weather and see what happens? Will a few weeks of swinging humidity ruin my smokes?

 

[rectifythis]

- The outside weather being so hot and humid is causing the cooling unit to do more work and produce more moisture and ait movement?

That's it. If it is that warm and humid, you need to settle for a slightly warmer temp, and open the door less if you can. It jumps up because of the outside humidity....mine is doing the same thing. However, your beads will absorb that...when you open the door, even though it jumps, it is really not affecting things much. But the more your unit runs, the more unstable it is. I have the same unit and with my calibrated hygros, I have seen 60% on the top shelf and 70% on the bottom, simultaneously. Even then, somewhere in the middle is the norm. Raise your temp to more like 68-70 (in real life-via your hygro), don't keep adding water to the top because it will continue to multiply at the bottom, and rotate your plate (assuming you used my method of catching the water) every few days.

 

[viper139]

- The outside weather being so hot and humid is causing the cooling unit to do more work and produce more moisture and ait movement?

That's it. If it is that warm and humid, you need to settle for a slightly warmer temp, and open the door less if you can. It jumps up because of the outside humidity....mine is doing the same thing. However, your beads will absorb that...when you open the door, even though it jumps, it is really not affecting things much. But the more your unit runs, the more unstable it is. I have the same unit and with my calibrated hygros, I have seen 60% on the top shelf and 70% on the bottom, simultaneously. Even then, somewhere in the middle is the norm. Raise your temp to more like 68-70 (in real life-via your hygro), don't keep adding water to the top because it will continue to multiply at the bottom, and rotate your plate (assuming you used my method of catching the water) every few days.

Could not have said it better...excellent answer.

 

[Cira]

- The outside weather being so hot and humid is causing the cooling unit to do more work and produce more moisture and ait movement?

That's it. If it is that warm and humid, you need to settle for a slightly warmer temp, and open the door less if you can. It jumps up because of the outside humidity....mine is doing the same thing. However, your beads will absorb that...when you open the door, even though it jumps, it is really not affecting things much. But the more your unit runs, the more unstable it is. I have the same unit and with my calibrated hygros, I have seen 60% on the top shelf and 70% on the bottom, simultaneously. Even then, somewhere in the middle is the norm. Raise your temp to more like 68-70 (in real life-via your hygro), don't keep adding water to the top because it will continue to multiply at the bottom, and rotate your plate (assuming you used my method of catching the water) every few days.

Could not have said it better...excellent answer.

Thanks to you both for the answer and confirmation.

So just step off, grab a smoke and relax until this weather passes, huh?

Would it be better to add some more dry beads to the bottom?

Would you suggest adding more Oust fans someplace to try and equalize the humidity across the top and bottom?

 

[rectifythis]

- The outside weather being so hot and humid is causing the cooling unit to do more work and produce more moisture and ait movement?

That's it. If it is that warm and humid, you need to settle for a slightly warmer temp, and open the door less if you can. It jumps up because of the outside humidity....mine is doing the same thing. However, your beads will absorb that...when you open the door, even though it jumps, it is really not affecting things much. But the more your unit runs, the more unstable it is. I have the same unit and with my calibrated hygros, I have seen 60% on the top shelf and 70% on the bottom, simultaneously. Even then, somewhere in the middle is the norm. Raise your temp to more like 68-70 (in real life-via your hygro), don't keep adding water to the top because it will continue to multiply at the bottom, and rotate your plate (assuming you used my method of catching the water) every few days.

Could not have said it better...excellent answer.

Thanks to you both for the answer and confirmation.

So just step off, grab a smoke and relax until this weather passes, huh?

Would it be better to add some more dry beads to the bottom?

Would you suggest adding more Oust fans someplace to try and equalize the humidity across the top and bottom?

I live in AZ where most of the time is dry so my beads are 90% wet. I think you will be ok as long as your 'water collection' point is not stagnant. As for the fans, I almost never use them. I throw one in for an hour every once in a while but usually not...seems like a hassle to me. I do like the fact that I can move my cigars to different zones for adjusted aging or smokability preference. For example, I have found that in the low 60's, certain cigars completely lose their flair while others find it. I have a few Graycliffs that seem to have much more flavor at 67-68 and lose flavor at 60-63. I have those in the "wet zone". Hope this is helpful.

 

[Shooter]

Old adage. "The fuller it is, the more stable it will be." If you have a alot of air space your humidity will swing more. Some people use empty boxes some use bubble wrap to fill the voids. Try it. This method does help stabilize.