Humidity up top high!

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Hey folks.

My wineador setup:
Cybercool 28 bottle TE.
3-4 pounds of Heartfelt 65% beads.
4 120mm fans down the bottom.
4 120mm fans up the top.
The fans run for 15 minutes on, 30 minutes off. Also tried 15 minutes every hour. No matter how often they run - top remains fairly stable.
2 SC shelves & 2 SC drawers by John.
About 6 packs of Boveda 65%.
Cigar Oasis Plus. Removed foam for Beads.
1 pound of kitty litter up the back of the cooler over the drain hole.

The Wine cooler is controlled using an Inkbird, it turns the unit on/off, it also turns the humidifier on/off.
It's set to 19°C and 65% RH.
The bottom, middle, and upper middle are all in the 60 - 67% range - which is fine.
The top, however, is always 70% or more. I'm not a fan of that.

I've tried re-arranging beads, hoping dry beads could get the humidity up the top down. Tried putting all beads in 1 drawer. That doesn't work. So I'm at a loss. I did wait 2 days for any beads to reach any sort of equilibrium. I didn't expect instant results - hence I waited.
It's only the top level. Everything else is fine for me. I know 70% RH isn't harmful, but I'd like it down to 65%. The beads that aren't dry are fine - they don't need spritzing very often.
The shelves/drawers are well prepared. They were wiped down multiple times. I had Boveda seasoning packs with them for well over 4 months. So that's out of the picture.
I also had the shelves/drawers sitting for about 2 weeks with nothing, so they're not releasing humidity, either.

Basically, the top is too high for my liking. Every other level is fine.

At a loss for what to do.
Does anyone have any ideas?

[havanaclub]

Seems to me that you got way too much going on. 3-4 pounds of beads is fine. Take out the boveda and definitely the oasis and remove the litter. With all the humidification going on, the devices might be competing against each other to try and lower humidity. I am no pro but all that sounds excessive.

I use 2 pounds of beads 2 fans that’s it.


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[PrairieSmoke]

My first thought on what to remove is the Oasis, since it’s your only humidification that isn’t two way and you have plenty of other items.


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[Lucifer Morningstar]

The beads themselves don't do shit.
I don't know how others manage to get beads to do well, but I never could. So I use the beads as a buffer - and the Oasis as a humidifier.

As it is, it works well enough, on the lower levels. So it's just one level that's high - and always has been.
I've removed the kitty litter, but the top level is still too high. 

Links to my accessories:
120mm fans (generic)
Kitty litter - generic silica, unscented.
Cybercool 28 bottle.
Cigar Oasis Plus
Beads - Heartfelt. 65%
Shelves
Inkbird IHC-230

[PigFish]

... you know mate, I am sorry I have not answered your PM. Just been busy!

You are mixing controlled space with uncontrolled space and as you begin to actually look for problems, you are finding them!

The problem with a lot of advice given in cyberspace, is that a lot of people assume they know something, but they really don't. As you move into the realm of 'looking and finding-out' for yourself, I mean really looking closely, you will find that these systems that many boast about, don't really work.

I know this is a shocker, I am known for such posting unfortunately, but airflow is just part of 'consummate' humidor. It is not all of it. Controls are not all of it. Beads, a cooler, a humidifier... not all of it.

Answers as well depend on to whom you ask. For those that are satisfied, their humidor works, for them. That is the 21st century relativist in me. What works for another, based on his/her likes and dislikes, his investigation and consternation, may work or be a complete failure to another. This is the world of relativism.

I like circulation okay... but generically speaking, with 8 120mm fans, that damn box of yours should be hovering a foot off the floor. Your 'system' therefore does not work.

One problems is that you likely have shelving in the way. The other is the fact that the water pool, yes it is there, nested in your back somewhere under you cooler is simply evaporating water into your space and it is doing what water vapor does... Rise!

You should try to isolate it. There are all sorts of videos on building one of my projects on Youtube. You don't have to buy one, just take some of the ideas and implement them. Isolate your cooling system... and control it with the cooler from you cpu, or controller, or whatever you are using!

Cut a notch in your shelves (sorry) buy a chunk of underground drain line from a big box store, duct tape it to a fan, and run the air from the bottom, past the back to the top! Create a cyclonic exchange from bottom to top, or top to bottom. Mix it up like a blender.

What you have done is taken two loudspeakers. You put them face to face, turned up the volume and wonder why the sound is crappy...

So, isolate the wet space. Churn the air with intent. With your satisfaction of a range of 6 of 7 rH you are not too critical. This should work for you.

One warning. Don't let the humidor get cool. If your system does not constantly cycle you will get a wet mess! Without a deliberate dehydration cycle your sealed surface humidor will never be consummate without a dehydration cycle. You will quickly notice this if you let it get cool.

Cheers! -Piggy

[SloppyJ]

Best thing I did to mine was unplug it. 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

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 like circulation okay... but generically speaking, with 8 120mm fans, that damn box of yours should be hovering a foot off the floor. Your 'system' therefore does not work.

You're right. I got my brother to test the circulation, its crap.

Quote

One problems is that you likely have shelving in the way. The other is the fact that the water pool, yes it is there, nested in your back somewhere under you cooler is simply evaporating water into your space and it is doing what water vapor does... Rise!

Shelving is sort of in the way. The other media that is in there does not help.
There is water pooling. I'd like to know how to eliminate that, but with TE systems... well it may be hard. I tried HCM beads - the clay ones, he says they should catch the water before it starts to pool. He was wrong and suckered me in the buying them.

Quote

Cut a notch in your shelves (sorry) buy a chunk of underground drain line from a big box store, duct tape it to a fan, and run the air from the bottom, past the back to the top! Create a cyclonic exchange from bottom to top, or top to bottom. Mix it up like a blender

My brother's idea was PVC piping, but underground drain line could work as well. Anything really that directs air from the bottom to the top.
What about directing air to the middle as well?
There is enough room at the back that a smaller PVC piping should fit. As for drain line, well that may fit as well.
If I need to cut a notch, then I need to. At this point, I'm beyond caring about aesthetics.
 

Honestly, I'm enjoying doing it as well as hating this project.

The humidity up top is better, it hovers around the 60's area. Very rarely does it get to 75% now.
Removed KL, switched to HCM beads. Seeing as those aren't getting me to 65% I've supplemented it with Boveda, and the original silica beads.
Cooler as is:
2 shelves
2 drawers
In that order.
Now the humidity right now (top to bottom)
62%
57%
65% cigars are on this shelf
63%

The only shelf without any sort of beads is the top shelf. It has Boveda only. With any sort of beads on it, it fucks up.

Tried toying with fan settings, like 4 on, 9 off (minutes). Currently, they are now only turning on when the Oasis turns on. Oasis is on the bottom shelf. Moving it doesn't really do much.

 

I've yet to go to the hardware store to get ducting of any kind (PVC piping or drain line).

One of my extravagant ideas was keeping this self-made wineador as a spare, and buy a pre-made one from Alibaba. They look interesting. Either that or a Liebherr. I could sell a kidney and buy the Eurocave model.