Uwiik Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Hi all, Just finished building my temporary walk in humidor. AC inside is oversized that would make RH drop like a rock when cooling and RH raising like a rocket when not cooling, cycling every 7 minutes now due to the grossly oversized AC. I have employed various counter measures by using both dehumidifier and humidifier controlled by DIY hygrostat panel and Switchbot smart home controller but nothing can outcompete the sheer power of the AC compressor. I managed to narrow the gap between min RH and max RH but the gap is still there and very wide 10-11% (min 53% - max 64%). Can anyone point me to the right direction on how to tackle my problem? thanks!! 1
Uwiik Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 14 hours ago, Low said: 5000 boveda packs YAY!!! Finally somebody with a proven idea!! I am surviving with 30 @ 320gr packs and 15 tupperdor inside the WIH!!
ha_banos Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Surely if the humidity is barrelling up and down the contents that absorb/release humidity will be at an average over time? Now what the average humidity is depends on how it's cycling. Why not expose a box to it, shove a hygro in there and see what's happening inside. The rate at which humidity will change in a cigar and probably a box I expect will be way more stable than the air changing outside. Exchange takes time! You can also get one of those prodder things that measure the humidity inside a cigar if you're that way inclined 😝 RH changes drastically with temperature. So what's your temperature shift? Caveat: this is not to be considered advice. I'm not responsible for the state of your cigars. Do your own research. I'm just a numbnuts who's bored at work right this minute and received my split of Ninfas so I'm distracted ☺️ 3 1
BrightonCorgi Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Is the AC purely for temperature control? Too hot otherwise? 1
Uwiik Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 On 1/10/2024 at 10:23 PM, ha_banos said: Surely if the humidity is barrelling up and down the contents that absorb/release humidity will be at an average over time? Now what the average humidity is depends on how it's cycling. Why not expose a box to it, shove a hygro in there and see what's happening inside. The rate at which humidity will change in a cigar and probably a box I expect will be way more stable than the air changing outside. Exchange takes time! You can also get one of those prodder things that measure the humidity inside a cigar if you're that way inclined 😝 RH changes drastically with temperature. So what's your temperature shift? Caveat: this is not to be considered advice. I'm not responsible for the state of your cigars. Do your own research. I'm just a numbnuts who's bored at work right this minute and received my split of Ninfas so I'm distracted ☺️ Excellent idea!! I’ll just put one of Govee inside an empty box and see how it behaves!! Thanks so much for the advice, makes a lot of sense! There is no discernible temp fluctuations, the AC is pretty good at maintaining 0.5-0.7 C accuracy 24/7. Don’t worry at all, won’t hold you responsible for my own action. I have found my perfect storage condition for my palate and I am enjoying every single stick I smoke nowadays….it’s just me being my OCD self… On 1/11/2024 at 4:57 AM, BrightonCorgi said: Is the AC purely for temperature control? Too hot otherwise? Yes, I live in tropical Indonesia, the walk in is inside a room and surrounded by other air conditioned rooms divided by brick walls, not too hot without AC but definitely cannot stay below 21C/70F without the help of AC.
BrightonCorgi Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Take a look at the air conditioners used for wine cellars instead.
Uwiik Posted January 12 Author Posted January 12 17 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said: Take a look at the air conditioners used for wine cellars instead. Not too common here but I will try. However, none of the manufacturers I browsed can quote specific RH, most of then quoted 50-80% or around 65-70% and we all know “around” is not good enough for us cigar aficionados…with my existing oversized split AC I already achieved 52-63% RH fluctuations. I mentioned in the post that the current walk in is temporary, I am building a new section of the house and will make a proper and bigger walk in later this year. Right now the only option confirmed to be available is precision air conditioning made for server room, contractor said that it will maintain a specified RH with 3% deviation. It is very interesting but will cost an arm and a leg, will be a very big unit and even the smallest one will suck 13.5KW of power, so I am not set on it yet. One of my friend who specializes in frozen cold storage advised me to run 2 under powered split AC, so both compressors will never be off at the same time preventing RH jump thus keeping the RH relatively stable on the lower side, then I can rectify this lower RH with hygrostat controlled humidifier. The concept makes a lot of sense and very very affordable, don’t know if it will work unless I try it though. On 1/10/2024 at 10:23 PM, ha_banos said: Surely if the humidity is barrelling up and down the contents that absorb/release humidity will be at an average over time? Now what the average humidity is depends on how it's cycling. Why not expose a box to it, shove a hygro in there and see what's happening inside. The rate at which humidity will change in a cigar and probably a box I expect will be way more stable than the air changing outside. Exchange takes time! You can also get one of those prodder things that measure the humidity inside a cigar if you're that way inclined 😝 RH changes drastically with temperature. So what's your temperature shift? Caveat: this is not to be considered advice. I'm not responsible for the state of your cigars. Do your own research. I'm just a numbnuts who's bored at work right this minute and received my split of Ninfas so I'm distracted ☺️ This is the reading after I put a Govee inside a small Partagas D4 box overnight. Looks dead on stable to me, so the concept should work for boxed cigar, further refinement is still needed if I want to have LCDH style open box display of cigar.😝
BrightonCorgi Posted January 12 Posted January 12 If you have boxes you are looking at long term storage, just vacuum seal them if they are already humid. 1
Uwiik Posted January 13 Author Posted January 13 13 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said: If you have boxes you are looking at long term storage, just vacuum seal them if they are already humid. Looking at the RH graph from this morning led me to believe that I am almost ready to display enclosed box on the shelves? What do you think? Re: vacuum, I have thought about vacuuming the long term boxes along with 60g 65% Boveda inside but that will defeat the whole purpose of making a walk in humidor.
BrightonCorgi Posted January 13 Posted January 13 17 hours ago, Uwiik said: Re: vacuum, I have thought about vacuuming the long term boxes along with 60g 65% Boveda inside but that will defeat the whole purpose of making a walk in humidor. No Boveda inside. Not needed. You're not defeating the purpose of a walk-in. Just buying time without worry. You may want to seal one box, let the other cellar normally to see how they change at different periods of time. 1
Uwiik Posted January 19 Author Posted January 19 EUREKA!!! I have found the solution!!! I changed the AC to inverter split AC with smaller BTU and now my RH is rock solid!!! I am a happy chap this weekend. 2
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now