Question about Temp Reading Display on Wineador

[Laynard]

I've had my NewAir unplugged during the winter and just plugged it in this morning. Set the temp to 66F and it kicks on just fine (starting readout was 69F). Start surfing the forum and turn around and now I see the display reads 58F. The hygros inside read 66F still (that was their starting reading). Does this seem somewhat normal for those that keep their wineadors on? My thoughts are that the temp gauge for the wineador is nearer the TEC, while the hygros are in the front.

Also, the RH was dropped 5%. Using beads - probably near 3lbs spread throughout the unit. Will this normalize after the wineador is on for a bit? I assume this is just the TEC creating condensate and pulling the RH out of the air. Thanks bros!

[Laynard]

The 17 minute paranoid update:

Temp display is now 57F and hygros dropped to 65F. RH has dropped another 2%. I think I slept much better with this thing unplugged. Maybe it's time to just crank the AC and worry about how I'm going to pay the bill...:)

[Laynard]

Two hour update:

Temp display now reads 56F. Hygros read 66F and RH has dropped another 1%.

[HabanoMan]

Don't have a wineador so I may be completely off here. May just be because of the change of the atmosphere inside the unit. I wouldn't freak out about it just yet. Would probably give it about 24 hours to see if it will stabilize.

EDIT: Hopefully someone with more experience with wineadors will chime in.

[Laynard]

Don't have a wineador so I may be completely off here. May just be because of the change of the atmosphere inside the unit. I wouldn't freak out about it just yet. Would probably give it about 24 hours to see if it will stabilize.

EDIT: Hopefully someone with more experience with wineadors will chime in.

Thanks. That's what I'm hoping. I actually have 70% beads in there as I like the slightly higher RH for long term storage (for which my wineador is purposed), so the RH is still in the low 60s and not terrifying yet.

[six10]

Maybe it's time to just crank the AC and worry about how I'm going to pay the bill...:)

Thats what I do. Humidors first... Lol

[projectsunfire]

I keep mine running 24/7 year round and keep it set at 66 degrees and my hygro's usually read within 1 or 2 degrees of the setting and I have them in the front of the unit. I would trust your hygros before the coolers temp gauge. But keep in mind even a good hygro cannot be considered 100% reliable. I have learned to not freak out every time I see a few degrees or percent swing. When you get sudden spikes of 5+ then I tend to get a little paranoid

I would give it a full 24 hours and let everything stabilize.

[Laynard]

Thanks projectsunfire. The 8-9% RH drop is a little concerning for now, but I'm hoping it will stabilize. The odd thing is that the wineador hasn't cycled since I first turned it on as the display still says 57F and its set at 66F, but the RH has dropped steadily. My beads may just need a recharge tomorrow and everything will work itself out. Here's hoping.

[projectsunfire]

Thanks projectsunfire. The 8-9% RH drop is a little concerning for now, but I'm hoping it will stabilize. The odd thing is that the wineador hasn't cycled since I first turned it on as the display still says 57F and its set at 66F, but the RH has dropped steadily. My beads may just need a recharge tomorrow and everything will work itself out. Here's hoping.

just is odd that the hygros are reading the same temp as they were. If I drop the temp on the cooler then the hygros respond fairly quickly. seems like something is wrong with the temp reading on the cooler.

[HabanoMan]

Laynard, what type of beads are you using, Heartfelt?
Reason I ask is because if it is Heartfelt then I would trust them to be doing their job of absorbing or releasing humidity as needed. Some of us that use them do not even use a hygrometer any more. I have not had one in about 5 years and that is with several coolers and a wooden humidor.

[Laynard]

just is odd that the hygros are reading the same temp as they were. If I drop the temp on the cooler then the hygros respond fairly quickly. seems like something is wrong with the temp reading on the cooler.

Yeah, that's the confusion. Hygros read 65-66 the whole time, but wineador reading started at 69 and is now steady at 57. So far I'm trusting the hygros.

[Laynard]

Laynard, what type of beads are you using, Heartfelt?
Reason I ask is because if it is Heartfelt then I would trust them to be doing their job of absorbing or releasing humidity as needed. Some of us that use them do not even use a hygrometer any more. I have not had one in about 5 years and that is with several coolers and a wooden humidor.

Yep. HF. I think the RH issue is related to the cooling cycle. And they are trying to rebound now. The fan on the TEC is still running but not cooling. I think that is normal for this model, but might be affecting the RH a little as well.

[HabanoMan]

That's what I think too. Wouldn't worry much about the Rh then. They will recover and return it to normal. I just hope that the temp. reading on the hygros are accurate and not the on on the unit. :thumb:

[Zeede]

It's possible that the air flow inside the unit just needed to equalize. It's also possible that your hygrometers need new batteries?

[Laynard]

I would think the hygros would be the accurate ones, because the unit is set to 66, and the ambient is about 72. I doubt the unit would get to 57 and stay there with these factors. But I'm still hoping a wineador owner has seen this before and it's just the display being off. If things are still wonky tomorrow, I'll calibrate the hygros again (just did it a month ago) and check their temp readings. The batteries are only a year old, but they may need replacing as well.

[madmark]

I have found that the temp on the unit its self it off by a few degrees. I bet with the fans kicking on, its moving the air around and causing problems for you.. I would wait 24 hours as well.. It will settle down..

[Trackmyer]

Layne, mine does exact same thing. I also have a temp controller wired into mine. My hygro's and temp controller right now are reading 65.2f and my wineador door is showing 57. I've found to never pay attention to door display. The program temp keeps it where it should but door display will be off for hours. Them out of blue it will be accurate for hours, and so on.

[Trackmyer]

No actual fluctuation in temp, just door display is wacky.

[CamoSutra]

If the thermal readouts of the hygrometers have previously been accurate, I would trust them over the wineador's built-in gauge. That's because the works of the wineador are having to work harder than usual during start-up and the wineador's built-in temperature sensor may be located near the cooler itself, while the rest of the interior hasn't cooled down yet; the hygros are (I'd presume) on shelves along with the cigars, which should provide them with a little insulation against conductive cooling.

As for the drop in humidity, I'm going to make two assumptions. One, the HF beads are in the bottom of the wineador, which is probably the coldest part of the unit. Two, the hygrometers are higher in the wineador, probably on Spanish cedar shelves along with cigars. If these assumptions are valid, here's what's happening:

As the wineador cools, the interior walls (at least near the bottom) cool first and then take heat from the warmer air. Cooler air is denser than warm air, so it tends to stay near the bottom; but cool air doesn't hold as much absolute humidity as warmer air, which helps explain why really hot-and-humid summer days are so oppressive while cool-and-humid days in early spring and late fall are much more comfortable. (The only times when absolute humidity and relative humidity are the same are at zero percent and 100 percent. Between those two extremes, meteorologists and cigar lovers need only pay attention only to the RH.) The important thing is, when the moisture in the colder air condenses and/or returns to the beads, the drier air is then lighter and can rise. (Rainclouds do the same thing to get over mountains.) This dry air is what the hygrometers are measuring; yes, the air around the hygrometers -- and cigars -- really is too dry.

If the RH stayed that low very long your cigars might dry out enough to suffer damage; more likely, an RH in the mid-50s to mid-60s would only slow the aging process, and make them too dry for proper smoking. The good news is that HF beads regulate relative humidity rather than absolute humidity. When the temperature equalizes throughout the wineador, the beads will be able to respond to the lower RH by releasing moisture.

You might be able to speed the process slightly by misting the beads with distilled water, if they are not already close to being fully hydrated. But odds are, you don't need to do that; the RH should return to where you want it to be before the cigars' fillers know anything has happened, and the binders and wrappers will return to your desired RH quickly, none the worse for their brief experience.

If you have any doubts, or if the RH hasn't begun rising by morning, transfer the cigars to ziplock baggies or tupperdors with Boveda packs until the temperature and RH within the wineador return to where they should be.

[Laynard]

Layne, mine does exact same thing. I also have a temp controller wired into mine. My hygro's and temp controller right now are reading 65.2f and my wineador door is showing 57. I've found to never pay attention to door display. The program temp keeps it where it should but door display will be off for hours. Them out of blue it will be accurate for hours, and so on.

Thanks. I almost tagged you knowing you'd have an answer. What I'm seeing is exactly what you're seeing, so now I'll sleep well. :)

[Laynard]

CamoSutra thanks for the info. The beads are spread throughout. I actually have them loose on the floor with a large bag near the back to catch condensate, two pucks near the bottom front, a large tube two spots up in a drawer, a large rectangle in the back below the fan, a large tube on the shelf above the lower drawer, a large tube on the next shelf (other side), large tube in the next drawer. So they are EVERYWHERE. :) It's still at 60% (a hygro on the front of each drawer) so I think the beads are just playing catch up.

1573

You can't see in the photo to well but the hygros read 60%/67F while the display reads 57F.

[tjhemp]

When I fired mine up after the winter last year it took 24-48 hours for the HF beads to eventually bring the RH back to normal and then stayed no problem from there on.

[Laynard]

Update:

I think the thermostat is off by -10F. I noticed my hygros were reading 68F and the display read 58F. If the display was just not showing the right number, the unit should be on, but it wasn't. I turned down the thermostat to 57F, and lo and behold it kicked on. I could compensate and just set the unit -10F of my desired temp, but what if it starts working normally and suddenly my temp plummets...

The kicker is the RH is still hovering between 57%-60% and I'm sure the unit hasn't kicked on since I first plugged it in yesterday, and while it was unplugged, the RH was extremely stable. I threw some 72 Bovedas in there to help the beads, and added a third "control" hygroscopic to double check my readings. I'm real close to pulling the plug and just cranking the AC. Or getting a third party controller and a Cigar Oasis.