Help with Wineador build.

[projectsunfire]

I have had my Newair 280 for about a year now. One of the best purchases/investments I have ever made. Just to add to what has already been said...

1. I also did the baking soda/newspaper method and it completely removed all plastic odors in a few days.
2. I put electrical tape over the drain hole and have had no condensation issues at all since doing that.
3. I experimented with a fan at first and it did nothing to help even out RH in mine. It stays between 65-67 except for the bottom where it is closer to 60. That actually works out perfectly for me since I keep my cc's down there and want the RH to be lower anyway.
4. I went with the drawers as soon as I got it but I see no reason why the steel trays won't be fine for now.
5. I have about 5 lbs of beads distributed throughout and although some will say that is overkill I like it because the RH recovers very quickly even if I have the door open for a awhile

A word of caution...don't be too surprised if it fills up to capacity and you start contemplating building a 2nd one

[CopGTP]

Being a fellow New Yorker, here's some information I have from running my wineador for about 2 years now:

1) baking soda / newspaper works, let that sit in there for at least a couple days, fight the urge to open the door to smell!!

2) The drain hole in my wineador has never been plugged or widened, it just sits as it did when I got the wineador. I've never once had any issues stablilizing my rH or temp.

3) The KEY to stable rH is to put at least double the amount of beads that is recommended for your sized cooler. Than split it in half, hydrate one of the containers, and let the other container just chill.

4) If you are putting any type of cedar shelves or boxes, remember, you need to season them just as you season a regular humidor. But it will take a lot longer than a regular humidor because of the volume.

[NewYorker]

unfortunately i don't have pics still at this stage. between work, wife, a new baby, and my dog, I'm finding hardly enough time to do anything. So this is the progress so far. I did the soap wash followed by washing down with baking soda. Once that dried and the inside had a white haze i stuffed it with news papers and that sat for 2 days. So tonight i finally had a little time and I removed the news papers and tried wiping the interior down. This one looks like it will take a few days. I think i used a lot to baking soda But the good thing is that there is absolutely no plastic smell what so ever. which I'm happy with results on. Will post more as i progress. Still considering if i need to add a fan as it seems 50/50 from what i have been hearing and reading and I'm still hoping for a quick fix to raising the highest temperature of the fridge from 66, but seems that will not be possible.

[CopGTP]

For next time, don't wipe down the interior with baking soda. All you need to do is leave a container of it open inside the cooler....

Why do you want anything above 66? That's just about purrrfect.

[NewYorker]

@CopGTP i assumed 68-70 was the magic temp.

So now i hit my second road block. I tried to calibrate my hygrometers and something is not working out. I first used two 69% boveda packs for a little over 12 hours and this is what i got. IMG_0804.jpg Now granted these were used and recharged boveda packs, but from what i have been reading this should not be a problem. So with the power of google i was able to find a very scientific test method with salt 24 hours later this is what i have: IMG_0805.jpg

So the big question is am i doing something wrong wit the test or are all hygrometers are out of whack. The Calib 4R is brand new that i just bought.

[Ilroy]

1 - The salt test isn't completely accurate...tough to get the mixture exactly dead on to get the 75%.
2 - Throw away those analog hygrometers as they are never accurate.
3 - I wouldn't trust a used and recharged boveda to calibrate a hygro...get a new one in the RH you will be keeping your wineador at.
4 - Even a brand new Caliber IV isn't necessarily dead on out of the box...you might need to adjust it per the instructions that come with it.

[Indyhp]

I have two Caliber IV's that were within 1% out of the box and would tend to trust that reading.

The salt test works if you get the water/salt ratio perfect and keep the volume of the baggie low, and doesn't if you don't.

My first attempt at recharging a Boveda didn't work very well, I think it overcharged, so I'd be skeptical of those being accurate also.

The analog hygrometer is just for looks, ignore it.

Since you have issues, I'd get a new Boveda calibration kit and calibrate to that.


Also, I wouldn't worry about adjusting the temp., 65-66 is fine.

[Trackmyer]

@CopGTP i assumed 68-70 was the magic temp.

So now i hit my second road block. I tried to calibrate my hygrometers and something is not working out. I first used two 69% boveda packs for a little over 12 hours and this is what i got. IMG_0804.jpg Now granted these were used and recharged boveda packs, but from what i have been reading this should not be a problem. So with the power of google i was able to find a very scientific test method with salt 24 hours later this is what i have: IMG_0805.jpg

So the big question is am i doing something wrong wit the test or are all hygrometers are out of whack. The Calib 4R is brand new that i just bought.

First let me say welcome to a fellow NY'er.

You have multiple questions and I will offer a couple things.

First, calibrating your Hygro's. Yes a salt test will work if everything is just right, the stars are aligned, and so on. It is much easier to do with a Boveda calibration kit.
It so happens, that I believe I still have a new one laying about in my cigar stuff. PM me your mailing addy and I would be happy to send it to you. Calibrating with a standard boveda pack, or mini pack in your case is ok, but will not be as accurate. The standard packs have a slight deviation of RH (I forget the specific Charlie told me), but the Calibration kit is less than 1% deviation, so the best to use.

The temp issue. The specific temp desired to store cigars long term is depending on user. Though I would not store my sticks in extreme cold or heat, the range of a NewAir is fine. My own is kept in 64-66 temp and 64-66 RH.

The drain hole of unit. Some folks swear by plugging, some by leaving as is. Their preference is of no concern in your case. Your ambient conditions is what matters. A fella with a newer house, central AC, and a household RH in the 40-50's is going to be much different than one with an older house and temp in the 70's with an RH of 10. So let your conditions dictate your needs. If your house is running less than 15% rh, you may want to consider plugging it up, or rerouting it to the bottom to a catch tray to avoid losing RH out the drain hole. Outright plugging it with no alternate route will end up with the possibility of condensate running down the inside back wall and forming a puddle in the bottom. Some folks never encounter problems, but if you have a sizable stash, why take the chance?

Fans question. If you are using the wire/metal shelves that came with unit, then fans not huge concern.
If you load it up with wooden drawers, you may want at least one for some air movement top to bottom, or vice versa. RH will rise to top of unit and with wooden drawers a deviation of up to 5% rh is likely without any fan at all.

Hope this helps, shoot me that addy if you would like to try the Boveda calibration kit. Its cheaper than buying one.

[NewYorker]

i decided to try the analog one for 1 reason. It previously came with my humidor and when i used Heartfield beads it would always be more or less on point. It was just that I'm getting some strange results with Boveda packs and as well with the salt test that i was hoping it would point me in the correct direction. @Trackmyer Thanks for the info and a generous offer. I was not really planing on plunging the whole but it did start crossing my mind. I am deathly afraid of condisentation and losing my sticks. They might not be much or great but they are mine. I was going to try to run my wires for the fan through the drain whole in the event that the bigger consensus that one is needed. Thinking thats going to be some interesting time spent. I'm going to use the metal shelves for a little bit but as you mentioned i do have a few old boxes and cigar tray that I'm gonna use until i could get custom shelf and/or drawers. So as you can see I'm still undecided on the fan part.

[Upstatemax]

i decided to try the analog one for 1 reason. It previously came with my humidor and when i used Heartfield beads it would always be more or less on point. It was just that I'm getting some strange results with Boveda packs and as well with the salt test that i was hoping it would point me in the correct direction. @Trackmyer Thanks for the info and a generous offer. I was not really planing on plunging the whole but it did start crossing my mind. I am deathly afraid of condisentation and losing my sticks. They might not be much or great but they are mine. I was going to try to run my wires for the fan through the drain whole in the event that the bigger consensus that one is needed. Thinking thats going to be some interesting time spent. I'm going to use the metal shelves for a little bit but as you mentioned i do have a few old boxes and cigar tray that I'm gonna use until i could get custom shelf and/or drawers. So as you can see I'm still undecided on the fan part.

When I first got my 281 in I used the metal shelves till I got in my custom ones from John.

I just used old boxes and I also picked up a few packs of Spanish cedar "pens" from amazon, just to add more cedar

http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Cedar-...ish+cedar+pens

I picked up two packs and I still use them throughout my humidors/wineador for various reasons. I find them very handy to have around.