Build your own humidor cabinet
0 That Guy 0
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in Cigar 101
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those are some good humidors in that site. I wouldnt have someone build it. I would build it myself.
"Long ashes my friends."
kuzi, feel like sharing any of the ideas you have come up with that pre-made humidors don't offer?
ok... maybe not the last part....
the things that i have to work out are:
will this cause condensation?
If so, how do i control the water?
what do i do with the 190*F side? put a fan on it?
where do i mount this?
how do i mount this?
what kind of thermostat will work best with it?
lets work this out a bit right here. I mean... this IS what the forum is all about isnt it?
one at a time:
will this cause condensation?
lets just say that the thermostat is at 65*F (so that in the summer i have a bit of wiggle room when i open the humi up. I know 70* is the norm-- but a five degree difference wont hurt much would it?i suspect not.) that is only ten degrees higher than the cold side of the heat pump. will this cause condensation? i dont think it would all that much. maybe the first time it was turned on it would but on following cooling periods the temp difference would be so little that it may not condense water in the air.
If so, how do i control the water?
but lets assume that since the RH is fairly high (65% in my humidor) there will be condensation. lets also assume that it drips. my initial thought is that i would place the cold side sticking out into the humi. directly under could be a place to hold beads. this means that if it does drip (this is, in a way, distilled H2O) it will drip directly into the beads, causing no harm whatsoever to the cigars.
what do i do with the 190*F side? put a fan on it?
i did a bit more reading on this. in the comment section of that link above to the device it says this leads me to believe that if I do put a fan on it, this would make it more "efficient" or colder on the cooling side. would not want that. however, i would not want this hot side to be exposed. pain associated with burns starts at about 140*F. the hot side on this is 190*F. though this wont start anything on fire it is still hot enough that i wouldnt wanna accidentally bump into it. maybe a railing or something around it that still ahs plenty of breathing space. ... the comment also said he was using a high velocity fan. would a lighter fan or a "low velocity" fan work out better with less effect on the temp regulation? i think so.
the other thought is that this would also heat up the room that it is in a bit.
where do i mount this?
im thinking higher up on the back. this way i could get the beads under there.
how do i mount this?
in the linked picture it looks like there is a black box thing in the middle that divides the hot and cold sides. a heat resistant rubber seal pushed into a hole cut in the side of the humidor could work well. the top side of the pictured device looks to have a bit of metal designed to do just what i described above. the rubber will just make it air tight.
what kind of thermostat will work best with it?
yeah... this one i dont know. I assume that it would work with just about any thermostat. but you know what happens when you assume.
My question is a lot more basic, wtf do I hook a 12vdc device to? How do I tie in a thermostat? Is it only at 190* when running at full force or is it at 190* all the time? because you're right that would cause a temp problem in my office.
i think it would only run at 190 at full tilt. im not sure if its an all on/off device. and how often would it turn on and for how long? the thermostat would be fairly easy to install im assuming. there are two wires on that thing. one "+" and one "-"
simple on off switch or thermostat with a high low range would work out well im sure. id probably set mine to turn on at 71* and off at 65*.
each heat sink side is 4 x 4.5. thats 18 square inches of heat sink at 190*. would that even heat up the room as much as a toaster? or a burner in the kitchen? maybe a coffee pot? iduno. it makes me wanna play with one of these things though.
right here in River City
that starts with "t" that rhymes with "p" that stands for "peltier"
ok... i just looked. the way that i was assuming the thermostat would work is, the thing would click on at 72 and off at 65. apparently this will reduce the life of the device significantly. on/off/on/off/ect... is the problem. the way that you would actually regulate the temp would be by the amount of power going into it.
again in the comments section: yeah.... $100 just put this out of reach for a guy like me. its cool but not $100 worth of cool. maybe someone on this board that knows about this better than i would can chime in.
Yea $135 bucks would almost have me at the Wine Fridge I want. Not to mention the cost of the materials to build the humi.
...maybe you could seperate the device from the main part of the humi but have it be just as effective. You said you wanted a door that opened into a column of drawers; you could build a box inside of a box. The exterior box is solidly sealed with your door that opens. The interior box holds all the drawers in a carcass that is open in many areas to the interior volume of the exterior box. In between the two boxes is where you place the unit. Any condensation collecting on the fins will be outside of the drawers, no need to put your hand anywhere near it, don't have to see it or the thermometer and all the conditioned air and RH will flow all around the interior box very evenly.
"Long ashes my friends."
"Long ashes my friends."
the Johnson A419 (controls the temp of the peltier) still runs about $70 plus shipping. again, if one of your main factors is cost the wine fridge may be the way to go. but if cost is not an issue and you want a project to work on... this is a slightly more reasonable option.
also reading through the pages on that link i ran across this: at this point in the conversation they are discussing how to remove the condensation. my thought is: if you have a pipe leading out you dont have a sealed humidor. but thats where the J trap comes into play. the water will actually seal the humidor again.
at the same point 1 1/2 cups of condensation a week? geeez. the only water that I put into my humidor goes onto my beads. i add maybe a few tablespoons at a time. this means that all that water that is exiting the humidor has to be added in. that is almost a daily recharge of water.
how much water does the Oasis hold?
im starting to think that a peltier may not be such a good idea. you are exchanging worry about the temp for worry about humidity loss and massive upkeep.
the Johnson A4129 apparently isnt a constant control unit anyway. at one point he says though a peltier CAN work with a standard on/off thermostat its life span is reduced greatly. so if this is the rout you are gunna go, make sure the Peltier can be replaced easily. this may cost more in the long run (buying a new peltier with heat sink every "x" number of years) but in the initial investment you could save a $50.
sorry if this post seemed a bit out there and hit or miss. i was kind of reading along on that forum and commenting here.
iduno. im not as excited about the peltier as i used to be, but i still have yet to rule it out from my design.
thoughts?
"Long ashes my friends."