wolfain Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Hey folks I need some advice on my current wineador (27 bottle). For the most part, the upper and lower zones are fine. My mid zone seems to be giving me some problems. I recently got a lascar2 USB logger to track the temp/RH through the day (for about 5 days, see attached) 1) temp is about 22-23c range which I think is ok.. (Home ambient temp is about 28-29c, tropical weather, singapore around RH60-80 depending on the heat outside) 2) my humidity has been hovering around the 55% RH range. Seems low but I get mold on some of my cigars.. minor amount of mold, which I just wipe off using alcohol swabs. -these cigars are boxed -they don't look dry (oily still) -smokes well I have smoked some of these cigars kept at this zone, and they taste good. No burn issues , draw issues etc. seems fine... What's the issue with the damn mold? I'm having trouble trying to bring it up to 60-65 but I don't think it's that big of an issue. (Just the mold) I use a mixture of boveda65 and HF65 beads.. And an oasis (at the bottom) but it never activates as the bottom zone hovers 65-67. The oasis is set to activate at <65% Any ideas or thoughts on this ? Many thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbandz Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 boxes are too moist.need to dry them out,paper holds moisture a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB24 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 This is one of those topics that can be searched for. Lots of great information from Piggy and several others. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfain Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yes I know, I have been reading up a lot, but I'm still stumped for the most part. Been using this wineador for a year plus now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planetary Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hmm. Are you really sure that the mid-zone of the wineador is at fault? Perhaps you should move mold-prone boxes around to see if this is really the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Please post some pictures of your humidor (the inside please, with and without boxes, the outside does not do me much good). I talk a lot about data logging. It is a science all in and of itself. The data logger is only as good as the guy/gal placing it, and understanding how it works and how it samples. It is a piece of are analysis equipment. Like a stethoscope, placed against your forehead, it does little good there. That is unless one is looking for 'rocks in the head.' Get me a pic also of where you place your data logger, and how you place it. From the top of my head (a great place to check for rocks) I am guessing that you have a circulation problem. Your DL is therefore not doing you much good and confusing you. While I continue to toss my mental stones a your humidor, let me toss this out. You have boxes right in front of a fan that is used to circulate the cool air off your cooling device! Here is the rub kids... These humidors that many of you make, may appear to work but after some serious run time, they begin to show their weaknesses. If these humidors worked without design, CigarClimatology would not exist. Moreover, if your humidor design includes a feature (as I am seeing now) of a deliberate pool of water intended to collect water from the cooling coil runoff, to keep those 'wine' people happy so that their corks don't dry out, then you have a huge problem of free water stuck in your humidor that you cannot control. You should consider that there is "always" free water in the cold space. I call this space around the cooling element the cold space. And, if you ask one of my clients, they will tell you that I also refer to it as the 'wet space.' One of these days I am going to buy one of these TE coolers and see about building a kit that solves the problem that they have, assuming that the design can be fixed with engineering. Until then, I will keep guessing! Oh, and for the record. Your cigars are moldy because they are wet. Your wet space is soaking them prior, or after your cooling cycle. This is a two fold issue. You also have a circulation problem that is causing you to think your humidor is too dry. Lastly, you need to see what you cooler is doing as it cycles. I believe the Lascar will allow you a 10 sample rate. Use it and post some logs... For the record, I use custom data loggers that I run through my own sensors. It is a pain in the ass, but it is what I feel I must do to collect the information that I collect. I sample at once a second!!! 10 seconds is not great but it will do. A lot can and does happen in a humidor in 1 minute. If you are looking in at (data logging it) at every 10 minutes, the mice are certainly playing while the cat is away!!! -Piggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDisco Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Liquid water, liquid water, liquid water. Mold does not need any specific rH to bloom, it needs liquid water. Even tiny micro droplets will do it. Anything that enables moisture to condense inside your humidor, faster than the internal air and bovedas can absorb it, will enable a mold bloom. Like Piggy says, scope out what might be chilling to condensation in your humi. Then think about adding fan circulation to keep excess moisture absorbed into the air until the bovedas can absorb it. Every time you open the humi door in Singapore you're letting in a cloud of humid air that will instantly condense somewhere in your humidor, even if just tiny micro droplets. If you're pulling out boxes and opening them, you should probably put those boxes back OPENED first, and then go back and close them after 10 minutes, just so you're not trapping a good dose of Singapore jungle air inside the box before chilling. And you can skip the alcohol wipes. Simple white mold will just brush off with a soft, small artist's brush. You're not trying to disinfect your cigars. They naturally come with mold spores all over them. It's the liquid water that's causing the bloom, not the spores themselves. The spores are all over your sticks and humidor and boxes and there's no way you'll ever get rid of them. Avoid the tiny water droplets and you'll be fine. Just up your humi air circulation a bit, get in the habit of putting boxes back in open briefly (so the humid air can blow out and be absorbed by the bovedas), and you'll be fine! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfain Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Great wealth of info folks! I learn a little bit more every day! ️ Days prior to these posts, i tried to sort things out, and I figured it's likely the fan blowing directly at the boxes (my thermo is stuffed), so what I did was 'protect' by encasing some of these boxes in ziplock (not sealed) to prevent them from being directly blown at. Abit of a crutch but seems helpful. I think it's all of the above, poor circulation, condensation, etc. planning to get meself a bigger unit! Will do further observations. Thanks piggy and papadisco. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Cheers mate! Best of luck on your projects! -the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfain Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Will keep you folks posted on the matter! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.e2a46b57b5880109ddf171d1b6f9daea.png)
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