Some Questions for You Humidor Design Guys and Gals

[Hurltim]

I have most of my humidor design completed but I am in need of some input.

The storage area will be roughly 4' by 4' by 20"(negotiable). Directly beneath this will be a 6" plenum chamber with 4 tangential fans: One on each side and two on the back. These will blow air into hollow channels in the walls and push air up the channels and come in to the storage area through the top. The fans will draw air through a hole in the bottom of the storage area.

This will heat, cool, humidify and dehumidify. The fans are 24V so the entire system will be 24V. I am basically building a 24V cooling and dehumidification system from scratch.

 

What shelf depth do most people prefer?

 

I have a couple of choices for compressors. There are a few 24V ones out there but they are definitely more expensive than a 120V setup. Is a 24V safer than a 120V? I can encase the storage area in metal but I would prefer not to do that.

 

Any thoughts or questions, feel free to ask.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

 

[PigFish]

I am always happy to help a mate along amigo, but typically one question at a time.

You are going to eat up some money in a 24VDC power supply (one stout enough to run a compressor) so I would bag the 24VDC cooling idea. That is just me. TE's ofter run on 24VDC and while many refrigeration systems run 24VDC controls, they are mostly 120 and 240VAC (in the states).

I am not a big believer in shelving. It just gets in the way of airflow and takes up room that cigars can be stored in. I won't be much help there. All I can say is that minimalist is better, imho...

I too use a cyclonic ducted means to circulate air. I therefore endorse the idea. Frankly, you cannot get enough airflow.

I don't have a lot of time these days to do a lot of pro-bono design work, but if you get in a jam, send me an email and I might be able to help you out. I am a capable CAD draftsman.

Best of luck on the project and please keep me informed. -Ray

[Hurltim]

The 24V system really comes down to the fans. The tangential fans run on 24V and push around 240 CFM of air. Standard 12V fans really don't have the power to push large volumes of air 4'. I will need several 120mm fans to run other devices like the humidifier and the fan for the evaporator and condenser and most of the long life 120mm industrial fans are available in 24V so it would save me some headache to run them all on 24V.  As for power supplies, there are some Delta models that aren't too bad for price. The controller I am planning on using (Carel IR33) is available in 12-24V and 115V. If I go 12/24, I will need a dedicated power supply for it as well. 

I have enough headroom to run a 24V compressor unit on the power supplies I am looking at but reliable brands like Danfoss and Tecumseh aren't exactly cheap. It would be cheaper to use a 115V compressor but I am just not sure which is safer. I have installed several VFD's to convert three phase woodworking tools to 240V but I am a little nervous about storing all of the cooling and electronics in basically a wood box under the humidor. The electronics will be enclosed in a separate waterproof housing but the compressor won't be. 

Sketchup works for what I need to do but I wind up doing hand drawings that I can take to the workshop with me. 

My shelving question comes from a discussion with @zeedubbya about wider being better than deeper. I can make them any size I want to I was just wondering what sizes people like.

On a side note, insulation is a design nightmare due to the 2" thickness. I looked at VIP panels but they are just too pricey. I may use some on the doors. 

 

[PigFish]

Sounds like you are well on your way mate, have fun with that... You are in for an adventure!

Creating humidors is the most fun I have had with cigars in the last 10 years... I love it and bringing a new idea to life is a big part of the fun. This sounds like a really great project.

Best of luck on your new venture! -R