Eagerly awaiting your follow up on this. I have a chc-251s coming in and want to nail down the best system for it. Have always used Boveda in smaller acrylics and what not but thinking about going the bead route. Things I’d like to see see how you thread that ribbon cable through the unit and how you plan on removing any condensation considering the CO is not two-way. Thanks and I love your videos!
Thanks Adam. In the follow up I will go over all those things for sure. I am hoping the condensation is controlled mostly with the cedar and cigars. My hope is that there is not excess humidity to have to try and resolve. But we shall see!
I just watched the follow up video “too many cigars” and then this one. I wish that I had found these before. You sent a message about changing some of the parts out to help get the temperature and humidity up but, I had an idea that I was going to employ. My idea was to put a reptile heater in the unit to get the temperature right but, I am putting a smart plug on it and then, I have an automation that will turn the heater on when it gets to 66 degrees and then, turn it off when it gets to 72 degrees. After seeing this video and, in preparation for the arrival of my reptile heater, I have had it unplugged for about 3 days or so. It has kept 68 degrees and 72%. It makes me wonder if I need to plug it in at all. I keep 2 trays of propylene glycol in it and it seems to be doing just fine. I keep my house 69 degrees pretty much year around so, I should not have any temperature challenges. I might have to deal with some humidity problems but, any thoughts on just keeping it unplugged?
So sorry for the late response...I don't always get a notification of a comment. So I just emailed the manufacturer as the website that sells the parts is always out of stock. Mine is always unplugged at this point. rendering it useless. My issue was it gets hot where i live. So it's now pretty worthless for that aspect. I will keep you posted on the response I get from Whynter.
Man thank you very much for this. I have the exact same model as yours and I just can’t get to the right humidity, it’s been sitting around the high 50s too. I gotta say that I’ve been using bóveda packs, I have 6 of the 320 grams on the humidor and it doesn’t work. I just ordered myself a Cigar Oasis Excel 3.0 cause you gave me hope with that; I’m looking forward to see your personal results. Good luck man please keep us posted.
Arturo...I just took a look at my humidor. The Cigar Oasis says its at 68% humidity, but my other hygrometer says 55%. So I will need to verify them both to make sure they are accurate. I am giving this new set up until this weekend to see the final results. I am sure hoping this works for all our sakes!
I think your hydrometer is not calibrated ? Or your humidor leaks ? Or the temperature fluctuates too much it too fast? Boveda works. I’ve had experience with the 65% and 69%. They both work as they say.
Thanks for the information regarding which cigar oasis is best for a wineador which I've a 400 count Schmeke and using both Boveda packs and a Heartfelt beads disk that is 70% humidity that's keeping my humidity at 70-73% which fine for the Michigan summer. I keep wineador plugged in even though it's in the living room and the A/C stays at 71° I still planning to add a Cigar Oasis Excel because the Heartfelt beads dry out and I've to remember to check them unlike the Cigar Oasis it'll beep or remind my by Wi-Fi when it needs more water.
Sorry for the delay...just got home from vacation. So far I like the Cigar Oasis for the WiFi and the set it and forget it aspect. I am still finding that the CO unit will say its at 68 Rh, but my other digital hygrometer will say its 54 Rh. Not sure why this is still an issue. It seems like the humidity is staying towards the bottom of the unit and the Rh is lower at the top. Not sure how I will address this. I added back in one tray of Heartfelt beads to see if that helps. In will be doing an update video on this next weekend.
What temperature and humidity do you normally keep in the large humidor? Do you have different readings in temperature and humidity in each of the shelves? In my humidor humidity is higher at the lower levels of the shelves and the temperature is higher at higher levels of the shelves. How do you balance the temperature and humidity? Please let me know. Thank you.
So I have a target range of 65-70 Rh. And it does change from top to bottom a bit. As long as I am in that range I am content. AS far as how to handle the range from top to bottom...that is where cigar rotation coms in. I rotate the drawers every few weeks so all the cigars can sit at the various ranges or Rh. Hope that helps.
Hello, thanks for the in depth info you have on this unit. Mine came today. Are you still planning to do an update video with the cigar oasis excel? (Which I also have)
Also, I just wiped all the drawers and shelves with distilled water. I have my Cigar Oasis Excel up and running. Within a few minutes, the cigar oasis was reading 70rh! So I got my cigar oasis digital hygrometer out of my little desktop humi and put it inside the Whynter. Within about 15 minutes, it was reading 70rh and 65 degrees f! Is this normal that it gets to the desired rh that fast?
If the conditions are right from the get go...its not uncommon. The real test will come after about 2-3 days. When the interior environment settles in, then you will see a truer reading. The fight I seem to have is the unit running to keep it cool and the Rh. One robs from the other. Its finding the balance that's tough. But for me, I ran perfect temp/Rh for almost 2 years...so it is possible!
I fought the same fight with my coolerador. Now I just use acrylic tupperware containers with Boveda packs inside, inside the fridge. True set it and forget it. Rock solid RH and temp and I can use different % Bodeda packs in individual containers for different cigars, 65, 69, etc.
I have been using Cigar oasis excel for probably close to 6 years. They are amazing... Just an FYI you need to change the bottom part (foam tank) about every couple of years. If I remember correct they are about $15-$20 and you can get them on amazon. They stop absorbing water... And that is even if you use distilled water. But besides that they are amazing... Never need to worry about humidity again! In the summer dryer months make sure to check water about every month or two.
@@jackcoy361 my only concern now is that the Cigar Oasis says the Rh is 68% and my digital hygrometer still shows 55%. And I have calibrated the digital one recently. So I may need to calibrate them both.
Great video! I have recently gotten back in to cigar smoking, and have things changed since the late 90's! I live in OC and LAs Vegas, and those two areas are a pain for keeping a humidor at a perfect level... Last time I had a humidor I was told to keep it at 72/72. Seems those numbers have changed. Now that it has been a month has the Cigar Oasis helped? Keep the great videos coming! Subscribed!!
Looks by your name you are a Ham. I have been since I was 18 years old! The cigar world has changed a bit over the years. I would say mostly for the better. Access to great cigars is at an all time high. Pricing has become very competitive so we get great deals. The 72/72 rule has changed too. The popular belief is to go with 70/70 to be in the sweet spot. I agree with others that are more in the 68/68 camp. I think they smoke better with the Rh a little lower. It has taken a bit longer than I planned for the follow up video...went out of state last minute. I am making the follow up tomorrow. Thanks for watching and subscribing!!
@@SoCalCigars Yes, I am a ham. Have been a number of years. Used to run a bit of an illegal CB when I drove semi's cross country. In fact I almost moved to a small town in MO. called Blue Springs. I am going to be getting my cigar collection back up in the near future, and probably start with a coolidor. Looking forward to the new video!
@@WJ6FRadio Wow...how funny...my family lives right next to Blue Springs in Oak Grove...I was just there! I ran a CB for years too...500 watt linear. Like cigars...also a very expensive hobby!
@@SoCalCigars Yes, radios are expensive as are cigars. my ex-wife's brother lived out in Overland Park/Leawood, KS area. He had played for KC Royals for about 10 years many moons ago. I like the Blue Springs, MO area except the humidity.
Question for you. We have read that for temporary humidor us a wetted paper towel on a ziplock bag I your travel pack. Have you ever tried this? Does this work.
Hey, so I have a similar humidor. Mine has a drain tube for condensation on the back. I’m pretty sure that is where you are losing your humidity. So my fix is to take a car vacuum hose cap and cap it off. Hope this can help someone!
SoCal Cigars I’ve been told the only issue with this method is that you may need to remove the plug once every couple weeks or add a mesh with beads at the bottom so no water gets built up, I haven’t had any build up yet.
@@allenkoch3472 Thanks for that. I will take a look and see how to best address this. I did take out the back fan once and did see some dried moisture trails. So I will see if there is a hole in that area behind the fan. I will keep you posted.
I use beads in the bottom where the water sits. Water gets recycled no more water .works great. I use water beads on bottom and boveda 65 rh on the top rh sits between 62 65 rh .
Did you try Boveda packs? I have the same set up and have tried everything possible.. so far, boveda packs haven’t worked and my reader reads higher then what the fridge reads...
I have thrown in Boveda packs in when I get them with cigar shipments. But I have not tried them as the main humidity method. I have had some people say that was the only thing that worked for them. I am for now going with the Cigar Oasis and Heartfelt beads. I am hoping this works as I don't want to have to keep buying Boveda packs as they dry out.
Thank you! I think the Ultra 3.0 could work...but for me...I would probably go with the Excel 3.0. Once you enter the desired humidity level, it should maintain that even though its a larger unit. It is rated from 100-300 cigars. So I think that would work fine and could be used in a larger unit if you go bigger down the road.
Sorry for the delay...just got home from vacation. As for the Cigar Oasis being the solution to all of my problems...not 100% sold on that yet! So far I like the Cigar Oasis for the WiFi and the set it and forget it aspect. I am still finding that the CO unit will say its at 68 Rh, but my other digital hygrometer will say its 54 Rh. Not sure why this is still an issue. It seems like the humidity is staying towards the bottom of the unit and the Rh is lower at the top. Not sure how I will address this. I added back in one tray of Heartfelt beads to see if that helps. In will be doing an update video on this next weekend.
I have an excel in my New Air. Works well. I will say getting these cooler humidors set up is difficult and timely. You wouldn't think that's the case because they're mostly plastic and glass, but it is. If you turn it off and on it get's really difficult to keep the unit regulated, at least that's my experience. Once you get it stabilized, you have to keep it running or you'll run into temperature and humidity problems. They're not perfect. Wood humidors are a lot less drama.
Couldn't agree more! They really solve the temp issue, but seem to open a whole other set of issues. I almost miss the days of juggling multiple desktops...like you said, all wood inside seems to be so much easier. And you are correct about the power issue. Once I unplugged mine for a few weeks, I have never gotten back that original control I had. Not sure why that is.
With the size of the humidor and its storage capabilities its hard to believe that you'd need an extra device to stabilize the humidity. The machine should be able to sustain its self I would think. Do you think its time for another humidor? I'm about to purchase a humidor, not as large as the one you have but a similar model. Adding the distilled water I get, but having to buy other components additional to the humidor itself I don't feel good about. Is this a common practice?
I think its a combination of the volume of space in the humidor, the amount of cedar, the amount of cigars and the cooling method. It seems that there is a tipping point that there is more humidity required that the humidity method can supply. There is the million dollar questions...what is the correct set up?? The cigars and cedar are pulling in the Rh...the large interior has to be filled with Rh...and the Cigar Oasis and Beads need to be able to fulfill that demand. I do believe another humidor would be awesome and down the road, will probably happen.
It’s not the unit. It’s your humidity calibration is off. No way you introduced that much water and ambient humidity to the unit and it still read mid 50s. Next time properly calibrate your sensors. You physically, unambiguously humidified the environment. This isn’t a case of second guessing boveda packs etc, you literally had cups of water and damp paper towels in there. So we know the humidity in that environment was truly there.
At one point I had three separate digital humidity gauges in this humidor. The odds of all three being way off is small. With the unit plugged in and running, the humidity was being sucked out. When the unit was off, the humidity shot up. Something about this unit was removing the humidity. I am waiting for a possible resolution. There are two parts in this unit that notoriously go bad. One of them is on back order. I am hoping by changing these two part, the issue will be solved. I will not know until that part becomes available again. Right now I have the unit off and a Cigar Oasis in there and the humidity is fine.
Thanks for the information, looking forward to the update... Good Luck !
Thanks Carlo...I hope this works out!
Eagerly awaiting your follow up on this. I have a chc-251s coming in and want to nail down the best system for it. Have always used Boveda in smaller acrylics and what not but thinking about going the bead route. Things I’d like to see see how you thread that ribbon cable through the unit and how you plan on removing any condensation considering the CO is not two-way. Thanks and I love your videos!
Thanks Adam. In the follow up I will go over all those things for sure. I am hoping the condensation is controlled mostly with the cedar and cigars. My hope is that there is not excess humidity to have to try and resolve. But we shall see!
I just watched the follow up video “too many cigars” and then this one. I wish that I had found these before. You sent a message about changing some of the parts out to help get the temperature and humidity up but, I had an idea that I was going to employ. My idea was to put a reptile heater in the unit to get the temperature right but, I am putting a smart plug on it and then, I have an automation that will turn the heater on when it gets to 66 degrees and then, turn it off when it gets to 72 degrees.
After seeing this video and, in preparation for the arrival of my reptile heater, I have had it unplugged for about 3 days or so. It has kept 68 degrees and 72%. It makes me wonder if I need to plug it in at all.
I keep 2 trays of propylene glycol in it and it seems to be doing just fine.
I keep my house 69 degrees pretty much year around so, I should not have any temperature challenges. I might have to deal with some humidity problems but, any thoughts on just keeping it unplugged?
So sorry for the late response...I don't always get a notification of a comment. So I just emailed the manufacturer as the website that sells the parts is always out of stock. Mine is always unplugged at this point. rendering it useless. My issue was it gets hot where i live. So it's now pretty worthless for that aspect. I will keep you posted on the response I get from Whynter.
Man thank you very much for this. I have the exact same model as yours and I just can’t get to the right humidity, it’s been sitting around the high 50s too. I gotta say that I’ve been using bóveda packs, I have 6 of the 320 grams on the humidor and it doesn’t work. I just ordered myself a Cigar Oasis Excel 3.0 cause you gave me hope with that; I’m looking forward to see your personal results. Good luck man please keep us posted.
Arturo...I just took a look at my humidor. The Cigar Oasis says its at 68% humidity, but my other hygrometer says 55%. So I will need to verify them both to make sure they are accurate. I am giving this new set up until this weekend to see the final results. I am sure hoping this works for all our sakes!
I think your hydrometer is not calibrated ? Or your humidor leaks ? Or the temperature fluctuates too much it too fast? Boveda works. I’ve had experience with the 65% and 69%. They both work as they say.
Thanks for the information regarding which cigar oasis is best for a wineador which I've a 400 count Schmeke and using both Boveda packs and a Heartfelt beads disk that is 70% humidity that's keeping my humidity at 70-73% which fine for the Michigan summer.
I keep wineador plugged in even though it's in the living room and the A/C stays at 71° I still planning to add a Cigar Oasis Excel because the Heartfelt beads dry out and I've to remember to check them unlike the Cigar Oasis it'll beep or remind my by Wi-Fi when it needs more water.
Sorry for the delay...just got home from vacation. So far I like the Cigar Oasis for the WiFi and the set it and forget it aspect. I am still finding that the CO unit will say its at 68 Rh, but my other digital hygrometer will say its 54 Rh. Not sure why this is still an issue. It seems like the humidity is staying towards the bottom of the unit and the Rh is lower at the top. Not sure how I will address this. I added back in one tray of Heartfelt beads to see if that helps. In will be doing an update video on this next weekend.
Might be possitive pressure down at the siphon drain, exerted by the fan and putting air with humidity out the humidor
I have been told by a few people that they plugged up that drain hole. Maybe worth a try to temporarily block it and see the result.
What temperature and humidity do you normally keep in the large humidor? Do you have different readings in temperature and humidity in each of the shelves? In my humidor humidity is higher at the lower levels of the shelves and the temperature is higher at higher levels of the shelves. How do you balance the temperature and humidity? Please let me know. Thank you.
So I have a target range of 65-70 Rh. And it does change from top to bottom a bit. As long as I am in that range I am content. AS far as how to handle the range from top to bottom...that is where cigar rotation coms in. I rotate the drawers every few weeks so all the cigars can sit at the various ranges or Rh. Hope that helps.
Hello, thanks for the in depth info you have on this unit. Mine came today. Are you still planning to do an update video with the cigar oasis excel? (Which I also have)
Also, I just wiped all the drawers and shelves with distilled water. I have my Cigar Oasis Excel up and running. Within a few minutes, the cigar oasis was reading 70rh! So I got my cigar oasis digital hygrometer out of my little desktop humi and put it inside the Whynter. Within about 15 minutes, it was reading 70rh and 65 degrees f! Is this normal that it gets to the desired rh that fast?
I was on vacation and just got back...I am planning to do an update video next weekend!
If the conditions are right from the get go...its not uncommon. The real test will come after about 2-3 days. When the interior environment settles in, then you will see a truer reading. The fight I seem to have is the unit running to keep it cool and the Rh. One robs from the other. Its finding the balance that's tough. But for me, I ran perfect temp/Rh for almost 2 years...so it is possible!
I fought the same fight with my coolerador. Now I just use acrylic tupperware containers with Boveda packs inside, inside the fridge. True set it and forget it. Rock solid RH and temp and I can use different % Bodeda packs in individual containers for different cigars, 65, 69, etc.
I finally gave up. I now only plug it in in the summer and only during the day. Not ideal for sure.
I have been using Cigar oasis excel for probably close to 6 years. They are amazing... Just an FYI you need to change the bottom part (foam tank) about every couple of years. If I remember correct they are about $15-$20 and you can get them on amazon. They stop absorbing water... And that is even if you use distilled water. But besides that they are amazing... Never need to worry about humidity again! In the summer dryer months make sure to check water about every month or two.
Jack...so far so good with the Oasis action. I am giving it a good week to see how it settles in. So far my hopes are high.
@@SoCalCigars I don't use any beads or anything else in my humidor the oasis seems to always keep it perfect.
@@jackcoy361 my only concern now is that the Cigar Oasis says the Rh is 68% and my digital hygrometer still shows 55%. And I have calibrated the digital one recently. So I may need to calibrate them both.
Great video! I have recently gotten back in to cigar smoking, and have things changed since the late 90's! I live in OC and LAs Vegas, and those two areas are a pain for keeping a humidor at a perfect level... Last time I had a humidor I was told to keep it at 72/72. Seems those numbers have changed. Now that it has been a month has the Cigar Oasis helped? Keep the great videos coming! Subscribed!!
Looks by your name you are a Ham. I have been since I was 18 years old! The cigar world has changed a bit over the years. I would say mostly for the better. Access to great cigars is at an all time high. Pricing has become very competitive so we get great deals. The 72/72 rule has changed too. The popular belief is to go with 70/70 to be in the sweet spot. I agree with others that are more in the 68/68 camp. I think they smoke better with the Rh a little lower. It has taken a bit longer than I planned for the follow up video...went out of state last minute. I am making the follow up tomorrow. Thanks for watching and subscribing!!
@@SoCalCigars Yes, I am a ham. Have been a number of years. Used to run a bit of an illegal CB when I drove semi's cross country. In fact I almost moved to a small town in MO. called Blue Springs. I am going to be getting my cigar collection back up in the near future, and probably start with a coolidor. Looking forward to the new video!
@@WJ6FRadio Wow...how funny...my family lives right next to Blue Springs in Oak Grove...I was just there! I ran a CB for years too...500 watt linear. Like cigars...also a very expensive hobby!
@@SoCalCigars Yes, radios are expensive as are cigars. my ex-wife's brother lived out in Overland Park/Leawood, KS area. He had played for KC Royals for about 10 years many moons ago. I like the Blue Springs, MO area except the humidity.
Question for you. We have read that for temporary humidor us a wetted paper towel on a ziplock bag I your travel pack. Have you ever tried this? Does this work.
This is for sure a great temp fix. Hard to maintain for the long haul. But can be a life saver in a pinch.
Hey, so I have a similar humidor. Mine has a drain tube for condensation on the back. I’m pretty sure that is where you are losing your humidity. So my fix is to take a car vacuum hose cap and cap it off. Hope this can help someone!
Allen...thanks for that tip!. I will investigate that for sure. If that helps, I will do an update adding that info from you in. Much appreciated.
SoCal Cigars I’ve been told the only issue with this method is that you may need to remove the plug once every couple weeks or add a mesh with beads at the bottom so no water gets built up, I haven’t had any build up yet.
@@allenkoch3472 Thanks for that. I will take a look and see how to best address this. I did take out the back fan once and did see some dried moisture trails. So I will see if there is a hole in that area behind the fan. I will keep you posted.
I use beads in the bottom where the water sits. Water gets recycled no more water .works great. I use water beads on bottom and boveda 65 rh on the top rh sits between 62 65 rh .
Did you try Boveda packs? I have the same set up and have tried everything possible.. so far, boveda packs haven’t worked and my reader reads higher then what the fridge reads...
I have thrown in Boveda packs in when I get them with cigar shipments. But I have not tried them as the main humidity method. I have had some people say that was the only thing that worked for them. I am for now going with the Cigar Oasis and Heartfelt beads. I am hoping this works as I don't want to have to keep buying Boveda packs as they dry out.
Hi Nice video i have a adorini bari delux do you think the excel is an over kill or is it a good buy ?
Thank you! I think the Ultra 3.0 could work...but for me...I would probably go with the Excel 3.0. Once you enter the desired humidity level, it should maintain that even though its a larger unit. It is rated from 100-300 cigars. So I think that would work fine and could be used in a larger unit if you go bigger down the road.
@@SoCalCigars thanks for the tip am ordering a excel 3.0 now but dos it have a fan they circulate the air? 😊
Yes...yhere is acsmall fan in the lid@@samuraj7827
@@samuraj7827 It does have a small fan on the top to circulate the moisture throughout the humidor.
How is it holding up so far? I have the same model cooler. Just waiting for your update before I order the same cigar oasis.
Sorry for the delay...just got home from vacation. As for the Cigar Oasis being the solution to all of my problems...not 100% sold on that yet! So far I like the Cigar Oasis for the WiFi and the set it and forget it aspect. I am still finding that the CO unit will say its at 68 Rh, but my other digital hygrometer will say its 54 Rh. Not sure why this is still an issue. It seems like the humidity is staying towards the bottom of the unit and the Rh is lower at the top. Not sure how I will address this. I added back in one tray of Heartfelt beads to see if that helps. In will be doing an update video on this next weekend.
I have an excel in my New Air. Works well. I will say getting these cooler humidors set up is difficult and timely. You wouldn't think that's the case because they're mostly plastic and glass, but it is. If you turn it off and on it get's really difficult to keep the unit regulated, at least that's my experience. Once you get it stabilized, you have to keep it running or you'll run into temperature and humidity problems. They're not perfect. Wood humidors are a lot less drama.
Couldn't agree more! They really solve the temp issue, but seem to open a whole other set of issues. I almost miss the days of juggling multiple desktops...like you said, all wood inside seems to be so much easier. And you are correct about the power issue. Once I unplugged mine for a few weeks, I have never gotten back that original control I had. Not sure why that is.
With the size of the humidor and its storage capabilities its hard to believe that you'd need an extra device to stabilize the humidity. The machine should be able to sustain its self I would think. Do you think its time for another humidor? I'm about to purchase a humidor, not as large as the one you have but a similar model. Adding the distilled water I get, but having to buy other components additional to the humidor itself I don't feel good about. Is this a common practice?
I think its a combination of the volume of space in the humidor, the amount of cedar, the amount of cigars and the cooling method. It seems that there is a tipping point that there is more humidity required that the humidity method can supply. There is the million dollar questions...what is the correct set up?? The cigars and cedar are pulling in the Rh...the large interior has to be filled with Rh...and the Cigar Oasis and Beads need to be able to fulfill that demand. I do believe another humidor would be awesome and down the road, will probably happen.
@@SoCalCigars Thank you so much. I enjoy the hobby...I want to enjoy it to its fullest!!
Updates.....we need updates
Editing as I type this...will be up in a few hours.
Love the shirt but Cali has to be hard.
You go that right! Plus Newsom (our Governor) just signed 7 new restrictive laws. We can't catch a break.
It’s not the unit. It’s your humidity calibration is off.
No way you introduced that much water and ambient humidity to the unit and it still read mid 50s. Next time properly calibrate your sensors. You physically, unambiguously humidified the environment. This isn’t a case of second guessing boveda packs etc, you literally had cups of water and damp paper towels in there. So we know the humidity in that environment was truly there.
At one point I had three separate digital humidity gauges in this humidor. The odds of all three being way off is small. With the unit plugged in and running, the humidity was being sucked out. When the unit was off, the humidity shot up. Something about this unit was removing the humidity. I am waiting for a possible resolution. There are two parts in this unit that notoriously go bad. One of them is on back order. I am hoping by changing these two part, the issue will be solved. I will not know until that part becomes available again. Right now I have the unit off and a Cigar Oasis in there and the humidity is fine.