So my vinotemp has almost 2lbs of 65% hearfelt beads in it. I run two computer fans inside to circulate the air. The drain is sealed. The humidity has always seemed to be on the high side of 65 but not dramatically. Over the last week or so it seems to be rising and when I looked at it this morning the reading was 71%.

So I'm wondering if being in a very humid environment, Florida, is affecting the humidity inside. But typically our "winters" are less humid than the summers.What I mean is if the cooling unit is running a fair amount, it is pulling air from the ambient environment, no? Maybe the ambient air has so much humidity that the beads can't soak enough in.

Since I set this up in June of this year I have never added water to the beads and in fact have tried to dry them with a hair dryer and the oven.

Any ideas? Think I maybe was sold 70% and not 65% beads? This is kinda starting to annoy me.
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I have a pound of 65% beads in my vino which I keep in my basement and the RH stays at 70%. Could be the Florida humidity.
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Do you have any idea what the ambient humidity is, generally, in your abode? Is it an older place, drafty and whatnot, or fairly well controlled? I have had similar problems with high humidity, and Austin's not really considered a very humid place, so it may very well be your locale. There's only so much that beads can do, esp with a vinotemp, which due to having a peltier system and not a compressor cooler, isn't naturally going to pull some humidity out as it cools. There are cheap routes you can go to try managing the humidity (cat litter, Damprid) but if the ambient RH outside the vinotemp is high, you might also look at more expensive room dehumidifiers.
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Have you tried to contact Heartfelt for guidance?
(866) 754-5352

I use Shilala's HCM beads and he provides instructions for adjusting them to your needs. I don't know if you can adjust the other types. Once I got the HCM beads adjusted, after several 30 minute visits to the freezer, they became pretty much maintenance free. I have only had to put them in the freezer once or twice at most in the past 6 months or more.

I do know when I was using cat litter beads, I had LOTS of trouble getting the RH down and keeping it down. They just don't seem to work to absorb humidity.

What happens when you remove the beads all together?
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Put it to you this way. As soon as I open the door to the vinotemp the RH reading on my hygrometer that I leave in the open starts climbing and if I leave it open for just a couple of minutes the reading is 70%+.
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I've noticed that it takes a loooong time for Vinotemps to stabilize. If I noticed these type of swings I just avoid opening the Vintoemp for a period of a few days. What is your ambient temp and humidity?
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No. I guess that might be logical.

Thinking about doing the same.
Haven't tried. Being as the beads, at least as I understand it, are supposed to take out humidity and release humidity I can't see where this would help. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
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If your Vino isnt filled more than half way try this: next time youre at your B&M pick up a few empty WOOD boxes/cabinets.. forget the cardboard ones. Fill up any empty space with the wood cabs and that might help regulate your humidity a bit more.
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I haven't checked it honestly, but I can tell you as of late we have been keeping the inside temperature anywhere from 69 up to about 73. I'll pull out a hygrometer and check it.
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Empty space isn't a problem. It is way more than half full.
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The past few days I had the exact same problem.

I have two Vinos. The one I have aging boxes in I rarely open. It has about 1 1/2 pounds of Heartfelt beads in it. The past few days it went from 67% up to 71%. A week ago I added a cab of 50 DPG Blue corona gordas to that one. Other than that it hasn't been open. Prior to that it had been steady for months at 65-67%.

My other one has about 1 1/2 pounds of Scott's beads. That one is opened and closed daily. For a long time I fought with it. Now it has been steady at 65-67% for a month or so.

Both are pretty full and the rh in my house is usually in the 50s.

I cannot figure it out either!!!
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Also, what temperature setting do you have the Vinotemp set to?
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And you're in Gainesville if I'm not mistaken, so our ambients are going to be similar.

I believe 65, maybe 64, which is putting the temp reading on my hygros around 67.
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Maybe turn the Vinotemp off since your ambient temps are acceptable. That is what I'm doing during the winter.
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I may do that.
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Actually, I am on the NE Coast. Our outside humidity levels should be about the same, but my outside temps may be a little cooler.

I keep Vinos on 67.

I just can't figure out why one went up all of a sudden.
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The Rh of the air in your Vinotemp is irrelevant. It will go through dramatic swings as you open the door or the unit cycles. Measure your Rh inside your boxes. That will give you a more accurate measurement of the Rh your cigars are actually experiencing. :-)
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I live in So Fla. (Pompano Beach) and have not had any humidity issues with my Vino, at least not yet. I will say I've only had it set-up now for a couple of months.

I'm using 1-1/2 lbs. of Shilala's beads and have 1 - 3" aux. computer fan that runs every 4 hours for fifteen minutes for extra circulation. The thermostat on the Vino is set at 67 degrees (there's about a 6 degree diff between the Vino and my hygrometer). Right now the internal readings for the Vino are 73 degrees and 64% RH, the ambient readings are 81 degrees and 63% RH.

What I find as being odd is both yours and Gator's Vinos w/ the Heartfelt beads have climbed in RH, but Gator's and mine w/ Shilala's beads have held steady.

I would probably call Heartfelt to see if maybe they had an explanation.
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When Dave's beads get full of water they can can no longer gather water from the air. The RH will then rise in your humi (vino) if the ambient (surrounding) RH is higher than your humi's setting.
At that point, you have to dry the beads out.

My HCM beads have a much higher capacity for holding water.
The RH will rise slowly over time. When they get higher than we're comfortable with, all a guy has to do is throw them in the freezer for a few 20 minute cycles.
That'll dry out some of the water and lower the bead's RH setting a couple points, and we're back in business.
Think of the dramatic rise that happens with the Heartfelt beads as an "alarm".
When they're full and it's time to dry them out, the RH rises.
Being as it's so wet in FL right now, it shows Dave's beads are doing their job very well. :-)

Mind ya, everything I just said is pretty much Florida specific or Socal specific.
It's the rainy season in those areas and humidity is high. Plus they're not running air conditioners so much, so the RH in the house is round 70-75% rather than 45-50% when they're running air conditioners.
Here in PA it's the freezing cold season and our bead problems are completely opposite. It's gone from 80%RH in the house down to 45%. If it weren't for the two humidifiers I run, it'd be about 0%RH. :-)
Beads up here in the Great White North need to have water added because the ambient RH is so incredibly low right now.
So if you're in the north and you're using Dave's beads and the RH in your humi drops dramatically, it means they've dried out and they need some water.
If you're using my beads, the rh may drop a couple points over the coming weeks and it'll be a big help to add a wet sponge to the vino for a few days.

The only reason that my beads don't tend to need any (or much) attention is because they hold a lot more water than other beads. About 600% more.
So there's a lot more water available to temper dry air and their RH level drops very slowly.
They have a lot more capacity for taking water out of the air, too. So bed's RH doesn't rise very quickly.

Hope this helps!!! :-)
Scott
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The mad scientist himself has spoken!!

Update: I raised the temp on the unit last night to it's highest setting. This morning the RH is showing 66% which is acceptable to me. I like your explanation Scott and find it to be dead on, except for the rainy season part. We are, however, running the A/C much less and therefore there is much more ambient humidity in the house.

I'm gonna see how things work out over the next few weeks and if not to my satisfaction I'm gonna buy some of your HCM beads. The ease of use is what one looks for in the beads and if yours have 600% more capacity they sound even easier. Plus, I'm sure some other fine brother would be willing to buy my Heartfelts at a good price.

Thanks .
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