Selecting a Thermoelectric Cooler

[davidl]

I am about to take the plunge and purchase a thermoelectric winecooler as my main means of storage. My main reason for this is the high temperaturesthat are in my storage room most of the year (over 80F).

In any case, I am currently looking at two coolers, one ofwhich has an "auto defrost" feature, and one which does not. Am I correct inassuming that I should stay away from the one that has the auto defrost featurebecause it will basically evaporate the condensation without giving me theability to recycle the water back into the RH beads?

Thanks for your feedback

PS: Most of the coolers available here that I am looking at,are not brand name - so there is no point in mentioning the band (Chinese brandsrebranded in the region).

[gigabyte056]

Hi,

I have bought two thermo units in the past years.

Both are non brand name and have not come across an auto defrost feature.

since we are from the same area, I can probably send you the name of the vendor via PM.

What I did is I replaced the shelves with wooden ones and blocked the drain.

now in mid summer I have around 17c - 67% in there with 2 pounds of 65% RH beads each.

Remember a thermo unit can reduce the temp around 10-12c no more, so if you store it in a room that goes above 30c you might still have issues with temperature.

BTW, I started with the kitty litter beads, gave that up since whenever I opened the units the time for the humidity to readjust was way too long.

[CM125]

David: I own a a thermo electric cooler I have a pound of 65% heartfelt beads in it. It holds 66% on the top 65% on the bottom, maintains temperature between 64 and 66 degrees.

I have had it for it about 2 1/2 months and I am extremely happy with it, I built 3 spanish cedar shelves. I have had no condensation at all the unit also is in the house where it is at constant 74 degrees you may have a problem with it being 80 plus degrees. I have added distilled water one time.

Their is room for about about 400 cigars I have about 120 cigars in it and have plenty of room left. PM me for brand name and priceI hope this helped

Curtis

[drake2k]

I used a Vinotemp 28 and it worked perfectly. I'm confused about the auto defrost feature you mentioned. Wine coolers don't get below freezing, so why would there be any frost to be defrosted?

Be very careful that your unit is in fact thermoelectric. I bought a second unit, a Vinotemp 35. It turned out to be a conventionql cooling unit, and the area around the coil got very cold. Stay away from those.

[goalie204]

I thought that if it had an auto defrost function it meant that it was a compressor unit, not a thermoelectric, but maybe not...

I've been looking for a new unit for larger storage, but cant find anything in Canada that's close enough to home + thermoelectric

[davidl]

I believe that there are two ways of dealing with the condensation that occurs in Thermoelectric units. The first is to drip all the water into a tray, which eventually evaporates, and the second is the use of what they call auto defrost. Auto Defrost units have no visible water drippings - which means their water cannot be used to hydrate RH beads (and thereby creating a much more self sufficient and efficient system).

I am not sure how accurate any of this is...so I am hoping someone with more experience on this subject will chime in.

[PigFish]

I believe that there are two ways of dealing with the condensation that occurs in Thermoelectric units. The first is to drip all the water into a tray, which eventually evaporates, and the second is the use of what they call auto defrost. Auto Defrost units have no visible water drippings - which means their water cannot be used to hydrate RH beads (and thereby creating a much more self sufficient and efficient system).

I am not sure how accurate any of this is...so I am hoping someone with more experience on this subject will chime in.

Mates... water does not just disappear! It either condensates and becomes liquid water, or it reenters the environment. This means that it raises your RH without your control.

Humidors are about control my friends. It would appear that any function of a humidor that you cannot directly control is generally a bad idea.

I can see where a system that is designed to re-vaporize water that has been condensed could be a great idea. I have experimented with this idea extensively and it does not work well with active humidifiers. I am speculating now, but it might work great with a sealed system that is buffered with a powered bead silo.

Rapid circulation may be a better approach, however. If you never let your thermo electric cooler get below the dew point, you would never get condensation in the first place.

I don't use Peltier type cooling devices so I am guessing and I admit it. I think they are inferior in most situations unless the cooler is really small.

-Piggy

[davidl]

I hear what you're saying Piggy. I know from the other threads that you like compressor units more because they react faster, and keep Temperature levels at the right levels with less effort and time to get there.

Interesting point about Dew Point.I looked up a calculator, and dew point for when Tempratures outside are 80F and RH outside is 55, would be 63F. This is a typical climate for me during the summer, so It does not look like I would be very susceptible to condensation issues.

[PigFish]

I hear what you're saying Piggy. I know from the other threads that you like compressor units more because they react faster, and keep Temperature levels at the right levels with less effort and time to get there.

Interesting point about Dew Point.I looked up a calculator, and dew point for when Tempratures outside are 80F and RH outside is 55, would be 63F. This is a typical climate for me during the summer, so It does not look like I would be very susceptible to condensation issues.

That's not really the way it works in a refrigerator mate... Your cooling coil, Peltier included will freeze (0 C) before the temp drops in your humidor depending on the temp differential. As soon as the coil, in your example, gets 55 or less (Deg F) then water will condense on the cooling coil (plate, heat sink). It is nature my friend and the designer of the cooling system be damned, there is nothing one can do about it, perhaps other than drive up the vapor pressure.

When there is a temperature variation that needs to be overcome, the energy drawn out of the system will be the same regardless of the cooling system used. One system cools fast and gets RFC (really ******* cold), the other cools slowly and depending on the size of the unit can also get really cold. Then, it is a matter of how much air can pass over the coil to absorb the energy, the transfer rate. A lot of Peltier coolers are only good to overcome a 15 deg F differential. That means they run all the time. Running all the time, likely below the dew point on the plate means that they will continue to strip water out of the air until the dew point matches that of the coil or is a few degrees higher. This is why I don't like Peltier devices. Furthermore, if your cooling fan (on the outside coil) fails the energy will be displaced on both coils, turning your humidor into an Easy Bake oven! I have had it happen!

Best, Piggy