Vintec wine fridge concerns

[Dimmers]

I picked the Vintec up via a Penfolds promotion last year, but only got around to connecting it a week ago.

The model is PV30SGMe, and it’s an 'active' system of sorts (i.e. a compressor not a thermo), and the manual says it regulates humidity at 65% (plus or minus 10%). I have stocked with wine + cigars, and about 2.5 pounds of HCM charged at 65%. Temp is set to max at 19c.

So… I thought with the beads (plus fairly temperate weather and RH here right now - consistent low 20c and low 60rh%) - , I would see less fluctuation that what the manual states, but, on spots checks of the hygrometers on the different shelves (not opening fridge, only through glass), the RH has varied between 55 - 71 % in single 24 hr periods (which cant be good for the sticks).

I’ll run the data logger in the weekend to confirm.

Queries for members with Vintec or similar compressor wine fridges (ie that are stated to regulate rh%) - are you seeing such big fluctuations and what have you done to reduce fluctuations?

My other fridge is a thermo - with 2.5 pounds beads it maintains a constant 64-68% rh @ 18C (and the rh% fluctuations are not daily but rather seasonally, i.e. in summer it runs at around a constant 67%, winter at 64%). This data has been confirmed via data logging at various times. Maybe I should have bought another thermo instead….

[Blace]

Hey mate, I have the 121 bottle Vintec. I think mine says it only keeps the RH around 65% at the temperature of 14 degrees. I also found mine settled at around 70%. I wanted a lower RH so got a heap of 7L snap lock containers and 65% Bovedas and threw them in the fridge. Works a treat, I also keep the temperature around 15-16 degrees as this results in cigars smoking great straight out of the fridge. As a second bonus there will be no beetle activity for temps below 18 degrees so no need to freeze!

[Miner]

The problem is the humidity will drop every time the compressor kicks in to cool. I'm not sure what the fix is.

I was given an old compressor wine fridge and its warmest setting was 12C. I put the thing on a timer so I could maintain 18C but because the compressor only ran for 10mins every 3 hours the humidity varied from 58% to 71% with an average of 68%.

Not exactly the best way to keep cigars. Since all the cigars were in boxes in the fridge I don't think they were directly exposed to the swings in humidity.

Your data logger results will be interesting.

Cheers

[OZCUBAN]

I picked the Vintec up via a Penfolds promotion last year, but only got around to connecting it a week ago.

The model is PV30SGMe, and it’s an 'active' system of sorts (i.e. a compressor not a thermo), and the manual says it regulates humidity at 65% (plus or minus 10%). I have stocked with wine + cigars, and about 2.5 pounds of HCM charged at 65%. Temp is set to max at 19c.

So… I thought with the beads (plus fairly temperate weather and RH here right now - consistent low 20c and low 60rh%) - , I would see less fluctuation that what the manual states, but, on spots checks of the hygrometers on the different shelves (not opening fridge, only through glass), the RH has varied between 55 - 71 % in single 24 hr periods (which cant be good for the sticks).

I’ll run the data logger in the weekend to confirm.

Queries for members with Vintec or similar compressor wine fridges (ie that are stated to regulate rh%) - are you seeing such big fluctuations and what have you done to reduce fluctuations?

My other fridge is a thermo - with 2.5 pounds beads it maintains a constant 64-68% rh @ 18C (and the rh% fluctuations are not daily but rather seasonally, i.e. in summer it runs at around a constant 67%, winter at 64%). This data has been confirmed via data logging at various times. Maybe I should have bought another thermo instead….

Hi Dimitri

​I wouldn't stress to much (I used toLol) I don't turn on my vintec during the winter mine at the minute is at 21.c and 64%RH which sometime drops to low 60's ,Cigars are a lot more resilient than people give them credit for ideally i try to keep them at 65 but even then at time they smoke a bit wet,the cigars themselves will tell you where there at good luck

cheers Steve

[Dimmers]

Thanks guys - sage advice !! All sticks are boxed in this fridge.

l'll get the data logger going tonight and have it run over 48hrs. I might even run a data logger inside a box.

[Miner]

Definitely put the logger in a box, hopefully it's a beautiful straight line at 18C/66%, whilst the fridge is see sawing around 55% to 70%.

Don't forget at the end of the day, it's how the cigars are smoking that's the most important thing. And you are the only judge of that. I think temperature is easy to maintain, it's humidity that's a "problem". So long as it's between 60% and 70%, you won't destroy the contents. Going forward you'll want to fine tune things to your taste. For my taste the crazy swings in the compressor fridge still gave me cigars that I enjoy with no mould or splits or bugs.

One last thing, I'm not sure how your fridge is set up but with my compressor fridge the back plate used to freeze when the compressor kicked in and then defrost when the compressor switched off. Make sure you don't push the boxes too far back, if they are touching the back plate they will get wet. I destroyed 10 wide Churchill's finding that out !!

Cheers

[Dimmers]

Cheers Clive! Cigar killing back plate, Jesus lol. I'm going to have nightmares!

[Dimmers]

Clive have you still got your thermo as well ( and if so is it rock solid rh like mine?) or did you swap for a compressor?

[Miner]

Dimmers

I have just sold the fridges. Have a beautiful cabinet instead (another story to be told)..

But

Before they went...

The thermo was the way to go because once set, it kept the temp and it was constant and no worries and no water in the fridge.

However I soon ran out of space (32 bottle wine cooler is not that big) and a friend gave me the compressor fridge...

So I set up the compressor fridge.

Given the choice, I would go thermo, but my gifted compressor was free, the highest it would go was 12C, so it is not a good case study... 5 mins every 3 hours otherwise it was colder than hell.

So no, with a 32 bottle size humidor (about 500 cigars), I would not swap a thermodor with a compressor fridge

Cheers

[Miner]

Cheers Clive! Cigar killing back plate, Jesus lol. I'm going to have nightmares!

"Stay away from the back plate"

[LordAnubis]

Have a beautiful cabinet instead (another story to be told)..

Hurry up and tell this story already!!! Or is it better told over a few at The Garden? It doesn't hurt to repeat a good story though?

Dimmers, i have the same model. The "built in humidification" only works when set to 12 - 14 C or something.

Mine fluctuates between 58% and 16C and 68% and 19C. Inside the boxes it is solid 18C and 65%. The more stock you have in it the less fluctuation i found. Even if you just fill it with empty boxes. Also , i used beads and i put the beads up top directly in front of the fan. I figure the fan blowing air around will quickly blow around the humidified air. I dunno. I think it works. And that's all that matters... .... to me.

[Dimmers]

I concur, Clive spill the beans on the cabinet pronto!!

Thanks Mus, didn't know that. I'm wary about setting temp lower due to condensation issues ( well I tried that with the thermo over a Brisbane summer and wasn't the best idea lo). If inside the boxes are solid, that's all that matters. Running logs atm.

[muzz]

The 32 bottle Mineador is again set up, full and running like clockwork. It is cool in Perth at the moment so it is sitting a little cool at 16/17C but the humidity is sitting at 65 to 69rh which is where I like it to sit. I'm still getting used to running home compressor fridge and it's too cool at the moment to even plug it in. It just has 4 large plastic boxes stacked up with 70rh beads in each box. This is my NC stash which seem to be a lot more resilient and smoke better at a large range of humidity and temperature.

And yes, the new cabinet that replaced these fridges is amazing!

[Dimmers]

Logger_Shelf_13Jun15.bmp

Heres the first test - logging just sitting ona shelf. You can se the huge spike in rh when the compressor kicks in every few hours. However quick to rebalance.

Need to work out how to bring average rh down from 70-71% though.

Next test - logging from within a cab is underway

[Dimmers]

Ok below are the results from logging inside a 25 cab. Still a 2%rh variation every time that the compressor kicks in ( though better that the 11% variation outside the cab).

A few other thoughts:

- RH% 'in cab' is a little too high for my liking. Need to work out how to reduce, as I feel that I enjoy my stogies more around 65%. Have 2.5 beads in this fridge already,

- when summer comes around, the compressor will be working more = more swings. Worried about this.

Have to be honest, I am thinking of switching to a thermo (my in cab + shelf data for the thermo are remarkably stable).

Vintec compressor data:

Inside 25 Cab (sitting mid shelf) logger above

Mid shelf logger above

[Miner]

You could try cat litter in the fridge until the humidity drops to where you want it.

[LordAnubis]

What it all comes down to is your circumstance.

If you have air conditioning in your home, or have very little temperature fluctuation in the room you store your fridge, then a thermo may be better. The thermo will always run, and the plate will always condense moisture out of the air and you just have to match that condensation rate by providiing an equal amount of humidification back into the air. Strike that balance and you're golden. That's if the thermo is one of those always on fan things. You just need to find that balance.

Where a compressor model will be beneficial is when you need cooling to cool a large temperature differential. ie, you don't have air conditioning in your home and it gets up to 30 degrees inside some days and 16 degrees some days. The compressor models are more efficient in their cooling and will require the least amount of "on cycles".

At the end of the day it's all a balancing act. I've often wondered what would happen if you could create a fridge that controlled the temperature of the cooling panel rather than the air space. A thermo would be a good trial for this. Set the fan to cool until the metal plate is at say 17C and just hold the temp there. The panel wont be cold enough to condense, eventually it will create a temperature balance with the air in the fridge and you'll be rock steady temp and humidity until you open the door..... and then it'll take a while to recover from that.... unless you could make it a double door system!