Building an Affordable Electronic Humidor.


El Presidente

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Well, you are using your noodle! I have tried many different attempts at airflow initiated automated valves and then proceeded to crush just about every box that I ever machined out of frustration. I have used Tyvec and silicon flaps, weights and all kinds of junk... I gave up!

I have some novel ideas about really light louvers set in a block machined at angles and gravity closed. The problem with some of this stuff, while it is a hoot to work on and develop, I must put into use, rationalize the cost of so that I can sell it. At this point work-arounds have worked best for me. Too much design, and more importantly too much assembly and machining time kills a lot of these projects for me. I tend to stray into the realm of over complex rather easily and have to reel myself in 'often.'

I use a simple wick-in-box design that most of us makers use. I think mine is a little more flashy and high tech than what others use, but that is because that is what I am into.

I have experimented with pingpong ball valves and all kinds of flapper designs. Let me know if one works... I will steal it...! -LOL

Keep us posted on the project and post up if you have questions that I can help with. If you want some pics of humidifiers, I will be happy to post some.

...well here is one of my humidifiers. Copy away!!! -LOL

attachicon.gif2014-10-27 07.43.58.jpg

-the Pig

Ray,

I gave up on the whole automation idea. Mate, it my head in and i literally had migraines. Stuck with beads and plugged the drain with a foam ear plug (for maintenance). Cpu fan running 24/27 with temp controller. my little baby is running steady at 63F-64F and 66RH.

How are you going with your automation for controlling RH?

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The attached PDF is one of the mst remarkable pieces of work on Electronic Humidors that I have ever had the privellege to read. To Pigfish (Ray)....my sincere thanks for putting this together. On b

... since someone has recently posted to this thread I thought I would update some of the information here. This original work, years old now has many of the base concepts that I still use, less a lot

More videos, segment one of my Generation 12 Build Series. 3 The Wine Cooler 4 Start Disassembly  

Ray,

I gave up on the whole automation idea. Mate, it my head in and i literally had migraines. Stuck with beads and plugged the drain with a foam ear plug (for maintenance). Cpu fan running 24/27 with temp controller. my little baby is running steady at 63F-64F and 66RH.

How are you going with your automation for controlling RH?

The data logs posted here and on other threads pretty much tell it all. I believe I have come as close to perfection in a fully controlled micro climate as one is going to get for the dollars spent. The caveat here is the understanding that if you have an unstable macro climate and have need of such a device. People who have well conditioned spaces, and no need to conserve the energy to condition a whole house or a separate room just for their cigars, need not use such a system.

Not all people need such a device nor a complex humidor. If your climate is stable and close enough to your idyllic conditions, you simply don't need automated systems.

In my opinion, established automated systems are lacking! This is just my opinion. I believe that further degrees of precision are desirable, and further control over uncontrolled highs and lows are also desirable. This is just my opinion.

The only thing that can be affected by the end user of the cigar to affect his/her smoking experience is his storage. I believe that water content is a major factor in cigar taste. As the result of my experience and beliefs, I have created systems which allow me to control what I need to control to satisfy those needs.

Cigars need not fluctuate in taste to an ambient environment. Not if you can control the microclimate they exist in. Once one experiences the effect of a highly controlled environment and the smoking experience; once one has made the correlation that I have made, it becomes difficult to turn back. No longer will you believe in the many smoking myths, sick periods for example (MHO). Once you have mastered the ability to store with stability, you will have the ability to understand and reconcile water content with the smoking experience. Suddenly the need for myth no longer really exists. This is where I am at with automated storage. This is where I am at with cigars!

This is just my humble opinion!

-Piggy

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  • 7 months later...

Can't believe I never saw this thread before. I've Been around FOH for several years, and more generally cigar boards since '98, and without a doubt this was one of the most informative threads I've ever come across. Thanks so much for your effort on the Pigfish, and thanks for sharing your work with your BOTLs

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That's was a good read...been umming about making something like this...saw something on YouTube which was pretty neat using the peltier device which made me think that would be nice to have..cheers for this.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

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  • 8 months later...
5 hours ago, dominattorney said:

Gotta say, I just read through this and it has given me a lot to think about. I think that's about the highest compliment I can give a piece of writing. 

If this was a comment on my writings, I want to say thank you. This group can be a challenge to satisfy, rhetorically speaking and I cannot ask for much more than positive peer review.

My humidors have come so far from these early days of development. As I have watched the state of the Cuban cigar decline (MHO) cigar husbandry and cigar climatology has become quite a passion. While at times it is very frustrating, ultimately, I have found it quite rewarding.

Cheers! -Piggy

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I thought I would take moment to move away from construction for a moment to come back to the reality of dealing with various ambient conditions. Below you will see why I demand what I demand from a controlled humidor. While others fall prey to extreme dehydration with cooling cycles, I have largely beaten that problem with advanced controls and of course, sophisticated engineering.

If one finds themselves wondering why I am critical of DIY humidor projects, this is why. I am first and foremost critical of my own projects.

With a minor heatwave hitting Isla PigFish, I have had the ability to test some higher-than-roomtemperature ambients with this new design. I know already how poorly many designs deal with these ambients. I know because I have built those designs and tested them as well. If you look at the original project posted on this thread, you can see where I started...

I am very pleased with how well this new design in progressing. If one looks closely, I am getting dehydration down to about 59rH during a cooling cycle...! And of course, I have new ideas to reduce this further... but those will have to wait for the next generation of my design.

I am very happy with this generation build and its performance.

Thanks for following my projects and my best to you on your own DIY humidor endeavors.

G12 Humidor test 80F ambient.jpg

Cheers! -Piggy

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  • 4 years later...

I may be able to convert the PDF to JPG format, but it may be a challenge to have all the pages in one file.

Disclaimer - I’ll  give it a go after happy hour….

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  • 2 months later...
On 6/21/2021 at 4:41 PM, RicoIsHere said:

I may be able to convert the PDF to JPG format, but it may be a challenge to have all the pages in one file.

Disclaimer - I’ll  give it a go after happy hour….

Here's my attempt.

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