Coolidor about has the best of me.... HELP !!

So I bought a Chef Mate mini fridge.Its a typical little mini fridge with 3 shelves, you can get them at target.( I do not have it plugged in ) I got a few cedar trays, I sealed the back of it off where the compressor and fan is and I now have TWO ! TWO pounds of uncharged 65% beads in this damn thing and I still can not get my RH to go below 76% Now 2 pounds of beads should easily be enough for a cabinet humidor and I am about to my wits end with this thing because this mini fridge will only hold around 250 - 300 sticks... I also tried taking all the beads out thinking maybe just maybe that would work.... Nope it sits at about 78%, Im stumped. I need some help getting this RH down. Its funny because most of the time its the other way around, people can't get enough humidity, Anyone got any ideas ? - Brett

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jlmarta

How much confidence do you have in your hygrometer?

The Cank

A lot. I have two of them in there Just re checked the first one in a boveda calibrating pack its dead on at 75 % and I have the other one in the boveda now and its sitting at 75% as well.

phobicsquirrel

You need to charge some of your beads. I believe about a 1/3 or 2/3.... I've never had much luck getting rh down with dry beads, I charge about 2/3 of them then things start to come down.

camgfs

The other thing to remember is that 75% is still within a 'normal' range for RH, so you are not very far off. I'd try adding a couple of cedar cigar boxes..you know, old ones that are dry from sitting around the house. Put a few cigars in there to take up some of the empty space. Any empty humidor will be a nightmare to balance, so fill it with something like cigar boxes to see if that brings it under control.

The other thing to remember about a humidor is that the wood inside (usually Spanish Cedar) is what really helps control the RH. The Spanish Cedar will absorb extra humidity. See if you can find a place to supply you wiith some 1/4" thick planks and line some of the inside of your fridge with them. Without conditioning the cedar (don't wipe it down with distilled water unless you need to), it will bring the RH down as the kiln dried wood absorbs any moisture.

Hope this helps.

KCW

Did you ever have it plugged in? If so, there may be some condensation in it. (The only other thing I could think of.)

The Cank

I for sure added some cigar boxes and I am happy to say its down to 67% right where I want it ! I broke them down into planks and so far its good ! Thanks for the help guys ! once again you guys came through with great advise thanks !

TatuajeVI

The Cank:
I for sure added some cigar boxes and I am happy to say its down to 67% right where I want it ! I broke them down into planks and so far its good ! Thanks for the help guys ! once again you guys came through with great advise thanks !

Awesome. Love this forum!

The Cank

update : I broke up some of the boxes and set them in the side shelf of the door. its at 72% now so I am going to finish lining the inside with cedar. Hopefully this will be the last of the problem. Also Im thinking about charging 1/16 or so of the beads so they can activate and suck in moisture like suggested. Well see what she reads in the morning after it sets all night without me looking inside of it every 3 hours. :-)

The Cank

what is the best way to go about charging say 1/3 of my beads ?

TatuajeVI

Well, when they are charged they turn clear. They'll be white when they are dry. Don't mean to sound like a jerk, lol, just wasn't sure you knew that. So, you could separate about a third of them from the others, or you could just estimate when you start to add a little bit of distilled water at a time. If you charge them too much, I've heard of people using a hair dryer on the low setting to dry them out pretty quikckly. Hope this helps.

The Cank

i shall try ! thanks