Humidor Temperature Regulation Build

[Nely]

That's great man. Mucho brainos en your cabesa!

[radar]

Originally Posted by Nely

That's great man. Mucho brainos en your cabesa!

I agree, boy's got some serious noodle going on there!

[Cartierusm]

Here are the final pics of the exterior assembly and the interior assembly. The only thing on the rear that's not final is the circuit box and switch will be attached to the back with Velcro instead of just hanging there. Also the cable laying on the bottom of the humidor is just the power supply for the Cigar Oasis. The back cables for the interior fan can be cover by a spanish cedar cover if you wish.

[Cartierusm]

I DON'T TAKE PRAISE VERY WELL!!!

JUST KIDDING.

Thanks for all the support everyone. I started building humidors about 15 years ago and it never really turned into a business, but ever since the first one I've been dying to make a climate controlledo one. One that's suitable for the home user and not huge and ugly. Mind you this one is a proto-type and works just fine but next week I'll be building one with a custom circuit so I won't have to source out any of the components. I've never liked the idea of having a huge piece of furniture as my humidor, tall standing ones. I love the end table design, but alas as room runs out I may have to build the walk-in I've always wanted.

[MocoBird]

Looks alot like the proto type I made. I also found that the heat sink works much better on the cold side then a flat plate. More surface area to work with. What about condensation? I know with my proto that after it would run for a while I had a fair amount of moisture develop. I also built mine during the summer in the garage when the temp was about 100 degrees. That might have affected it too. .....Two thumbs up!!

[Cartierusm]

SURE MOCO! I believe you...LOL just kidding. Yeah I originally thought that a flat plate would be sufficient, but hell no. The heat sink is absoulutely neccessary. If I run the cold for a while it gets real cold and condensation, but the fan will minimize that effect. Also in the application we are using it in it won't be running for long. The humidor starts out at 70F and then when it drops one degree the cooler or heater turns on so it only has to make a 1 degree change in temp.

[MocoBird]

Originally Posted by Cartierusm

SURE MOCO! I believe you....

OK Carter ….Make me go get my camera, go out and dig thru the garage so I can show all the monkeys I’m not making this up as I go along. Oh and by the way….I already have Pat. Pending!!! See the heat sinks on both sides? The only thing missing is the exhaust fan in the door. That’s what belongs where the hole is. Guess I used it for something else. OK!!!!! There….now I feel much better!

[Nely]

What's the estimate cost Cartier?

[Cartierusm]

Well for cost as far as what I have into the parts, some of which aren't staying they are being replaced with cheaper more integraed parts, $170. But once I design the circuit it should come out way cheaper. You not only need the cooler/heater, but a temp control to tell either the cooler or the heater to turn on. And TEC are not really efficient with power so a might big power supply is need, but I'm making a custom one that will be dedicated. The final version will be compact, quiet and feature a interior jack for a Cigar Oasis, so the cable clean up will be emence.

Nice work Moco. I like your idea of using toggle bolts to grab onto the fins of the heat sink, how come I didn't think of that.

[MocoBird]

Originally Posted by Cartierusm

Nice work Moco. I like your idea of using toggle bolts to grab onto the fins of the heat sink, how come I didn't think of that.

Because I'm a bird and your not!

[The Rev]

I have dabbled in using Peltier modules for quite some time and I didn't get anywhere because I'm just not that handy. In the end, I got a thermoelectric wine cellar that fits the cedar trays from Bargain humidor just right and it can keep about 450 smokes perfect with a Cigar Oasis Plus----end of the day about $600 US. I wish I could have done something like you with an old end table I found, but if anyone out there has the temp. probs, too, you can buy a good set up--it just doesn&t look as nice. Good Job.

[horrorview]

Hey, have you guys looked at the Aerogate controller from Coolermaster? I recently built someone a computer with one of these in it. It's an LCD function panel (looks a bit like a car stereo), that controls up to 4 fans, and is programmable. You can set it to turn fans on and off at whatever temp ya like. Best of all, it's only $40 bucks!

Would it work as a controller for your design?

Here's a write-up about it at Overclocker's Club http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...aerogate_2.php

[Cartierusm]

Thanks for the infor. First off I would have to run a relay off of the fan connections, so when it reaches a certain temp instead of kicking on a fan it would kick on a relay which in turn would turn on the TEC, but then I would have to disable the Fan RPM monitor. But it can only be used for cooling, so in this application it's not very prudent, but thanks for the info.

[Cartierusm]

Well over the weekend I've adjusted the setting to minimize the time everything turned on and off because my temp controller is accurate to 1/10 of a degree and I had it set for a 1 degree differential. So having it be at 70 and drop down to 69.9 it would turn on. Now everything is working like clockwork. I have the components for the custom cirucits on order and the final version should be done by next week. It will feature a digital display in the front window of the humidor so you can see exactly what the temp is and what the high and low temp settings are. If anyone wants one of these built I offering 2 methods, pre-built with installation instructions for $250, all you would have to do is cut a 4" x 4" hole in the back or side of your humidor and the rest you can do with a philips screw driver. This price is for being built, the price of $170 earlier was just parts, the parts I did replace for better ones weren't any cheaper. I will consider trades & cash, ISOM only. For those of you not handy enough to install it yourself I'll install if for free, but that means you have to send it to me and then pay me for the shipping cost back to you or if your local no cost at all. I will install it and fully test it. BTW this offer is only for end table humidors with Cigar Oasis humidifiers. Passive humidification will not be sufficient for humidification, but that's up to you. But anything bigger than an end table humidor I will price accordingly, just PM me. If the unit has the same area as an endtable then this system will work but anything double would cost about $60 more. I am working on a retrofit to tabletop humidors and medium chest table top humidors without cutting into the backs, but this will be a while.

[Cartierusm]

Also, if anyone is looking to buy a new humidor and you want this system you can have it shipped directly to me, saving you a shipping fee.