Inspired by Scott (shilala) I took regular readings of my vino with kitty litter. To see the set-up and read more details refer to the "Extremely boring" thread, please. Below I will post the accumulated readings for all to peruse. Scott's interpretation is that the KL gives off humidity very slowly. Too slowly for his taste. On the other hand he says that the beads do hold a lot of water (80% of their weight) and are thus a good reservoir.
My own impression and interpretation of the readings is that they give off humidity fast enough that I need not worry about the changes when I open the door even for a few minutes. The beads will recover to within two percent in less than one hour and in about five hours they recover to the equilibrium. Given that the cigars and boxes probably hold at least as much water as the beads (KL) their humidity mass (if I can say so) should be stable enough.
The way I have arranged things now -check out the other thread for photos- I lose no space in the lower compartment, and I sacrifice the volume of a half box of cigars in the upper compartment; less than a Hydra.
I am looking forward to doing tests with the RH beads Scott kindly offered to send me and will report on my results. If I get to it I would also like to set up a test for recovery time with KL. In this test I will take only KL in a tupperware or ziplock and I will see how fast it recovers when I open it for two minutes. I will then do the same thing with RH beads.
Altogether, the ideal solution would probably be to have a vino with a hydra filled with polygel for longterm low maintenance and to use, in addition, a combination of KL (for water reservoir) and RH or MHbeads (for quick recovery of our anal retentive obsessions).
For now, the KL I have in my vino cost me $5 and the socks I put them in cost me $1. Let's be generous and not count the water.
So far, I am a happy camper and over time I will certainly upgrade to the optimum solution given above because I'm a perfectionist.
If you are not totally anal or live in a particularly dry climate where water reservoir is important, give the Exquisicat Pearl Fresh KL a try. My guess is you won't regret it.
Cheers,
Till
2/29
72 71 this is after replenishing
3/01
71 70 at 9:40pm
72 71 at 110pm
3/02
71 71 at 11:45am before opening - after opening 3min it was 68 up and 69 down
70 71 at 12:45pm just took an hour or less to recover
69 71 at 6:00pm
62 71 at 11:45pm here we see a strange drop in the upper smaller part, while lower part stays super stable.
3/03 69 73 at 2:45am
71 75 at 9:05am It was raining heavily here.
71 75 at 2:00pm
71 75 at 50pm
72 75 at 80pm just before opening
68 74 at 82pm after closing the door
71 74 at 9:00pm recovered within 40 minutes
71 74 at 11:50pm
3/04
70 73 at 0:55am
70 71 at 12:30pm the weather today was sunny and relatively warm/dry
70 70 at 3:30pm
69 71 at 6:00pm
69 71 at 7:30pm
70 70 at 11:50pm
3/05
68 70 at 11:50am weather today looks like it's gonna be like yesterday
68 71 at 3:00pm
67 71 at 8:45pm
66 71 at 11:50pm
3/06
67 72 at 3:00am It was raining all night and most of the day but it is cold.
68 71 at 11:50am
68 71 at 2:50pm
69 71 at 5:40pm opened for 30 seconds
67 70 at 9:30pm
67 70 at 11:50pm
3/07
67 70 at 12:05pm
68 70 at 2:35pm
67 70 at 4:30pm
67 69 at 7:15pm
68 70 at 9:15pm
67 70 at 11:50pm
3/08
67 69 at 10:50am
68 69 at 2:10pm
67 69 at 6:30pm
67 68 at 9:00pm
65 69 at 11:30pm
3/09
66 68 at 1:45pm
66 69 at 3:5pm
66 69 at 4:30pm
58 62 at 4:33pm after opening for three minutes
63 66 at 5:15pm
65 70 at 9:15pm
66 70 at 11:15pm
3/10
67 70 at 12:45am
67 70 at 2:30am
68 70 at 15pm rainy day and especially pouring overnight
69 69 at 5:30pm
72 69 at 8:30pm
73 69 at 11:30pm
3/11
74 70 at 11:30am
72 70 at 9:12PM
72 70 at 11:15pm
3/12
72 70 at 1:15pm
70 70 at 3:00pm
70 70 at 6:05pm
69 70 at 11:30pm
3/13
70 71 at 1:00pm
70 71 at 2:30pm It is damp and humid in Austin today in room humidity 63/64
70 71 at 6:30pm
70 70 at 11:30pm
3/14
70 70 at 11:00am
70 68 at 3:00pm
69 69 at 6:45pm
70 69 at 11:50pm
They recovered rather quickly after opening and taking the cigars out of the lower compartment to take the pic for Scott. 3/14 was a sunny and dry day, too, very warm at 93 outside.
Today they are at 70 in the upper and 70 in the lower with a temp of around 68F.
Till
My own impression and interpretation of the readings is that they give off humidity fast enough that I need not worry about the changes when I open the door even for a few minutes. The beads will recover to within two percent in less than one hour and in about five hours they recover to the equilibrium. Given that the cigars and boxes probably hold at least as much water as the beads (KL) their humidity mass (if I can say so) should be stable enough.
The way I have arranged things now -check out the other thread for photos- I lose no space in the lower compartment, and I sacrifice the volume of a half box of cigars in the upper compartment; less than a Hydra.
I am looking forward to doing tests with the RH beads Scott kindly offered to send me and will report on my results. If I get to it I would also like to set up a test for recovery time with KL. In this test I will take only KL in a tupperware or ziplock and I will see how fast it recovers when I open it for two minutes. I will then do the same thing with RH beads.
Altogether, the ideal solution would probably be to have a vino with a hydra filled with polygel for longterm low maintenance and to use, in addition, a combination of KL (for water reservoir) and RH or MHbeads (for quick recovery of our anal retentive obsessions).
For now, the KL I have in my vino cost me $5 and the socks I put them in cost me $1. Let's be generous and not count the water.
So far, I am a happy camper and over time I will certainly upgrade to the optimum solution given above because I'm a perfectionist.
If you are not totally anal or live in a particularly dry climate where water reservoir is important, give the Exquisicat Pearl Fresh KL a try. My guess is you won't regret it.
Cheers,
Till
2/29
72 71 this is after replenishing
3/01
71 70 at 9:40pm
72 71 at 110pm
3/02
71 71 at 11:45am before opening - after opening 3min it was 68 up and 69 down
70 71 at 12:45pm just took an hour or less to recover
69 71 at 6:00pm
62 71 at 11:45pm here we see a strange drop in the upper smaller part, while lower part stays super stable.
3/03 69 73 at 2:45am
71 75 at 9:05am It was raining heavily here.
71 75 at 2:00pm
71 75 at 50pm
72 75 at 80pm just before opening
68 74 at 82pm after closing the door
71 74 at 9:00pm recovered within 40 minutes
71 74 at 11:50pm
3/04
70 73 at 0:55am
70 71 at 12:30pm the weather today was sunny and relatively warm/dry
70 70 at 3:30pm
69 71 at 6:00pm
69 71 at 7:30pm
70 70 at 11:50pm
3/05
68 70 at 11:50am weather today looks like it's gonna be like yesterday
68 71 at 3:00pm
67 71 at 8:45pm
66 71 at 11:50pm
3/06
67 72 at 3:00am It was raining all night and most of the day but it is cold.
68 71 at 11:50am
68 71 at 2:50pm
69 71 at 5:40pm opened for 30 seconds
67 70 at 9:30pm
67 70 at 11:50pm
3/07
67 70 at 12:05pm
68 70 at 2:35pm
67 70 at 4:30pm
67 69 at 7:15pm
68 70 at 9:15pm
67 70 at 11:50pm
3/08
67 69 at 10:50am
68 69 at 2:10pm
67 69 at 6:30pm
67 68 at 9:00pm
65 69 at 11:30pm
3/09
66 68 at 1:45pm
66 69 at 3:5pm
66 69 at 4:30pm
58 62 at 4:33pm after opening for three minutes
63 66 at 5:15pm
65 70 at 9:15pm
66 70 at 11:15pm
3/10
67 70 at 12:45am
67 70 at 2:30am
68 70 at 15pm rainy day and especially pouring overnight
69 69 at 5:30pm
72 69 at 8:30pm
73 69 at 11:30pm
3/11
74 70 at 11:30am
72 70 at 9:12PM
72 70 at 11:15pm
3/12
72 70 at 1:15pm
70 70 at 3:00pm
70 70 at 6:05pm
69 70 at 11:30pm
3/13
70 71 at 1:00pm
70 71 at 2:30pm It is damp and humid in Austin today in room humidity 63/64
70 71 at 6:30pm
70 70 at 11:30pm
3/14
70 70 at 11:00am
70 68 at 3:00pm
69 69 at 6:45pm
70 69 at 11:50pm
They recovered rather quickly after opening and taking the cigars out of the lower compartment to take the pic for Scott. 3/14 was a sunny and dry day, too, very warm at 93 outside.
Today they are at 70 in the upper and 70 in the lower with a temp of around 68F.
Till