Autofilling Humi for Walk In - Page 2

06-08-2010, 03:49 PM

How much water is this humidor going to require? It seems like it would have to be an awful lot before a distiller is going to pay off.

Just a thought but what about a tank that you can periodically fill with distilled water? I am picturing one of the the 5 gallon water reservoirs our caterers use with a spigot in the bottom. Remove the spigot and install a hose fitting. From there the system would be the same. A float level in the humidifiers reservoir controls a solenoid valve in the water line that runs from the water tank.

I did something similar a ways back. My boss wanted to have 'bathtub gin' served out of a real bathtub at a party. We ended up flying an old clawfoot tub 9 feet off of the ground. I stole one of those water reservoirs from the caterers and rigged it to some tubing and fittings I got from the building engineer. It all worked great except the punch the boss mixed up was pretty weak.

wolfandwhisky · 06-08-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aloxite

How much water is this humidor going to require? It seems like it would have to be an awful lot before a distiller is going to pay off.

Just a thought but what about a tank that you can periodically fill with distilled water? I am picturing one of the the 5 gallon water reservoirs our caterers use with a spigot in the bottom. Remove the spigot and install a hose fitting. From there the system would be the same. A float level in the humidifiers reservoir controls a solenoid valve in the water line that runs from the water tank.

I did something similar a ways back. My boss wanted to have 'bathtub gin' served out of a real bathtub at a party. We ended up flying an old clawfoot tub 9 feet off of the ground. I stole one of those water reservoirs from the caterers and rigged it some tubing and fittings I got from the building engineer. It all worked great except the punch the boss mixed up was pretty weak.

Yeah - I like the idea of full automation, but for such a small scare humidor I don't think I'll be able to get there. Plus, I'd have to clean out the distiller anyways. Even without a 5 gallon jug (which is a great idea), it wouldn't be that much work to just keep a couple gallon jugs in the humi to pour into a unit now and then.

06-08-2010, 03:09 PM

There are also some pre-built fogger setups out there if you don't want to DIY it. You'd still need your own Humidistat though.

This vid shows the output difference between the Prefab 10, 5, and 3 Head foggers made by Nutramist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAQh8kH94E

The boxes that the foggers are in are basically what I described previously. They have an auto-fill ability to keep the fogger at the right depth, a fan that blows into the box, and you can attach a hose for the fog output.

In Hydroponics, more is better so I usually apply as many fogger heads as I can. In a Humidor setup though, I would think less is more. Most humi systems rely on normal evaporation to avoid wild swings in humidity. Active systems just apply a fan to speed up evaporation. A 10 Head fogger could have a foot of thick fog floating on the floor of 5'x6' room within a couple minutes.

Even running one for 15 seconds could cause a room that small to shift 5-10% RH. By the time the Humidistat recognized that the target % has been achieved to shut the fogger off, there would still be a bunch of fog evaporating.

I'd just recommend a single head fogger unless you're looking at 1000 Cubic Feet or more. Then you could maybe bump it up to a 3 Head. I'd probably still stay at 1 head for anything but a warehouse though.

wolfandwhisky · 06-08-2010, 03:30 PM

It almost sounds like the best way to go then, is to have the distiller in a separate location on a dedicated line. Put another way...

have a water line feed into a distiller that is in an accessible part of the house - say laundry room. Then feed a line from the distiller to the humidifier.

This provides the humidifier with distilled water, and keeps the distiller out of the humidor but still accessible for occasional cleaning.

This is much more complex than I thought it might be... the geek in me wants to do it anyways. The pragmatist in me wants to just do a cigar oasis type set up... ha ha.

06-08-2010, 03:57 PM

You don't necessarily need a distiller. Most cities have at least 1 water store that provides distilled water. Depending where you get it, you can probably find it for around 50 cents per gallon. $2.50 could stock you for maybe up to a month. If you go the 5-gallon route you could probably even set up a gravity feed system. No need to worry about pumps failing or anything.

06-09-2010, 07:22 AM

Water usage for 300 cubic feet will likely be 3-5 gallons a month in a dry AZ residential setting, with a well sealed door. It's not high demand like a commercial walk in with the door opening 50 times a day. Water usage will also depend on whether you cut in an AC duct into the walk in or let the room be passively cooled by the rooms around it.

shilala · 06-09-2010, 07:29 AM

You can get a zero ppm RO unit for around $250.
That said, if you seal the room the way it should be sealed, you need very little water. It could easily be maintained by hand, depending on the size of your walk-in.
Mind ya, I have an RO unit and I'm spoiled, so it might be a pain.

06-08-2010, 03:49 PM	#1
Aloxite Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In How much water is this humidor going to require? It seems like it would have to be an awful lot before a distiller is going to pay off. Just a thought but what about a tank that you can periodically fill with distilled water? I am picturing one of the the 5 gallon water reservoirs our caterers use with a spigot in the bottom. Remove the spigot and install a hose fitting. From there the system would be the same. A float level in the humidifiers reservoir controls a solenoid valve in the water line that runs from the water tank. I did something similar a ways back. My boss wanted to have 'bathtub gin' served out of a real bathtub at a party. We ended up flying an old clawfoot tub 9 feet off of the ground. I stole one of those water reservoirs from the caterers and rigged it to some tubing and fittings I got from the building engineer. It all worked great except the punch the boss mixed up was pretty weak. Last edited by Aloxite; 06-08-2010 at 03:56 PM.

06-08-2010, 03:09 PM	#3
Dark Jester Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In There are also some pre-built fogger setups out there if you don't want to DIY it. You'd still need your own Humidistat though. This vid shows the output difference between the Prefab 10, 5, and 3 Head foggers made by Nutramist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAQh8kH94E The boxes that the foggers are in are basically what I described previously. They have an auto-fill ability to keep the fogger at the right depth, a fan that blows into the box, and you can attach a hose for the fog output. In Hydroponics, more is better so I usually apply as many fogger heads as I can. In a Humidor setup though, I would think less is more. Most humi systems rely on normal evaporation to avoid wild swings in humidity. Active systems just apply a fan to speed up evaporation. A 10 Head fogger could have a foot of thick fog floating on the floor of 5'x6' room within a couple minutes. Even running one for 15 seconds could cause a room that small to shift 5-10% RH. By the time the Humidistat recognized that the target % has been achieved to shut the fogger off, there would still be a bunch of fog evaporating. I'd just recommend a single head fogger unless you're looking at 1000 Cubic Feet or more. Then you could maybe bump it up to a 3 Head. I'd probably still stay at 1 head for anything but a warehouse though.

06-08-2010, 03:30 PM	#4
wolfandwhisky Resident Whisky Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 First Name: Matt Location: Arizona Posts: 521 Trading: (4)	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In It almost sounds like the best way to go then, is to have the distiller in a separate location on a dedicated line. Put another way... have a water line feed into a distiller that is in an accessible part of the house - say laundry room. Then feed a line from the distiller to the humidifier. This provides the humidifier with distilled water, and keeps the distiller out of the humidor but still accessible for occasional cleaning. This is much more complex than I thought it might be... the geek in me wants to do it anyways. The pragmatist in me wants to just do a cigar oasis type set up... ha ha.

06-08-2010, 03:57 PM	#5
Dark Jester Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In You don't necessarily need a distiller. Most cities have at least 1 water store that provides distilled water. Depending where you get it, you can probably find it for around 50 cents per gallon. $2.50 could stock you for maybe up to a month. If you go the 5-gallon route you could probably even set up a gravity feed system. No need to worry about pumps failing or anything.

06-09-2010, 07:22 AM	#6
bob staebell Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In Water usage for 300 cubic feet will likely be 3-5 gallons a month in a dry AZ residential setting, with a well sealed door. It's not high demand like a commercial walk in with the door opening 50 times a day. Water usage will also depend on whether you cut in an AC duct into the walk in or let the room be passively cooled by the rooms around it.

06-09-2010, 07:29 AM	#7
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: Autofilling Humi for Walk In You can get a zero ppm RO unit for around $250. That said, if you seal the room the way it should be sealed, you need very little water. It could easily be maintained by hand, depending on the size of your walk-in. Mind ya, I have an RO unit and I'm spoiled, so it might be a pain. __________________