Parts start to trickle in

UPS tracking says the wine fridge is scheduled for delivery today; but UPS doesn't get here until 7pm, so we'll save that for tomorrow's update. A few things did trickle in last night so let's take a look at them.

Hygrometers:

There are a plethora of hygrometer options on the market for the home humidor. Xikar makes 2 (I have their round hygrometer in my desktop box now), Western makes the popular "Caliber IV", and HygroSet has a full line as well. The most important thing is to make sure you are able to calibrate your hygrometer using a known RH environment. Some of the cheaper hygrometers come "pre-calibrated" but don't offer an option to perform the calibration yourself. Steer clear of those models.

I went with the 3 of the HygroSet II round Digital Hygrometer/Thermometers. I like the feature that allows the adjustment of the RH display after calibration.

There are a few ways to calibrate your hygrometer, but the most popular by far is the salt test. You can find a detailed explanation of the test here: http://cigars.about.com/od/humidors/qt/hygrometers.htm This is how I calibrated my current Xikar hygrometer.

I opted to go with a calibration kit for this go-around, if for no other reason than to check it out. The HygroSet hygrometers as well as the calibration kit can be found on HygroSet's website (http://www.hygroset.com)

Fan Kit:

In researching wineadors and talking with people who have built them, some people recommend additional air circulation above and beyond what the wine fridge fan provides. The cheapest and easiest option is to buy a battery powered fan. But then you are stuck changing batteries and/or constantly opening and closing the humidor in order to turn on/off the fan to save the batteries. Another option is a repurposed computer case fan. A lot of people seem to like these. But I found a fan kit which saved me the hassle of splicing and soldering wires. I went with the Dual 80mm set. The kits can be found here: http://www.coolerguys.com/cablite.html 

Not too many pieces.

Took me about 5-10 minutes to put it together.

Then I added some wooden dowels to lift the setup off the floor and give the fans some room to breathe. I purchased an indoor digital timer (here) with the idea that I can set the fans to turn on/off periodically, a few times a day, to assist the fridge fan in circulating the air inside the humidor.

The only challenge that remains is figuring out how to run the power in a clean, inconspicuous way. I won't have an idea about that until I see the fridge, hopefully tonight!