Humidity has dropped a fair amount now that it’s winter (tells me 59%, a bit higher than my other monitor which shows ~52%). I am happy with 50-70%, and I have not seen any mold issues in the first 6 months.
Cork floor is fine. If I didn’t mention it in the thread, it’s a bit susceptible to damage both during installation and use, but it’s not heavy traffic so I’m not too concerned. It is nice and cushiony. The only test of insulative value I’ve done, which isn’t much of one, is putting the probe bottle on the floor, which means that the floor temperature somewhat affects the bottle. When I did that, the bottle temperature was about .5-1.0 degree higher than when I elevated the bottle into the racks (midpoint). That tells me the floor is a touch warmer than the air, but not by a huge amount.
Note also that I used underlayment as well. I think that has helped.
I have the feeling that the bare cement slab left uncovered would be better to promote humidity.
That is my theory AND it is mine.
I have another theory…
I could see the theoretical reason for that, if I were venting the slab airspace out of the cellar. But, both the subfloor and floor are installed with 1/2" space around the edge, both for expansion and because the subfloor is designed to vent humidity into the space above rather than trap it. So, if there were humidity moving from the ground through the concrete, most of it should end up in the cellar itself.
Note that they seem to be offering a new line of products. I bought what now is called the “Instacellar” line. The Five Star line was not available at the time I purchased my racks.
Have any of you spot tested area’s of your cellar to see how much variation there is within the room?
I have my stat set for 56, which is next to the door and is 4’6" off the floor. I have small battery operated thermometer (which shows the Hi and the Low and the humidity) which I have been moving around to see the variation. At the floor its 53 (near the cooling unit), and on the top shelf its 57 (far from the unit)… is a 4 degree variation normal with only a 7’ ceiling?
I haven’t done this scientifically, but I didn’t notice that large a variation. However, if the cooling unit is near the floor, it’s easy to see why there would be more temperature stratification. Any way to blow the air upward? Perhaps a small clip-on fan would be enough to circulate the air a bit more and create more even temperatures.
The cooling unit is about 5’ AFF, and it can either blow forward or down. I had to mount it where it is as there is a soffit above this . As it is now, I will be racking the whites on the bottom on one side, and the finer, longer age worthy wines on the other. I am not worried about the temperature variation in terms of long term storage, but I was surprised to see a 4F from bottom to top in just 7’…
Perhaps the stratification is related to the proximity to the cooling unit, not caused by height. What is the difference low/high next to the cooling unit and at the end opposite the cooling unit?