I have had a lot of problems recently with extremely dry corks. I live in the desert (Las Vegas) and the humidity is extremely low. I have a hygrometer in my cellar and it recently read 45%. What should I do about this problem. Last night we had a 1996 Duhart Milon and the cork crumbled. The wine was quite good, just the cork was terrible.
Fred.
If your basement is not too large and if it is fairly well sealed, then a large room cabinet humidifier should work They can be had from Sears and other stores nearly everywhere, but they may be difficult to find in the summer. A good one usually can be found that rolls on casters and holds several gallons of water. The cost can be under to slightly over $US 100. They come with humidity controls that hold their setting fairly well. I would stay between about 60 % and 70% RH for your situation. Too high RH, perhaps over 80 %, will cause mildrew and mold growth that could damage your labels or other items in the cellar, if that matters to you. Also it would require filling with water much more often. If you are a do-it-yourself type, it should not be too difficult to install and automatic water valve, such as toilets have, to keep the water level full. But in that case you will also need to install an overflow drain tube. Do not forget to use an additive in the water that kills bacteria and that is sold where humidifiers are sold. Some nasty beasts can grow in tanks of water that stand for a long time, and they get blown in the room by the fan. This can cause some people to cough. In rare cases a serious disease can be spread.
I hope you have a deep cellar or use refrigeration in it so that the temperature does not become excessive. I have heard about the extremely high temperature you can have in Las Vegas in the summer - especially this summer.
Fred, you need 70% humidity and a constant temperature around 65F. You can buy digital thermometers with humidity readings from IWA
Mark Slater
Tire wrote on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:19:35 -0000:
TB> On Sep 14, 6:58 pm, Fred wrote: ??>> I have had a lot of problems recently with extremely dry ??>> corks. I live in the desert (Las Vegas) and the humidity ??>> is extremely low. I have a hygrometer in my cellar and it
Sorry Tire, this is really a reply to Fred!
A hygrometer would not do much good. It does not measure humidity!
TB> Fred, you need 70% humidity and a constant temperature TB> around 65F. You can buy digital thermometers with humidity TB> readings from IWA
James Silverton Potomac, Maryland
E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
Eh? You are either just plain wrong, or are trying to make a subtle point. If the latter, please enlighten us further
Steve wrote on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:29:11 +0100:
??>> A hygrometer would not do much good. It does not measure ??>> humidity!
SS> Eh? You are either just plain wrong, or are trying to make SS> a subtle point. If the latter, please enlighten us further
Sorry, you are right and I am wrong. A hygrometer is any instrument for measuring humidity in vapor. I must have posted that before I really awoke :-) A hydrometer, what I was thinking about, measures specific gravity.
James Silverton Potomac, Maryland
E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
I grow orchids as well as drink wine, and I use a cheap cool room humidifier in my greenhouse. I don't have a lot of trouble with humidity in my cellar here in the Pacific Northwest, but the Hunter room humidifier works well to keep the orchids at 60 % even when the air is frozen outside and about 0% inside the house. I was trying to grow vanilla and had the humidity at 85% for a while but the walls turned black and the windows wept. It is also easy to set whatever humidity level you want to maintain on these cheapies, but you do have to keep an eye on the reservoir level.
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