Drymistat tubes
 

Hi all,

I did a quick search on these and I didn't find a whole lot of information. I'm pretty new with the cigars and I bought a 25-50 ct. humidor and one drymistat tube. The Drymistat wasn't maintaining RH so I was using the foam humidifier with the drymistat tube while an additional one was on order (this seemed to keep things right around 67%). Yes, I know I should have bought beads :-) Unfotunately I made these purchases before I came here. I just put my second drymistat tube in and removed the foam humidifier. I've yet to see how the two will work.

My question is simply if anyone has any experience with the drymistat tubes either positive or negative. I plan on giving them a chance for awhile but I'm wondering if I'm going to be out the cost of the tubes and have to buy some beads.

In order to head off any questions about it... yes I properly seasoned my humidor and I am using a calibrated hygroset II.

Thanks for any input!

Randy

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I used them for awhile but stopped as soon as I realized how much better beads were for my humi's. I still have the tubes, full of 65% beads! :)

btw - u should drop by the new inmates area and intro yourself. Best way to start meeting folks here!

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Jared is right on the money...the beads are the way to go. :tu

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Thanks Fellas! I posted an introduction a few days ago... I also read the new member info and am kind of kicking myself for not buying the beads but like I said, I hadn't done much reading at the time. I'm just looking for opinions from people with experience with the Drymistats.

Randy

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

xikar recently took over the drymistat business and they work fairly nicely in a desktop especially if you use the xikar solution. I use it to suplement the larger xikar pg crystal humidifiers in one of my desktops.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I really had the opposite experience with my drymistats. I found it nearly impossible to maintain a decent RH.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Also remember that the drymistat tubes only emit humidity. The beads can absorb it when necessary.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I would venture to say that 99% of the folks on this site have thrown away some form of humidy device that did not work for them. I have thrown away at least 3 types (inlcuing a $130 Oasis) to find something that worked. Shilala Beads work and you will save yourself a lot of pain by just going ahead and doing it. The amount for a desktop humidor is a very small $.

Drymistats work ok for travel humidors but that is about all I know about them. Like Icehog said they only put out and do not offer the maintain capability of quality beads.:banger

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

The drymistat tubes only add humidity until they dry up.

They do not allow you maintain or otherwise regulate humidity. For many this may not be a problem -- depending upon the temperature and humidity of the surrounding evirons this can work OK.

However, if you want to maintain a specific RH or RH-range, then you need and active humidification device, like beads.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Cigar nut,

I understand you are responsible for the Shilala beads. If I were to ditch my brand new drymistats what are the qualities of a cigar at 65% rh that are better than, say, a 70% rh. I'm pretty new but there is nothing I've found yet that annoys me more than a dry cigar. I see the shilala beads are preset at 65% and it looks like either a lot of work or money to get them to a higher rh. The Heartfelt beads offer a 70% bead for no additional money.

Thanks for your input on this!

Randy

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

RH is a personal preference. Some people prefer a slightly drier cigar at 65% as a better smoke. Others prefer 70% and everything in between. You should take some time to explore what RH works best for your tastes.

Shilala's beads can hold any desired RH; by default I preset the beads to 65% as that seems to be most popular. I charge slightly more for a different RH because it takes time and effort on my part to change the RH. However, there is no magic involved. Anyone can change Shilala beads from 65% to 70%, and the details are provided in the instructions.

I don't know the Heartfelt product very well so I cannot respond to how or why they offer the two products at the same cost. I also do not know if the Heartfelt product can be changed to a different RH as Shilala beads can be adjusted.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

65% vs. 70% is purely a personal taste choice. I prefer my cigars at 65%, but there are plenty of 70% beads out there at other places.

The following is from cigarmony.com:

Many cigar aficionados actually prefer storing their cigars at 65% RH for several reasons.

1.) You will experience far fewer draw problems (on average) with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.

2.) You will experience far fewer burn problems (on average) with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.

3.) You should experience better flavor maturation and aging with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I suppose I'm getting off the original topic of Drymistats now but in the reading I've done on the beads I've seen talk of recharging heartfelt beads with distilled water but the Shilala bead website says to never add water directly. When the rh drops with the Shilala beads you are supposed to place the wet sponge inside the humidor? Or is there another way to "recharge" them. I suppose it seems odd to have to go back to using a sponge when the idea was to get rid of the green foam sponge like humidifier in the first place. Not to mention that it is a relatively small humidor and I need room for my cigars too!

Thanks fellas!

Randy

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I use a spritz bottle to mist distilled water onto my beads, and have never had a problem.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

You spritz the Shilala beads? The same as the heartfelt ones?

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

The base bead is the same, the only difference is the chemical mixture used to treat the beads and establish their specific gravity, thus setting them at the 60%, 65% or 70% that Heartfelt (and other similar) bead solutions offer. Once set they can't be adjusted by the end user.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Thanks for all the input to everyone! I suppose I'll give the Dymistats a little while to show what they've got and if they aren't up to snuff I'll order some beads. I'm still a little up in the air between the shilala vs. heartfelt but I'll be doing some more reading/research.

Randy

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

You do not wet or spritz Shilala beads to recharge them.

There are instructions with the beads and on the website, but in a nutshell to raise the RH you put them in a sealed container with a sponge (or similar) and a hygrometer for a short period of time until they are recharged. To lower the RH you set them out (if the ambient RH is low) or put them in a refrigerator for a short period time -- immediately putting them into a sealed container with a hygrometer, so that they do not pull in extra moisture as they warm up.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Sorry for the confusion....I have the Heartfelt beads.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I use scott's product in all of my larger humidors as a matter of fact in both of my vinos and in my end table I was specifically speaking about my experience with one xikar drymistat tube in one of my desktops as a supplementary device.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

That's how I use the Drymistats... they work ok in my travel humis, but I use beads in everything else. :ss

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I use these and find they work very well. The only downside I've found is that their suggestions are optimistic. I'm using 10 sticks for my 150ct and it holds rh rock solid with a very quick recovery time.

Their website does say that it absorbs rh when needed btw...

please help!
 

I am looking for some help. I am somewhat new to cigars and am very new to humidors. I recently bought an acrylic humidor jar with a hygroset II hygrometer. I calibrated the hygrometer but have tried using drymistat tube and xicar jar and have found that these products make the humidity level go far over 75%. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what humidification system I should use in the jar?
PLease help!!!

Re: please help!
 

Hey Bro, I'm here to help. Try these, they'll will keep rh rock solid.

http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/p...?prod=HT_05_65

Re: please help!
 

Drymistat tubes and xikar gel are essentially exactly the same thing, humidity jello. They suck at absorbing excess moisture out of the air, they can do it, but they aren't very quick about it. They tend to do a bit better in larger spaces or humidors that leak a bit.

The acrylic jar humidors, especially the ones made like spring top canning jars, are airtight. Airtight + humidity jello is begging for overhumidification as you are experiencing.

My recommendation for the acrylic jar, because there is so little space in there, is a Boveda 65% 2-way pack. You could also go with a very small tube of beads, which are also 2-way humidifiers, from either HCMbeads.com or heartfelt.com, but, you will lose the space for one to two cigars by putting that tube in there.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

thanks alot everyone i really appreciate it!

Re: please help!
 

That's okay, Adam; He'll be in a coolerdor before he finishes those Ghurkas.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I recently ordered a boveda system 69% do you think this would work for me? compared to the 65% that you recommended?

Re: please help!
 

I recently ordered a boveda system 69% do you think this would work for me? compared to the 65% that you recommended?

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

65% vs 69% is a matter of personal taste. Try your cigars at 69% and see if you like them. If you want them a little dryer (or wetter) you can adjust your humidity device accordingly.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Thanks alot Michael

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

+1

65% is just my personal choice.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

I have the 65 Heartfelt and between the dry house and probably a small leak they keep mine at 60 which I found I like. The Shilala beads will give you the option to adjust to your preference. If I were to do it over again I would go with the Shilala beads.

Re: Drymistat tubes
 

Well... this was my thread from almost two years ago. The advice given to me is still very solid today. I still have my drymistats but I only use them in my travel humidor.

In the two years since I broached the topic I have moved up to a 600 count waxingmoon humidor and I use about 2 pounds of Heartfelt beads in it. The beads are fool proof and I only use so much because my humidor has dedicated space for them and it means less refilling of the beads. My old smaller humidor has now become a flavored humidor for my wife and I also keep a 20 count at work. I use the Heartfelt beads in all of my humidors except my plastic travel humidor.

When you're ready to move up in humidor size (sooner than you would think) I highly suggest waxingmoon... here's the link to my thread about Ed and his build of my humidor:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=47993

Back to your question though... get the beads... you won't regret it! :tu

Randy