Cabinet Humidor RH Question

[montecristo#2]

I know this has probably been asked before, but I did a quick search and did not find anything.

I think I am going to finally get a cabinet humidor that can hold my collection and have plenty of room to expand (I am just in the initial planning phase). I am thinking about something in the 100-150 box range with a drawer for singles.

My question is for the BOTLs who have temperature controlled cabinet humidors (whether it is a customer made, an aristocrat or something else like a vinotemp), do you use active humidification or passive?

I am trying to budget and am wondering if I can just skip the active system and go with beads (placed around the inside in several places).

A little background, I live in CA close to the water, so the RH in my house is typically around 60% to begin with. So, in my current humidors I use 65% beads and add water about once every six months. And when I do add water, it is usually only to half of the containers of beads. My humidors are typically 63-65% which works fine for me.

I do plan on getting something that is temperature controlled however, as I would like to be able to keep my cigars around 65F.