Distilled water or Xikar

[Bulldog1862]

I am trying to lower the RH in my Humidor. Right now I am at 69F and 70% The Xikar is 70% solution. What is distilled water rated at. ?

[AdamJoshua]

You want to know what the humidity of water is?

Are you using a sponge / green foam or the gel beads? Propylene glycol is at 70% humidity no matter how you mix it with distilled water, I would look into moving to Shilala / HMC beads, with those you can 'set' them to a humidity that suits you and aren't restricted to 70%.

[czerbe]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

You want to know what the humidity of water is?

Are you using a sponge / green foam or the gel beads? Propylene glycol is at 70% humidity no matter how you mix it with distilled water, I would look into moving to Shilala / HMC beads, with those you can 'set' them to a humidity that suits you and aren't restricted to 70%.

[Bulldog1862]

I am using a round humidifier with the beads inside. I normally use my wineidor with Heartfelt beads. I use distilled water on the. I pulled out 30 cigars as a present for Christmas and with the weather change my wineidor spiked high and I am trying to get it squared away.

[Wharf Rat]

I think I'd open the 'dor for a few minutes, close it up and see how it settles overnight. Repeat as needed.

Or, like many of us, you could just open the 'dor up repeatedly to fondle the cigars while choosing just the right one to smoke immediately.

[RWhisenand]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

You want to know what the humidity of water is?.

I just spit red wine out of my nose!

[Bulldog1862]

Rob I am asking a legit question. Some of the So called experts here state they only use Distilled water some call for the 70% solution. My question is what should a Hygrometer read when you use distilled water in your humidor whether you use beads foam or what ever the humidification unit came or you bought for it.

[CigarNut]

Comparing PG to distilled water is an "apples and oranges" kind of comparison.

I think the confusion is that people use distilled water with some other media like beads for humidification, or on a sponge while seasoning. You use distilled water for lots of reasons. Mostly, it's pure and will not introduce mold or bacteria into your humidor like tap water can do.

You want a humidification device that will regulate humidity. PG will do that, but not very well. 70%RH is generally considered the high-end of the humidity that you want to keep your cigars at. If you like your cigars at 70%RH that's cool, don't let us stop you.

If you want better humidification for your humidor look at getting some beads; Heartfelt (http://heartfeltindustries.com/) and HCM Beads (http://cigarbeads.com/) are two good choices that many BOTLs around here will recommend.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by Bulldog1862

Rob I am asking a legit question. Some of the So called experts here state they only use Distilled water some call for the 70% solution. My question is what should a Hygrometer read when you use distilled water in your humidor whether you use beads foam or what ever the humidification unit came or you bought for it.

I'm not sure who you are referring to when you mention "so called experts here". I've been around here a while and I don't believe anyone here is an expert.

The hygrometer should read whatever the regulating media is "set" for. The distilled water has nothing to do with it. If you are using 65% beads, your RH should stabilize at 65%. Using just a foam puck will not stabilize the RH at any particular RH. A 70% PG solution should stabilize RH at 70%

[shilala]

This is the best 6 pages of "how to understand using stuff to control humidity" on the intrawebs.

The RH over distilled water is 100%, for what that's worth.
The guys have told you about other things, many that use compounds and or chemicals to lower that 100%.
All kinds of salts can be used to lower that 100%.
HCM beads work completely differently. They work via a lot of math, covalency, and equilibrium.

Everyone likes what they like, as long as it gets the job done.
If HCM beads didn't exist, I'd use Heartfelt beads. I also use Boveda packs.

[baust55]

if your RH is to high stop adding water till drops ..


wait is you live in a really humid climate you would want to dry your beads out to lower the RH .


I LIVE in the Midwest its like 80% RH IN SUMMER and 25% in winter .

so in summer I occasionally dry my beads to keep it at 65%

in winter I occasionally give them a light sprits with distilled water to keep RH up to 65%

most beads recommend just distilled water ..

[Bulldog1862]

I apologize to all if I came out sounding huffy. Just frustrating when your cigars are in Danger. I ordered two of the large 60% pucks from Heartfelt. I feel that with both humidors nice but not top of the line it should settle around 65%

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Bulldog1862

I apologize to all if I came out sounding huffy. Just frustrating when your cigars are in Danger.

They'll be fine. Cigars are pretty resilient. Think about all the abuse and humidity swings they endure in transit from the factories in the Caribbean and Central America to get here, then what they further endure in the back of a UPS truck for a week.

[shilala]

Don't wet your pucks when they arrive. Let them draw the moisture down.
If your RH doesn't come down in a few weeks, dry them and repeat.
You'll be fine, just be patient. Remember that it took a long time for the RH to come up, it takes just as long to bring it down.

[pattersong]

Pick up some 69% Boveda packs, slam the door shut, and proceed with confidence.

[Bulldog1862]

So it has been about two weeks with the Heartfelt 60% large humidifiers. Every thing is holding fast at 62% all is well

[longknocker]

Originally Posted by Bulldog1862

So it has been about two weeks with the Heartfelt 60% large humidifiers. Every thing is holding fast at 62% all is well

[shilala]

Great news!!!

[CdnStogie]

Originally Posted by pattersong

Pick up some 69% Boveda packs, slam the door shut, and proceed with confidence.

This is the route I chose with my tupperdor.

Was using it in all my setups, but then flipped to the xikar puck in my humidor. Didn't like this route either so I switched over to kitty litter and have not looked back. Simple, foolproof and every 2-3 weeks I give it a few mists and away we go.

The Boveda packs are amazing though - take up no space and I have 2 that are thown in the tupperdor and have been working for at least 2 months now without change. I do wish that I had 65% though, as with the tupperdor, the seal ensures the higher RH.

[RWhisenand]

Originally Posted by Bulldog1862

So it has been about two weeks with the Heartfelt 60% large humidifiers. Every thing is holding fast at 62% all is well

Good to hear!