Humidification Beads FAQs

[trendo]

Mark, thanks for all the great info

The humidity inside of my house is somewhere between 70 to 75 percent. Do your beads absorb moisture at the same rate that they release? I am asking because I have three pounds in a 3 cu ft cabinet, and it sometimes struggles to reduce the humidity.

Thanks

[jluck]

Originally Posted by trendo

Mark, thanks for all the great info

The humidity inside of my house is somewhere between 70 to 75 percent. Do your beads absorb moisture at the same rate that they release? I am asking because I have three pounds in a 3 cu ft cabinet, and it sometimes struggles to reduce the humidity.

Thanks

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by jluck

I agree, 3 pounds of beads in a 3cu humidor is overkill by 4-5x the recommended amount and if they are still struggling, sounds like you should have instead invested in either a new humidor or some silicone and weatherstripping.

[Ncpsycho]

Thanks guys....love the asylum

I just got my Heartfelt beads the other day, and I feel like I sprayed to much DW on a the 2lbs. (separated in x2 1lbs. pantyhose) What is the safest way to dry a pound out and start over?

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by us_soldier1989

I just got my Heartfelt beads the other day, and I feel like I sprayed to much DW on a the 2lbs. (separated in x2 1lbs. pantyhose) What is the safest way to dry a pound out and start over?

If you have a hair dryer, that is the quickest method....just make sure the beads are in a bag so they don't blow all over the place. Short of that, leave them out of the humidor in a place of low humidity.

[KamikaziKreutz]

Thanks for the advise!

[jluck]

Hcm beads on sale this month too!

http://www.shilalasbeads.com/

Michael's a stand up guy!

[smitty81]

I ordered a heartfelt beads 65% tube, put distilled water in it but didn't overly saturate it. It's been sitting for about 3 days and I noticed that some bead or gel particles are coming out of it beneath it.

Is this common after the first time you saturate it?

I saturated it on friday, added some cigars that had sat in a walk in humidor and now it seems the beads are dried out?

When I tip it from end to end, you can hear them moving around but when i put a light up to ut, they look clear. Could they be dry already?

Im not impressed with this hertfelt beads tube. Harder than hell to tell if they are saturated.

[N2Advnture]

Originally Posted by smitty81

I ordered a heartfelt beads 65% tube, put distilled water in it but didn't overly saturate it. It's been sitting for about 3 days and I noticed that some bead or gel particles are coming out of it beneath it.

Is this common after the first time you saturate it?

I saturated it on friday, added some cigars that had sat in a walk in humidor and now it seems the beads are dried out?

When I tip it from end to end, you can hear them moving around but when i put a light up to ut, they look clear. Could they be dry already?

Im not impressed with this hertfelt beads tube. Harder than hell to tell if they are saturated.

It is common for the beads to fracture (and create dust) if when water is added quickly but it does not affect their performance.

Adding cigars can change your RH level dramatically. Adding dry cigars can quickly deplete any moisture in beads and adding wet cigars can spike the RH.

You may find that a change in season or adding and removing cigars can create small changes in RH levels that would need to be corrected by adding water to the beads or drying them out.

Not that it applies to your situation but having a rise in RH could create enough moisture inside the humidor that the beads would reach their capacity to absorb any more excess RH (RH above the set point of the beads - 60%, 65%, 70%, etc...).

To remedy this (as mentioned) simply use a hair dryer set on low to dry them out.

Also, opening and closing they humidor frequently can introduce drier (or more humid ambient RH) which would affect the RH level.

I would also recommend changing the batteries in your digital hygrometer(s) once a year and calibrating twice a year. Weak batteries can/do give false readings and they can "drift" throughout the year, meaning that the reading can be off.

Also, being a silica based bead and not a gel, they don't expand.

I hope this helps.

~Mark

[pnoon]

Clear means they are saturated. Opaque means they're dry.

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by pnoon

Clear means they are saturated. Opaque means they're dry.

but they should not sound hard when they are saturated.........they turn into gel dont they?

I called the company on friday with questions. Never got a call back. I think I might stick with xikar tubes........

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by smitty81

but they should not sound hard when they are saturated.........they turn into gel dont they?

No, they don't.

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by pnoon

No, they don't.

good to know, thanks!

[ApexAZ]

I've noticed that there was some dust in the bag when I got my beads. My guess would be that the gel you found is from dust.

[azar]

I just got my winador up and running. I stepped up from a 100 count desk top humi using bovada packs the puck and humi pillows shipped with the cigar orders. Now with that said RH had been an up hill battle all the time. After joining CA and reading threads like this I bought beads and other then T* in the wine cooler causing the RH to wonder off mainly low. (I unplugged the unit) T* and RH have been steady as a rock I wished I would have known of beads sooner. But I am now a beleiver and very greatful.

[WhiteMamba]

Just purchased a half pound from heartfelt gonna put them in my new coolidor.

[CdnStogie]

Im really curious if I am having problems with my beads because I do not have enough... I have a 50 CT humi and seems as though the beads do not want to hold.... I am trying again, along with some sealing, which I feel may be my issue. I have about another day worth of waiting for my humi to season again.

I bought the large tube... 3/4" by 6" (i think those are the measurements)


first shot with them, they didn't do squat.

[bobarian]

Sounds more like a leak. Is it a solid top or glass? How long did you season before adding cigars and beads? Lastly did you calibrate your hygrometer?

[CdnStogie]

Originally Posted by bobarian

Sounds more like a leak.

Is it a solid top or glass? Glass - I have since took aquarium sealant to the glass, hygrometer & around the seal w/ saran wrap on one side. I did not wipe down the cedar as I did when I first bought it and it has been a week now, sitting at 70% as of this morning. Is this typical if you do not wipe it down to take this long? In Canada and the RH is quite low to begin with, but we are coming out of winter now.

How long did you season before adding cigars and beads? I had it seasoning (without opening the lid or anything in that regard) for just shy of two weeks. I wiped it down twice on the first and second day, and then let a bowl of water sit in for the remainder.

Lastly did you calibrate your hygrometer?
The digital hygrometer that is built into the humidor is not adjustable which made me wonder initially so I went out and bought a Xikar hygrometer and had it calibrated (twice in 3 days) Top of the humi was reading about 67% and the bottom (it's only a 50 CT) was reading 59% My digi that is built in is off by about 2% +/-