I finally decided to order the beads a couple of weeks ago, I ordered a large tube of the 65% beads from Heartfelt. The cigar gel I was using was maintaining 72%. On the package the instructions stated to place the beads directly into the humidor to reduce the humidity level, after 24 hours my humidity rose to 74%. I charged the beads to see if that would have any impact but the humidity level remained the same. I've emailed Heartfelt but have not received a reply yet, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
If you charged the beads, you reduced their capability of absorbing excess humidity relative to the beads RH% rating. The end result is that they are unable to regulate RH% because they cant absorb moisture (they are already full from the charging you gave them).
Generally, I like to let things level out for about 3-5 days before making any changes....just to make sure. If you are looking to do something right away that will drop the RH, you need to pull those beads out and put them in a dry area for about 5 days. Once they are dry, you can put them back into your humi as they will be ready (and able) to absorb moisture again.
If you charged the beads, you reduced their capability of absorbing excess humidity relative to the beads RH% rating. The end result is that they are unable to regulate RH% because they cant absorb moisture (they are already full from the charging you gave them).
Generally, I like to let things level out for about 3-5 days before making any changes....just to make sure. If you are looking to do something right away that will drop the RH, you need to pull those beads out and put them in a dry area for about 5 days. Once they are dry, you can put them back into your humi as they will be ready (and able) to absorb moisture again.
I only put one syringe of distilled water on the beads, so they should still have been able to absorb moisture. At least that was my thought.
From what I have heard, and my own very recent experience, the beads are charged when they get to you. Like you, I "charged" mine, and ended up accidentally over-charging them... I took them out of my cooler and dried them slightly with a low heat hair dryer (lowest heat/lowest power setting and from over a foot away) for several minutes, then I mixed the beads back up and set them outside for a few hours. Then I brought them back inside, mixed them up again (so that some of the more dry beads would be in every are, therfore more quickly evening out all the beads) put them back in the mesh bags, and put them in my cooler. No problems since. In the future, if my RH drops below 64% or so, I will just put a couple oz of distilled water in a small dish and set them in the cooler near the beads... then all you have to do is remove the water when the RH gets to around 66% and the beads will work their magic for another few months.
I only put one syringe of distilled water on the beads, so they should still have been able to absorb moisture. At least that was my thought.
From what I have heard, and my own very recent experience, the beads are charged when they get to you. Like you, I "charged" mine, and ended up accidentally over-charging them... I took them out of my cooler and dried them slightly with a low heat hair dryer (lowest heat/lowest power setting and from over a foot away) for several minutes, then I mixed the beads back up and set them outside for a few hours. Then I brought them back inside, mixed them up again (so that some of the more dry beads would be in every are, therfore more quickly evening out all the beads) put them back in the mesh bags, and put them in my cooler. No problems since. In the future, if my RH drops below 64% or so, I will just put a couple oz of distilled water in a small dish and set them in the cooler near the beads... then all you have to do is remove the water when the RH gets to around 66% and the beads will work their magic for another few months.
Great info BigT....about to get some beads myself since the coolidor is growin with sticks...the gel for me isn't stayin constant as I'd like....so I want to do this before I run into problems...
I only put one syringe of distilled water on the beads, so they should still have been able to absorb moisture. At least that was my thought.
From what I have heard, and my own very recent experience, the beads are charged when they get to you. Like you, I "charged" mine, and ended up accidentally over-charging them... I took them out of my cooler and dried them slightly with a low heat hair dryer (lowest heat/lowest power setting and from over a foot away) for several minutes, then I mixed the beads back up and set them outside for a few hours. Then I brought them back inside, mixed them up again (so that some of the more dry beads would be in every are, therfore more quickly evening out all the beads) put them back in the mesh bags, and put them in my cooler. No problems since. In the future, if my RH drops below 64% or so, I will just put a couple oz of distilled water in a small dish and set them in the cooler near the beads... then all you have to do is remove the water when the RH gets to around 66% and the beads will work their magic for another few months.
Great info BigT....about to get some beads myself since the coolidor is growin with sticks...the gel for me isn't stayin constant as I'd like....so I want to do this before I run into problems...
Beads are far better at maintaining RH than gel in my experience. I say that simply because beads seem to have a far better ability to recover the RH from opening/closing and also seem to keep a better balance when adding/removing cigars. This is especially true in a cooler. Since I got my beads set up in mine, I've been amazed at the fact that I haven't had to do ANYTHING to maintain perfect RH... litteraly, all I do is sit back and go "damn, those beads are awesome".
I went with Conservagel simply due to financial restrictions, and they have been more than I could've hoped for. I hear that Heartfelt are at least as good, just slightly more expensive (well almost twice as expensive, actually).
the coolest thing about the beads (imho) is the fact that you can't put too many in your cooler (or humi)... because since they work both ways - absorbing and distributing humidity - you don't have to worry about using too many. I use more than "needed" in my 120qt cooler so that it helps the RH re-stabilize after the cooler has been opened, and so I know that there is always enough humidity being stored in there so that I don't have to worry about re-charging the beads as often.
there are some folks that swear by the gel... I'm just not one of em. Gel work great for establishing RH, but simply doesn't regulate it as efficiently as beads in my experience. If you're using a cooler, I would be afraid that the gel would have a tendancy to spike the RH due to the cooler not having natural airflow, therefore not allowing the excess to breathe... which therefore leaves the extra humidity nowhere to go but into your cigars... but to each his own. Try it and see what works best for you, but my recommendation is definitely beads.
Nice one BigT! After reading this and other info on these beads, I went ahead and bought 1 pound of conservagel beads. What do you put these beads in is my question. I saw the heartfelt tubes and have also seen the pucks? What would be best for my humidor that stores 75-100? Thanks for your advice and everyone else on here!
Nice one BigT! After reading this and other info on these beads, I went ahead and bought 1 pound of conservagel beads. What do you put these beads in is my question. I saw the heartfelt tubes and have also seen the pucks? What would be best for my humidor that stores 75-100? Thanks for your advice and everyone else on here!
The beads actually come with bags designed specifically for the beads. I half bound bag when full is about the size of a baseball, so that will probably be too big for a 100 count humi...
what I would suggest is taking the foam humidifier that came with your humi out of it's puck (or whatever it is in), washing the puck, and filling it with beads. If it is a small puck, you may wanna take a shot glass or 2 and put down in the humi and fill it with beads as well. You can also make your own tubes if you prefer using tubes. There are a lot of walk thrus on youtube about that kind of stuff, or just google it and I'm sure you will find lots of info.
just remember, when the beads get to you, DO NOT add water!! They are already charged. If you are unsure about it, post a pic on here and let some of the experienced guys be the judge.
Nice one BigT! After reading this and other info on these beads, I went ahead and bought 1 pound of conservagel beads. What do you put these beads in is my question. I saw the heartfelt tubes and have also seen the pucks? What would be best for my humidor that stores 75-100? Thanks for your advice and everyone else on here!
I ralleyed around the site all morning, had them in my cart for an hour, the conservagel beads come in a bag. (I'm leaning towards getting four of the half pound bags...gives u room to put them in different spots...that would give me 4 bags, 3 for the cooler, and 1 for the humi...more than enough)...I would say leave them in there as BigT mentioned earlier...just put a shot glass or somethin with distilled water next to it to regenerate...I've been tryin the gel with the shot glass of d water, and it fluxuates too much....but as BigT said the gel only works 1 way....it distributes RH, but doesn't regulate RH...
Nice one BigT! After reading this and other info on these beads, I went ahead and bought 1 pound of conservagel beads. What do you put these beads in is my question. I saw the heartfelt tubes and have also seen the pucks? What would be best for my humidor that stores 75-100? Thanks for your advice and everyone else on here!
The beads actually come with bags designed specifically for the beads. I half bound bag when full is about the size of a baseball, so that will probably be too big for a 100 count humi...
what I would suggest is taking the foam humidifier that came with your humi out of it's puck (or whatever it is in), washing the puck, and filling it with beads. If it is a small puck, you may wanna take a shot glass or 2 and put down in the humi and fill it with beads as well. You can also make your own tubes if you prefer using tubes. There are a lot of walk thrus on youtube about that kind of stuff, or just google it and I'm sure you will find lots of info.
just remember, when the beads get to you, DO NOT add water!! They are already charged. If you are unsure about it, post a pic on here and let some of the experienced guys be the judge.
guess u was typin the same time i was.....i see this being the direction I need to go...
I don't know what's going on, I dried the beads out put them back in my humidor and my humidity still remains at 72%. I'm not overly concerned since my sticks are still burning, drawing and tasting fine. I just like them with a little less humidity.
I don't know what's going on, I dried the beads out put them back in my humidor and my humidity still remains at 72%. I'm not overly concerned since my sticks are still burning, drawing and tasting fine. I just like them with a little less humidity.
What is the RH rating on your beads? They will range +/= 2% from that rating. It is very hard to determine if the beads are actually dry now. If you use them as you are now, you should see the RH start to drop over a few days. I use the 65% beads and they keep me in the 65 - 67 % range which is good for me. Mine don't tend to drop off too much as it is always so humid where I live, I only have to add water (water bottle left open in my cooloerdor) a couple of times a year during the hot summer.
I don't know what's going on, I dried the beads out put them back in my humidor and my humidity still remains at 72%. I'm not overly concerned since my sticks are still burning, drawing and tasting fine. I just like them with a little less humidity.
What is the RH rating on your beads? They will range +/= 2% from that rating. It is very hard to determine if the beads are actually dry now. If you use them as you are now, you should see the RH start to drop over a few days. I use the 65% beads and they keep me in the 65 - 67 % range which is good for me. Mine don't tend to drop off too much as it is always so humid where I live, I only have to add water (water bottle left open in my cooloerdor) a couple of times a year during the hot summer.
I don't know what's going on, I dried the beads out put them back in my humidor and my humidity still remains at 72%. I'm not overly concerned since my sticks are still burning, drawing and tasting fine. I just like them with a little less humidity.
What is the RH rating on your beads? They will range +/= 2% from that rating. It is very hard to determine if the beads are actually dry now. If you use them as you are now, you should see the RH start to drop over a few days. I use the 65% beads and they keep me in the 65 - 67 % range which is good for me. Mine don't tend to drop off too much as it is always so humid where I live, I only have to add water (water bottle left open in my cooloerdor) a couple of times a year during the hot summer.
My beads are also 65%.
Is the RH any lower in there today? You could try to remove some / all the beads and attempt to dry them some more. You could place them on a cookie sheet and put them into an oven that has already been preheated and is turned off. Don't let the temp. of the oven get very hot (125 degrees) and turn it off before you place the beads in there, Then let them sit in there for a good hour. The beads should dry out more without shattering them all into pieces which can happen if they are overheated. They still work even when busted up apparently. Keep us posted on your progress.
I don't know what's going on, I dried the beads out put them back in my humidor and my humidity still remains at 72%. I'm not overly concerned since my sticks are still burning, drawing and tasting fine. I just like them with a little less humidity.
What is the RH rating on your beads? They will range +/= 2% from that rating. It is very hard to determine if the beads are actually dry now. If you use them as you are now, you should see the RH start to drop over a few days. I use the 65% beads and they keep me in the 65 - 67 % range which is good for me. Mine don't tend to drop off too much as it is always so humid where I live, I only have to add water (water bottle left open in my cooloerdor) a couple of times a year during the hot summer.
My beads are also 65%.
Is the RH any lower in there today? You could try to remove some / all the beads and attempt to dry them some more. You could place them on a cookie sheet and put them into an oven that has already been preheated and is turned off. Don't let the temp. of the oven get very hot (125 degrees) and turn it off before you place the beads in there, Then let them sit in there for a good hour. The beads should dry out more without shattering them all into pieces which can happen if they are overheated. They still work even when busted up apparently. Keep us posted on your progress.
Yesterday the humidity was 70% and this evening when I checked, the humidity was 71%. I may try to dry them out again and see what happens.
i read through but might have missed it...are the beads your only source of humidification? Do you have any boveda packs/humi pillows/shot glasses of distilled etc... in the humi?
i read through but might have missed it...are the beads your only source of humidification? Do you have any boveda packs/humi pillows/shot glasses of distilled etc... in the humi?
Yes, the beads are all I have in the humidor at this time.
I told my wife to put some beads in the humi with some distilled water in a shot glass and just leave it in there till I get home. I'm hoping that will be long enough and the humi will be good to go. I still have to cal my hygrometer, but at least the long part will be close to done.
Comments
I buy mine at Heartfelt Industries.com
They also come with a free bag for storing them in, and they are way cheaper then Heartfelt beads.
http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=ACC-CONSERVAGEL
Generally, I like to let things level out for about 3-5 days before making any changes....just to make sure. If you are looking to do something right away that will drop the RH, you need to pull those beads out and put them in a dry area for about 5 days. Once they are dry, you can put them back into your humi as they will be ready (and able) to absorb moisture again.
I went with Conservagel simply due to financial restrictions, and they have been more than I could've hoped for. I hear that Heartfelt are at least as good, just slightly more expensive (well almost twice as expensive, actually).
the coolest thing about the beads (imho) is the fact that you can't put too many in your cooler (or humi)... because since they work both ways - absorbing and distributing humidity - you don't have to worry about using too many. I use more than "needed" in my 120qt cooler so that it helps the RH re-stabilize after the cooler has been opened, and so I know that there is always enough humidity being stored in there so that I don't have to worry about re-charging the beads as often.
there are some folks that swear by the gel... I'm just not one of em. Gel work great for establishing RH, but simply doesn't regulate it as efficiently as beads in my experience. If you're using a cooler, I would be afraid that the gel would have a tendancy to spike the RH due to the cooler not having natural airflow, therefore not allowing the excess to breathe... which therefore leaves the extra humidity nowhere to go but into your cigars... but to each his own. Try it and see what works best for you, but my recommendation is definitely beads.
what I would suggest is taking the foam humidifier that came with your humi out of it's puck (or whatever it is in), washing the puck, and filling it with beads. If it is a small puck, you may wanna take a shot glass or 2 and put down in the humi and fill it with beads as well. You can also make your own tubes if you prefer using tubes. There are a lot of walk thrus on youtube about that kind of stuff, or just google it and I'm sure you will find lots of info.
just remember, when the beads get to you, DO NOT add water!! They are already charged. If you are unsure about it, post a pic on here and let some of the experienced guys be the judge.
It is very hard to determine if the beads are actually dry now. If you use them as you are now, you should see the RH start to drop over a few days. I use the 65% beads and they keep me in the 65 - 67 % range which is good for me. Mine don't tend to drop off too much as it is always so humid where I live, I only have to add water (water bottle left open in my cooloerdor) a couple of times a year during the hot summer.