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Dridamp, yea or nay?

Has anyone else heard of this little device? I saw it a while ago and picked one up. Tried it once or twice after I had a little incident with climate control in my humi, and of course it said my stogies were dry (which they were). Since then they've been sitting on a shelf.

About two months of careful vigilance later I cautiously tried one of them and it smoked fine. I just found the Dridamp tester on a shelf, though, and tested a few out of curiosity... 3 of the 4 I tested read that they were fine, although one was towards the dry end. It's hard to tell how the thing is calibrated, though, in order to understand what the reading is telling you.

Has anyone used one of these with any success? More importantly, any pointers on how to make the most of the readings?

Comments

  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    i read a review of this thng a while back. the person who was reviewing it said the he set up a small humidor and put a few cigars of different sizes and shapes in there. also in there were two calibrated hygromiters. he kept the humidor at 70% RH (the industry standard). the humidor had been set at 70 for several weeks when he began the test. every one of the cigars in there the machine told him were too dry. so he started to up the RH just to see what the results would be. He got up to 84% before he gave up. the thing was still telling him they were too dry. it amy just have been that particular one that was messed up but...whatever. that isnt really the point.

    personally i dont need a machine to tell me if my cigars are to moist or to dry. I can tell just by the way they feel, and later, how they burn. By the time you are into cigars enough that you are buying extra accesories this accesory becomes obsolete. I wouldnt buy this if i smoked 3 cigars a year and it cost $25 im not into cigars enough at that point to care. I dont need to buy it if i smoke 3 cigars a month because i know that my humidor will keep it at the correct RH. the humidity is at 65% in my humidor 100% of the time. i guess i dont understand the point of that device if you are using a humidor.
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    personally i dont need a machine to tell me if my cigars are to moist or to dry. I can tell just by the way they feel, and later, how they burn. By the time you are into cigars enough that you are buying extra accesories this accesory becomes obsolete. I wouldnt buy this if i smoked 3 cigars a year and it cost $25 im not into cigars enough at that point to care. I dont need to buy it if i smoke 3 cigars a month because i know that my humidor will keep it at the correct RH. the humidity is at 65% in my humidor 100% of the time. i guess i dont understand the point of that device if you are using a humidor.
    Exactly.
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    I dont need to buy it if i smoke 3 cigars a month.
    3 cigars a month? Kuzi who are you kidding? You can't post on "what are you smoking tonight" every night then try to claim 3 cigars a month. LOL
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    madurofan:
    kuzi16:
    I dont need to buy it if i smoke 3 cigars a month.
    3 cigars a month? Kuzi who are you kidding? You can't post on "what are you smoking tonight" every night then try to claim 3 cigars a month. LOL
    i was looking at it from the "once i reach that point" point of view
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    HAHA I hear ya. Man I wish it was still just 3 a month it was a whole lot cheaper back then. One or two a day gets expensive I need to cut it back to 3 a week again.
  • That's pretty much what I figured, but it was only like $5 where I bought it, so I figured it'd be worth a shot. Of course, it tells you that you should adjust it for more tighter/loosely packed cigars, but if you're going to do that you could pretty much just adjust it until it says the stogie is fine even if it's been sitting out for three weeks in 90 degree weather.

    I was mostly asking because, with the temperature going up and down like it is in MD right now, it seems to be pushing the RH a tad too high... I'm going to order some of those humidity beads you all recommended in that other thread ASAP and wait a few weeks for things to stabilize, but I was wondering if the Dridamp gauge would be able to accurately gauge when they were ready to smoke again.
  • btmislesbtmisles Posts: 125
    gott.des.feuer:

    I was mostly asking because, with the temperature going up and down like it is in MD right now, it seems to be pushing the RH a tad too high... I'm going to order some of those humidity beads you all recommended in that other thread ASAP and wait a few weeks for things to stabilize, but I was wondering if the Dridamp gauge would be able to accurately gauge when they were ready to smoke again.

    gott, I to am in MD and the weather was playing havoc with my RH as well. While reading everything on the boards here about the beads, I ordered some and recieved them just last week. They seem to be working great. I would highly recommend even as a new user of the beads.
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    Let me know how those work out for you guys. I'm in VA Beach so my humidity is ridiculous but so far my slightly propping the lid open method and the cigar oasis have worked.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    hmmm maybe it isnt hot enough in ohio yet but my RH is still at 65%
  • madurofan:
    Let me know how those work out for you guys. I'm in VA Beach so my humidity is ridiculous but so far my slightly propping the lid open method and the cigar oasis have worked.


    Since you mentioned the Cigar Oasis, I was wondering, how practical would it be to use one of those in a smaller 250ct desktop style humidor? I read the dimensions a while back and if I remember correctly it would have fit. My only concern was the cord, but now you're suggesting propping the lid slightly open anyway, which negates that point. Of course, I don't know how practical it would be to use one at this time of the year since the problem is keeping the humidity DOWN.

    Idunno, I'll probably just stick with the getting some of the beads... they're probably more practical for a smaller humidor. Since I'm getting them to lower the humidity down to 70, would it be best to just put them in without charging them first? Or should I still add some water, just maybe not as much?
  • btmisles:
    gott.des.feuer:

    I was mostly asking because, with the temperature going up and down like it is in MD right now, it seems to be pushing the RH a tad too high... I'm going to order some of those humidity beads you all recommended in that other thread ASAP and wait a few weeks for things to stabilize, but I was wondering if the Dridamp gauge would be able to accurately gauge when they were ready to smoke again.

    gott, I to am in MD and the weather was playing havoc with my RH as well. While reading everything on the boards here about the beads, I ordered some and recieved them just last week. They seem to be working great. I would highly recommend even as a new user of the beads.


    Hail fellow MD cigar nut!
  • ashmasterashmaster Posts: 237
    I live in So. Fla so I know what you guys are taking about concerning the heat and humidity. I've been using 65% beads for several months now with no problems at all. One of the best investments I've made.
  • btmislesbtmisles Posts: 125
    I ordered the 65% beads and although it says to charge 70% of the beads I only did about half. It brought my RH from 74 to 68 (which is where I want it or a bit less) within 2 days.
  • Bsneed51Bsneed51 Posts: 22
    Beads, beads, beads. I can't recommend them enough. Wet 75% of them, shut the lid on your humi, and never worry about it. I don't know what it is about them that works so good, but honestly they are a miracle cure. My humidor looks like the French Quarter during Mardi Gras with the beads. I have 70% RH beads, and my humi holds constant at 66% every time I open it.
  • pilot711pilot711 Posts: 176
    Beads Baby!! They will change your life. Really dont even need a hygrometer anymore things stay so stable and I live in Mardi Gras town with almost 100% humidity. Put em in and forget about it. :)
  • Alright, one last set of questions about the beads. What should I shoot for in terms of the cubic inches estimates on the beads? My 250ct humi is 18x12x10.5 (2268 cubic inches), and my 150ct humi is 15.75x10.75x8.5 (1440 cubic inches), so I was thinking 2x of the large round ones and 3x of the small round ones. That should be enough since I'm mostly using it to account for seasonal fluctuation in a humidor that normally stays at 69-71% RH, right? Also, I read that one story about NAustin having his humidifier fall onto a bunch of God of Fire sticks and ruin them with mold (eep... >.<), will the beads do this if they're too close to the cigars? That story and the fact that I've opened my humi to see the humidifier had fallen off are making me steer away from the tubes, since they seem like they'd be more liable to get knocked out of place and land right next to/on top of the cigars. Fortunately in that one case I both caught it early and didn't have quite as expensive/nice stogies in there... the latter only really being fortunate in that it would have sucked more if there had been a mold outbreak, of course.

    Thanks all of you who have responded for being patient with all my questions! I just wanna get this right the first time so I don't have to be so paranoid about RH issues anymore.
  • pilot711pilot711 Posts: 176
    http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/faq.asp .Heartfelt has a calculator link on the lower left side of the home page to calculate exactly how much you need. The tubes are great but you can buy the loose beads and do lots of other creative things with placement.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    i go with way more beads than the calculator thing suggests. it means less recharging and more stableizing power.
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    You guys have me. I'm going to try the beads again in my desktop humidor and put my oasis in my new tupperdor.I know the mistakes I made with them now so my expierience should be better than last time. I'd still rather use someone other than heartfelt but it doesn't look like anyone is having good experiences with anyone but heartfelt.
  • ashmasterashmaster Posts: 237
    madurofan......I'm glad to see your going to give them a try again. They have always done a great job for me and I really believe they are the only way to go. .
  • pilot711pilot711 Posts: 176
    ashmaster:
    madurofan......I'm glad to see your going to give them a try again. They have always done a great job for me and I really believe they are the only way to go. .
    Agreed. Pretty inexpensive to purchase then no further expense and very easy to use. And best of all they work. Only reason I even have a hygrometer now is to know when they need recharging.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    pilot711:
    Only reason I even have a hygrometer now is to know when they need recharging.
    ditto
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    Well I bought one of those cheap Xikar crystals in a jar things until the beads get here as my local B&M doesn't carry them. Its a sad day in my house by the way, a Cuban Partagas met an untimely death today. Somehow in the humidor shuffle I was doing when moving my cigars into the new tupperdor this poor partagas was crushed not sure how or when but it was busted up pretty bad. I had to lay it to rest long before its time.
  • madurofan:
    Well I bought one of those cheap Xikar crystals in a jar things until the beads get here as my local B&M doesn't carry them. Its a sad day in my house by the way, a Cuban Partagas met an untimely death today. Somehow in the humidor shuffle I was doing when moving my cigars into the new tupperdor this poor partagas was crushed not sure how or when but it was busted up pretty bad. I had to lay it to rest long before its time.


    Crying [:'(]

    My condolences to Mr. Partagas. Let's hope none of his friends in your humi met a similar fate.
  • pilot711pilot711 Posts: 176
    madurofan:
    Well I bought one of those cheap Xikar crystals in a jar things until the beads get here as my local B&M doesn't carry them. Its a sad day in my house by the way, a Cuban Partagas met an untimely death today. Somehow in the humidor shuffle I was doing when moving my cigars into the new tupperdor this poor partagas was crushed not sure how or when but it was busted up pretty bad. I had to lay it to rest long before its time.
    Condolences! :(
  • madurofanmadurofan Posts: 6,219 ✭✭✭
    My wife admitted it was her doing, unknowingly of course. She had picked a cigar out for me the other day and said she had to give the lid a little extra push to get it to shut all the way :(. Can't be mad at the poor girl she was just trying to be helpful.
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