Pos beads

WhoDeyGal

Ok fellas, so we bought some beads, put them in the foot of panty hose, mist them and put them in our humidor. Now our humidity is skyrocketing to the peak of 87. We opened the humidor for a few hours to let it drop and its now hanging around high 70's. What gives?

WhoDeyGal

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T.J. Armstrong

I am beyond frustrated with the damn humidity issue. That fact that these MFers jumped that freaking high just drives be nuts. The company we bought them from has it listed that they are preset at 70%, so how the heck do they leap that freaking high!? Has anyone else had an issue like this with beads they have bought?

catfishbluezz

Let them dry out, you will be fine. Probably did not need to mist them as your humi already had rh. Let them dry out, don't mist until rh drops below 60 and it will stabilize. If they don't work out, I'll send you some kitty litter and all will be fine.

WhoDeyGal

catfishbluezz:

Let them dry out, you will be fine. Probably did not need to mist them as your humi already had rh. Let them dry out, don't mist until rh drops below 60 and it will stabilize. If they don't work out, I'll send you some kitty litter and all will be fine.

Thanks for the info, Dustin.

catfishbluezz

I've seen spikes like that before, just remember they need very little water and also pull down humidity. I've had better success introducing new beads to a seasoned humi dry then wet.

Lee.mcglynn

catfishbluezz:

Let them dry out, you will be fine. Probably did not need to mist them as your humi already had rh. Let them dry out, don't mist until rh drops below 60 and it will stabilize. If they don't work out, I'll send you some kitty litter and all will be fine.

+1 preset means just put them in there...the extra water especially on a stocking will bump the humidity fast. Dry it out and start over

PsychoSJG

How much of them did you wet? usually wanna wet only 40%-60% of the beads and leave the rest dry so they can absorb humidity and regulate. If they are all wet, especially if soaked, then the rh with be high up there.

blurr

As clear as those beads were in the "what did you get today" pics, that's why I mentioned they are likely fully pre charged. Like mentioned leave them out of your humi to dry for a day or so and try again. If your humi and cigars are set where you like at say 65 to 68 rh, and the beads are not oversaturated then you should just put them in without spraying to see which direction the humidity goes. Then go from there by misting or letting them dry out some. I also prefer plastic containers to pantyose containers because they can get wet when misting. Plastic open containers you can just spray the beads directly. Or use evaporative methods which I am having much better slow charging with.

WhoDeyGal

We had them in a container and only add a few drops worth to the whole batch. The container was taking up to much space in our humi, so we switched them over to the hose. I'm really surprised adding just a few drops worth made that big of a difference. We have left them out all day, patted them down with a paper towel and ran them under a blow dryer on cool setting for a few seconds. I put them back into the humi and now waiting to see if it stabilizes.

Diamondog

It takes time to stabalize...I would have gone with 65% rh, close the lid, leave them for a week or 2...thats the way it works...keep checking and playing you will slow the process and frustrate yourself...

catfishbluezz

Seriously...if they don;t work, I'll send you some kitty litter and you will be fine. I'll train it before hand to. Let me know....all I need is a reason to smash.

[Deleted User]

catfishbluezz:

Seriously...if they don;t work, I'll send you some kitty litter and you will be fine. I'll train it before hand to. Let me know....all I need is a reason to smash.

do you use the litter? Curious how well that works. Does it also eliminate/absorb odors i.e. cigar and cedar?

catfishbluezz

james40:

catfishbluezz:

Seriously...if they don;t work, I'll send you some kitty litter and you will be fine. I'll train it before hand to. Let me know....all I need is a reason to smash.

do you use the litter? Curious how well that works. Does it also eliminate/absorb odors i.e. cigar and cedar?

i just tossed it right in, works fine...no different then heartfelt

Rhamlin

Lots of people swear by just putting them in your humi dry and just let them do their thing.

The_Kid

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

Gaetano7890

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

I have been using the packs since may with great results. I have a 100 count humi and they have been the easiest thing I've ever used

Vision

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

+1 I have switched over and my 69RH are keeping my humis between 66-68RH. I have 5 in each of my 120ct (x2) and 2 in my 50ct. I am switching my 100ct over in the next week with 5 packs as well. I have never had a problem and you just drop them in. IS it more money.... yup... but worth it.

catfishbluezz

I like Boveda for stabilizing a humi. For example, when I moved m rock solid 62 humi went nuts and the beads went dry every other day it seemed. Dropped two 65's in it, back to normal. My new beast humi was solid for a few weeks and I wanted it around 66-67 for CC, aging boxes, and conny but it dropped below 60 and I couldn't get it back. Dropped two 72's, now it's at 66-67 with ease. I don't see the need to spend the money on e you have beads trained, but they serve a very efficient purpose. Plus I have a little 62 I toss in my travel humi, and I love tossing the little 69's in aging boxes.

WhoDeyGal

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

We were, but I think we bought knock offs or something. Our humi's were hanging around 58-61 with the packs. So decided to give the beads a shot.

jgibv

WhoDeyGal:

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

We were, but I think we bought knock offs or something. Our humi's were hanging around 58-61 with the packs. So decided to give the beads a shot.

If this has already been answered, I apologize ----
But where are you keeping your humi(s)? If they are 1) in direct sunlight, 2) near any heating vents, or 3) in a basement with a dehumidifier that could be causing issues. Try to avoid these locations as they'll cause the moisture to evaporate quicker.

And if it's none of the above ... it could just be the dry ambient RH due to winter is wreaking havoc on the humi. (as in it probably doesn't have a perfect seal, most don't - mine doesn't - don't fret)

FWIW - I keep my humis in the basement, never have RH issues from April-Octoberish - but in the winter I always have to keep a shot glass partially filled with distilled water in my glass top humi. It just doesn't hold humidity as well as I'd like and when the ambient RH is low for weeks on end, it will never get above 56-57% RH with my beads/boveda packs alone.
But as long as I keep that shot glass with water in there, it will stay constant around 66-68%

So once your beads "dry out" and your RH creeps back down - if you're humidity is still on the low side, try adding a shot glass or shallow dish partially filled with distilled water and see if that helps. It might take it a couple weeks to creep back up and stabilize with the beads/boveda packs though. (And just be sure to clean the glass/dish every couple weeks so you don't get mold growing on it)

catfishbluezz

Nikki....how did you guys season your humi? Fluctuations like this, mold, spikes, drops....it shouldn't be this frustrating. My guess is you need to reseason. I'd be more then happy to help you out with this and I would highly recommend starting over at this point. I had this same thing happen to me twice when I started. Let me know, we can take it to PM.

WhoDeyGal

Again, thanks for all the info. It's very much appercaited.

I agree, it shouldn't be this frustrating. After the mold issue I did reseason. I first cleaned it with alcohol just to be safe. Then wiped the humi down with distilled water. That's when we started using the packs. With two packs in the 50ct it hovered around 58-61. We keep all our humi's in our living room on book shelves, so I don't think there in direct heat or sunlight. Since drying the beads out a bit and putting them back in the humi, it is slowing dropping from 70 and sitting at 67 currently.

*Petey*

catfishbluezz:

Let them dry out, you will be fine. Probably did not need to mist them as your humi already had rh. Let them dry out, don't mist until rh drops below 60 and it will stabilize. If they don't work out, I'll send you some kitty litter and all will be fine.

This was good info, dustin. Just wanted to mention that.

Being in CA, like you, I would never even think that the Beads would come precharged, but thats because its usually pretty dry where you and I live and they lsoe whateve rthey have en route. In OH, on the other hand they probably spent the entire time en route charging themsleves to the limit, hence the over the top humidity levels.

Anyway who dey, glad its all sorting itself out. I had a mold issues YEARS ago, and it was frustrating as heck trying to get a new humidor seasoned and holding the right humidity with a stack of cigars in my desk drawer at the time. So I can relate to the frustrations guys. Just know though, that once its stable, you won't have to fuss with it too much again especially using beads.

jadelt

I had a similar spike in humidity one hot day...... until...... I realized I was reading the Temp side of my digital hygrometer

Oh, and you have to take your foot out of the hose before you put the beads in the nylons

Hope all is getting better

jthanatos

WhoDeyGal:

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

We were, but I think we bought knock offs or something. Our humi's were hanging around 58-61 with the packs. So decided to give the beads a shot.

Dumb question, but with all the fluctuations and odd readings, have you tested ecalibrated your hygrometer? It sounds like no matter what humidity source you use, it is jumping all over and not stabilizing at expected values.

WhoDeyGal

jthanatos:

WhoDeyGal:

The Kid:

I thought you were using the Boveda packs????

We were, but I think we bought knock offs or something. Our humi's were hanging around 58-61 with the packs. So decided to give the beads a shot.

Dumb question, but with all the fluctuations and odd readings, have you tested ecalibrated your hygrometer? It sounds like no matter what humidity source you use, it is jumping all over and not stabilizing at expected values.

I have. It seems to be working right. I've decided to reseason again in hopes to get it right for good!