Purchased 65% heartfelt beads

jfaciane

Looking for a little advice or tips from the pros. I just bought a 1/2 pound of humidity beads from heartfelt industries. I decided to buy 65% beads and now that I've got them I wish I would've bought the 70%. What do you guys, and gals, think of the 65% range? Too dry? Can I increase the humidity a bit even with these beads?

Rain

Not sure about rasing the RH, because I imagine it would involve more water...and those beads will just suck it up. I like 65RH, although it's the only RH I've tried. I read somewhere (maybe here) that 70RH helps speed up the aging process.

jfaciane

Yeah, that's what I thought about those beads too. They'd just suck up the extra humidity. I'll keep it at 65 for now and try it out I guess. I don't want to ate my cigars, just want a good smoking range without them being too dry ya know. I guess I can get a lil paranoid when it comes to maintaining my collection ya know.

taythegibs

i try to keep my cigars in the mid sixties, i dont think its too low for smoking.

Rain

jfaciane:

Yeah, that's what I thought about those beads too. They'd just suck up the extra humidity. I'll keep it at 65 for now and try it out I guess. I don't want to ate my cigars, just want a good smoking range without them being too dry ya know. I guess I can get a lil paranoid when it comes to maintaining my collection ya know.

You said you bought 65 and wish you had bought 70. Based off of what?

Big T smokes

IMO 65% is the way to go. That 5% doesn't make a huge difference in smoking but makes a huge difference in preventing mold. The kitty litter I bought keeps my humi at 65% like a bowse.

J.S.

Everyone has a little different preference but I like mine around 67% for smoking, but 65 would be fine. You will have no problems at 65. I think mine smoke better there than at 70. I doubt that long term you would see any issues either although I do try to keep my aging humi's close to 70, I don't worry about it if it dips a few points.

jfaciane

Rain:

jfaciane:

Yeah, that's what I thought about those beads too. They'd just suck up the extra humidity. I'll keep it at 65 for now and try it out I guess. I don't want to ate my cigars, just want a good smoking range without them being too dry ya know. I guess I can get a lil paranoid when it comes to maintaining my collection ya know.

You said you bought 65 and wish you had bought 70. Based off of what?

Based off of myself actually. I remember looking in my humi and every time I saw the humidity at 65 or so I'd be like " dang that's getting low, let me refill my gel". But after reading online and this forum I saw people like their cigars at 67-70 and I just thought 65 might be too low, but as I can see, so far, most of you like the 65 range.

Big T smokes

Lots of guys here like it around 65%. 68-74% is the "go-to" standard in North America but one should remember that cigars have been around for a long time around the entire world in different climates than we're used to here. Some of which aren't "optimal". Doesn't mean the cigars can't be enjoyed. A friend who spent a year over in the UK told me it's common for them to store and smoke cigars around 60-65%.

This isn't to say your humidity doesn't matter. Of course it does. A dry cigar is noticeable immediately upon lighting but storing a cigar at 65% will not leave your cigar too dry to smoke. I promise. For long-term storage, I'm uncomfortable with 70% myself. I'll deal with the danger of my stick getting a little too low in humidity versus the risk of beetles and mold that go with storing them higher. Now... at 70%, are you in no way risking mold or beetles. But humidifiers fluctuate. This is why i recommend to so many beginners to get a hygro that records highs and lows. I'd personally rather err on the side of "too dry" than "too wet". Personal opinion.

jfaciane

Thanks for the well thought and explained post Big T. I'm setting my beads up today wih distiller water and putting them to use. After hearing from all you guys I feel much more comfortable in my selection of 65% beads.

Heavy

I like mine between 62-65%, so the 65% beads are perfect for that. In my experience maduros (or other particularly oily wrappers) burn a little better when stored at a slightly lower RH.

I do get seasonal fluctuations - they stay in the higher end of that range in the summer months and lower end in the winter months. I don't fight it too much anymore, but rather just make sure they stay within that range AND make sure that the fluctuations aren't wild. i.e. my thinking is that as long as they are within that range and relatively stable, very slow long-term seasonal fluctuations won't really hurt them. I may be completely wrong but that's what helps me sleep at night anyway :-)

Gray4lines

I have the 65% as well. It sometimes get just a little dry here in the winter, so I recharge a little more often. They are life savers in the humid summer! I prefer under 70% to smoke! Way less draw issues for me.

xmacro

I keep my cigars in the 62-68% range; anywhere in there and I'm happy. 70% or higher makes me nervous because I've had mold problems before, and some of my cigars develop problems with the draw when they get that wet.

jadelt

I have the 65s and that is my preference. You will be just fine with them.

Rammer13

I have been having trouble with my heartfelt beads, I think I may be adding water to them wrong, how do you guys add water? Thank you.

Rain

Some people just pour it on the beads, others leave a small container of water in their humi and the beads soak it up. What kind of problems?

Rammer13

My beads wont go above 61%. I have tried contacting the company several times and I have had no response. I have been adding water by spraying them with a water bottle while still in the tube. I may just try taking the cover of the tube off and poor water into it. I also don't know if my humidity problems can come from living in NY with the cold weather.

raisindot

Rammer13:

My beads wont go above 61%. I have tried contacting the company several times and I have had no response. I have been adding water by spraying them with a water bottle while still in the tube. I may just try taking the cover of the tube off and poor water into it. I also don't know if my humidity problems can come from living in NY with the cold weather.

That's what I do with mine. I keep them in the Heartfelt mesh bags and just pour distilled water into the bags (I use two), and mush the beads around until they're saturated and then wipe us the excess water on the outside of the bags before putting them back in. This winter my humidor has rarely made it above 65% and I do end filling up every few weeks or so. But I'm not overly worried. I like the idea of keeping a container or water in there, but my problem is that I always for it's there and then move the humidor, which causes the contained to spill. (This happened twice while seasoning).

Gray4lines

With temps that cold, and the winter being so dry. I'd question the ambient conditions and maybe even your humidor's seal. It may be that you need the 70% or 75% beads to maintain a higher humidity (at least until it warms up and is not so dry)

I have likewise had trouble with my little desktop humi. It is stuggling to stay at 60% max, i'm really trying to bump it up a little. My other humidor, a 150 ct Savoy, I pretty much have to refill every week (it has 65% beads as well)

Maybe try throwing in a puck humidifier, or a couple humi-care pillows just to add some extra moisture (or a high %rh boveada)

jadelt

Rammer13:

My beads wont go above 61%. I have tried contacting the company several times and I have had no response. I have been adding water by spraying them with a water bottle while still in the tube. I may just try taking the cover of the tube off and poor water into it. I also don't know if my humidity problems can come from living in NY with the cold weather.

I think the key is in your statement "while still in the tube" If you are using the tubes from Heartfelt, then you cant really add water without taking the cap off. Also, how big is your tube (kinda personal now) and how big is your humi? I wonder because you talked about the tube.

Rammer13

I have the Extra Large Tube (supports 2000 cubic inches) and the Medium Tube (supports 540 cubic inches). My humidor is 18.75 x 11.5 x 10.25

jadelt

Rammer13:

I have the Extra Large Tube (supports 2000 cubic inches) and the Medium Tube (supports 540 cubic inches). My humidor is 18.75 x 11.5 x 10.25

(Bragger) I just have a small one.... anyway..... take the cap off, look at the beads, half should be kinda clear the other half kinda white. If all are white put a few drops of distilled water right into the tube (on the beads, might have to add a little to each end), close up the tube and keep an eye on the bead color.