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De-humidify a humidifier tube?

StogieBrogieStogieBrogie Posts: 4
in Cigar 101
Hey guys,

I have a Xigar DryMistat Humitube for my 50 count humidor that (sadly) only has 4 cigars in it at the moment. I bought the tube because my cheap puck-style humidifier stopped working well. I filled the tube with distilled water but it did not bring the humidity up at all, even with both the tube and puck in there. I called the company and they said that the tube had the old directions printed on it for some reason, and that I should use only PG solution. He told me to leave the tube out of the humidor for a few days and then to fill it with PG solution when the beads shrink to the lower line. Well, it's been a few weeks and the beads have barely shrunk. I've even left it by an open window or with a fan blowing into it and it's not making much progress.

I was told by the nice man at Xigar that I should not add PG solution to the tube until the water is out because otherwise "it will clog the tube". Is this true, or should I just put PG solution in now while there is still some water in there? And if I need to take all the water out of it, does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this?

Thanks! (sorry for the long post)

Comments

  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    got a small heater with a fan? of just a fan set it in front of the fan for a day or so and it will dry out, wont work if your areas humidity is high, like after a rain fall.
    figured that would work since i left one of my refills out for my humicares and it dried out in a less then a day because of my ceiling fan was on and was tornadoing the room with air
  • edelrionycedelrionyc Posts: 361 ✭✭✭
    Your best solution to dry up the beads quickly is to use a hair dryer..... Works like a charm.... Also i normally just put distilled water on my beads.... i thought using solution was harmful for the beads. Another reason for your humidity problem is that you do not have enough cigars in your humidor. The more cigars you have in the humidor the easier it is to maintain the humidity.
  • blurrblurr Posts: 962 ✭✭
    As far as drying it out, the gels will release their moisture as long as their ambient environment drops below whatever their setpoint is. For gel type humidifiers, and I'm assuming they are working based on Propylene Glycol content, this RH setpoint is 70%. So they only start giving off their moisture content (ie: drying up) whenever their ambient environment is BELOW 70%. The only reason yours would not be drying up at all after even a few weeks would be because your relative humidity in your area is very high. Is that the case, that the environment where you live is usually above 70rh? You live in a really wet area if this is the case.

    As far as the customer support, I'm not sure on this brand, but I find it really odd they are telling you to use PG in one of the gel type humidifiers. I thought you were supposed to ONLY use distilled water in those things? Except for maybe once a year or so adding a little bit of propylene glycol? I was under the impression using propylene glycol with the gels would just clog them up, but someone else with more knowledge can chime in. Most people here use Beads or Litter pearls (I use litter pearls myself) so I have no direct experience with these gels.
  • Gray4linesGray4lines Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I was also under the impression that gel humidifiers do notbuse PG except maybe a 1x per year charge...i agree that too much PG will clog it up.

    If you really want to dry it out, then a fan or blowdryer on low heat will speed it up. However, I'm still concerned that the gel was not bringing your rh up... distilled water should work just fine, and if it was not releasing enough humidity before, the PG wont make it magically happen.

    Did you properly season your humidor? Does it have a good seal?
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    the reason why your old humidifier wasnt working well is because your humidor was too empty. humidors do best when they are at 3/4 of the way full.
    since cigars are hygroscopic they actually help humidify the other cigars and hold a steady RH.
    Kuzi's Forum Links Page
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    the reason why your old humidifier wasnt working well is because your humidor was too empty. humidors do best when they are at 3/4 of the way full.
    since cigars are hygroscopic they actually help humidify the other cigars and hold a steady RH.
    completely agree!! Plus xikar always says to use the pg solution. Water is fine! Buy more cigars and reseason your humi
    Money can't buy taste
  • Gray4linesGray4lines Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lee.mcglynn:
    kuzi16:
    the reason why your old humidifier wasnt working well is because your humidor was too empty. humidors do best when they are at 3/4 of the way full.
    since cigars are hygroscopic they actually help humidify the other cigars and hold a steady RH.
    completely agree!! Plus xikar always says to use the pg solution. Water is fine! Buy more cigars and reseason your humi
    Good point!
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077 ✭
    Have you checked your hygrometer lately? Scenario doesn't sound right that ambient humidity is too high to pull water out of the tube after leaving it out for 2 weeks but the humidity inside your humidor is too low.
  • StogieBrogieStogieBrogie Posts: 4
    Wow, thanks for the quick responses guys! Ya I live in WA state, which even at this time of year is pretty humid. My humidor, as far as I know, has a great seal, and I'm pretty sure I seasoned it properly when I first got it a few months ago. I'm gonna try to buy some more cigars to put in there and see if that helps-- and if it doesn't at least I'll have more cigars!
  • BigshizzaBigshizza Posts: 15,659 ✭✭✭✭✭
    StogieBrogie:
    Wow, thanks for the quick responses guys! Ya I live in WA state, which even at this time of year is pretty humid. My humidor, as far as I know, has a great seal, and I'm pretty sure I seasoned it properly when I first got it a few months ago. I'm gonna try to buy some more cigars to put in there and see if that helps-- and if it doesn't at least I'll have more cigars!
    Where do you live? I need your addy for research purposes!!
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    Bigshizza:
    StogieBrogie:
    Wow, thanks for the quick responses guys! Ya I live in WA state, which even at this time of year is pretty humid. My humidor, as far as I know, has a great seal, and I'm pretty sure I seasoned it properly when I first got it a few months ago. I'm gonna try to buy some more cigars to put in there and see if that helps-- and if it doesn't at least I'll have more cigars!
    Where do you live? I need your addy for research purposes!!
    doint give it to him!!! give it to me !!LOL
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