DIY Humidification?

ericfincher67

Hello I’m trying to save some money on humidification methods and something I’ve read about is Propylene Glycol and floral beads. 

Floral beads are gel beads that hold and emit moisture when spritzed with water.  Florists use these beads for floral displays to keep the flowers watered. 

Propylene glycol is an alcohol based liquid solvent which retains moisture and works as a two-way humidification method.  

Im wondering if I can purchase some of these floral beads for relatively cheap and soak them in or spritz them with a 50/50 propylene glycol and distilled water mixture and achieve the same result as the more expensive but proven method of Heartfelt Humidity beads ($39.99/lb of RH 70%)? 

Does anyone know if this method works?  What’s the best method of achieving reliable two-way humidity control for cheap?  

silvermouse

I remember someone talking about floral beads several years ago, give a search and (maybe) it will show up.

peter4jc

Search 'kitty litter'. 

Yakster

Bovedas are rechargable and reliable. Kitty litter (unscented) works but you need to supply the container which can leave less room in your humidor for cigars.

Bob_Luken

Floral beads are not comparable to heartfelt beads. The floral beads are comparable to Black Ice Jars or Humi-care Crystal Gel Humidifier Jars. https://www.cigar.com/shop/crystal-gel-jars/1800656/
Floral beads will give off humidity, just like Crystal Gel Jars but whether or not at the same rate as commercially available crystal gel products? I don't know. You could test it I suppose. They come as small beads and you soak in distilled water and they swell up and become a slick, wet, jelly ball. (My description.)  Remember that this type of gel is considered "one way" humidification. It won't absorb excess moisture if your RH is above your desired range, it will just keep expelling moisture, (one way only). And these can over-humidify your stash if you have a good seal on your humidor. If you have a bad seal and enough gel, you could possibly achieve a balance between lost humidity and added humidity, but there's now way that scenario would ever remain stable.  I have used floral gel beads sometimes in combination with Boveda packets. Seems like it works well if the RH is dropping for some reason I add a small container of floral gel beads, it will bump up the RH.  I don't use a Propylene Glycol solution. I just use distilled water. 

Heartfelt "beads" are comparable to 100% silica gel kitty litter, (unscented). (The word gel is used in conjunction with silica products but they are hard crystaline nuggets.) You can use KL just as you would heartfelt beads but you must assume total responsibility for adjusting the RH to your preferred range. Test it straight out of the packaging to see where the starting point is and spritz with distilled water, rest and test again and repeat until you can achieve and maintain your desired range before adding to your humidor. Also can be used in tandem with Bovedas. 

I recommend boveda over both Gel and Silica. And if Gel or Silica is used, I recommend Boveda in tandem for it's  stabilizing effect. Bovedas are cheaper by the dozen and well worth the investment. Also they are rechargeable, so your initial investment will last for years if maintained well. 

If anyone is determined to do it on the cheap, Kitty Litter is the best cheap option. Although it's not necessarily easy, Google your azz off beforehand, and good luck. 

ericfincher67

@Bob_Luken I thought perhaps by charging floral beads with 50/50 PG to Distilled Water would give them a two-way humidification functionality but there’s just no way to know for sure and I don’t feel like spending money to do science experiments at this time.

By the way, did you ever try those La Aurora Escogidos? 

Bob_Luken

ericfincher67 said:

@Bob_Luken I thought perhaps by charging floral beads with 50/50 PG to Distilled Water would give them a two-way humidification functionality but there’s just no way to know for sure and I don’t feel like spending money to do science experiments at this time.

By the way, did you ever try those La Aurora Escogidos?  

I bid on a fiver and lost the auction.    Still trying to get a fiver before I get a box. 

ericfincher67

@Bob_Luken: 

https://www.cigarauctioneer.com/la-aurora-escogidos-robusto-5-pack-cigars/item-36413

No bids yet.  Ends Tuesday

peter4jc

There's no point in trying to reinvent the wheel...  KL beads if you have the room and the patience to get them dialed in, and want to save some money; Boveda if you want foolproof and easy.

CharlieHeis

peter4jc said:

There's no point in trying to reinvent the wheel...  KL beads if you have the room and the patience to get them dialed in, and want to save some money; Boveda if you want foolproof and easy.

Agree with Peter, boveda is the easiest way to go and they are inexpensive. You can recharge them when they get a little dried out and they last for years.

ericfincher67

I saw a video posted by CigarObsession on YouTube about how he recharges his Boveda packs.  Just dumps them in a bowl of water for a while and they are good to go.  I read somewhere, however, that recharging them can cause them to emit more humidity than they were designed for; I.e. a 72% RH recharged Boveda may now regulate well past 72%

CharlieHeis

Don't dump them in water then. Put them in a Tupperware container with a bowl in the center and let them absorb the moisture. Don't let them plump up too much if you think that will lead to a problem.

peter4jc

I never thought that over-plumping them was a problem.  But last week I had a small tupperdor that was at 67%.  I put two plumpy 69% Bovedas in there and it shot up to 78%.

dirtdude

In Arizona we like our Boveda's like we like our women, over plumped.

Guitarded

In New Mexico Bovedas are like a bottle of bourbon, they start full and are dry in 2 or 3 days.

ericfincher67

I’m in the Southeast and summers here are like a sweaty armpit. 

VegasFrank

dirtdude said:

In Arizona we like our Boveda's like we like our women, over plumped.

Vegas too...every girl carries two with them...

ericfincher67

Out west can’t be too bad.  I ordered two batches of handrolled from En Fuego of Las Vegas and El Leòn of Los Angeles.  Both were excellent.  

Best so far was Nicahabana of Ybor City, Tampa FL.  Their Nicaraguan blend Perfectos are out of this world!  Amazing! Check them out:

https://www.nicahabanacigar.com/

ericfincher67

**UPDATE**

Ok, so I went ahead and bought a 20 pack of 69% Boveda for cheap on CigarBid but I’m also dying to know how the beads work and if those would save me money over the long run. 

Bryan Glynn of CigarObsession recommended 1/2 lb bags of 70% humidor beads from CheapHumidors.com.  I saw that they are for sale on Amazon at the same price as listed on their website ($9.99 for 8oz) so I went ahead and threw two bags in my cart.

 The next question was what to store the beads in once they’re in the humidor.  I found some small 3X3.5” nylon organza gift bags for eight bucks in a 100ct.  These are the little permeable gift bags used for bridal shower and wedding gifts.  I bought a pack of those but I also came across some 3.15X3.94” tea filter bags with drawstrings that I thought may work just as well for storage. 

On afterthought, I was concerned that these tea filter bags may begin to decompose after some time, as some are made from vegetable matter.  But I read in the product description that they are made of natural wood pulp.  

So which of the two would you go with for storing beads?  The nylon pouches or the tea filter bags?  

Captain_Call

ericfincher67 said:

**UPDATE**

Ok, so I went ahead and bought a 20 pack of 69% Boveda for cheap on CigarBid but I’m also dying to know how the beads work and if those would save me money over the long run. 

Bryan Glynn of CigarObsession recommended 1/2 lb bags of 70% humidor beads from CheapHumidors.com.  I saw that they are for sale on Amazon at the same price as listed on their website ($9.99 for 8oz) so I went ahead and threw two bags in my cart.

 The next question was what to store the beads in once they’re in the humidor.  I found some small 3X3.5” nylon organza gift bags for eight bucks in a 100ct.  These are the little permeable gift bags used for bridal shower and wedding gifts.  I bought a pack of those but I also came across some 3.15X3.94” tea filter bags with drawstrings that I thought may work just as well for storage. 

On afterthought, I was concerned that these tea filter bags may begin to decompose after some time, as some are made from vegetable matter.  But I read in the product description that they are made of natural wood pulp.  

So which of the two would you go with for storing beads?  The nylon pouches or the tea filter bags?  

Neither. I use the cheapest Tupperware I can find and drill a bunch of holes in the lid. Set those down in the bottom of the cooler and stack boxes and hole punched zip lock bags on top of them

Captain_Call

Simply dump beads, fill with distilled water, let sit until water is absorbed, then pop the lid on and into the cooler it goes. Don't use too many dry beads or they will make a mess when they swell up and push themselves out of the container.

Bob_Luken

I looked up the "humidor beads" from cheap humidors .com,.... and those are silica. They don't swell up. They're comparable to heartfelt and kitty litter. 

Beads, crystals, and gel are three words that retailers and customers use willy-nilly, and keeps everybody talking in circles.   

Maybe this will help,........

Humidification Beads: It depends on what you're calling Beads.

Humidification Crystals: It depends on what you're calling Crystals.

Humidification Gel: Jelly-like. Unless it's silica gel, which isn't. 

Boveda: Superior product to all the aforementioned.  

ericfincher67

**UPDATE**

I just received my order of two 1/2lb bags of humidor beads from CheapHumidors.com along with a 100ct Organza bags from Amazon.  Organza bags are nylon mesh bags used for gifts and wedding parties for rice.

I decided to test the beads out first before throwing them in the humidor.  I poured 1/2 cup of beads into an organza bag and tied it off.  Then I placed the bag of beads and a hygrometer inside a Tupperware container and closed the lid.  One hour later, the RH was reading 96%.

Concerned, I called CheapHumidors.com and asked why the beads would be reading such a high RH%.  The lady told me to set them out in open air for a little while to let them settle.  She also offered to send me a replacement if the beads didn’t regulate.  

I took the lid off the Tupperware container and came back twenty minutes later.  The hygrometer was now reading a PERFECT 70/70%.  

My two desktop humidors were empty after having been recently re-seasoned.  I decided to put 50 new cigars which arrived today in one of the humidors and also placed a 1/2 cup bag of beads in.  It has been holding steady at 69%-71% for several hours. 

I really didn’t expect such good results from these beads.  If they continue to hold steady with the same results, I will probably switch over to beads for good. 

Two 1/2lb bags of beads and a 100ct of organza bags only cost me $28.00.  The cheapest I’ve found 20ct 69% Boveda was on CigarBid.com for $45.00 in a free fall auction.  The beads last indefinitely and can be recharged every few weeks by spritzing with distilled water.

I’ll continue to update every once in a while.  Maybe this post will be helpful to someone. 

Thanks everyone for your comments. 

ShawnOL

I use a coffin (with some sort of plastic mesh from the craft store) and some KL.  Soak beads in distilled water, drain and put into coffin.  My humidors tend to run dry so I do this about every month.