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Heartfelt beads take away the cedar smell

0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
in Cigar 101
Just curious if you all experience the same thing with your beads? My humi keeps a constant 65-70% humidity and with that I am pleased but I recently reseasoned my humidor with a cup o distilled water after a hiatus from smoking. After three days of seasoning the beautiful smell of moist cedar jumped out of the box every time I opened it. Now I've replaced the cup of water with beads for a few weeks and the smell is more of a musty damp smell. I don't know if this has and effect on my sticks but I wish I always got that cedar smell. I'm considering a change to the way I maintain humidity and hope to get some feedback from the group.

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    The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    That's interesting, I still use them. It's not the beads themselves is it? If it affects the cedar aroma does it also do the same to the cigars, I mean compromise the flavor?
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    0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    I don't know if it has an effect or not because this is the only way I've ever maintained humidity. I need to buy a couple sticks like ones that I have from a shop and compare them. I just didn't realize how good a humidor smells of cedar until I removed the beads and put a cup of water in for a few days. It's not a terrible smell it's just off from what it should be and it is definitely the beads causing the change in smell. I'm looking to replace them with another form of humidifier.
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    The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    Just got a bunch of Bodeva packs, maybe I will throw them in for a month or so, my beads are getting old anyway. Only used the Heartfelt for the most part, be interesting to see if it does make a difference. So the humi was dry before all this or you just re-seasoned it anyway? How did you re-season it? Now you have me curious.
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    CigaryCigary Posts: 630 ✭
    Odd that you mention this as I have reason to believe that you are correct. I've had my cigars humidified with every type of product out there and I thought it was just me when I thought about the taste....in some humidors I use KL and others I still have the old style of media....paradigm/etc. and find that the the taste of my cigars from those humidors tend to taste better. I've also noticed over the years that sometimes the beads will become so slimy and darkened over time that it just bothered me as I noticed a dank type of aroma arising from them. It wasn't something that was bad but it just didn't sit well with me and gradually over the last couple of years have turned away from beads. I use KL most of all and ensure that my humidors have a good amount of cedar in them...particularly the tupperadors and the same with my coolers.
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    The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    Beads are gone in 2/3 humi's, let the testing begin.
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    jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cigary:
    ........ I've also noticed over the years that sometimes the beads will become so slimy and darkened over time that it just bothered me as I noticed a dank type of aroma arising from them. It wasn't something that was bad but it just didn't sit well with me and gradually over the last couple of years have turned away from beads.

    Are you one of the BOTLs who moisten your beads? I never do - I let them work the way they were designed to work and mine are still pristine after a number of years of regular use. The beads aren't intended to function as a humidifier. Just sayin'......
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    CigaryCigary Posts: 630 ✭
    According to those companies that make them in order for them to work distilled water must be added to them....sprayed actually and not just having the DW poured over them. Do some checking on the beads as putting them in dry will not properly humidify the contents of the humidor. I've talked with Reps about beads to the point of exhaustion...their properties, their way of working, what they are made of, etc. etc. Beads are indeed intended to function as a humidifier because that is how they work. Here is an article in another Forum that helps with good info: http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php/1663-Heartfelt-Beads-Frequently-Asked-Questions
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    jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, to begin with, one can't argue with success. I've been using my beads since 2008 and they're not discolored, smelly, or rank. I put my beads in dry and I put a small custard cup with an ounce or two of DW in the humi. The beads take moisture out of the air and release it when necessary to maintain RH.

    These are the same kind of beads used by museums to maintain proper humidity for paintings and other antiquities where necessary. So ask yourself a question - can you see a museum keeping a guy on the payroll simply to go around spritzing containers of beads? I don't think so....

    But hey, to each his own, right? You keep wetting your smelly discolored beads and I'll keep my dry, pristine ones and we'll both be happy. It's a win-win as I see it.....
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    RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    I want to thread jack! I also do a small cup with DW, the website says not to spray/dip."DO NOT immerse you beads in distilled water or dip the beads in distilled water. Trying to add distilled water this way will ultimately rinse out the salts that the beads are impregnated with. This rinsing off of the salts will ultimately make the beads not be able to hold the given rh level that they are set for."
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    The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    Rain:
    I want to thread jack! I also do a small cup with DW, the website says not to spray/dip.

    That's what I did in the winter, set shot glass in each humi. In the summer they hold pretty good.
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    chrisloldschrislolds Posts: 434 ✭✭
    Any other comments on the heartfelt beads?

    I just got my cooler, have 10 empty cigar boxes being shipped from the devil site, and was about to order the heartfelts until I saw this thread today... I LOVE the cedar smell and don't want that to disappear, can I hear comments on this and the slimeyness from people who have both sprayed and charged with cup of distilled over long periods?

    I was originally planning on doing a combination of 70% beads and a bunch of 69% bovedas so it should essentially keep it within 1% and my boveda's would always be charged with just some spritzing of the beads on occasion.

    Now I am starting to think of maybe going with 65% beads and 69% boveda's so it'd keep the beads peaked and saturated all the time holding humidity extremely well for when I opened the cooler a lot or between season changes, and then just recharging the boveda's as needed?

    I've already got a lot of the boveda's in 69%, but figured the more i had the better it'd keep the humidity, I want to keep that amazing cedar smell and I definitely want to keep the good tastes as I plan to age in the cooler as well.
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    RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    I use beads in my humi and KL in my cooler, only because filling a cooler with beads would be cost prohibitive. I've had beads in my humi for about two years and still have the cedar smell. Can't speak for longer than that.
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    CigaryCigary Posts: 630 ✭
    Rain:
    I want to thread jack! I also do a small cup with DW, the website says not to spray/dip."DO NOT immerse you beads in distilled water or dip the beads in distilled water. Trying to add distilled water this way will ultimately rinse out the salts that the beads are impregnated with. This rinsing off of the salts will ultimately make the beads not be able to hold the given rh level that they are set for."
    Just to add once again....beads are not to be immersed or have DW poured over them....spraying is the course of action. Heartfelt beads says this about the small round humidifier.....Easy to re-hydrate with distilled water.....that means one has to use a technique and that technique is by spraying DW over the beads and it is the same for the large one as well. Small 65% Rh Heartfelt Stainless Humidifier....The Heartfelt Stainless Humidifier comes pre-filled with 65% Rh Heartfelt Humidity Beads. It also comes with self adhesive magnets for mounting and our Fine Tip Syringe for re-hydrating the Heartfelt Humidity Beads. Having said this we have to understand how beads work and some use the passive approach by putting a shot glass of DW as well...this works as too. After a great amount of testing with different bottles, syringes and spray bottles I have found the best item to use to re-hydrate all of the Heartfelt Beads products is the spray bottle/syringe. The fine tip syringe makes it about as easy as it can get to add distilled water to any of the different containers we sell. It gives you great control of the amount of distilled water you add and makes it very simple to see what percentage of the beads are hydrated. It works great with the Humidification Bead containers we sell, just put the tip in one of the perforation holes and squeeze in a little distilled water, move to another perforation and repeat until the Heartfelt Beads are hydrated.
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