• Hi Guest - Sign up now for Secret Santa 2024!
    Click here to sign up!
  • Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

I Spoke to Soon

S

slider9499

New Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
236
Last week I posted that the level was back up to around 70% after putting in the beads. Now, after one week, it is back down to the mid to lower 60's.! :angry:

The box does not have any leaks, I checked multilple times.

Any idea what could be causing this problem?
 
1.) Make sure you have enough RH Beads for your size humidor
2.) Make sure approx 60-70% of the RH Beads are saturated (dry RH Beads will be milky white, hydrated RH Beads will be clear).
3.) Replace the batteries in your digital hygrometer (if you're not using a digital, go get one as they are far more accurate).
4.) Calibrate your digital hygrometer at least once a year.
5.) Have you recently added a bunch of cigars? If so, dry cigars can absorb excess moisture.
6.) Opening and closing your humidor frequently will introduce ambient humidity into the relative humidity of your humidor which may affect the RH levels.

Hope this helps!

~Mark
 
Re-season your humidor and depending on your bead configuration (loose, tubed, etc.,) try using a wicking device. Place a sponge or a piece of a filter from an evaporative cooler over the beads and spray it with 50/50 propylene glycol (assuming you’re using 70% beads). The solution will prevent the wick from molding and the wick will ensure that you don’t over saturate your beads and,…well…wick the moisture between the beads and the air. Whenever you see your RH dropping, give the wick a spray.
 
1.) Make sure you have enough RH Beads for your size humidor

I SPOKE DIRECTLY WITH HEARFELT WHO TOOK THE BOX MEASUREMENTS AND GAVE ME THE BEADS I NEEDED FOR THAT SIZE BOX SO I AM CONFIDENT IT IS THE CORRECT NUMBER

2.) Make sure approx 60-70% of the RH Beads are saturated (dry RH Beads will be milky white, hydrated RH Beads will be clear).

I SATURATED MOST OF THE BEADS, PROBABLY MORE THAN 70%

3.) Replace the batteries in your digital hygrometer (if you're not using a digital, go get one as they are far more accurate).

DID SO 3 WEEKS AGO, BRANDS NEW BATTERIES

4.) Calibrate your digital hygrometer at least once a year.

DID THS ALSO 3 WEEKS AGO.


5.) Have you recently added a bunch of cigars? If so, dry cigars can absorb excess moisture.

NO NEW CIGARS HAVE BEEN ADDED


6.) Opening and closing your humidor frequently will introduce ambient humidity into the relative humidity of your humidor which may affect the RH levels.

HAVE NOT OPENED THE BOX IS CLSOE TO 48 HOURS


- BEN
 
No, no, no......from everything I've read, you DO NOT want to use PG with the beads as that will permeate / coat them and prevent them from working properly. I've always read / been told to use NOTHING in the box with your beads other than distilled water.

Make sure you Hygro is calibrated, put a shot glass of DI in there and don't panic. Getting things to equilibrate takes time. A lot of guys run their desktops in the low 60's all the time (myself included) so your smokes aren't at risk.

Good luck - B.B.S.

PS: Ben, don't shout....it's rude..... :cool:
 
No, no, no......from everything I've read, you DO NOT want to use PG with the beads as that will permeate / coat them and prevent them from working properly. I've always read / been told to use NOTHING in the box with your beads other than distilled water.


YES, I KNOW. I FILLED IT WITH DISTILLED WATER - NOTHING ELSE

Make sure you Hygro is calibrated, put a shot glass of DI in there and don't panic. Getting things to equilibrate takes time. A lot of guys run their desktops in the low 60's all the time (myself included) so your smokes aren't at risk.

IT IS CALIBRATED CORRECTLY. I DID THIS 3 WEEKS AGO.

THE WEATHER WAS WARMER THEN IT SNOWED LIKE MAD AND DROPPED TO 25 DEGREES, THAT IS WHEN THE LEVEL DROPPED AS WELL. NOW THE OUTSIDE TEMP IS SUPPOSED TO GET TO MID-50'S BY THURSDAY SO I WILL KEEP AN EYE ON IT AND SEE IF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

THANKS AND I WILL KEEN AN EYE ON IT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS

Good luck - B.B.S.

PS: Ben, don't shout....it's rude..... :cool:
[/quote]
 
slider9499 said:
I only used CAPS to distinguish my reply from the reply I received, sorry :love:
Click to expand...

You can quote other people in nice quote boxes, and use pretty colours to distinguish your reply. :whistling:
 
My research has led me to the opposite conclusion regarding the use of solution.


Excerpt from METHODS FOR RECONDITIONING SILICA GEL
written by Steven Weintraub, Art Preservation Services,


2. METHODS FOR CONDITIONING SILICA GEL WITHOUT REMOVING IT FROM THE EXHIBIT CASE


Increasing or decreasing surface area can control the rate of water evaporation. If there is concern about placing water directly in a case, or if a fast rate of evaporation is desired, a saturated humidifier wicking pad, preferably one treated with an antimicrobial agent, can be used. Generally, water will evaporate more rapidly in this manner because of the extended surface area of the wicking pad compared to a dish of water.
Click to expand...

And in practice, it works well for me.
 
preembargo said:
My research has led me to the opposite conclusion regarding the use of solution.

Excerpt from METHODS FOR RECONDITIONING SILICA GEL
written by Steven Weintraub, Art Preservation Services,

2. METHODS FOR CONDITIONING SILICA GEL WITHOUT REMOVING IT FROM THE EXHIBIT CASE

Increasing or decreasing surface area can control the rate of water evaporation. If there is concern about placing water directly in a case, or if a fast rate of evaporation is desired, a saturated humidifier wicking pad, preferably one treated with an antimicrobial agent, can be used. Generally, water will evaporate more rapidly in this manner because of the extended surface area of the wicking pad compared to a dish of water.
Click to expand...

And in practice, it works well for me.
Click to expand...

Mike, that is interesting stuff. Viper has in the past been crystal clear on what to use and not use with the beads, so that's my source of information. In the past he's specifically said do NOT use PG with beads for the reasons mentioned.

Maybe he or Wilkey can check in and provide a more definitive answer. What the hell do I know; I do "happy electrons" for a living...... :laugh:

Best Regards - B.B.S.
 
I know you wouldn’t want to use PG for the 60% or 65% beads because you’ll end up reconditioning them to 70%. As far as whether the solution inhibits the effectiveness of the beads is another question. I feel confident that it doesn’t but I’ll do some more research and rather than thread jack this topic I’ll post in another thread soon.

In the meantime slider, I recommend you try the wick with distilled water.
 
preembargo said:
My research has led me to the opposite conclusion regarding the use of solution.


Excerpt from METHODS FOR RECONDITIONING SILICA GEL
written by Steven Weintraub, Art Preservation Services,


2. METHODS FOR CONDITIONING SILICA GEL WITHOUT REMOVING IT FROM THE EXHIBIT CASE


Increasing or decreasing surface area can control the rate of water evaporation. If there is concern about placing water directly in a case, or if a fast rate of evaporation is desired, a saturated humidifier wicking pad, preferably one treated with an antimicrobial agent, can be used. Generally, water will evaporate more rapidly in this manner because of the extended surface area of the wicking pad compared to a dish of water.
Click to expand...

And in practice, it works well for me.
Click to expand...

If it works for you then thats what matters but I think you may be misreading the passage. It seems to me as if that is a method to recondition the beads. You wouldn't actually add the PG solution to the beads or put a wick on them. When the beads are dry you would put another container that contains water and has a wicking pad on that that has been treated with PG.

One of the nice things about beads is that they have a much higher surface area than you would expect. Because of their round shape only tiny bits of surface area from each bead is blocked by other beads.

Edit: Just wanted to add that I may be the one misreading the passage, I just wanted to give my interpretation of it. :D
 
I believe the idea expressed by Steven Weintraub of APS is not for "reconditioning" the RH Beads but for rehydrating the RH Beads. By having a humidifier (even one with PG), the RH Beads can absorb the water vapor released by said humidifier. I don't think he intended you to add PG directly to the RH Beads as it would clog the pours which will eventually render them useless.

It's similar to what we (collective "we") already do by placing a shot glass in with the RH Beads so they can absorb water vapor instead of pouring the water directly on them.

Hope this helps.

~Mark
 
preembargo said:
Excerpt from METHODS FOR RECONDITIONING SILICA GEL
written by Steven Weintraub, Art Preservation Services,


2. METHODS FOR CONDITIONING SILICA GEL WITHOUT REMOVING IT FROM THE EXHIBIT CASE


Increasing or decreasing surface area can control the rate of water evaporation. If there is concern about placing water directly in a case, or if a fast rate of evaporation is desired, a saturated humidifier wicking pad, preferably one treated with an antimicrobial agent, can be used. Generally, water will evaporate more rapidly in this manner because of the extended surface area of the wicking pad compared to a dish of water.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I don't see where it advocates one to use PG.... did I miss something?

I tend to agree with N2Adventure that PG would clog the pores. prob wouldn't hurt much in small amounts but over time would think it would render the beads unstable. Have nothing to back that up...... just sounds right. lol

Slidder - sorry for the hijack.....
 
Slider, I don't know if this has been offered. Is your humidor in a different place? I an air flow stream? Is your local weather exceedingly dry making your house dry; I know mine is?

Good luck!
 
I have central air and heat in my house,and the air is very dry when the heat is cranking.My humis
are in the far side of the room.Far from the vents,but if the room gets to much heat my rh in all three
of my humis drop 5-7%.
 
I keep my humi in the same place all the time. Witht he change in outside temp., the temp is the house does fluctuate (I live in NY) so this may be a factor.

36 hours ago I loaded up the tube of beadsd with distilled water. Now my hygrometer reads 67-68%, up 4 points from pre-adding water. It may be that I do not have enough distilled water in the tube. Again, I will keep any eye on it over the weekend and see what transpires.
 
Interesting topic... I've had a continuing problem with my beads ever since I got my humi last year. I have the tall puck and I can't maintain humidity for the life of me! To keep the humidity at ~65% with my 70% beads I usually keep a small shot glass of open distilled water, along with saturating practically every bead, and spritzing all the wood surfaces of the humi. This keeps it at 68% for the first 2 or 3 days, then loses a % every few days for the next few weeks (and evaporates the open water). I have tried using 3 pucks at once in it (2 tall and one short) and had the same results! I never could figure it out, so I just keep the open water in there.

But, 2 nights ago, I got re-inspired to fix the problem at what I can only imagine is the root (the seasoning of the humi, I think I rushed it!) and put all my sticks in tupperware with my puck and wet the living crap out of the inside of the humi and left 2 paper towels soaked inside. The humidity went up to 90% overnight, I took about the paper towels and now I'm letting it come back down. Last night I added some of my crappy dollar sticks when it was like 85%. Hopefully today it is better. I don't know if I'm doing it right, but I'm trying!

The good news that even with all my sticks in the tupperware, the RH in there was at 65% without any fancy open water or spritzing tricks! Even though my beads are supposed to be 70%, I actually kinda wish I went 65% so if they are in fact 65%, that is fine with me!

So, to make a long story short, I have the same problem as you, and to solve it I am reseasoning my humi, because that is the only thing it can be. Like you, no other suggestions solved the problem :)
 
Reseasoning is often overlooked and often the solution.

The good news is that if you've been maintaining 65% with 70% beads since last year, they've been reconditioned to 65%. :rolleyes:
 
I had no idea that maintaining a different RH with the beads reconditions them. That is a good thing for me, I'm kinda glad!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top