Really am stuck !

[CigarLIFE718]

I can't make up my mind on heartfelt or boveda. I read so much and still don't know which to get. Please help

 

[thinde]

For long term I prefer Heartfelt.

 

[garrettbuckeye]

I prefer Heartfelt as well.

 

[MadMonk]

I like boveda, albeit more expensive and a bit trickier with storage arrangements, imo. I've tried both. Take your favorite cigars, say 2 fivers. Put each fiver in a separate food container, one with beads, one with Bovedas. Let them sit a few months. Only way that you'll have a real metric to decide with.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Bovida is a disposable, zero maintenance system.  They work very well, and you don't have to fiddle with them.  When they dry out, you pitch them.  They are a true 2-way system; they'll absorb excess humidity as well as add humidity to an environment to maintain the RH.
 
Heartfelt is a permanent, maintenance required system.  They also work very well, but you have to monitor them and re-hydrate them when they dry out.  But, you don't have to do this very often (every couple months) if you have a sufficient quantity of beads for your storage area.  They aren't cheap, but they are 'buy once, cry once' as they will last for years, probably a lifetime.
 
It's sort of an apples and oranges comparison.  If all I had was a small desktop humi or a travel humi, I'd probably use Bovida packs.  As soon as you move past that, the beads make good sense.  Though, there are lots of guys with beads in their desktop humis.....
 
The choice is up to you and how you use your storage.  There isn't really a 'wrong' way to go here.

 

[CigarLIFE718]

Reason I am asking is because I got those joe cool cigar beads on ebay and they don't seem to be doing the job. Are heartfelt the same beads as these? I got these loose and put them into a stocking. But they seem to leave some sand like particles at the bottom of my homie and it is really annoying. This is why I am second guessing hf beads unless they are different. Btw this is for a 120 ct humi.

 

[BlindedByScience]

All beads are brittle, if they get bashed around or crushed in shipping, there will be some powder.  The Heartfelt beads in their little bags are pretty darn good in this respect but you may see a tiny amount of powder when they are new.
 
How did you prep the beads you have?
 
How did you season your humidor?
 
Have you salt tested or Bovida calibrated your hygrometer?

 

[CigarLIFE718]

All beads are brittle, if they get bashed around or crushed in shipping, there will be some powder.  The Heartfelt beads in their little bags are pretty darn good in this respect but you may see a tiny amount of powder when they are new.
 
How did you prep the beads you have?
 Put them in the stocking and sprayed them with distilled water

How did you season your humidor?
Sponge on a plate with dw water
 
Have you salt tested or Bovida calibrated your hygrometer?

Salt tested and got a reading of 75%

If I was to order hf beads..do I just order one large tube or two smaller tubes? Do I put them on the top tray and bottom.

 

[BlindedByScience]

How big is your humidor?
 
How did you prep the 'not working' beads you have now?

 

[CigarLIFE718]

How big is your humidor?
 Humidor is 120ct
How did you prep the 'not working' beads you have now?
Just put them in the stocking and sprayed them ...

 

[BlindedByScience]

Did you drop the beads in a dry humidor, or was it seasoned?
 
What's the RH reading in the humidor?
 
What's the ambient RH where you keep the humidor.
 
....man, I love my Staebell with active humidification more and more as time goes on.... :laugh:

 

[CigarLIFE718]

Did you drop the beads in a dry humidor, or was it seasoned?
 
What's the RH reading in the humidor?
 
What's the ambient RH where you keep the humidor.
 
....man, I love my Staebell with active humidification more and more as time goes on.... :laugh:

Humidor was seasoned.
Currently it's reading 73%
Around 45%(ny)

I can't get it to stabilize so it keeps jumping

 

[drunkfish3]

Since Joe Cool is my competitor on ebay I would normally not help but since I have been selling these beads longer them him I have more experience and you are a CP member. Most of the issued with high humidity while using the beads come from two issues. First if you are adding new cigars often they are normally over humidified and will temporally effect the humidity level in a humidor, especially a small one. more likely the cause is you are not whipping the excess water from the sock. After spraying them pat the sock dry with a paper towel, this solves the issue 95% of the time. 
 
PS. I try and keep my CP life separate from my ebay business but if you or anyone needs more beads pm me here and we can work out a deal or trade.

 

[CigarLIFE718]

See what's weird it that if I have the hygro in the same side as the beads it goes up over 70 and when I put the hygro on the other side it goes down below 65...so this makes no sense. Plus I have beads on the top tray as well.just check it now after a few hrs and it says 59..so something is not rite

 

[MadMonk]

See what's weird it that if I have the hygro in the same side as the beads it goes up over 70 and when I put the hygro on the other side it goes down below 65...so this makes no sense. Plus I have beads on the top tray as well.just check it now after a few hrs and it says 59..so something is not rite

That is actually not odd based on what I've learned about artificial humidification. For instance, in a walk in, the humidity is typically higher closer to the floor. If I owned a B&M and kept the humidor at 69/70 I would store sealed boxes at the bottom.

 

[CigarLIFE718]

See what's weird it that if I have the hygro in the same side as the beads it goes up over 70 and when I put the hygro on the other side it goes down below 65...so this makes no sense. Plus I have beads on the top tray as well.just check it now after a few hrs and it says 59..so something is not rite

That is actually not odd based on what I've learned about artificial humidification. For instance, in a walk in, the humidity is typically higher closer to the floor. If I owned a B&M and kept the humidor at 69/70 I would store sealed boxes at the bottom.

but I get a diff reading on the bottom I have a divider in the middle..the side with the beads reads like 74 and the other reads 59

 

[MadMonk]

Do you mean a shelf when you say divider? If so, yes, I have dealt with that in the past. I took those trays out of the humidor. You can also try drilling more holes in the tray bottom to allow more humidity to flow. I did that with one humidor and it worked pretty well. If you're using beads, and want to keep the trays, at least put a bag of beads in both the top and bottom sections, or both sides of the divider. Go to a Pet store, go to the Aquarium section, and look for the little filter media net bags. Should be 3 to 5 bucks. 

 

[MX]

Do you mean a shelf when you say divider? If so, yes, I have dealt with that in the past. I took those trays out of the humidor. You can also try drilling more holes in the tray bottom to allow more humidity to flow. I did that with one humidor and it worked pretty well. If you're using beads, and want to keep the trays, at least put a bag of beads in both the top and bottom sections, or both sides of the divider. Go to a Pet store, go to the Aquarium section, and look for the little filter media net bags. Should be 3 to 5 bucks. 

This is great advice. I had the same issues when I had dividers in my trays. I solved it first by drilling holes in the dividers, then later, I just removed them. Also I have beads on my trays in the large desktop I own. Last, I alternate sides with the Bears, bottom tray they are on the left second tray they are on the right side and so forth.

 

[CigarLIFE718]

Ok I removed the bottom divider and added 2 extra shot glasses of beads...let's see if this works

 

[MadMonk]

IIRC, the beads are most effective no more than an inch thick. You want as much surface area exposed as possible.