Salt slurry and the cigars....

[Dave]

ok, i did some searching on this website, and utterly failed. first we all know that the salt test slurry is used to accurately calibrate a hygrometer, producing a 75% RH in the given evironment (the ziplock bag).

My question is, has anyone ever tried just using salt to regulate their humidor/tupperdors? And if they have, what are the effects, it being salt and all. Would the cigars come out salty tasting?

I know beads are the way to go in terms of set it and forget it. So besides more appropriate alternatives (beads/PG solutions), and the obvious somewhat high humid environment produced by the salt slurry, can someone give me a good list of pros and cons? Thanks, you can all point, laugh, and shake your heads now.

 

[The Volusianator]

Buy Viper beads. :thumbs:

 

[AVB]

AFAIK salt flavor isn't transfered by air so I doubt your sticks would come out salty tasting. Since salt holds at 75% almost everybody feels that this is too high for good cigar storage. I'm sure there are other reasons but the high humidity is most likely the main one.

 

[Ginseng]

Vol, I think he is aware of the variety of options available. His question seems more of an academic nature rather than practical.

In fact, salt solutions are used for humidity control in many different. critical settings such as museum display cases. Specific salts are selected for specific target humidities. Sodium chloride or table salt is not the only one. Magnesium nitrate is often used in museum textile display cases.

You can think about salt solutions in this manner.

Start with a dish of salt crystals. If this dish is in an envrionment that is more humid that the salt "likes" then it will absorb moisture from the air. If it absorbs enough, some salt will dissolve and you will have a dish of salt + salt solution. If the environmental humidity is reduced far enough such that the wet salt is now in equilibrium with the humid air, no more salt will dissolve and now we have a saturated salt slurry.

From this equilibrium point, if the room humidity starts to drop, the saturated salt slurry will give up moisture to the air until either a) the free water is all evaporated or b) the equilibrium humidity level is again attained.

If the humidity starts to rise, the saturated salt slurry will absorb moisture from the air until either a) the last grain of salt is dissolved leaving only salt solution or b) the equilibrium humidity level is again attained.

The way salt slurries control humidity is completely different from silica gel.

AVB is correct in saying that your cigars should not taste salty. Salt is not volatile and the only way for it get on your sticks is if you spill it on them.

If your desired humidity is 75%, saturated slurry of table salt is a powerful way to regulate it.

Wilkey

 

[Dave]

Vol, I think he is aware of the variety of options available. His question seems more of an academic nature rather than practical.

In fact, salt solutions are used for humidity control in many different. critical settings such as museum display cases. Specific salts are selected for specific target humidities. Sodium chloride or table salt is not the only one. Magnesium nitrate is often used in museum textile display cases.

You can think about salt solutions in this manner.

Start with a dish of salt crystals. If this dish is in an envrionment that is more humid that the salt "likes" then it will absorb moisture from the air. If it absorbs enough, some salt will dissolve and you will have a dish of salt + salt solution. If the environmental humidity is reduced far enough such that the wet salt is now in equilibrium with the humid air, no more salt will dissolve and now we have a saturated salt slurry.

From this equilibrium point, if the room humidity starts to drop, the saturated salt slurry will give up moisture to the air until either a) the free water is all evaporated or b) the equilibrium humidity level is again attained.

If the humidity starts to rise, the saturated salt slurry will absorb moisture from the air until either a) the last grain of salt is dissolved leaving only salt solution or b) the equilibrium humidity level is again attained.

The way salt slurries control humidity is completely different from silica gel.

AVB is correct in saying that your cigars should not taste salty. Salt is not volatile and the only way for it get on your sticks is if you spill it on them.

If your desired humidity is 75%, saturated slurry of table salt is a powerful way to regulate it.

Wilkey

Wilkey, two things -
1) did anyone ever tell you that you are a genius?

2) say wuh? (j/k I got it )

Thankyou gentlemen for your inputs. Maybe I'll set aside a tupperdor with some salt slurry and experiment.

 

[Ginseng]

Speaking as someone in educational research, competence is situational and domain-specific. Chemistry I know. Ask me to assemble a Chevy small block motor that has been completely disassembled and left on the floor of the garage and I would...

call my friend Mark who could probably do it in a few hours, after which we'd share some cigars and beer.

Wilkey

 

[CoventryCat86]

Speaking as someone in educational research, competence is situational and domain-specific. Chemistry I know. Ask me to assemble a Chevy small block motor that has been completely disassembled and left on the floor of the garage and I would...

call my friend Mark who could probably do it in a few hours, after which we'd share some cigars and beer.

Wilkey

LMAO! :laugh:

Excellent point Wilkey in your first sentence. :thumbs: Even I can sound "very well informed" on certain subjects (cars, politics......Hmmmmmmm maybe not much else :laugh: ) but there are a lot of subjects I don't know shat about.