pg solution vs distilled water

AQUADGIO1200 · February 2009

Hey fellas i had a question.....I have a 150 count humi w/about 100 smokes in it @ the moment. It originaly came 3 humi cartriges (2 long small ones & 1 large rectangle). When i first got the humi, i soaked them in distilled water & they worked fine untill my RH was @ 76-77 contantly for 1 week. So i took out the big cartrige & small ones and replaced it with one Zikar Crystal Gel Jar and it worked wonders...the RH then was stable @ 65-66RH. Wanting to achieve the 70rh i added back the two small humi cartriges after soaking them in distilled water, withing a day the RH got to 70-71rh. So now i have one Zikar Gel jar and two small long humi cartriges to achieve the 70rh level. My question is....i hear people using PG solution on their cartriges instead of distilled water. Should start using PG solution in the cartriges? Is the PG more stable? Easier to maintain 70ish rh levels? Now the Zikar Jar that i bought was already pre-filled with solution and i can see the crystal gels shrinking now that its been in the humi for 2-3 weeks....& per Zikar instructions (must add pg sol when @ it reaches the add indicator). So whats the deal with PG over distilled water? Thanks guys for your input

mustluvcigars · February 2009

I am new to this too, so I speak not from expience, but from what I have gathered from sudying the subject on these boards and other websites----- It is my understanding that the PG 50/50 is a hydrosopic liquid working quite similiar to the beads and crystals in as much that they are chemically engineered to to only hold or release as much moisture as they are rated, the straight PG 50/50 is suppossed to hold at 70% RH the crystal or beads come in different levels between 65% and 72%,, also the PG has anti-bacterial and anti-mold properties as well, I am sure that is why it is recommended or suggested over just plain distilled water.. I have found that you can purchase non-diluted PG from variuos websites, guessing you could purchse there and dilute to 50/50 with distilled waters and make several hundred dollars worth of the stuff they sell at cigar shops.