Humidity beads vs. humidity pillows

Which works better? They work on the same principle, correct? What are the pros and cons of each? I've read a few threads pertaining to beads but i don't have a clue how they compare to pillows.

I'm asking because i'm wondering if i should invest in some beads or just use some of the 1,284,875,996,004 humidity pillows i have lying around from ordering from ccom? (i admit, that figure may be grossly exaggerated.)

Halp would be greatly appreciated..

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Vidarien

Im going to take a little gamble and say that every single person that posts on this thread is going to tell you to use beads.

(And just to be a team player, so will I.) Just kidding, the truth of the matter is that they hold and maintain humidity extremely well and they're easy to recharge. They both absorb and release humidity and if your ambient humidity outside the box is remotely near normal, they'll do an outstanding job of maintaining it. I consider pillows to be a short term solution like temporary storage in a tupperdor.

I will say this though. If you live in a dry house, use 70% beads. If you live in a sweltery hot place, use 65% beads. These observations are based on my personal experiences.

dutyje

Pillows don't absorb excess ambient humidity. Beads are supposed to, but that has never been the case for me. Beads have an indefinite lifespan. I believe pillows and gels use a PG solution, so you just need to add water, but as rusirius pointed out in his extensive research, PG does evaporate. This means pillows and gels will need to be retired periodically.

urbino

dutyje:
Pillows don't absorb excess ambient humidity. Beads are supposed to, but that has never been the case for me.

Likewise.

tankbonnies

Beads.....cheap, little to no maintenance and lonnnnnnnnnng lasting.....set it and forget it......also...always buy more beads then needed, it does no harm to have more....

kuzi16

unless by "humidity pillows" you mean the Boveda packs. those will regulate humidity up and to a lesser degree, down.

however, they cannot be recharged. thats the only drawback to those.

phobicsquirrel

tankbonnies:
Beads.....cheap, little to no maintenance and lonnnnnnnnnng lasting.....set it and forget it......also...always buy more beads then needed, it does no harm to have more....

cheap, lol. they are reliable though...

bbc020

kuzi16:
unless by "humidity pillows" you mean the Boveda packs. those will regulate humidity up and to a lesser degree, down.

however, they cannot be recharged. thats the only drawback to those.

as stated in another post, someone had tried to put old(dried up) boveda packs in an environment that is more humid and they took moisture back in. I started doing this a while back(prolly 3 weeks) and the packets I put in there are almost back to liquid again. I don't know if they are "recharged, but they are soft and fluid filled again!