New beads in humi - RH SPIKED!!! - update

LiquidChaos66

So I got the 65% heartfelt beads and saturated (distilled water) half the beads in each tube. Put the tubes in my humi with only one of my previous dr. RH jars. I wake up this morning to find my RH level at 76%!!!!!! Wtf!?!? Anyone have any ideas as to what is goin on?

jlmarta

LiquidChaos66:

So I got the 65% heartfelt beads and saturated (distilled water) half the beads in each tube. Put the tubes in my humi with only one of my previous dr. RH jars. I wake up this morning to find my RH level at 76%!!!!!! Wtf!?!? Anyone have any ideas as to what is goin on?

I hate to say it, but I told you how to do it......

LiquidChaos66

Here is the thing. I only saturated the tubes no more than 50%. My Dr. RH jars (2) are at 70% RH. My bead tubes are still only half saturated and I removed one if the jars. Why would it spike to 76% instead of absorbing humidity? I purposefully left beads dry to avoid over humidification and room to absorb.

LiquidChaos66

Logistically why would something set to emit/absorb to a specific humidity level make the humi spike an additional 6%? Releasing an excess seems to be what they aren't supposed to do.

Bob Luken

Well, seems kinda obvious, but, uh,........(Even though followed the manufacturer's instructions.).......... they're a little bit too wet.

If I were you I'd remove the other RH jar and let the beads work alone for 12 hours and see how far off you really are. Or another (maybe better) option is to put all your previous humidification back in place while you are drying out the beads and then testing them in a tupperware container until you are confident that they are not too wet anymore. Hope you get your RH back down where you want it. Good luck.

The following advice is for everybody who has not used beads or KL but are thinking about it. At first, don't spritz. Don't soak 'em either. Don't add any water until your hygrometer tells you to add water. It's easy to test your beads or KL before you use 'em. Throw them in with a hygrometer in a baggie or tupperware and do some tests. Easy peasy.

rsherman24

1. Remove the (2) Dr. RH jars
2. Remove the bead tubes from the humi
3. Toss a Boveda pack in close the lid and walk away

I use KL in my coolers since they stay pretty solid and have not touched it since I put it in over 6 months ago. For my small humi's, you can't beat the Boveda. I keep a supply of different RH levels on hand re-charged. If it gets high in the summer, I switch to a 62%. Low in winter I switch to a 69%.

Lee.mcglynn

Here's my question...if your going from 70 to 65 why add any water? Shouldn't the beads absorb the excess moister and be charged doing so?

LiquidChaos66

I have the tubes sitting out on my dresser to dry out a bit. Gonna toss them back in when they are mostly dry.

I don't have any boveda packs sadly. Otherwise I would be using those lol

as for why I hydrate the tubes instead of letting them take their own course... I didn't want my RH level to change too rapidly... Which it did... In the wrong direction though.

jlmarta

LiquidChaos66:

Logistically why would something set to emit/absorb to a specific humidity level make the humi spike an additional 6%? Releasing an excess seems to be what they aren't supposed to do.

Because you did away with half of the absorbing capability by wetting half your beads. I suggest you go back and re-read the thread where we discussed this. IIRC, you said you were going to try my suggestion, i.e., not wetting the beads at all.

Also, if you still have that Dr. RH thing in your humi, get it out of there........ Use a hair dryer on a low setting to dry those beads and then put them back into your humi. Don't put a humidifier or other water source in until your hygro tells you to. Capisce??

LiquidChaos66

Yeah they are drying out right now on my dresser. I don't hav a hair dryer at home so it will be a while before they dry out. Im just overly eager to get my cigars taken care of that I just did what I did thinking that it would be ok. My train of though was there was enough dry to bring the RH down slowly and smoothly. But no. It went the wrong direction.

Bob Luken

jlmarta:

LiquidChaos66:

Logistically why would something set to emit/absorb to a specific humidity level make the humi spike an additional 6%? Releasing an excess seems to be what they aren't supposed to do.

Because you did away with half of the absorbing capability by wetting half your beads. I suggest you go back and re-read the thread where we discussed this. IIRC, you said you were going to try my suggestion, i.e., not wetting the beads at all.

Also, if you still have that Dr. RH thing in your humi, get it out of there........ Use a hair dryer on a low setting to dry those beads and then put them back into your humi. Don't put a humidifier or other water source in until your hygro tells you to. Capisce??

You told him so. Did you tell him that you told him so? You should tell him that you told him so.

jlmarta

Bob Luken:

...... You told him so. Did you tell him that you told him so? You should tell him that you told him so.

Hee hee. Yep, I did. I told him. Did I tell you that I told him? I did, I did. I told him.... :-/). Lol...

LiquidChaos66

It was the first response! Lol he did tell me. And I didn't listen. Lol

rsherman24

Listen the the FOG's!!!

honorknight7

I have been running two 18 btl wineador's (1 for my wife's sticks & 1 for mine as she likes flavored) for about 7 months now doing the C.O. method, with distilled water, not the tap water he uses because my water at home here has an Extremely bad hard water issue (ya I need a water softener system I know)

CO's How I Maintain My Cigar Humidity Beads In My Humidors And Coolidors

I use 4 separate stocking bags (pantyhose) with 1/2 lb of 65rh Heartfelt beads in each, so 2 lb's total in each.
Grab all the bags from the coolers,
Put them in a bowl and add distilled water to top of bowl,
Let bags soak a few seconds,
Hold bags out of bowl to drain for a minute,
Put the bags back in the coolers in there little tupperware tub holders
Done, I do this once a month, the only difference from C.O.'s method is I have six 65 boveda packs in each cooler as well that Well .. just make me feel good, and they have been the same six from the start, they stay at 1/2 - 3/4 full since I started this, my rh stays at 64 to 66 all the time in the coolers, and I have never noticed them going over 70 - 71 after a bead recharge, and that only for a few hours that day
I don't think you would normally have to do it "every" month like I am, but my coolers are opened every day to select a stick to smoke, I have no rh trouble and keep the temps on the coolers set at 62 Deg. so no heat issues either, and since doing the C.O. method have not had Any trouble, even opening the doors at least once every day

By no means telling anybody "how to" just showing what I do that works rock solid for me weather I have 10 or 100+ sticks in my cooler, I will notice a slight drop in rh when I put in new bundles of sticks for a few hours though, but have never noticed it going below 60, Also I salt test all my meters every month too (one of my "my wife says I'm way to anal" problems)

LiquidChaos66

I'm still confused as to why having a 70%rh jar and my 2 65%tubes was able to spike my RH level so high. They are all "programmed" to stay at a specific level... so why?

jlmarta

honorknight7:

I have been running two 18 btl wineador's (1 for my wife's sticks & 1 for mine as she likes flavored) for about 7 months now doing the C.O. method, with distilled water, not the tap water he uses because my water at home here has an Extremely bad hard water issue (ya I need a water softener system I know)

CO's How I Maintain My Cigar Humidity Beads In My Humidors And Coolidors

I use 4 separate stocking bags (pantyhose) with 1/2 lb of 65rh Heartfelt beads in each, so 2 lb's total in each.
Grab all the bags from the coolers,
Put them in a bowl and add distilled water to top of bowl,
Let bags soak a few seconds,
Hold bags out of bowl to drain for a minute,
Put the bags back in the coolers in there little tupperware tub holders
Done, I do this once a month, the only difference from C.O.'s method is I have six 65 boveda packs in each cooler as well that Well .. just make me feel good, and they have been the same six from the start, they stay at 1/2 - 3/4 full since I started this, my rh stays at 64 to 66 all the time in the coolers, and I have never noticed them going over 70 - 71 after a bead recharge, and that only for a few hours that day
I don't think you would normally have to do it "every" month like I am, but my coolers are opened every day to select a stick to smoke, I have no rh trouble and keep the temps on the coolers set at 62 Deg. so no heat issues either, and since doing the C.O. method have not had Any trouble, even opening the doors at least once every day

By no means telling anybody "how to" just showing what I do that works rock solid for me weather I have 10 or 100+ sticks in my cooler, I will notice a slight drop in rh when I put in new bundles of sticks for a few hours though, but have never noticed it going below 60, Also I salt test all my meters every month too (one of my "my wife says I'm way to anal" problems)

With that many beads in each wineador, I'd almost bet they'd stay rock solid even if you had them in there dry with a humidifier. I have a lb of beads in my coolidor with a humidifier. Rock solid. It's smaller than your wineador but has a door like a refrigerator. It's opened more often than a normal cooler used for storage. Even the KL I use in my 300 ct. humi holds it rock solid with a humidifier. No offense, but I still haven't seen a legitimate argument to what I'm espousing. Beads don't have to be wet and actually work better when they're not.

LiquidChaos66

The sticks were mostly dry... the humi has been without humidification for a day. Popped the sticks in and it's holdin steady at 67% gonna pull one out and let it get down to 65% then watch it and see when the second one should go back in .