Heartfelt Beads, Frequently Asked Questions

[DanLW]

Just ordered 1/2 lbs of 65% beads! On to my question.

My wife has acquired for me a 125 cigar humidor. Currently I'm sure it's very dry. Now, it's going to be a couple months before I get home, so we have plenty of time to season.

The only issue is my wife is having trouble locating distilled water in Germany. So here's my question. What if I take dry beads and put them in the humidor dry, in a glass dish. Then take a second glass dish, fill it with regular water, then leave it separately in the humidor to evaporate, thereby seasoning the wood and moisturizing the beads. I know that distilled water is officially recommended for this method, but does it matter when doing it this way?

I mean, distilled water is regular water which has been evaporated and collected. So if we leave a dish of regular water in there, the evaporated water vapor will be "distilled", will it not?

Thanks!

 

[ItalianCustom]

If I couldn't get distilled water, I would boil water then when it cooled I would put it in there

 

[Herfin' Harg]

:bottle:

If I couldn't get distilled water, I would boil water then when it cooled I would put it in there

Or better yet, build a still and make your own. Two birds with one stone, if you ask me. :bottle:

 

[JNT]

Just ordered 1/2 lbs of 65% beads! On to my question.

My wife has acquired for me a 125 cigar humidor. Currently I'm sure it's very dry. Now, it's going to be a couple months before I get home, so we have plenty of time to season.

The only issue is my wife is having trouble locating distilled water in Germany. So here's my question. What if I take dry beads and put them in the humidor dry, in a glass dish. Then take a second glass dish, fill it with regular water, then leave it separately in the humidor to evaporate, thereby seasoning the wood and moisturizing the beads. I know that distilled water is officially recommended for this method, but does it matter when doing it this way?

I mean, distilled water is regular water which has been evaporated and collected. So if we leave a dish of regular water in there, the evaporated water vapor will be "distilled", will it not?

Thanks!

Use a new sponge in the dish of distilled water. I found it evaporated better that way.

 

[DanLW]

Use a new sponge in the dish of distilled water. I found it evaporated better that way.

But that's just it. If it's not going to be applied directly to the cedar or the beads, does it even need to be distilled? Distilled water is evaporated water which has been collected.

In our case we will use purified bottle water. The only reason I can see for boiling the water would be to kill anything in the water, and possibly to evaporate off any non-water liquids in the water. This would in effect be sterile water, but not distilled.

Distilling water would involve boiling and collecting the resultant steam. But if I am simply going to evaporate the water off inside the humidor, without applying it directly to the wood or beads, why not just use sterile water and let it evaporate off? As soon as the water turns into a vapor, it technically becomes distilled water (vapor).

 

[OB-Left]

Yes, you are correct. The reason for requesting distilled water is so that all the Ions (calcium, magnesium, iron, etc.) have been removed from the water. If you place the bottled water in a separate container, as the water evaporates, it will leave those ions behind for you to remove later. That way the ions are not on your cedar or your beads.

 

[JNT]

I was more pointing out that placing a dish of water soaked in a sponge will evaporate faster, then a dish of water by itself in my experience.

 

[DanLW]

Ok, I'll go with bottled water and let it evaporate. I won't be getting back home for about 8 weeks or so, so that should be plenty of time to get everything moistened up, providing the humidor is not leaky...

I guess we'll know when the beads start turning clear.

Regarding the beads, the instructions say to moisten them when they get below 3/4 clear. Does water tend to gravitate towards the lower beads, or will they all uniformly shift from opaque to clear as they absorb water from the air, and vice versa?

 

[Robban]

Go to your local gas-station and buy battery-water. Every gas-station in Germany has it and it is basically the same as distilled. All us just north of you (swedes) use it!

 

[DanLW]

We've had a glass of regular water evaporating off in the humidor for almost two weeks now. The analog hygro now reads "65%" (in quotes since analog hygros are questionable)

My wife got the beads today, and we have them sitting in a couple glass dishes which we set in the humidor. She also added water to the third dish which has no beads, and we have begun the process of charging the beads by letting them absorb the water as it evaporates.

So, I've read through this whole thread, and haven't seen a difinitive answer as to how the beads will look. The instructions say to get them to a point where 75% of them are clear. I can take this one of three ways...

White circles are white beads, black circles are clear beads. So, which of the middle boxes (ABC) is a proper representation of "75% clear"?

A: All beads uniformly somewhere between bright white and clear
B: Beads on top remain white while lower beads are clear
C: White beads randomly interspersed with clear beads

What should I tell her to look for so that we know we are ready to start stocking up with cigars?

And don't worry, when I get home in a little less than 2 months, I'll find distilled water. My wife is 7 mos pregnant, so I don't really want to push her to search out the right kind of water. We have time, so the evaporation method will be fine for now.

Thanks!

 

[DanLW]

I did some searching online, and it looks like B is the correct option from the pictures I've seen.

 

[GoingPostal]

We've had a glass of regular water evaporating off in the humidor for almost two weeks now. The analog hygro now reads "65%" (in quotes since analog hygros are questionable) What should I tell her to look for so that we know we are ready to start stocking up with cigars?
Thanks!

would say B but its gonna vary depending on where you live and how tight is the humidor. First, (you already know this) get a digital hygro asap. and how clear you want the beads depends on what your ambient RH is. if you live in a humid climate you may want to leave more white to absorb the extra moisture, and if you live in a desert climate you want more clear to keep the humidity up. Remeber takes time to find that right balance.

 

[DanLW]

Yup, the digital hygrometer is covered - have it with me, and will move it and whatever cigars I have left into the humidor once I get back. We're in Germany, so probably more on the humid side there. So I'll have my wife take out the water once the beads get about half white. No noticeable change as of today, but it's only been one day. Current humidity at home is 92%, but that's at night and it's been raining. So yeah, definitely think I'll keep half white. Looks like I may end up using the oven every now and then.

B it is! Good thing we're using glass dishes. Thanks!

 

[dbeckom]

Thanks for all the great info. I'm looking to replace the humidification equipment in all my humidors...I now know where all my supplies will come from!
~Dwayne

 

[Jwrussell]

Don't forget to calibrate that digital. They are much more reliable, but that doesn't mean they read correctly. Analogs tend to wander which is their biggest problem. Digital don't wander (at least most), but they can still be off by quite a ways plus or minus what they show.

 

[Shawn Hines]

What if I have a container of beads from an old Humidor, there is no markers on them. How do I find out what Humi % they are? I figured just put some water on them and put them in a air tight container with a Hygrometer? Would this work?

 

[JukkaN]

Having problem with beads. I have a half cabinet, at the bottom there's a small tray of floral foam giving out moisture. And on the shelves I have 1½ pounds of 65% beads in two mesh bags. Now I noticed that my RH% had climbed to 80 at the bottom and 76 at the top. So I thought that the beads must be SOAKED. Took them out but they actually look dry. I left them out of the humidor to see what happens, answer was nothing. I tossed them back into the humidor for no effect. Have the beads died or are they on strike or something? Outside RH% is between 55-80.

 

[GoingPostal]

First thing is your hygrometer calibrated? Are you using distilled water to wet the foam? The first thing that i can think of is that if you are using PG solution in the floral foam then your beads have become plugged and now useless.

 

[JukkaN]

Hygros are in order, using nothing but distilled water.

 

[GoingPostal]

well my next question is are you giving the beads enough time to absorb the humidity? takes time to reach equilibrium. have you tried removing beads and foam to see what RH reads? Also why do you use the foam and beads, instead of just using the beads? I ask because the more you use the floral foam the quicker it releases the water so it may be that the foam is releasing its water causing the rh to spike and take the beads cant keep up.