I seasoned my Humi to 62% and I placed the 65% RH Beads in there, and it says to hydrate them with 30-40 ml of Distilled Water.

Question is when I added the 40 ml, it didn't really look to do anything to the beads. The beads at the bottom turned clear, and the majority are still white, is this normal for the first time using RH Beads?

What size humi do you have?
Mine are all clear but I put too much water in...
Once the water evaporates, they will all turn white.
I think the RH will remain steady and you'll be ok.

About 1/3 of the beads are supposed to remain white. If you think you put too much water in, you can always use a blow dryer on a low speed setting by holding it about 18 inches away from the beads to dry them out. Trust me, any closer and they go flying all over the place....

am I the only one here who uses a paradigm humidifier?

its basically just a surgical sponge that holds like, 100 times its own weight in distilled water, and you only have to re-soak it once every 3-4 months....

it keeps everything around 70%, and ive never had any problems....

should I stick with these, or go with beads, or something else guys?

sorry about hi-jacking your thread gonngal....

I use these things that look like someone chopped up a jelly fish and put it in a tiny jar. Seems to work alot better than the thing that came with the humidor and it keeps everything between 65 and 68%

quote:

Originally posted by matthew-nj/ny:
am I the only one here who uses a paradigm humidifier?

its basically just a surgical sponge that holds like, 100 times its own weight in distilled water, and you only have to re-soak it once every 3-4 months....

it keeps everything around 70%, and ive never had any problems....

should I stick with these, or go with beads, or something else guys?

There is nothing wrong with your system, as long as you are getting good results. Some (including myself) prefer the beads for a couple of reasons. First, you can get beads that will maintain an approximate 65% RH, which I find preferable. And second, the beads are a two-way system that can remove excessive humidity as well as adding it when needed.

No worries on Hijacking it's all good.

I only added 35ml of distilled water like it said, and after I slept on it I thought some should remain white.

After letting the beads sit in there almost 9 hours there has been no change in RH. Is it possible I didn't do something right? I have about a 100/150ct. humi, and I bought the 16oz RH Beads not really thinking. I'm hoping the more the better, am I correct in that thinking?

quote:

Originally posted by Gonnagal:
No worries on Hijacking it's all good.

I only added 35ml of distilled water like it said, and after I slept on it I thought some should remain white.

After letting the beads sit in there almost 9 hours there has been no change in RH. Is it possible I didn't do something right? I have about a 100/150ct. humi, and I bought the 16oz RH Beads not really thinking. I'm hoping the more the better, am I correct in that thinking?

Get the Puck100 humidification system and save the beads for refilling the puck in about a year. That size humidor shouldn't need a pound of beads...a couple of ounces should be fine.

I was thinking about getting the puck form cigarmony.com but the one they listed only does a very small area I thought. I will look again though, thanks for the reply, and for your pics and stuff about the Big Smoke

I have a puck 100 from cigarmony.com. I also have a 150ct. humidor and it works perfectly fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Gespinoza1:
I have a puck 100 from cigarmony.com. I also have a 150ct. humidor and it works perfectly fine.

Oh awesome, what RH do you normally sit at? I think I will go with the Puck then.

I use the 65% Rh.

I'm having major issues now with my Humidor. I seasoned it with a bowl of distilled water, left it there for a little over a week and it peaked at 62% then I added the 16oz bag of 65% RH beads which I added the recommended 40ml of distilled water. Now when I got home from work my Humi is sitting at 58% RH. Now I do have an analog hygrometer, I'm picking a Digital up Tuesday. There is also no sticks in the humi atm either.

So is my analog that far off, or should I reseason with the bowl again and wait till it reads 65% on the digital I'm going to get?

Add more H20 to the beads, let it sit...there's no set time frame to this process, and in my humble opinion, you can't have enough water when seasoning...re-hydrate the beads daily...twice daily if necessary until the box gets to where it should be...

I've got my beads in the 'tubes' an continue to spray with a squirt bottle and shake until they're all clear...remember, if you start getting humidity too high, it's pretty to open the box to regulate, so don't worry about too much water, especially if there are no cigars in the box...and especially if you're not applying directly to the wood with a cloth...

I don't know where you're at, but in the winter months in the mid-west, I have to hydrate the beads weekly...in the summer, every other month...it's tempremental, just be patient, it'll get there...

Also, there's no need to panic...but I'm guilty of a little panic on my first humidor, too...now I know better. Everyone on here has their own method to season a box, I would bet almost all of them work...take the advice that seems most reasonable and run with it...

Also, have you salt-tested your hygrometer to calibrate it? That's probably your next step at this point...not uncommon for them to be off 7%, which would put you at a 65% to 72% range...you can buy 'calibration' kits for pretty cheap...I'd recommend one of the two to test your hygrometer...and really, this isn't an area where to 'skimp'....you buy a $100 box for $400 worth of cigars and have a $3 hygrometer...spend $20 and buy a good one...if anything just for peace of mind...

You should probably smoke a cigar while doing all this...that's the reason you've got it in the first place...

jag

Thank you SO much Jag, I'm going to hydrate those beads now.

The thing with my Hygrometer is it's attached to the front of my Humi and I can't take it off.

Damn... your from MI also? Where abouts? Thanks again for the info.

i'd like to take credit, but i learned from the collective genuis on this board as well...i'm foraged through tons of threads and combine enough knowledge until I got it right...thank the guys here for sharing their experience, I just relay what i've learned...

In full disclosure, I wiped my box down with a damp cloth...I know Doc is against that and has very good reasons for recommending against...but I also figured his 'toys' cost more then mine and deserve that level of treatment...you're probably past the point where you need to do that anyway...

I'm stuck living in Lansing for a little while longer, where are you?

jag

related...
http://forums.cigaraficionado.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9426054/m/562109174

Leave the analog hygro in the front of your humidor and go buy a digital hygro from tobacco store or radio shack. Ignore the readings of the analog.

Thanks Steve I must of missed that using the search function, I have new sponges at home I'll do that if it's not up to par. *Edit I didn't see he posted that till today, but thank you again Steve, I can't wait till get home now.

Jag,
I'm in the Waterford area, I used to go to the Lansing area all the time due to my GF going to MSU. Are there some good B&M's up there?