Mixing beads...

[sirxlaughs]

I am guessing it is similar to this stuff at bargain humidors.

http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/Pr...CC-CONSERVAGEL

[fizguy]

Originally Posted by shilala

From what David said, if you're using heartfelt beads they are treated chemically so that you can't change the RH. It's like that with Propylene Glycol treated gel, too. The additive controls the RH.
Different salt solutions can't be made to change their RH either. A number of different salts can be mixed to acheive a specific RH level and then they'll stay at their specific RH.
With untreated silica gels, activated clay, and molecular sieve you condition the gel to whatever RH you want.
You can do it a number of ways. The easiest is to put them in a humidor with other like beads.
Personally, I sit mine on a humidifier for a period of time, usually the best part of the day. Then I put them in a big Ziplock bag and test their RH with a calibrated hygrometer. If it's too low (which I shoot for) then I just spritz them with distilled water water a little bit, close them up, let them rest overnight, then check their RH again. I then repeat as necessary until they're right where I want them.
If they get too wet, all I have to do is put them in the open air cause it's only about 40% RH in my house right now. They'll give up water really fast, trying to get themselves to 40%RH. In a couple hours I put them in a ziplock bag and check them with a hygrometer again, repeating as necessary.
I can also heat over-wetted beads in the oven at 120F for awhile and then go check them and adjust accordingly. That's a bit dicey, but it's that or put them in the fridge to pull down their RH.

So essentially you can do any RH you want with one batch of beads (silica gel). You can do the same with the other dessicants I mentioned earlier.
But you can't smoke them. So they suck compared to cigars.
Just thought I'd add that in there cause I could really go for a cigar right now.
I think I'm gonna fire up cheapo so I can toss it in 10 minutes when I'm froze out.
Hope this helped!!!
Scott

I am afraid I don't understand. It sounds like the silica beads will be conditioned to the humidity of the environment they are in. So if I put them in my humi, which is in my house, which has a very low RH (being winter and all) the beads will be conditioned to low RH. Thus they would be a very poor choice to keep my cigars at 65-70%. But most folks report that their beads do a wonderful job of maintaining humidity.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by fizguy

I am afraid I don't understand. It sounds like the silica beads will be conditioned to the humidity of the environment they are in. So if I put them in my humi, which is in my house, which has a very low RH (being winter and all) the beads will be conditioned to low RH. Thus they would be a very poor choice to keep my cigars at 65-70%. But most folks report that their beads do a wonderful job of maintaining humidity.

You're putting them in a controlled atmosphere, your humidor.
If your humi is extremely leaky, nothing in the world will keep it right.
If it's decent and well sealed, the beads only have to take care of that small space within your humidor walls.

When conditioning the beads, I can sit them in the 40% rh of the house and they'll go to 40%, so they're more than halfway there.
Then I can just add small amounts of water until they are all the way up to the RH I want.

[Viper139]

I need to point out that what Shilala is talking about is not the product I sell.

There is no conditioning step with my product and the rh cannot drift from the preset level no matter what rh is in the container you put them in. My beads cannot be conditioned to a different rh level.

I don't know what product he is talking about but I assure you it is not Heartfelt Industries Humidity Beads.

[Viper139]

Originally Posted by fizguy

...But most folks report that their beads do a wonderful job of maintaining humidity.

The "beads" the people are talking about are NOT what Shilala is talking about. They are talking about pre-conditioned beads not, for lack of a better word, "raw" silica beads.

The product I sell is a pre-conditioned silica bead.

[Twill413]

Originally Posted by Viper139

There is no conditioning step with my product and the rh cannot drift from the preset level no matter what rh is in the container you put them in.

Unless you overwet them or don't wet them enough . Of course that has more to do with user error than anything wrong with the beads, but just wanted to point that out. All the science in here was giving me a migraine, and all I know is that the heartfelt beads just work, and that's good enough for me.

[icehog3]

Just ordered new beads from Viper for my 300 ct and my coolador, great product and supreb customer service...thanks Dave!