Mixing beads....?

[s15driftking]

Pre Notes - I am running 10-12 ounces of beads in a 1.5 square foot humidor. Over double what it needs. (although it does rebound nice and fast!!!)

So , i went to a local b&m and bought cigar mechanic beads... they work great, but they are 65%...well,technically they are holding at 64% with no cigars in the humidor....

Question 1. is 64% detrimental?

Question 2. they are holding at 64% right now, i am freezing my cigars as we speak... when i put the cigars back in, can i expect a drop in humidity? and... how long should it take to rebound to 64%?

Question 3. Can i go buy some 70% heartfelt (lets say 6 ounces) and put those in seperate containers and then put them in the humi with the 65% beads and get 67.5% humidity?


(basically, 3 containers, each with two ounces of 65%, and then 3 containers, each with two ounces of 70%.... will this even out to 67%?)


^^^ BTW, the brands would be different, 65% = cigar mechanic and the 70% would be heartfelt


I salt tested all 3 of my hygros in the humidor. The humidor is seasoning right now, and their all constant. 2 days ago when i shocked the interior and had the bewads in there it was at 66%... now she's down to 64% (64 was determined through the salt test results)


HELP!!

[smokeyandthebandit05]

Dont take your sticks right out of the freezer and put them in the humi. Ive never personally frozen my sticks but I think u have to put them in the fridge for at least a day and then out in the open air for a day just to thaw them out and not do any damage. As for the beads 64% is perfect. The lower rh% will help with any burn issues you may have been having and most people here any way keep their humis at 65%. Ive never tried to mix the 2 different rh beads but I would think the 65% one would just suck the moisture out of the 70%. I think shilala can custon make beads that are set to say 67.5% if you want them. I have probably around 11 oz of his beads in 2 of my humis and they hold at 65% rock solid

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by smokeyandthebandit05

Dont take your sticks right out of the freezer and put them in the humi. Ive never personally frozen my sticks but I think u have to put them in the fridge for at least a day and then out in the open air for a day just to thaw them out and not do any damage. As for the beads 64% is perfect. The lower rh% will help with any burn issues you may have been having and most people here any way keep their humis at 65%. Ive never tried to mix the 2 different rh beads but I would think the 65% one would just suck the moisture out of the 70%. I think shilala can custon make beads that are set to say 67.5% if you want them. I have probably around 11 oz of his beads in 2 of my humis and they hold at 65% rock solid

Im actually doing...(freezing process)

24 hours refrigerator
24 hours freezer (15' F)
24 hours refrigerator
24 hours in a bare cooler
12 hours on the countertop

Then, into the humidor.

[ucla695]

64% is nothing to lose sleep over. I used to keep my humis at 70ish% and I had a lot of burn/draw issues. Now I keep my humis between 62-65% Rh and everything is great. The sticks burn well, hardly any plugged cigars and they taste better. As far as mixing beads, I would suggest that you don't. I recall Viper from Heartfelt saying that it doesn't really accomplish anything.

Here's some more info on how to freeze:

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29048

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by smokeyandthebandit05

As for the beads 64% is perfect.

will the RH drop once i put 200 thawed cigars in it?

how long should the RH be down (if it drops)... and how soon should it rebound?

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by ucla695

64% is nothing to lose sleep over. I used to keep my humis at 70ish% and I had a lot of burn/draw issues. Now I keep my humis between 62-65% Rh and everything is great. The sticks burn well, hardly any plugged cigars and they taste better. As far as mixing beads, I would suggest that you don't. I recall Viper from Heartfelt saying that it doesn't really accomplish anything.

Here's some more info on how to freeze:

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29048

so 64-65 is just fine? they arent going to be too dry?

I remember when i first came on here that everyone was all "70% or die"



thanks for the link UCLA, that's what i followed. Except fo freezer time, i was about 26 hours in the freezer because my freezer is set at 15-16 degrees.

[TOB9595]

I have one humi at ~70 and another ~ 65

You will see an effect on a humidor when you put 200 sticks of humidified smokes in it.
I suspect you will see some dramatic shift depending on ambient rh of the last step of the freezing program.
I'd suggest preparing a cooler to prehumidify the sticks and then transition over to the nice humi....
WHY?

A cooler seems to be more controlling to the rh you want to set for.
TYou may be loss OCD with the cooler than the lovely humi.
It takes time to get 200 sticks to settle out at the rh you want. Just let it flow. don't make a lot of quick changes to the rh or you'll be fighting it...
Patience!
Tom

[WillieDiesel]

Viper from Heartfelt says dont mix your beads. Check this out: http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showpos...&postcount=121

Your RH % is all about personal preference. At one point I was doing 70% RH Xikar humidification gel and I noticed burn/draw issues. I have switched over to 65% RH beads and my sticks seem to be doing well.

[raralith]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

Im actually doing...(freezing process)

24 hours refrigerator
24 hours freezer (15' F)
24 hours refrigerator
24 hours in a bare cooler
12 hours on the countertop

Then, into the humidor.

You need to freeze it a lot longer than 24 hours at 15 F. If memory serves me correctly, there was a post in the "General Discussion" forum about freezing. There were time tables on how long and at what degrees. 24 hours at 15 F is just not cold enough to fully penetrate and kill beetle eggs.

[s15driftking]

that post says 14 degrees needs "less than 24 hours"... in the "how to properly freeze cigars" thread...


I was AT 15-16 degrees and froze them for 26 hours...

Originally Posted by icehog3

5c (41f) requires ~12 days (275 hours)

0c (32f) requires ~9 days (220 hours)

-5c (23f) requires ~4 days (100 hours)

-10c (14f) requires less than 24 hours

-15c (5f) requires less than 24 hours

-20c (-4f) requires less than 24 hours

[ucla695]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

so 64-65 is just fine? they arent going to be too dry?

I remember when i first came on here that everyone was all "70% or die"

thanks for the link UCLA, that's what i followed. Except fo freezer time, i was about 26 hours in the freezer because my freezer is set at 15-16 degrees.

As others have said, it all comes down to what you like. 64-65 is well within my preferred range and not dry at all. I’ve been storing my cigars at that RH for years and I think the cigars smoke very well. 70% is a little too moist for my tastes. Most of the B&Ms near me store their cigars near 70% and I have draw and burn issues when I grab a freshie to smoke.

[Totemic]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

that post says 14 degrees needs "less than 24 hours"... in the "how to properly freeze cigars" thread...


I was AT 15-16 degrees and froze them for 26 hours...

That information is a bit off.

There was a subsequent discussion about 4 months ago about the times needed. To summarize:

32F - 2+ months.
23F - 3 weeks.
14F - 5 days.
5F - 3 days.
-4F - 1 hour.

At 15F, you would need a bit over 5 days. Remember, those are *core* temperature. Meaning the core of the cigar has to reach that temperature and kept there for the time period listed above. That's to ensure all eggs are dead.

So for you, I would round off the period to a full week just to be absolutely certain since if you have a bundle of cigars, it's quite possible that it would take the cigars near the middle of the bundle longer to reach that temperature.

Also keep in mind, MOST (not all) of the cigar manufacturers will deep freeze their cigars long before it reaches the retailers. I know most of the big name manufacturers do this already, I'm not 100% certain of some of the smaller ones though. By deep freeze, I mean -30F for 5+days. Way, WAY beyond what's required.

[n2advnture]

Question 1. is 64% detrimental?

No, LOTS store them at 65% RH and many Asian collectors store in the 50's

Question 2. they are holding at 64% right now, i am freezing my cigars as we speak... when i put the cigars back in, can i expect a drop in humidity? and... how long should it take to rebound to 64%?

It will most likely drop due to them being more dry. Simply keep an eye on the RH and add some distilled water to the beads. You want approx 70% of them to be hydrated (hydrated beads are clear, dry beads turn milky white). I am not familiar with the mechanic's beads so this only applies to the RH Beads and viper's.

Question 3. Can i go buy some 70% heartfelt (lets say 6 ounces) and put those in seperate containers and then put them in the humi with the 65% beads and get 67.5% humidity?

No, the 70% beads will emit water vapor to raise the RH level to 70% while the 65% will absorb as much water as they can hold. Once the 70% beads run out of water, the RH will drop to 65%.


I hope this helps

~Mark

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