Kosher Salt Humidifier

[e-man]

After being pushed down the slope, I eventually overflowed my desktop humidor. I grabbed a picnic cooler that we only used to hold ice for a friends wedding (no odors or mildew), and claimed it as my new coolerdor. Since money is tight, I couldn't justify buying a pound of beads right now. I have never had good luck with PG and personally believe that it is WAY overpriced. So, how to keep moisture in the cooler without spending money and getting in trouble with the wife?

As everyone knows, common salt (NaCl) will maintain a 75.5% Rh, which is way too high for a humidor. I've read that plain distilled water can put you upwards of 84%.

Then I started to think. My buddy has a Diamond Crown humidifier in his humidor that uses only distilled water. The instructions tell your that you should NEVER used PG solution in the humidifier, but he isn't anywhere near 84%. It has a sliding cover that allows you open or close the vents until you find the right setting for your humidor. Why not apply this theory to salt? I don't have high himidity where I live, so I don't care if the media can regulate excess moisture.


First a trip to the pantry. I find a large box of kosher salt. Then I dig through the cupboards until I find a ziplock disposable container, about the size of a sandwich. Flat and wide is better than tall and thin for purposes of surface area and recovery times.

I filled the container with about a pound of kosher salt, then lightly sprayed it with distilled water and stirred it around. I repeated this until all of the salt felt moist, but didn't dissolve or stick together. I must say that kosher salt is much easier to work with than the table salt I've used to calibrate my hygrometers. The crystals hold up to the water much better. So long as it stays moist, it doesn't seem to cake together. Next, I broke out the old soldering iron and melted a few holes in the lid trying to make an aesthetically pleasing pattern.

I placed my overflow sticks into 2 old cigar boxes and placed them into the cooler. I always run more humidification than required for my desktop, so I was able to scrounge up 1 Boveda pack and a 4 oz tube of Heartfelt beads. I threw the Boveda in one box, and the beads into another to maintain humidity for my sticks while experimenting with the salt humidifier.

Two days later, humidity was still low in the cooler. A few more holes in the lid and I let it go a couple more days. I kept a hygrometer in one box to make sure the sticks weren't suffering, and another at the top of the cooler to see how well the salt was working. After about a week of adjustments, she started holding consistently at 63-65%. The boveda box is still running at 70%, and the bead box is at 65%, as expected.

I have been running for over 2 months and haven't have to add any more water to the salt. So far so good, but I'm worried that this won't work year round. I live in Colorado where it has been cold for the past couple of months (60-65 degrees in the basement). I know a lot of people have problems keeping Rh up in the cold season and wonder if she's going to spike when the weather gets warmer. I suppose that I can make another lid with fewer holes for the warm season, or just tape over some holes in the current lid. Also, I'm still keeping the boveda and beads in the boxes as added insurance.


Has anyone else tried using salt to humidify their humi?

[shilala]

If you use sodium nitrate (a meat preservative) it'll yield 65%.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by shilala

If you use sodium nitrate (a meat preservative) it'll yield 65%.

That's good to know. I just looked some up, and it's $9/lb for lab grade. I could probably get that one approved by the wife. Could always make gun powder with any extra.

[Cheroot]

I began to experiment with this yesterday. My humidor has 8 oz 70% heartfelt beads, and it was hanging around 60%RH. I made a bowl with salt slurry and covered with plastic wrap with holes. A day later, it's at 63%, I will wait and see where it stabilizes.

[uvacom]

When you get a little extra cash, get some of Scott's beads. They are pretty incredible. I've had them for about a month now, and they do an incredible job of maintaining humidity. I have a 2cf coolerdor for my smokes, and I can literally open my humi at 65%, let it drop to ambient (about 30rh), close the lid, open it 10 minutes later and it will be at 65% rh again.

Scott, I love your beads!

[Cheroot]

Yeah, I PM'ed Scott yesterday. Will try to get something soon.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by e-man

That's good to know. I just looked some up, and it's $9/lb for lab grade. I could probably get that one approved by the wife. Could always make gun powder with any extra.

Good idea to get lab grade.
Let me know where you got it, will ya?
My last batch was tainted with sodium and was worthless. That was from a source that had sent good stuff prior.
I need a new source.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by shilala

Good idea to get lab grade.
Let me know where you got it, will ya?
My last batch was tainted with sodium and was worthless. That was from a source that had sent good stuff prior.
I need a new source.

Here a link to the cheapest source I found in 2 minutes of searching:

http://secure.sciencecompany.com/-P16240C670.aspx


Not sure what you mean by "tainted with sodium". It IS Sodium, plus 1 Nitrogen atom, and 3 oxygen atoms. Maybe you got food grade that also had preservatives or other ingredients? Or worse, Industrial Grade.

I agree that if you don't get lab grade then you will definitely get more impurities than you would care to have around your smokes.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by e-man

Here a link to the cheapest source I found in 2 minutes of searching:

http://secure.sciencecompany.com/-P16240C670.aspx


Not sure what you mean by "tainted with sodium". It IS Sodium, plus 1 Nitrogen atom, and 3 oxygen atoms. Maybe you got food grade that also had preservatives or other ingredients? Or worse, Industrial Grade.

I agree that if you don't get lab grade then you will definitely get more impurities than you would care to have around your smokes.

I left the "chloride" out.

[wolfmonk]

I've never tried beads of any type, but have read that unscented silicon kitty litter beads will do the same as the other beads, but are much more economical. Just get them prior to the cat getting them....

[e-man]

Originally Posted by wolfmonk

I've never tried beads of any type, but have read that unscented silicon kitty litter beads will do the same as the other beads, but are much more economical. Just get them prior to the cat getting them....

I use beads in my desktop humidor, and they are wonderful. As I understand it, the heartfelt beads are basically like the kittly litter pearls, but they have some kind of mineral salt on them to help regulate at a specific RH level...at least they taste salty...don't ask.

Shilala beads are a whole different beast. If Mr. Kitty pee'd on them, he might get cooked...exothermic reation. There are videos on youtube where they pour warter directly into a pot full of beads, and it instantly steams and boils. Shilala beads agressively try to equalize with the RH of the environment. You condition them via ambient moisture. Once they reach the RH you want, they hold solid at that humidity and react very quickly to changes.

I couldn't justify spending ANY money as we recently had a baby and are down to a single income for the time being. We've both had to make some big sacrifices to weather the times, so spending more money on my cigars wasn't an option. She can't complain about something that cost nothing to build and kept me occupied for a few hours.

When I'm in a position to spend money on humidification, I will buy Heartfelt and/or Shilala beads again without hesitation. Both products are tried and proven, and I'm sure would be much more stable than the Kosher salt. Especially since it can't remove humidity until it exceeds 75%.

[e-man]

OK, spring has sprung and summer is now upon us. Time for an update.


To my surprise, the Kosher salt humidifier has kept my cooler at exactly 70%, regardless of temperature and humidity in my house. I had expected the rH to climb to 75% by now.

Now, my desktop with 70% Heartfelt beads has not been nearly as stable. It was reading as low as 64% in the worst part of the cold season, and now sits at 72% in the warmer weather. 90-95% of my beads are white, but it still runs 2% higher than it should. I have a very nice H. Upmann humidor that is a numbered limited edition (only 300 made). It is solid cedar with a tiger wood veneer and 2 mm of laquer.

I do run a swamp cooler in the summer, but rH in the house runs around 55%, so I know the house isn't adding humidity as the humidor breathes.


So far, the only variables I can see between the cooler and humidor are:

Humidor is packed full, and cooler is aprox 2/3 full

Cooler is filled with boxed cigars, humidor has loose sticks only

Humidifier located on bottom of cooler, multiple locations in humidor

Cooler is better isulated against temperature shifts

Cooler sits on floor, humidor sits approx 4 feet higher

Both live in the basement, just a few feet from each other

Cooler is airlight, humidor breathes

Cooler is much larger than humidor



I have salt tested the hygrometers and they have not shifted. I regularly switch them between the cooler and humidor and always get the same readings in each location.


So far, it would appear that the $1 of Kosher salt is outperforming $40 of beads. Also, the Kosher salt holds a LOT more water and lasts much longer between recharges. Of course, the airtight cooler may have an effect.



Next step is to replace the beads in my humidor with Kosher salt and see what happens. I will give another update when I have something to report.