Heartfelt beads or cat litter beads?

[chippewastud79]

I won't use kitty litter to do something it wasn't intended to do. For my cigars and my money I am going to invest in something that is created to regulate humidity, not soak up cat pee. $30 is a 5 pack of cigars to keep your humidor in perfect conditions non-stop.

I am not sure where the whole kitty litter theory came from, but I had never even heard of anyone attempting to use them as frequently as the newer members have praised their effectiveness because there was a product specifically created to accomplish the thing that people attempt to use kitty litter for. You will be hard pressed to find people with as immaculate of collections as some of the (current/former) members who would never keep kitty litter to protect their thousand(s) dollar investment. Multiple members with far more knowledge than I will tell you nothing can beat beads, but sadly they have moved on to different places. Its amazing how a board can change in such a short period of time where people would now be suggesting kitty litter instead of a near-flawless product from a well respected vendor.

[slyder]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

I won't use kitty litter to do something it wasn't intended to do. For my cigars and my money I am going to invest in something that is created to regulate humidity, not soak up cat pee. $30 is a 5 pack of cigars to keep your humidor in perfect conditions non-stop.

I am not sure where the whole kitty litter theory came from, but I had never even heard of anyone attempting to use them as frequently as the newer members have praised their effectiveness because there was a product specifically created to accomplish the thing that people attempt to use kitty litter for. You will be hard pressed to find people with as immaculate of collections as some of the (current/former) members who would never keep kitty litter to protect their thousand(s) dollar investment. Multiple members with far more knowledge than I will tell you nothing can beat beads, but sadly they have moved on to different places. Its amazing how a board can change in such a short period of time where people would now be suggesting kitty litter instead of a near-flawless product from a well respected vendor.

Well said. Im done reading and have made up my mind finally. Im dumping my Le Veil and switching all 3 humi's to Heartfelt beads. 1 pound is enough to do my 100, 300 and my 48 quart coolerdor.....ill probably have enough to do a second 48 quart if I lose the 100 counter. I was just at another site reading posts on beads and somebody there was saying you should keep cubans at 65% and all others at 70%. WTF? Do people really believe the smoke that flies outta there chew hole?

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by slyder

I was just at another site reading posts on beads and somebody there was saying you should keep cubans at 65% and all others at 70%. WTF? Do people really believe the smoke that flies outta there chew hole?

Personally I keep my entire humidor around 62-65% and dry box my cubans a little more before I actually smoke them. As far as people saying what things should be stored at, it comes down to personal preference.

[Jonesee]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

I won't use kitty litter to do something it wasn't intended to do. For my cigars and my money I am going to invest in something that is created to regulate humidity, not soak up cat pee. $30 is a 5 pack of cigars to keep your humidor in perfect conditions non-stop.

I am not sure where the whole kitty litter theory came from, but I had never even heard of anyone attempting to use them as frequently as the newer members have praised their effectiveness because there was a product specifically created to accomplish the thing that people attempt to use kitty litter for. You will be hard pressed to find people with as immaculate of collections as some of the (current/former) members who would never keep kitty litter to protect their thousand(s) dollar investment. Multiple members with far more knowledge than I will tell you nothing can beat beads, but sadly they have moved on to different places. Its amazing how a board can change in such a short period of time where people would now be suggesting kitty litter instead of a near-flawless product from a well respected vendor.

Hmmm. newer member... Not by my calendar.. Check me though I am getting older.

And, as for using something for which it is not intended, maybe you are to young to remember, but old guys like us remember when asparin was for headaches, now our Drs. tell us to take one a day to hold off heart attack and stroke. Rogaine was developed for treating high blood pressure, yet some of us older men with lengthening forheads learned it grows hair...
Vitamin E and Viagra, and post it notes I'll let you research it...

As for cigar collections, there are defintely gentlemen in here with larger, more impressive and more expensive. No doubt about that. My totally uneducated guess is I am blessed enough to hang with the upper 10%. The top 1-2% of collectors in here I just dream about.

What I don't understand is why this has gone to a personal level over the product? I was serious when I said previously, I get a concern everytime this topic has come up. I watch it closely. Yet, never has anyone had an issue. I have used them 3 years, actually getting closer to 4 now. I am comfortable with them so far but I am willing to listen and learn every day. if anything ever happens with them I am uncomfortable with I will be on here telling everyone. After advocating their use I would loudly and clearly denounce them if I needed to.

The world is full of value based decisions and choices. This is a minor one, all things considered.

[bobarian]

In high humidity areas Kitty litter may indeed work for some. However, I have not read a single comment showing how KL releases humidity? Plain silica gel is a simple desiccant and will not release or regulate your rh. Heartfelt beads are silica that has been conditioned to regulate at a particular rh. Shilala's beads are clay beads that have also been conditioned to a set point. The reason why most of us use Heartfelt beads is that they have YEARS of testing behind them. In a variety of climates and situations they have always proven effective. Shilala's HCM beads actually will react faster to swings in rh as they are much smaller and have a huge amount of surface area to react to changes in rh. Heartfelt beads are meant as a long term solution, it may take them up to a month to bring down rh from mid 70's to 65%. The reason this is good is that cigars do not react well to dramatic changes in rh. Given the investment that I have in my cigars I am not willing to take chances.
If you want to experiment try super absorbant polymers, floral beads or whatever you please. But my cigars deserve the best HEARTFELT!

[Jonesee]

LOL, I hate this topic. Someone slap me the next time I reach for the keyboard when this is brought up again....

[OracleSmoke]

Originally Posted by slyder

and now the 5 posts saying how it wont work!!

heh! Never saw that smiley.... good one!

[slyder]

has it been 5 posts already? We can stop talkin about it already. Im just gonna buy heartfelts and be done with it. Better safe than sorry.

[nativetexan_1]

Here! Here!

[cf2112]

Guys this has been beat to death. Those who wont use vs those that do.

I've used KL for years with excellent results and for removing humidity (a major problem here in the spring/summer months) KL is 10x more effective. To my knowledge nobody has ever had KL fail, 100% silica KL works great. I will not add water from now until next winter in my coolers but will add KL to reduce humidity to my desired level, again this has woked for years. I have 1000's of cigars stored this way and to me the are perfect.

Use what you like and feel comfortable using. I do.

[Kenny Powers]

Originally Posted by cf2112

Guys this has been beat to death. Those who wont use vs those that do.

I've used KL for years with excellent results and for removing humidity (a major problem here in the spring/summer months) KL is 10x more effective. To my knowledge nobody has ever had KL fail, 100% silica KL works great. I will not add water from now until next winter in my coolers but will add KL to reduce humidity to my desired level, again this has woked for years. I have 1000's of cigars stored this way and to me the are perfect.

Use what you like and feel comfortable using. I do.

What brand Kitty Litter do you use?

[Cigary]

Kitty litter beads,,,,sorry, just the sound of it leaves me speechless,,,,even if it works. Sort of like leeches,,I know they have a purpose but let someone else get sucked on by these things.

[MrMusicMan1]

I guess I've been living under a rock, I've never heard of this before. What an interesting idea. However, I agree with Cigary the sound of it kind of freaks me out. If I get another humidor in the near future I'll give it a try.

[JAK3]

I'm going to start collecting the silica beads from shoe boxes and beef jerky. I bet if I let them air out until the odors dissipated I'd be golden. Please advise...

[Strick]

HAHa  I'm still looking for Mr. Bigbucks to do a non biased lab test and post the difference between silica beads and silica beads...