ExquisiCat Crystals Cat Litter. MUST READ!!!

[McVegas]

Originally Posted by slyder

maybe somebody can explain this to me....It says the blue kind is designed to release moisture only? Why in the kitty litter world would you want something to release moisture? Isnt the whole idea to soak up the pee? Im not knockin all you kitty litter advocates out there....Im just curious why they want that beads to release urine that was just soaked up.

Odor control. The OP said that the factory rep stated this:

after extensive research and development the scientist who developed their kitty litter found that the odor control mechanism worked best if the crystals constantly tried stabilizing themselves at 68%RH. He said, in a open environment the RH would most likely not be 68% and it's not the humid environment that controls the odor but instead it is the crystals working on releasing and absorbing to try and maintain 68% RH and in an enclosed environment they will stabilize and maintain a humidity level of 68% -1/+1%. N

In an open environment (litterbox for example) the beads are not able to stabilize at 68% and are always trying to achieve it, which is apparently the sweet spot for odor control with their product.

[slyder]

So as long as your house is above 68% it will absorb the urine smell....if it falls below 68% it will release it? see where im goin with this? Wouldnt a product for odor controll be better if it just absorbed? I mean im no kitty litter scientist, i went to college to work on refrigeration equipment but somethin here just dont sit right with the whole concept.

NEVERMIND!! it just clicked! Sorry ...dont pay any attention to me. I rode the shortbus most of my life. I see now...it absorbs til it stabilizes at 68%...gotya ...im done

[Kenny Powers]

The crystals have been in the humidor for 2 weeks now and their still holding strong at 68%.

[OracleSmoke]

Originally Posted by Kenny Powers

Sorry, I really wasn't trying to be rude but after re-reading my post it looked ignorant. My bad. The ones I have and the only ones I have ever seen are the crystals. I have never seen the beads.

NP. I've been using the clear bead exquisicat for a while now with no probs. Some friends were thinking of going this route but it's tough to find just the clear bead version anymore, so thanks much for the info. I think they're going out to Petsmart later today and get a jug.

[Jonesee]

Everyone that has used the beads have reported great results.

We have yet to see a poster that has actually used the beads come on here and say they don't work.

The only people that say they won't work, haven't used them.

[sboyajian]

Just a couple questions.. I don't disbelieve your experiences with the beads and the kitty litter, just wanted to clarify a few things.

You mentioned leaving the beads in their for a bit because you wanted to give it time to stabalize. Does this mean it was a brand new humidor? A new humidifcation device should require no additional time to stabalize in a already seasoned box, than the original device.

If it was in fact new, I would fully expect 70% beads would not quite reach 70% right away.. and they could take 1 or 2 weeks to fully season the box (and likely need to be resprayed many times as the wood absorbs the moisture leaving nothing left for the beads to re-absorb.

If this was a new box and that is how it happened, it's possible the Kitty Litter was put in at the right time as the box was now seasoned.. the work was done.

Also, did you use the same amount of litter as beads (ie: if you had 6oz of beads, did you use 6 oz of litter?)

Just curious.. I have 65% beads in 2 of my 3 small humidors and a lb of them in my wineador.. I could set my hygrometers to them.. they maintain 65% at all times and get back up to that after opening within minutes.

[pmp]

I find this thread pretty funny. Beads are used in museums to regulate the humidity around priceless artifacts. Kitty litter is what cats pee on. The ONLY reason that kitty litter works is because it approximates the same function as the beads albeing less efficiently.

You can say that kitty litter is better but I assure you that it isn't. I can't explain why it worked better in your application but I can assure you this in no way means that its the superior humidification media. I would call it a fluke.

[OracleSmoke]

Bead threads always make for interesting times when they come around...

I don't think I've noticed anyone strongly discouraging the use of commercial products sold for this purpose... I think it's more along the lines of if they feel they've found something that does the job for them for less cost they wanna share it.

I find it interesting every time someone finds a different product that performs the function to their satisfaction. I recall a while ago when only litter pearls where the accepted alternative.... now the crystal product is being tested positively as well.

As long as every time you look in the humidor the RH is where you want it, you win!

[Jonesee]

Originally Posted by pmp

I find this thread pretty funny. Beads are used in museums to regulate the humidity around priceless artifacts. Kitty litter is what cats pee on. The ONLY reason that kitty litter works is because it approximates the same function as the beads albeing less efficiently.

You can say that kitty litter is better but I assure you that it isn't. I can't explain why it worked better in your application but I can assure you this in no way means that its the superior humidification media. I would call it a fluke.

A "fluke" would indicate an anomaly. A deviation or departure from the normal or common order. Yet there have been no reports of a failure of the KL products. The data would indicate that a failure would be the fluke, the anomaly. Actually exactly contrary to your statement. A failure in context of reports so far would be a statistical outlier, an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data.

In spite of the perception: Ewww it's kitty litter... The data from reports in this forum indicate it is effective as a humidifying product.

Just an observation. Some of us are pretty data driven...

[OracleSmoke]

Jonesee: Just an observation. Some of us are pretty data driven...


my life as it exists for 8 hours a day!

[Andy]

thanks for the Info never thought of that

[cf2112]

Originally Posted by pmp

I find this thread pretty funny. Beads are used in museums to regulate the humidity around priceless artifacts. Kitty litter is what cats pee on. The ONLY reason that kitty litter works is because it approximates the same function as the beads albeing less efficiently.

You can say that kitty litter is better but I assure you that it isn't. I can't explain why it worked better in your application but I can assure you this in no way means that its the superior humidification media. I would call it a fluke.

I have used beads and KL for years and they both work the same in my coolers. In the Spring/Summer months I use KL to remove humidity and trust me it is way more efficient in removing humidity than beads.

Have you even tried KL or are you just afraid your cat might pee in your humidor I don't have any cats (with 3 girls I'm sure it's just a matter of time) so I've not had this problem.

As always use what works for you and you feel comfortable with, I do so should you.

[Kenny Powers]

Originally Posted by sboyajian

Just a couple questions.. I don't disbelieve your experiences with the beads and the kitty litter, just wanted to clarify a few things.

You mentioned leaving the beads in their for a bit because you wanted to give it time to stabalize. Does this mean it was a brand new humidor? A new humidifcation device should require no additional time to stabalize in a already seasoned box, than the original device.

If it was in fact new, I would fully expect 70% beads would not quite reach 70% right away.. and they could take 1 or 2 weeks to fully season the box (and likely need to be resprayed many times as the wood absorbs the moisture leaving nothing left for the beads to re-absorb.

If this was a new box and that is how it happened, it's possible the Kitty Litter was put in at the right time as the box was now seasoned.. the work was done.

Also, did you use the same amount of litter as beads (ie: if you had 6oz of beads, did you use 6 oz of litter?)

Just curious.. I have 65% beads in 2 of my 3 small humidors and a lb of them in my wineador.. I could set my hygrometers to them.. they maintain 65% at all times and get back up to that after opening within minutes.

No, my humidor was not new. It was months old and already seasoned. I just wanted to give the beads time to do their thing and they never did. That's when I tried the kitty litter which ended up working.

In my original post I said... "I removed the beads from the container they came in and put the kitty litter in the same container." There for the same amount of kitty litter was used and if their is any difference it is less kitty litter

[Jonesee]

Originally Posted by OracleSmoke

Jonesee: Just an observation. Some of us are pretty data driven...


my life as it exists for 8 hours a day!

LOL. Mine used to be. I still default to being data driven in my desisions.

[sboyajian]

Originally Posted by Kenny Powers

No, my humidor was not new. It was months old and already seasoned. I just wanted to give the beads time to do their thing and they never did. That's when I tried the kitty litter which ended up working.

In my original post I said... "I removed the beads from the container they came in and put the kitty litter in the same container." There for the same amount of kitty litter was used and if their is any difference it is less kitty litter

Again.. never used Litter, so I won't discourage you from doing so.. just trying to determine what could have been the problem with the beads?

Was the proper amount of water added to them? If they are over saturated, they will not work properly and often a lower rH is given than should be.

I suppose it's also possible while you ordered 70%, and it said 70%, you may have received 65%.

That being said, if you don't want em and still have em, lemme know.. I have a 3rd box that could really use em.. haha