Humidity Beads and Old Cigar Tubes

[YYCgar]

Hi Guys,

I'm waiting for my beads from Heartfelt to arrive and when I was looking through the "Take a pic of your Humi(s) thread" I noticed what looked like a tube with holes punched in it. Here's the post by Shaggy.

I'm only guessing but I suspect there are beads in there. It looks cooler than just a dish or nylon bag so that's why I started this thread. Am I correct in guessing there are beads in there and do others do the same thing?

I spent about 30 minutes drilling out the tube from this dog rocket as I'm thinking about using old tubes in this fashion for my little humidor. Am I wasting my time? Will it be completely ineffective?

I'd appreciate your more experienced input.

Thanks!

[YYCgar]

Whoops, I forgot to attach the pic of the tube I drilled out.

[icehog3]

Should work just fine.

[Twill413]

Dude! Those Beetles were on steroids!

O wait, for a bead tube...yea I am with DB, it will work just fine.

[yayson]

I have several floating around just like it, work great

[YYCgar]

Cool, thanks guys. Guess I'll start drilling out a couple more.

I have drilled a few tubos in my time also. However, i now just order my beads already in the plastic ones that Viper offers. Much neater, much less time in the workshop, and I don't have to worry about metal shards on the tubos (I am great at snagging my fingers on anything sharp - call it a talent!)

A little more expensive, but heck, I figure I'm worth every penny I spend

I have used panty hose in my cooler before, but also found that Viper has nylon bags for really cheap, with draw-strings, no less!

One problem I had with the tubos I drilled was that they seemed to create more bead breakage and dust than the Heartfelt plastic tubes. I don't know why that was??!!?? I still have a couple drilled tubos with beads in a smaller humi. Too much trouble drilling all those little holes to just throw away!!

BTW, it looks like you probably used a smaller drill bit than I used. Did you drill all the way thru, or just in one side at a time?

I drilled the first one all the way through. Ended up with mucho burrs on the exit side Then had to go back and grind them off. Lesson learned the hard way!

I used unpainted tubos for mine, but like the looks of the colored one you used much better.

[YYCgar]

SvilleKid, I drilled one side at a time and thus all the burrs are on the inside of the tube. I can stick my pinky finger in there and spin the tube around without breaking my skin but I don't know how fragile the beads are. Since you mentioned bead breakage and dust I'm leaning towards using the bags, nylons, a dish, or just replacing the foam in my humidifier with the beads. I might try and find something to shove into the tube to file down the burrs but if there isn't something handy laying around I won't bother. Thanks for the feedback.

[shaggy]

i actually 'punched' the holes in my tubes with a nail. the aluminum is quite thin and worked great. i get a bit of dust but not enough to worry about. i only use those in my small hummis (20-30 count).

for the larger hummis i went to the dollar store and got little tuperware containers, maybe 2 inches cubed. i drilled these out with prolly 100 holes on all sides but the bottom. they hold way more beads and are easy to recharge and see when they need it.

if u want some pics i could click a couple off and post them up

[wharfrathoss]

i used to use old tubos, then switched to travel toothbrush containers-no burrs & easier to see-both work equally well though

[YYCgar]

So now I'm flip flopping back and forth on the issue like a politician! I think I'll just try all of the options. How's that for a solution? In my current 20 count I'll put the tube I already drilled. In the 20 count that's on oder with 10 cigar sampler I'll replace the foam in the humidifier with beads. In my coolerdor I'll spread the beads out using nylons, little tupperware dishes, and a travel toothbrush tube! Now I just have to wait for everything to arrive in the mail.

[banu]

Originally Posted by YYCgar

Whoops, I forgot to attach the pic of the tube I drilled out.

Gosh, how long did that take you? I'm impressed.

[tedrodgerscpa]

knee high stockings (panty hose) work great. I put the beads in them, tie them off, trim away any extra hose, and I'm off to the races.

The nice thing about the hose? virtually no bead dust, easy to spray with distilled water, and you can get a box of 10 pair for like $4 (maybe more, maybe less... they're not on my regular shopping list)

but, as everyone else has said before, tubes will work fine.

[YYCgar]

Originally Posted by banu

Gosh, how long did that take you? I'm impressed.

About 30 minutes with a cordless drill. I did it in the kitchen on top of a cutting board and paper towel to catch the shavings.

[pistolero]

I just cut a bunch of little slits in a tube with a pocket knife, < 2 minutes, not pretty but works fine.