Homemade PG Solution

[MizterSinizter]

I'm new here, so I apologize if this has already been covered in another post. I did a search and did not find the results I was looking for.

Now for my question:

My dad is old-school and prefers to use a 50/50 blend of distilled water and PG rather than the beads that everyone is switching to now. The thing is, he's on a fixed income, so he cuts a lot of corners. One of the things he does to help his cigar budget is making his own humidification solution. About 5 years ago, I found him a 1 gallon bottle of pure propylene glycol somewhere online. Well, he just ran out. Now, I can find plenty of PG out there, but there are so many different brands. Does anyone know if there's any real difference between industrial grade PG and agricultural grade PG? The ag grade is considerably less expensive, but I don't want to get him something that will damage his cigars. Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance.

[NCRadioMan]

You don't need PG at all. Dist. water is fine. He justs wastes money by buying pg, imo.

[Scimmia]

The different grade are going to be different levels of purity. I think people usually suggest food grade PG, but I don't have any info on why.

Even in 5 years, a gallon of PG seems like a lot. The PG doesn't evaporate, so you don't need to be adding it every time.

[MizterSinizter]

Well, he shares his home brewed solution with friends from time to time, so I think that may have something to do with him running out. But, I also believe that he always uses the 50/50 blend rather than only when it is needed to maintain RH. I'll have to talk to him about that.

[Vorb]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

You don't need PG at all. Dist. water is fine. He justs wastes money by buying pg, imo.

I concur - PG isn't necessary. He could save even more by eliminating
it altogether (but if he's always done it that way, maybe he wants to keep doing it that way).

[Scimmia]

That depends on your system. Running just water doesn't give you much of a buffer without some kind of regulation.

[SilverFox]

I disagree with the thought that PG is not necessary I think it is dependent on the fluctuations in the RH in your house. Mine is up and down from from 30% to 65% so the PG is necessary to regulate my humi. As for grades just ask your local pharmacist for a bottle of the stuff he uses. Good pharmaceutical grade PG is what I use, I think it was $5 for a 16 oz bottle.

I do agree that 5 gallons is a ton to go through though

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

You don't need PG at all. Dist. water is fine. He justs wastes money by buying pg, imo.

Never used it. Never needed it.

If you are wasting money on PG just save a few weeks and buy some rHbeads instead.

[casadooley]

Propylene glycol, or PG, is used not only to regulate humidity in our humidors, but to also inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria.
I use a combination of active (oasis type) humidity control along with beads and gel tubes filled with 50/50 pg solution in my cabinet, coolers and desk top humidors and have never had a mold problem ( all my Anejos still have the cedar on them! ) so I believe that Pg can and does help your cigars in that respect. Also remember to use food grade PG if you make your own PG solution.
Just my but I hope it helps.