Do beads go bad ?

[piperman]

I have some Heartfield beads that I have been using for over three years, my question is do they lose to effectiveness? But maybe its my environment the Humidity in my house is at best is 30%, average outside is 8%. Maybe I need more beads, I have a plastic container 3x5 with about a 1/4 inch layer of beads for a humi that is maybe 200 ct. Maybe I'm out of luck.

[Darrell]

As long as you care for them properly, then they should last forever.

[Hermit]

No.

[Shervin]

Originally Posted by Hermit

No.

now...when you say no....

[rcsst12]

Beads will not go bad as long as you use distilled water to re-hydrate them...

[Cigary]

They should tell you on the site you visit about the beads. Use distilled water and you should be good.

[PartagasIV]

Mine acquired a yellowish color and cedarish smell over a long period of time, but from what I have read that is just due to the beads absorbing oils given off by the cigars/boxes--no loss in performance.

[The Mum]

Care for them & they will last.

[IHT]

if they get in with the wrong crowd, they could need re-hab... set boundries and stick to 'em. your beads will grow to be responsible adult beads.

and what everyone else said.

[rcsst12]

Originally Posted by IHT

if they get in with the wrong crowd, they could need re-hab... set boundries and stick to 'em. your beads will grow to be responsible adult beads.

and what everyone else said.

...

[BigCat]

I've noticed that some of mine get a black crud on them after about a year which I assume is mold. I can usually pick the affected beads out and the others keep on kicking. As far as your situation, I would bet dollars to donuts that it is your environment. It will put a lot of stress on the humidor to maintain 65% when the outside environment is 8%. I think when it is that dry, it could actually cause the wood on your humidor to shrink, which would mess with the seal. I imagine it will expand again when it gets more humid in the area. As far as a solution for this time of year, you may want to consider supplementing the beads with humi pillows/boveda packs/humi care gel for a few months.

[madurolover]

When the humidity drops here(which isn't often), I will just put a shotglass of DW in the humi alongside the beads.

[DPD6030]

Not to be a thread hi-jacker but a lot of my beads cracked and split in half when hydrating them with D/W. Anyone else have this problem? Does it effect the qualities of absorbtion and humidity? It leaves a nice "powder" and small particles of beads all over the place.


As far as the OP I don't think they are less effective. That is according to Dave at Heartfelt they will last a lifetime if cared for properly.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Not to be a thread hi-jacker but a lot of my beads cracked and split in half when hydrating them with D/W. Anyone else have this problem? Does it effect the qualities of absorbtion and humidity? It leaves a nice "powder" and small particles of beads all over the place.


As far as the OP I don't think they are less effective. That is according to Dave at Heartfelt they will last a lifetime if cared for properly.

They will still work just fine.

[tackleberi]

Spoke with Heartfelt on Friday regarding a humidor set-up question, and they confirmed that as long as you recharge with distilled water, they beads should give/take humidity forever, cracked or not.

He did advise against "dipping" the beads in DW to charge however, preferring a gentler approach to introducing the DW such as a spray bottle (for the tubes) or setting the bead container in a shallow dish of DW and allowing them to gently "wick up" the DW. He definitely counseled against adding DW by dipping the tube in water, even though this sort of container seems to invite this manner of charging.