Puff Cigar Discussion Forums

jamz · 05-07-2008, 11:36 AM

so if you apply water directly to Shilala beads, they produce a lot of heat but do not degrade at all?

shilala · 05-07-2008, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamz

so if you apply water directly to Shilala beads, they produce a lot of heat but do not degrade at all?

Yes, exactly.
But you run the risk of melting whatever they are in and hurting yourself.
Therefore we NEVER pour water directly on any beads ever.
The sponge trick is the rule for maintaining any bead product, and will extend the life of any bead type by a huge margin.

fizguy · 05-07-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilala

The only problem is that there are no numbers on "the expected temperature based on the mechanism involved".
That data doesn't exist because no one needs it for any application that I'm aware of.
What I can tell you is that the last batch I made up, I preconditioned in a great big stainless steel pot.
I weighed the bead volume, calculated the amount of water that I guessed would bring me to 65%, and made an incredible amount of steam and heat.
It was 40 degrees out and I was afraid the pan was going to burn the picnic table, but it didn't.
In the end, the beads ended up at 85%, so my calculations worked pretty good. Far better than I had expected.
I pulled those calculations out of my ass based on the values I got from tests, and felt that I may be a little bit high on water weight. I thought I should adjust downwards a bit, but didn't because I was tired with the numbers and just wanted to get on with it.
When I recalculated, I found that I was off by 2%, and that can easily be accounted for by all the steam I lost.
So I was pretty stoked about the results.
Showed me my numbers weren't all for naught.

So the answer to "how much heat?" is "A LOT".

I can accept that.
Or I could build a dessicator box, pump the beads down to 30"hg, purge with nitrogen and repeat 10 times, to get them to 0%RH in order to come up with a btu/lb value that's of no use to me.
I'm just not willing to do the legwork.

Last thing...
You wouldn't be sacrificing any beads. HCM beads laugh at water.
It's HCS beads that explode in water, much the same as the "set and forget" beads.

If you ever do that again I would love to see a video! Well, maybe love would be a strong word, but it would be cool to see one.

shilala · 05-07-2008, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fizguy

If you ever do that again I would love to see a video! Well, maybe love would be a strong word, but it would be cool to see one.

The only thing I could shoot the video with is my phone, and I'm guessing that wouldn't be much good.
I'd like to dump water on the beads and fry an egg in a pan. That'd be awesome.

rack04 · 05-07-2008, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilala

The only thing I could shoot the video with is my phone, and I'm guessing that wouldn't be much good.
I'd like to dump water on the beads and fry an egg in a pan. That'd be awesome.

Send me the beads and I'll video it. Well maybe not. I'd probably keep them.

shilala · 05-07-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamz

so if you apply water directly to Shilala beads, they produce a lot of heat but do not degrade at all?

I should add to that answer.
The beads never degrade.
They are far less likely to capture things that are in the air because all the pores are a perfect 4 angstroms wide. Add to that, there's no greasy chemicals that will help dust and airborne particles to stick.
If for some reason they get dirty or otherwise compromised, they can be steam cleaned into like new condition.
HCM beads are a lifetime investment. Period.
Add to that the fact that they work more than twice as good as any other product out there, and they're some badass beads.

The only negative I can see so far as HCM beads are concerned is that they require that a guy learn a maintenance process to keep them perfect, and you can't just squirt water on them.
They also require that a guy has a good calibratable hygrometer and is willing to salt test on a reasonably regular basis.

shilala · 05-07-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rack04

Send me the beads and I'll video it. Well maybe not. I'd probably keep them.

You'll hurt yourself!!!

rack04 · 05-07-2008, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilala

I should add to that answer.
The beads never degrade.
They are far less likely to capture things that are in the air because all the pores are a perfect 4 angstroms wide. Add to that, there's no greasy chemicals that will help dust and airborne particles to stick.
If for some reason they get dirty or otherwise compromised, they can be steam cleaned into like new condition.
HCM beads are a lifetime investment. Period.
Add to that the fact that they work more than twice as good as any other product out there, and they're some badass beads.

The only negative I can see so far as HCM beads are concerned is that they require that a guy learn a maintenance process to keep them perfect, and you can't just squirt water on them.
They also require that a guy has a good calibratable hygrometer and is willing to salt test on a reasonably regular basis.

Is the maintenance different from the HCS beads?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilala

You'll hurt yourself!!!

I rack04 release any and all liability to shilala. Signed rack04.