beads drying out to fast...

[Baginoman]

Well i think i figuured out y my Humid % is always lowering....my beads dry out to quickly! duh lol

But in all seriousness they r becoming white within a week of charging them. Any ideas of how i can keep them charged longer?

[MikeyC]

I'm a bit of a newb around here, but did you check your humi for air leaks? If it has a good seal then it should keep the moisture in and so the beads won't need to discharge moisture as quickly.

[JPH]

soak em'

[Nabinger16]

If you have to recharge your beads that often I would guess you have an issue with the seal on your humidor.

[SteveDMatt]

Originally Posted by Nabinger16

If you have to recharge your beads that often I would guess you have an issue with the seal on your humidor.

Or your wood isn't cured yet. Maybe a damn cloth with some distilled water on the cedar will help a little.

The heat running this time of year makes things dry out quicker, but in SoCo, you're probably not running any heat.

[Simplified]

It also could be the change of seasons I know my office and home humidors get crazy this time of year. The dry air heat causes the humidity to drop quickly and the need for water in my active systems is increased.

[Baginoman]

if it is a seal problem how would i go about and fix this?

[DennisP]

I'm having the opposite problem, after staying dead on all summer my rh is creeping above 65%. There are some white beads, but not absorbing it yet.

Really not a big deal, I'm just anal at looking all the time.

[bobarian]

This may have as much to do with the change in seasons as anything else. The humidity in you house is very different that it was just 3 months ago. As long as you have no leaks and your hygrometer is accurate then just keep loading up the beads. Instead fo 50/50 wet 80/20 or more. I currently am running most of my beads wet to compensate for the dry air. In my desktop it may be close to 90% but not dripping wet. Each time you open your humi it is dropping to probably 40% that takes up a lot of water to stabilize it back up to 65

[icehog3]

Didn't realize you were in SoCal, so my advice was probably way off base.

[Snakeyes]

Well, I don't know what it's like in So Cal right now but up here in northern Alberta the air is as dry as can be. I'm spraying my beads weekly just to keep the humidity up. Check what the outside humidity is, if it's substantially lower than normal, that could be your issue. You might also have a leak but I'd check your local weather first.

[yazzie]

Originally Posted by Baginoman

if it is a seal problem how would i go about and fix this?

Turn on a small flashlight, put it in your Humi and shut off the lights. If you see light coming out, you probably have a seal issue. One way you may be able to fix this is to wipe down the area of the humi where it seals with distilled water - This should give you a better seal (although it may only be temporary). I know some BOTL's have fixed their seal issues with some type of compound although I'm not sure what it is or how it works.

Another option is to get a cooler and you shouldn't have any RH% issues with swings in the heat or humidity in your house.

[Ashcan Bill]

A couple of thoughts.

First, the ambient RH in So. Cal. right now is very low, so it's not at all unusual to be recharging them at least weekly. I'm showing a variance of 35 right now between the ambient RH and my humidors RH, and it's been that way for weeks. That's a lot for beads to make up.

Second, are you sure you have enough beads?

[The Postman]

I was listening to a podcast a while ago, and he suggested reconditioning your humidor at the beginning of winter. With the changing temperatures inside and out, it strikes me that in dryer climates this would probably be a pretty good idea.

Just my worth, good luck with your humidor brother.

[Baginoman]

Ok thanx everyone, ima go do that light in the humi test, and yes im pretty sure i have enough beads. I mean it covers a good amount of the humidifierso