Thanks guys....love the asylum
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Thanks for the advise!
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Hcm beads on sale this month too!

http://www.shilalasbeads.com/

Michael's a stand up guy!
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Mark, thanks for all the great info:-)

The humidity inside of my house is somewhere between 70 to 75 percent. Do your beads absorb moisture at the same rate that they release? I am asking because I have three pounds in a 3 cu ft cabinet, and it sometimes struggles to reduce the humidity.

Thanks
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I agree, 3 pounds of beads in a 3cu humidor is overkill by 4-5x the recommended amount and if they are still struggling, sounds like you should have instead invested in either a new humidor or some silicone and weatherstripping.
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I agree that it sounds like a seal issue, the humidor is from daniel marshal, and has a good (but not perfect) seal. I also have a 102 quart cooler with weatherstriping and a latch that takes days to recover with two pounds of beads in it.

Dont get me wrong, the beads are the best product I have tried, but I am just wondering if they absorb water a little slower than they release.
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Just think about when you have to hydrate your beads, you spray water directly onto them. They absorb it very quickly if not instantly, they certainly absorb way faster than they release. I would think the problem with your cooler is probably that there is no airflow inside, it's hard for the beads to remove humidity from the air if the air surrounding it is not moving. I am by no means and expert and do not even own any beads. Try putting a fan inside the cooler.
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Not a bad idea, I rigged one up earlier today from a old computer fan and broken router cord. Should be interesting, I will put it in this weekend and see what happens.
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I ordered a heartfelt beads 65% tube, put distilled water in it but didn't overly saturate it. It's been sitting for about 3 days and I noticed that some bead or gel particles are coming out of it beneath it.

Is this common after the first time you saturate it?

I saturated it on friday, added some cigars that had sat in a walk in humidor and now it seems the beads are dried out?

When I tip it from end to end, you can hear them moving around but when i put a light up to ut, they look clear. Could they be dry already?

Im not impressed with this hertfelt beads tube. Harder than hell to tell if they are saturated.
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Clear means they are saturated. Opaque means they're dry.
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but they should not sound hard when they are saturated.........they turn into gel dont they?

I called the company on friday with questions. Never got a call back. I think I might stick with xikar tubes........
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No, they don't.
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good to know, thanks!
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I've noticed that there was some dust in the bag when I got my beads. My guess would be that the gel you found is from dust.
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I just got my Heartfelt beads the other day, and I feel like I sprayed to much DW on a the 2lbs. (separated in x2 1lbs. pantyhose) What is the safest way to dry a pound out and start over?
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If you have a hair dryer, that is the quickest method....just make sure the beads are in a bag so they don't blow all over the place. Short of that, leave them out of the humidor in a place of low humidity.
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It is common for the beads to fracture (and create dust) if when water is added quickly but it does not affect their performance.

Adding cigars can change your RH level dramatically. Adding dry cigars can quickly deplete any moisture in beads and adding wet cigars can spike the RH.

You may find that a change in season or adding and removing cigars can create small changes in RH levels that would need to be corrected by adding water to the beads or drying them out.

Not that it applies to your situation but having a rise in RH could create enough moisture inside the humidor that the beads would reach their capacity to absorb any more excess RH (RH above the set point of the beads - 60%, 65%, 70%, etc...).

To remedy this (as mentioned) simply use a hair dryer set on low to dry them out.

Also, opening and closing they humidor frequently can introduce drier (or more humid ambient RH) which would affect the RH level.

I would also recommend changing the batteries in your digital hygrometer(s) once a year and calibrating twice a year. Weak batteries can/do give false readings and they can "drift" throughout the year, meaning that the reading can be off.

Also, being a silica based bead and not a gel, they don't expand.

I hope this helps.

~Mark
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I just got my winador up and running. I stepped up from a 100 count desk top humi using bovada packs the puck and humi pillows shipped with the cigar orders. Now with that said RH had been an up hill battle all the time. After joining CA and reading threads like this I bought beads and other then T* in the wine cooler causing the RH to wonder off mainly low. (I unplugged the unit) T* and RH have been steady as a rock I wished I would have known of beads sooner. But I am now a beleiver and very greatful.
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Just purchased a half pound from heartfelt gonna put them in my new coolidor.
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