I'm having an odd storage problem that all started with a dead battery in my hygro. The digital hygro was reading a steady humidity but I had several wrappers start to unravel on lighting. One day I picked the hygro up and the humidity reading dropped 15 points and then it powered off.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and a new battery and it seems like my beads just aren't doing what they used to. They are probably 18 months old and starting to turn yellow when dry rather than white. I don't want to name names as I think this is purely my fault - but they came from a pretty popular retailer.

Thanks,
Rob
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Get Some Of Scott's Beads! Had Them For Over 1 Yr with no problems. Send Scott (Shilala) A PM And He'll be glad To Help You Out!:-)
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Sometimes the beads discolor to yellow, but I have never had it affect their performance.

Are you sure the seal on your humidor is good?
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It could be the seal I suppose. The humidity is really low around here this time of year and it seems like I'm constantly adding water.

I'm working on getting getting some new beads. While I'm add it I'm going to quadruple the quantity. I was just wondering if they had an expected life span.

Thanks,
Rob
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They should be good indefinitely, Rob, but new beads will give you some peace of mind anyway.

One way to test the seal on thr humi is the flashlight test. Put a flashlight in the humi in a darkened room. If any light escapes from the seal area, you may have a problem.
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If you have really low outside Rh, then increase the amount of wet beads. Just leave 10-15% white.
I no longer wet down my beads in my Vinotemps. I just spray down the glass door a couple times a month and let the moisture absorb evenly throughout the Vino. :-)
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I never thought of doing it that way but thats a good idea
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anyone have their beads turn brown or black? i have some in a desktop in a mesh bag (i believe heartfelt or similar) that are mostly black, still keep humidity well but look disgusting. im sure nothing is wrong, but i figured i'd piggy back on the topic

stearns
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Interesting concept, what % beads and lbs do you use?
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Uh....I dunno about black....

As for brown, good grief, all the beads I have are in stages of yellow to dark brown....and the humidity is still dead solid.
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some of these are black, only used distilled water (well its in the humi i gave my father, but he follows my directions well). ah well, rh is still looking good, i shouldnt be complaining

stearns
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You positive it isn't mold, Ben?
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Yeah, black is not good. Mold!
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My Heartfelt beads have been going strong for almost 4 years now. I only use distilled water.
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not positive it isnt mold, in fact that possibility slipped my mind. what would cause that? putting too much water on them? he has a tendency of overdoing everything, so i could see him overspraying them

stearns
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Of course could be mold but if your not using distilled H2O then it could be the impurites in the water. Beads are hydroscopic in nature and impurites clog the pores.
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Hey could you treat the moldy beads with isopropyl alcohol? Maybe soak them for a day then let them dry out and rinse and dry again before using?
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I'm sorry I forgot to check back on this thread. I use two 1/2lb bags of 65% beads in each Vinotemp. I used spray down the bags occasionally, but I am lazy and find it easier to just spritz the door every couple of weeks. I only look at my hygrometers once a month or so and they are rock solid at 65
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I think I remember reading that you can wash the beads in warm water to get rid of the oils. Then dry them out on a baking sheet and reuse. YMMV
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I suspect your sealing.
If your seals were tight then the only reason to add water is for you opening the humi. A tight wooden humidor will lose moisture slowly through the wood but with enough beads that will not effect the humidity until the beads are almost spent. Then it would recover quickly with a little moisturizing. At least that is my experience. I have a couple of airtight cedar lined ammo can-a-dors that I keep humidified with Bovida pouches. I am rarely in them and they stay perfect.
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