Those that know me know that I'm somewhat of a geek. Anything technological or scientific instantly grabs my attention. I'm a freak for Mythbusters and shows like it. For that reason, humidity beads fascinated me from the first time I heard about them.

I decided to make my own humidity beads. The concept is simple...most salts have a "saturation point". That's why a salt test for our hygrometers works. Sodium Chloride (common table salt) has a saturation point equal to 75% Relative Humidity. If 75% rH were the ideal storage humidity for our cigars, we wouldn't have any problem at all. We would just keep a salt tray in our humidors and maintain the perfect humidity. (salty cigars being a completely seperate issue)

Like I said, the concept is simple. The execution is not simple. I've spent weeks researching and experimenting with different formulas and application methods. (The Merck Index has been light reading for me lately)

I've finally come up with a combination that appears to work how I want it to.

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It's only been 24 hours, but so far they are maintaining rH perfectly. I put 8 oz in a sealed container along with a salt-tested hygrometer to monitor the results.

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I will continue to post the results as I monitor them. I am excited at this new project. Before anyone asks....Yes, I will be offering them for sale once I know they work the way I want them to. (I'm a perfectionist) But I don't want to put that info in this thread out of respect for the board members and administrators. When the time comes, I'll start a sale thread for them.
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Good luck with the project Marshall. Those look just like Heartfelt Beads
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Nice! Keep us posted on the project Marshall...
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WTG Marshall. I will be interested in pricing this out after its a complete success.
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Very cool!!
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Yeah interested if all goes well.
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Looking for beta testers? :-)
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Very nice! Looking forward to the progress...
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:-)

LOL
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Update: Day 2, still holding steady

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Update: Day 3, still holding steady. It rained fairly steadily for 2 days here, so the ambient rH is pretty high. (I didn't measure outside the tupperware)
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Obviously, my photo skills this morning are pretty lame. Apologies for that.
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I need to get some beads... looks like they're doing well!

aj
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looks like they are working, good luck with the project :-)
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Looking good. Nice work
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Congrats on the project, Marshall!!!
It's fun, huh?
I used to work at Merck a long time ago. The index is a lot safer than the grounds, I'll tell you that. :-)
Take a look at denatured alcohols. They'll yield some pretty excellent RH's over the saturated solution, right in the ballpark you're looking for. Lots more options than binary salts. :-)
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Got my first non-encouraging test results of this experiment. The rH dropped 5 points in 24 hours. That's a big swing and just the kind of fluctuation that beads are meant to eliminate. I'm not going to panic, we'll keep monitoring and see what happens.

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I mentally toyed with the idea of not posting these results. But that just isn't an option!
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We appreciate the honesty. It makes any final product have that much more integrity behind it.
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Final update:

This morning the hygrometer reading is 58% rH. I consider this formula unacceptable and will continue researching a new formula.

Thanks for all your interest.
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Keep at it Marshall, Like an Aussie cattle dog! You'll get there I'm thinking. *S*
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:-).....science is all about trial and error....keep on truckin'!
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