Hi all,

I did a quick search on these and I didn't find a whole lot of information. I'm pretty new with the cigars and I bought a 25-50 ct. humidor and one drymistat tube. The Drymistat wasn't maintaining RH so I was using the foam humidifier with the drymistat tube while an additional one was on order (this seemed to keep things right around 67%). Yes, I know I should have bought beads :-) Unfotunately I made these purchases before I came here. I just put my second drymistat tube in and removed the foam humidifier. I've yet to see how the two will work.

My question is simply if anyone has any experience with the drymistat tubes either positive or negative. I plan on giving them a chance for awhile but I'm wondering if I'm going to be out the cost of the tubes and have to buy some beads.

In order to head off any questions about it... yes I properly seasoned my humidor and I am using a calibrated hygroset II.

Thanks for any input!

Randy
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I used them for awhile but stopped as soon as I realized how much better beads were for my humi's. I still have the tubes, full of 65% beads! :-)

btw - u should drop by the new inmates area and intro yourself. Best way to start meeting folks here!
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Jared is right on the money...the beads are the way to go. :-)
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Thanks Fellas! I posted an introduction a few days ago... I also read the new member info and am kind of kicking myself for not buying the beads but like I said, I hadn't done much reading at the time. I'm just looking for opinions from people with experience with the Drymistats.

Randy
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xikar recently took over the drymistat business and they work fairly nicely in a desktop especially if you use the xikar solution. I use it to suplement the larger xikar pg crystal humidifiers in one of my desktops.
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I really had the opposite experience with my drymistats. I found it nearly impossible to maintain a decent RH.
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Also remember that the drymistat tubes only emit humidity. The beads can absorb it when necessary.
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I would venture to say that 99% of the folks on this site have thrown away some form of humidy device that did not work for them. I have thrown away at least 3 types (inlcuing a $130 Oasis) to find something that worked. Shilala Beads work and you will save yourself a lot of pain by just going ahead and doing it. The amount for a desktop humidor is a very small $.

Drymistats work ok for travel humidors but that is about all I know about them. Like Icehog said they only put out and do not offer the maintain capability of quality beads.:-)
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The drymistat tubes only add humidity until they dry up.

They do not allow you maintain or otherwise regulate humidity. For many this may not be a problem -- depending upon the temperature and humidity of the surrounding evirons this can work OK.

However, if you want to maintain a specific RH or RH-range, then you need and active humidification device, like beads.
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Cigar nut,

I understand you are responsible for the Shilala beads. If I were to ditch my brand new drymistats what are the qualities of a cigar at 65% rh that are better than, say, a 70% rh. I'm pretty new but there is nothing I've found yet that annoys me more than a dry cigar. I see the shilala beads are preset at 65% and it looks like either a lot of work or money to get them to a higher rh. The Heartfelt beads offer a 70% bead for no additional money.

Thanks for your input on this!

Randy
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RH is a personal preference. Some people prefer a slightly drier cigar at 65% as a better smoke. Others prefer 70% and everything in between. You should take some time to explore what RH works best for your tastes.

Shilala's beads can hold any desired RH; by default I preset the beads to 65% as that seems to be most popular. I charge slightly more for a different RH because it takes time and effort on my part to change the RH. However, there is no magic involved. Anyone can change Shilala beads from 65% to 70%, and the details are provided in the instructions.

I don't know the Heartfelt product very well so I cannot respond to how or why they offer the two products at the same cost. I also do not know if the Heartfelt product can be changed to a different RH as Shilala beads can be adjusted.
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65% vs. 70% is purely a personal taste choice. I prefer my cigars at 65%, but there are plenty of 70% beads out there at other places.

The following is from cigarmony.com:

Many cigar aficionados actually prefer storing their cigars at 65% RH for several reasons.

1.) You will experience far fewer draw problems (on average) with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.

2.) You will experience far fewer burn problems (on average) with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.

3.) You should experience better flavor maturation and aging with a cigar stored at 65% RH as opposed to 70% RH.
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I suppose I'm getting off the original topic of Drymistats now but in the reading I've done on the beads I've seen talk of recharging heartfelt beads with distilled water but the Shilala bead website says to never add water directly. When the rh drops with the Shilala beads you are supposed to place the wet sponge inside the humidor? Or is there another way to "recharge" them. I suppose it seems odd to have to go back to using a sponge when the idea was to get rid of the green foam sponge like humidifier in the first place. Not to mention that it is a relatively small humidor and I need room for my cigars too!

Thanks fellas!

Randy
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I use a spritz bottle to mist distilled water onto my beads, and have never had a problem.
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You spritz the Shilala beads? The same as the heartfelt ones?
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The base bead is the same, the only difference is the chemical mixture used to treat the beads and establish their specific gravity, thus setting them at the 60%, 65% or 70% that Heartfelt (and other similar) bead solutions offer. Once set they can't be adjusted by the end user.
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Thanks for all the input to everyone! I suppose I'll give the Dymistats a little while to show what they've got and if they aren't up to snuff I'll order some beads. I'm still a little up in the air between the shilala vs. heartfelt but I'll be doing some more reading/research.

Randy
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You do not wet or spritz Shilala beads to recharge them.

There are instructions with the beads and on the website, but in a nutshell to raise the RH you put them in a sealed container with a sponge (or similar) and a hygrometer for a short period of time until they are recharged. To lower the RH you set them out (if the ambient RH is low) or put them in a refrigerator for a short period time -- immediately putting them into a sealed container with a hygrometer, so that they do not pull in extra moisture as they warm up.
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Sorry for the confusion....I have the Heartfelt beads.
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I use scott's product in all of my larger humidors as a matter of fact in both of my vinos and in my end table I was specifically speaking about my experience with one xikar drymistat tube in one of my desktops as a supplementary device.
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