I would make sure not to leave the sponges in while your away, and monitor it frequently while they are in there. I thought I was having trouble with low humidity when I was just starting out and put in a new sponge soaked with distilled water for a few days. All of a sudden I had mold. Turns out my hygrometer was crap. When I got a new one, the humidity was actually 90 %. It didn't take long for the mold to grow.
cbuck, I'll definitely pull the sponges a day or so before I leave. I was hoping to let the humi & beads "set" while away (probably 5 days, maybe a week). I have a new digital hygrometer for this humi on order and I'll calibrate/test it with the salt test before use. Do you think 3 sponges are too much? (4.7" x 3" cello sponges)… when Catfish says "soaked", that's what I intend to do… soak the sponge but with no pooling of the distilled water on it's plate.
Catfish, I'm adding a Medici/Havana Foot Locker to the mix… it should arrive this week. I want to get the seasoning started so that it might be ready when we return from visiting family over the holidays. I'm planning on using 3 sponges; 1 in the lower compartment and the other 2 on each of the shelves. I hope to be able to get through the initial "sponge days" before we leave, pull the sponges and drop in the beads and hygrometer as we head out the door and come home 5 days later, check for consistent rh over the next two days and have
a humi ready for loading.
Is this a realistic set of expectations? Any suggestions?
If you are leaving for a long period of time, i would nto use sponges. Use a couple shot glasses or shallow dishes/bowls of distilled water. It will slowly bring it up. i do this often instead of reseasoning. Normally about once a year when temp's make a major shift, I may have a humi drop. When that happens, I just toss a small dish with distilled water in and it rebounds.
cbuck, I'll definitely pull the sponges a day or so before I leave. I was hoping to let the humi & beads "set" while away (probably 5 days, maybe a week). I have a new digital hygrometer for this humi on order and I'll calibrate/test it with the salt test before use. Do you think 3 sponges are too much? (4.7" x 3" cello sponges)… when Catfish says "soaked", that's what I intend to do… soak the sponge but with no pooling of the distilled water on it's plate.
Honestly, I just put them on the dish dry, and pour distilled water on them until they are soaked. i think leaving the sponges in there for 5 days is perfectly fine (just saw the number of days so disregard my previous recomendation). I assume this is a large count so 3 sponges is fine. My 400ct I used 3, one on each level.
The humi claims to be a 400 count (15 X 10.5 X 15.5" interior dimensions). My concern is that something might go wrong while I'm away and I'll have to dry out and start over… the worst case scenario would be mold. I would not leave sponges in the humi while I'm gone, just beads. It's been so dry here that I really want to get my smokes out of my smaller/leaky humidors and into the new/larger one soon.
The humi claims to be a 400 count (15 X 10.5 X 15.5" interior dimensions). My concern is that something might go wrong while I'm away and I'll have to dry out and start over… the worst case scenario would be mold. I would not leave sponges in the humi while I'm gone, just beads. It's been so dry here that I really want to get my smokes out of my smaller/leaky humidors and into the new/larger one soon.
5 days? I'd do that normally... don't put beads in it at all. If you are concerned, jsut put glasses of distilled water.
5 days? I'd do that normally... don't put beads in it at all. If you are concerned, jsut put glasses of distilled water.
Okay, so if I read this right my approach should be to use glasses of DS while away and drop in the beads and do the fine tuning and monitoring after I return. That would be easy enough! Thank you!
5 days? I'd do that normally... don't put beads in it at all. If you are concerned, jsut put glasses of distilled water.
Okay, so if I read this right my approach should be to use glasses of DS while away and drop in the beads and do the fine tuning and monitoring after I return. That would be easy enough! Thank you!
I would drop the glasses in, but still use the sponge for 2-3 days when you come back, then place your beads in.
Update: The 300 count/Medeci/foot locker humi arrived on Monday… I didn't expect such quick delivery. It was so cold that I let it sit overnight to get to room temperature and dropped the glasses in on Tuesday morning. Because I am an idiot (and was really curious if I could see a change in the water level) I opened the humi on Wednesday morning but have vowed to let it go until Saturday before I open it up and put 2 new digital hygrometers in (top shelf and bottom of box). I was surprised at how far off the new digital hygrometers were when I did the salt test, about 8% low. So I reset them and performed the test again… adjusted/reset and tested again. Things seem to be about right but it's very hard to get 1 click/1% adjustments with the little plastic knobs.
The glasses of DW have been in for about a week and the humidity level in the humi is at about 80%. It sure smells nice when I lift the lid. I added 2 bead tubes on the top shelf over the weekend and closed it up again. After the holidays I'll drop in the sponges for a few days and then the bead jars and do the final steps, monitoring for rh stability before filling this humi which, thanks to Ccom specials and the sprint sale, will be very easy indeed. Thanks again to Dustin & everyone who's given some input on this thread.
Update: I pulled the glasses when we arrived home last night (after 12 days) and dropped in the sponges. The RH was still at 80%. On Thursday I'll pull the sponges out and introduce the bead jars and work on getting things down to 70% before consolidating into the new humi. I'm psyched!
Last post on my new footlocker humidor… The sponges came out last night and humi held 75% all day today so I dropped in the full boxes and 10 packs in the bottom with the beads and boveda packs distributed throughout and then loaded in the singles in the two shelves up top. I'll check the rh over the next several days adding or subtracting beads/boveda packs as needed. Thanks Catfish for this great thread, the advice and hand holding were invaluable.
Just to make sure....this will work with the black ice pie jars, right? Beads are beads and all?
No. I don't think they are the same. I think Dustin would agree with me. But he may not have realized exactly what product you were referring to when he answered your question.
The black ice (if i'm not mistaken) is a type of gel (jelly-like) substance that absorbs liquid and swells up. Beads (Heartfelt Beads) are hard and made from silica sand. Silica kitty litter (unscented) can be used as a substitute for beads and is also made from silica sand.
Just to make sure....this will work with the black ice pie jars, right? Beads are beads and all?
No. I don't think they are the same. I think Dustin would agree with me. But he may not have realized exactly what product you were referring to when he answered your question.
The black ice (if i'm not mistaken) is a type of gel (jelly-like) substance that absorbs liquid and swells up. Beads (Heartfelt Beads) are hard and made from silica sand. Silica kitty litter (unscented) can be used as a substitute for beads and is also made from silica sand.
Hmm....OK. I just looked. They are neither! Not beads...but not really Gel. Think this will work for me?
Just to make sure....this will work with the black ice pie jars, right? Beads are beads and all?
No. I don't think they are the same. I think Dustin would agree with me. But he may not have realized exactly what product you were referring to when he answered your question.
The black ice (if i'm not mistaken) is a type of gel (jelly-like) substance that absorbs liquid and swells up. Beads (Heartfelt Beads) are hard and made from silica sand. Silica kitty litter (unscented) can be used as a substitute for beads and is also made from silica sand.
Hmm....OK. I just looked. They are neither! Not beads...but not really Gel. Think this will work for me?
I'm pretty sure the instructions tell you to add water. You add water and they expand, then it's a gel. That photo shows the dehydrated form. that way they don’t have to ship the extra weight of the hydrated gel. Do you have them already? They don't work in the same manner as silica beads or silica KL. However, they are designed to humidify cigars. I think JD posted a thread where he over watered his black ice and they overflowed the little pie shaped containers. If you want to try it I can send you a some of the kitty litter I'm using. How big is the humi? Or is it a cooler?
While they are different, it is the same principle, which is what I was getting at. I have the gel jars and sticks in some of my humi's. Bought them a while back, use them since I have them.
Maybe I came in during the middle of this conversation. I thought you told Jay that Black Ice was some sort of silica product.
No...he hadn't said anything about them being silica. I purchased 2 of the 8oz jars. 1 for my large humi...I need to get rid of my mold puck thing. The other one I will be using (probably half) for my little 50ct. I have to re-season the 50. If these won't work to season the small humi, then yes...I'd love a sample of what you use Bob. I will still use them for standard humidification purposes. I've read great reviews, not only on here, but other places as well about how well they work.
Maybe I came in during the middle of this conversation. I thought you told Jay that Black Ice was some sort of silica product.
No...he hadn't said anything about them being silica. I purchased 2 of the 8oz jars. 1 for my large humi...I need to get rid of my mold puck thing. The other one I will be using (probably half) for my little 50ct. I have to re-season the 50. If these won't work to season the small humi, then yes...I'd love a sample of what you use Bob. I will still use them for standard humidification purposes. I've read great reviews, not only on here, but other places as well about how well they work.
I got them on sale, so figured I'd jump on it.
I don't think the black Ice would play much of a role in the seasoning process. I guess they would work OK to use for humidfication after you season it. I assume you'll be using Dustin's method of distilled water and sponges for seasoning? Send me a PM with your addy and I'll send you some KL. And I'll be glad to chat with you about seasoning your humi if you have any questions.
Maybe I came in during the middle of this conversation. I thought you told Jay that Black Ice was some sort of silica product.
No...he hadn't said anything about them being silica. I purchased 2 of the 8oz jars. 1 for my large humi...I need to get rid of my mold puck thing. The other one I will be using (probably half) for my little 50ct. I have to re-season the 50. If these won't work to season the small humi, then yes...I'd love a sample of what you use Bob. I will still use them for standard humidification purposes. I've read great reviews, not only on here, but other places as well about how well they work.
I got them on sale, so figured I'd jump on it.
I don't think the black Ice would play much of a role in the seasoning process. I guess they would work OK to use for humidfication after you season it. I assume you'll be using Dustin's method of distilled water and sponges for seasoning? Send me a PM with your addy and I'll send you some KL. And I'll be glad to chat with you about seasoning your humi if you have any questions.
yep, thats the plan. i was just hoping they could replace the beads. PM sent
I used the Humi-care beads in my new footlocker… I have three jars as well as two of the cigar-sized tubes and one 75 boveda pack spread out on 3 levels. I have a hygrometer on each of the top two shelves as well as one down in the hold (overkill, but I had a few left over after combining all my smokes from smaller humis). I seasoned this 300-500 count humi for about two weeks @ Dustin's method and am happy to report that it is holding steady at 69%, which where I like it in the winter time here in cold, dry PA. I decided not to go with KL because the pictures I saw (in coolers) showed a LOT of real estate taken up by KL and I didn't want to loose valuable cigar space.
Just to make sure....this will work with the black ice pie jars, right? Beads are beads and all?
No. I don't think they are the same. I think Dustin would agree with me. But he may not have realized exactly what product you were referring to when he answered your question.
The black ice (if i'm not mistaken) is a type of gel (jelly-like) substance that absorbs liquid and swells up. Beads (Heartfelt Beads) are hard and made from silica sand. Silica kitty litter (unscented) can be used as a substitute for beads and is also made from silica sand.
Hmm....OK. I just looked. They are neither! Not beads...but not really Gel. Think this will work for me?
I'm pretty sure the instructions tell you to add water. You add water and they expand, then it's a gel. That photo shows the dehydrated form. that way they don’t have to ship the extra weight of the hydrated gel. Do you have them already? They don't work in the same manner as silica beads or silica KL. However, they are designed to humidify cigars. I think JD posted a thread where he over watered his black ice and they overflowed the little pie shaped containers. If you want to try it I can send you a some of the kitty litter I'm using. How big is the humi? Or is it a cooler?
this is funny! Really add water?! So you don't spray your beads?! Seasoning a humi and keeping the rh are 2 different things!! Once the humidor gets up too a good rh you stabilize it. I laugh at the matter if anyone doesn't use kl people jump on them! And if you use boveda people jump on them...really it's what you are comeftorable using. For me it's boveda since it takes up little space compared too pounds of kl. but I are some crazy followers that i guess never add water too the kl?! Seriously people this is sad!! Yup some beads need water and pg solution and I'm sure kl wil at some point. So you kl *** I'm good I can afford boveda since my cigar stash is worth the money! I've spent a lot of money on cigars...and if you spent a lot of money on a car would you buy the cheap gas?! And yes I'm a ase certified mechanic. No your engine knocks and you burn out your engine. So really is spending money that bad?!?!?! You tell me
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The black ice (if i'm not mistaken) is a type of gel (jelly-like) substance that absorbs liquid and swells up. Beads (Heartfelt Beads) are hard and made from silica sand. Silica kitty litter (unscented) can be used as a substitute for beads and is also made from silica sand.
I got them on sale, so figured I'd jump on it.