My HCM beads just are not working anymore

[dwoodward]

I came back from vacation to find my humidors at 59 and 58 RH. So I put my beads in bags with a hygrometer, sure enough they are at 59 and 58. I put them both in a bag with a bowl and sponge and let them sit for 2 days while the RH rises back up. I take the bowl out, 6 hours later the beads read 70 RH.

Now, I put them back into my humidors, and 12 hours later my RH levels are even lower than they were before, the beads didn't retain any of the moisture, the 70RH was just moisture in the bag, the beads are not taking in any moisture at all. I can't even charge them.

Waste of money? I'll get heartfelt next time.

[pektel]

What's the temp in the humi/house? Did you turn the heat off while on vacation?

[dwoodward]

No, temp has remained constant, the temp is 68 F. But that still doesn't change the fact that my beads will not retain moisture, they can only lose moisture, which defeats the purpose of them. It makes them useless, because unlike heartfelt beads, I can't just spray water on them.

[pektel]

Good point. I asked because my HCM beads have been at a contant 60% after the humi spent an overnight stint in an unheated garage. I believe the low that night was low 50's. May have even got into high 40's.

I haven't tried to recharge them yet, as I am going to see how I like smoking 60%rh cigars.

[dwoodward]

Here is a picture I just snapped on them. They are currently in 2 separate ziplock freezer bags for 30 minutes.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b163/197575/DSCF3314s.jpg

[hscmit]

I came back from vacation to find my humidors at 59 and 58 RH. So I put my beads in bags with a hygrometer, sure enough they are at 59 and 58. I put them both in a bag with a bowl and sponge and let them sit for 2 days while the RH rises back up. I take the bowl out, 6 hours later the beads read 70 RH.

Now, I put them back into my humidors, and 12 hours later my RH levels are even lower than they were before, the beads didn't retain any of the moisture, the 70RH was just moisture in the bag, the beads are not taking in any moisture at all. I can't even charge them.

Waste of money? I'll get heartfelt next time.

How long have they been in use?

[dwoodward]

How long have they been in use?

The big bag for about 4 months, but i have had this problem with it before.

The little bag only a month.

[Darrell]

Waste of money? I'll get heartfelt next time.

Slow down killer. I'm sure Scott will chime in with a solution.

[hscmit]

The big bag for about 4 months, but i have had this problem with it before.

The little bag only a month.

Wow, that sucks man. I hope you can contact the manufacture and get a refund. Those should last a couple years

[marge796]

Don't forget that a member of this board (Shilala) makes his own beads. I can speak from experience he has an outstanding product. :2


Chris.....

[dwoodward]

Don't forget that a member of this board (Shilala) makes his own beads. I can speak from experience he has an outstanding product. :2


Chris.....

I am using his product. Shilala's beads and HCM beads are the same.

[G G]

Shilala doesn't make em anymore he sold out to another member here. Cant remember his name.

[waffle]

Have you checked out the directions? He has them posted here (http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showpost.php?p=753283&postcount=1), see if this helps.

[waffle]

Shilala doesn't make em anymore he sold out to another member here. Cant remember his name.

Michael (CigarNut)

[dwoodward]

Have you checked out the directions? He has them posted here (http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showpost.php?p=753283&postcount=1), see if this helps.

I can't view it because I don't have microsoft word.

[waffle]

I can't view it because I don't have microsoft word.

Can you save it and open w/open office?

[pektel]

Copied/pasted here for you, Derrick :D

How To Use Your HCM Beads

Your package includes Humidity Control Molecular (HCM) beads.
The beads are a 100% product with no chemical additives whatsoever. The beads are made of clay and are safe and non-toxic. They are created to control the humidity in your humidor, as well as scavenge free ammonia. The bags are made of 100% polyester fusible knit interfacing.
For this Humidity Control System I chose the absolute best and purest products available. I chose these products with us and our cigars in mind.

Your beads have arrived pre-conditioned to 65% RH (unless you’ve ordered a custom RH%age) and are ready to place in your humidor.


*** We won’t be making any adjustments to the beads for at least one week. ***

Two weeks to a month is even better. This will allow time for everything in your humidor to begin to reach equilibrium. That means that everything will be seeking a perfect balance of water throughout your beads, conditioned space, cigars, and humidor. That will take time and patience. Please do your best to be patient. The longer you can wait, the better your beads will treat you. Waiting will also heal most problems. Patience will also heal tons of problems that aren’t really problems. Most problems rise because we haven’t waited long enough.

Please take this time to salt test and calibrate your hygrometer.

A top quality hygrometer is an insanely important tool when starting with your new beads. Your cigar-keeping success relies heavily on its accuracy. More so, your bead adjusting skills will rely heavily on the hygrometer’s accuracy. In the future you’ll not want or need to rely on your hygrometers so much, as your cigars will tell you where you need to adjust your humidity by how they are smoking. For now, a hygrometer will be a huge and indispensable tool as you “learn” your beads.
If you do not own a high quality calibratable hygrometer, get one immediately. I have them available. Call me and I can get one on the way. Either that or I can make a suggestion. You may already have what you need. If you aren’t sure, please don’t hesitate to call and ask.
Calibration is non-negotiable and of the utmost importance. If you develop problems and contact me for help, I will ask you to salt test your hygrometer before we start trouble-shooting. I’ll insist you do it even if you just did it yesterday. We absolutely MUST be sure that the hygrometer is perfectly accurate before we start trying to fix anything, and double checking it is both sensible and responsible. It may seem borderline silly, but it’s a necessary nuisance.
After 24 hours your humidor should settle at, or very near, the setpoint of your beads.
If it does, you are finished. If not, after a couple weeks to a month, you can raise or lower the RH%age by following the simple procedures outlined below.
I can’t stress enough the importance of following the instructions to the letter. When I say to use a small dish with a sponge, I really, really mean that. A shot glass with water in it is not a viable alternative. It doesn’t provide the evaporative surface area we need. I know it may be the way we used to do it, but with new beads come new “ways”.

If the RH%age is lower than you like…

Place a small distilled water-soaked sponge in a pan or dish and place it in your humidor overnight. Take the dish and sponge out in the morning and then wait to check your RH%age in the afternoon.
If it's still low, simply put the sponge back in the humidor, leave it overnight, remove it in the morning, check in the afternoon, and repeat the process as necessary.
If you wish to hasten the process, simply use more wet sponges in more areas of your humidor.
While you are doing this, be sure to realize that it takes a good amount of time to recondition everything in your humidor. The amount of time depends on how much you want to raise the RH%age of your beads, how big your humidor is, how many beads you have, and how many sponges you use. It could take hours, days, or a couple weeks. Take your time. Be patient. The more careful, patient and precise you are, the better the process will work. The time you spend with the process will give you a greater understanding of how humidity works in your humidor, and how your beads react.
You can also hasten the process by removing your beads from the humidor and placing them in a Rubbermaid container or the like, along with the sponges and maybe a little fan to move air. That will move things along drastically, although it isn’t really necessary (or useful) unless you’re reconditioning a large amount of beads.

If the RH%age is higher than you like…

You can lower the HCM beads’ RH%age by placing them in the refrigerator for an hour. This relies on the fact that the RH in your refrigerator is around 45% RH (and they all are if they are working properly). The beads will always work to assume the ambient RH%age (the RH in the area surrounding the beads is the “ambient”, regardless of whether they are in the humidor or refrigerator or out in the room. You can use your room, too. It just needs to be of a lower RH than the beads. Ambient basically means “surrounding” in this context.) When reconditioning your beads to a lower RH %age, the ambient RH %age has to be lower, the lower the better. If the room ambient is less than 5% lower than your desired setpoint, don’t use it, use the refrigerator or freezer as instructed below.
When the refrigerator isn’t working well enough, or you wish to make big changes fast, you can put the beads on a plate and place them in the freezer for 25 minutes. SET A TIMER!!! If you freeze the beads, the water in the beads may freeze, expand, and destroy your beads. We don’t want that. Odds of it happening are slim, but it can.
After 25 minutes, take the beads out of the freezer and place them in a gallon ziplock freezer bag with your hygrometer. Let the bag sit for 24 hours, note the RH%age, and repeat the process if necessary.
It’s always best to test your beads with this method before doing any reconditioning at all. If the beads show a lot higher RH %age in the bag than when they were in your humidor, it will tell you that your humi is leaky. It’s how we’ll expose that sort of thing if we ever need to troubleshoot.

Storing your beads when not in use…

If for some reason you don’t wish to use your beads for some period of time, simply store them in a sealed ZipLock bag. That will preserve your beads’ RH value so that they are ready for use when you need them.
If left in the open air, the beads will work double time to assume the RH%age of their surrounding. As such, odds are that they won’t be at the proper setting when you come to need them most.

Last but not least…

Pay very close attention to how your beads react while you are working with them, and you will soon get a good “feel” for how your beads work.
When I recondition my beads, I take notes. I write down what time I started reconditioning, what the RH%age was when I started, and what the RH%age is prior to starting the next reconditioning cycle. I write down anything I think is pertinent, anything I think may help in the future. This helps me to quickly figure out how many “cycles”, or how much time it will take to recondition the beads to my desired setpoint.
The key to properly conditioning beads is patience. It takes time for water vapor to equalize throughout your cigars, boxes, and the walls of your humidor. It’s not measured in hours, it’s measured in days. Use this fact to your advantage. Take your time, and watch intently. Your beads and humidor will tell you what to do, and usually, if you’re patient enough, it’ll tell you that you don’t have to do anything at all. 

If you have any questions, comments, or just want to share your observations about the beads, please feel free to email me at shilala@comcast.net or call me at 814-771-0912. These beads were created by a Brother of the Leaf for BOTL’s with the help of BOTL’s. The success of the beads relies on the success of the brothers who use them. Please take time to share your input with us. It’s that spirit that makes these beads what they are, and why they are so wildly successful. With everyone’s help, they can only get better.
Thank You!!!

Scott Shilala
104 Dixon Ave.
DuBois, PA 15801

****NEVER add water directly to your beads. (And other fine print.)
HCM beads can become very hot and melt their bag. It's not a chemical reaction that causes the heat, it's the friction created by the water rushing into billions of tiny pores at an incredible speed.
Adding water directly to the beads will also upset the delicate balance that is equilibrium. Once that balance is thrown off, it takes a huge amount of effort to bring the beads back to their proper setpoint.
Only use the best distilled water available to condition your beads. Keeping them clean and free from debris will help them last a lifetime.
Never use the beads to soak up dripping water, such as in a winador. It will cause mold growth, ruin your beads, ruin your cigars, and make a mess. It’s dangerous and completely wrong. If you’re considering some sort of catch container, let the beads do what they do, first. Dry any standing water and deploy your beads where they are safe and away from it. If you’ve plugged your winador drain as you should (it’s an absolute must if you are using beads, regardless of what you may have heard), the beads will stop the water from collecting and help control it’s formation.

[Wharf Rat]

I can't view it because I don't have microsoft word.

MS Word viewer ===> http://tinyurl.com/3x9thjy

or get a complete office software packacge for free

http://www.openoffice.org/

[dwoodward]

Thank you pektel, I will do the sponge INSIDE the humidor this time to try to recharge.

I am just so sad that I am having such trouble with these, it just seems odd that I am the only person in the world that cannot get these beads to work. I seasoned both humidors for 10 days with Boveda packets so I know they are both seasoned good. Just odd.

[shilala]

Derrick, pm Michael. I'm sure he'll have you call and walk you through whatever.
I'd have you call me, but I don't want to step on his toes.
If you can't get him, pm me and I'll send you my cell number.
Ain't nothing that can't be fixed. :tu

Someone mentioned the "beads lasting" thing...
With proper care, they last a lifetime. They don't wear out or fall to pieces or any of that stuff. I just mention that cause once misinformation gets started, it kinda takes on it's own life on the intraweb. :)

[dwoodward]

Well, at least all is not lost yet. Just smoked one of the cigars to see if they still smoked fine. Smoked a La Herencia Cuban Oscuro Fuerte. Was decent, not top notch, but still tasty.

[CigarNut]

I have been working a lot of hours on my day job this week, so I have not been keeping up on CA and I have not read all te posts in this thread yet.

Please note: If you are unhappy with the beads, just return them to me and I will refund your money.

Having said that, I have every confidence that we can solve the problem -- if you want to do so. Just let me know how you would like to proceed.

[jmsremax]

Not that I doubt you could be having an issue with your beads but what about re-seasoning your humidor? I thought my beads were the issue so I contacted Mike and I went back and forth via email until I decided to take everything out of my humi, put it in my cooler, then put a bowl of distilled water in it for 2 weeks. In the meantime I recalibrated my hygro and put the hygro back in the humi alone and sure enough it was stable for over a week. Then I put my sticks back in and it's still at 64% months later. :2

Either way I'm sure it will be fine....Mike is a great guy to work with. :tu

[CigarNut]

I came back from vacation to find my humidors at 59 and 58 RH. So I put my beads in bags with a hygrometer, sure enough they are at 59 and 58. I put them both in a bag with a bowl and sponge and let them sit for 2 days while the RH rises back up. I take the bowl out, 6 hours later the beads read 70 RH.

Now, I put them back into my humidors, and 12 hours later my RH levels are even lower than they were before, the beads didn't retain any of the moisture, the 70RH was just moisture in the bag, the beads are not taking in any moisture at all. I can't even charge them.

Waste of money? I'll get heartfelt next time.

As others have said the beads can easily be recharged and I did explain how do to that in a PM to you we we started this discussion in September. I am sorry that the online instructions are in a format that you can't read and I will make them a PDF this afternoon.

It may be that for you Heartfelt beads will be easier, because as you said you can easily spray them with moisture to raise the RH.

However, that does not solve your problem -- your humidor is not holding humidity. There are lots of posts on CA, discussion in my online FAQ and lots of other sources to help you find out how your humidor is leaking and how to seal it. It is more work up front to fix your humidor than it is to switch out to Hearfelt beads, but in the long run the effort you will expend in maintaining your beads will be far more work then fixing your humidor.

If you want to solve the problem with your humidor (regardless of which beads you end up with) let me know and I will work with you. If you want to return your beads and get your money back, let me know and I will do that too.

And finally, I do apologize again for the delay in responding to your post -- my day job has been extremely busy this week and my reading of CA has suffered as a result...

[hscmit]

^ topnotch service

[waffle]

As others have said the beads can easily be recharged and I did explain how do to that in a PM to you we we started this discussion in September. I am sorry that the online instructions are in a format that you can't read and I will make them a PDF this afternoon.

It may be that for you Heartfelt beads will be easier, because as you said you can easily spray them with moisture to raise the RH.

However, that does not solve your problem -- your humidor is not holding humidity. There are lots of posts on CA, discussion in my online FAQ and lots of other sources to help you find out how your humidor is leaking and how to seal it. It is more work up front to fix your humidor than it is to switch out to Hearfelt beads, but in the long run the effort you will expend in maintaining your beads will be far more work then fixing your humidor.

If you want to solve the problem with your humidor (regardless of which beads you end up with) let me know and I will work with you. If you want to return your beads and get your money back, let me know and I will do that too.

And finally, I do apologize again for the delay in responding to your post -- my day job has been extremely busy this week and my reading of CA has suffered as a result...

Mike, can I make a suggestion and if you throw those in a pdf, posting a link in the FAQ on the site to them, it took me a bit to find the link and the first place I ran to was your FAQ section ;)

[itzfrank]

What works easiest for me for seasoning them is that I have a Gel that stabilizes at 70% and my beads are at 65%. I keep the gel closed until I feel that my beads have gone too low. Then I just open it up to raise it to my desired RH%age. It's a bit slower but it gets the job done and gives me plenty of control.

[SLO_Smoke]

I have to say that I am completely satisfied with the Shilala/HCM product.
Currently I have 22lbs , yes that's 44 8oz bags in service!
In the 1 1/2 years I've been using them I have had to adjust humidity (+) one time after about 12 months.

I took 22 bags and put them into a cooler with a container of distilled water and a sponge (no cigars).
Monitored the hygrometer for a couple days got them where I wanted them.
Removed the water and sponge to let them stabelize for a couple more days.
Confirmed the RH and then swapped them out for the other 22 bags.
- Repeat

Put them all back into service and have not had to adjust again in the last 6 months.

I have recommended these to others with only positive results. :tu

[shilala]

What works easiest for me for seasoning them is that I have a Gel that stabilizes at 70% and my beads are at 65%. I keep the gel closed until I feel that my beads have gone too low. Then I just open it up to raise it to my desired RH%age. It's a bit slower but it gets the job done and gives me plenty of control.
That is a really slick way to do it, and it's the first time I ever heard of it.
Slower is always better. I'm gonna remember that idea and use it myself. :tu

[waffle]

That is a really slick way to do it, and it's the first time I ever heard of it.
Slower is always better. I'm gonna remember that idea and use it myself. :tu

:tpd: I'm picking that up now... I have some beads that were in a craptacular humi and have lost some RH... I need to recharge them a bit...

[CigarNut]

I can't view it because I don't have microsoft word.Not sure why you cannot view it -- there is (and has been) both a web page and a PDF -- no Word document. I was getting ready to put a PDF up this morning and found that I had done so several months ago.

I did add a additional links to the "using your beads" page from several of the other pages.

[itzfrank]

That is a really slick way to do it, and it's the first time I ever heard of it.
Slower is always better. I'm gonna remember that idea and use it myself. :tu


It works great! All you have to do is add water to the gel when it's low and the gel was cheap. Granted, the beads are 100x better. :banger:tu

[n0Odle]

I know this post is old
But I've been reading different forums and people are talking about buying Pounds of these beads...

I bought 2 ounces for my 50count humidor... Why is there a huge difference in the sizes? Are the people who are buying pounds of these beads using it for cabinet humidors or did I missing something?
I bought my HCM beads from www.hcmbeads.com

[CigarNut]

The amount of beads needed is proportional to the physical size of the humidor. For example a 28 bottle wine cooler might have 2 lbs of beads.

[smitty81]

I'm probably wrong but if your humi's were down to 59 and 58 and you put your recharged beads back in, don't you think that the cigars absorbed all that moisture?

The beads may not be bad, the cigars are just absorbing the moisture. Maby recharge the beads again and put them back in?

(i'm sure I over read something)

[chippewastud79]

(i'm sure I over read something)

Like the fact the thread is over a year and a half old. :rolleyes:

[smitty81]

Like the fact the thread is over a year and a half old. :rolleyes:

Yes, like that. :r

It's going to be a long day. I should just quit now.........

[smitty81]

delete

[n0Odle]

The amount of beads needed is proportional to the physical size of the humidor. For example a 28 bottle wine cooler might have 2 lbs of beads.

so 50count humidor ... 2ounces is fine? i wont lbs of it?

[icehog3]

so 50count humidor ... 2ounces is fine? i wont lbs of it?

Correct. :tu

[MurphysLaw]

so 50count humidor ... 2ounces is fine? i wont lbs of it?

Plug in the dimensions of your humidor HERE (http://www.shilalasbeads.com/about.asp) to find out the appropriate amount of beads for your humidor. It's always a safe bet to buy a little more than it says you need, it helps the humidor recover faster after the lid is opened.

[n0Odle]

Thank you. I already did the calculation and it was 2 ounces.. I was just wondering if I was wrong because All I see is people ordering LBS bags for this stuff. I was just making sure I ordered the right amount =P
But all is well Im good

[MurphysLaw]

Thank you. I already did the calculation and it was 2 ounces.. I was just wondering if I was wrong because All I see is people ordering LBS bags for this stuff. I was just making sure I ordered the right amount =P
But all is well Im good

Give it 6 months and you'll need a few pounds for your cooler :r

[n0Odle]

Okay doki.. How long are we supposed to wait on these beads to equalize in humidor.. Its been sitting at 58-63% depending on temps.. i cant get the temps in my humi to go down either.. I opened the humidor for 10 seconds and the RH dropped to 58%. I just stuck my stock humidifier in the humidor along with 3 ounces of beads.. (25-50 count). I dont mind waiting but i just smoked one of my noir champagne cigars and bluckkk! it was so harsh, i might as well smoke the cigar with a lighter at the head the whole duration.

Where are the beads supposed to sit at in the humidor?
all the way on the bottom? off to the side? or on top of some cigars

[MurphysLaw]

Okay doki.. How long are we supposed to wait on these beads to equalize in humidor.. Its been sitting at 58-63% depending on temps.. i cant get the temps in my humi to go down either.. I opened the humidor for 10 seconds and the RH dropped to 58%. I just stuck my stock humidifier in the humidor along with 3 ounces of beads.. (25-50 count). I dont mind waiting but i just smoked one of my noir champagne cigars and bluckkk! it was so harsh, i might as well smoke the cigar with a lighter at the head the whole duration.

Where are the beads supposed to sit at in the humidor?
all the way on the bottom? off to the side? or on top of some cigars

I keep my beads in the bottom of my humidor, never had any issues. What kind of humidor do you have? Have you properly seasoned it and calibrated your hygrometer following the directions in the stickies?

Nevermind, saw your other thread. Honestly, you probably have a leak in the glasstop humidor and you're going to struggle with low humidity because of that.

[CigarNut]

The beads euqalize pretty quickly, with two caveats:

Your humidor is already at or near the desired RH (e.g., your humidor has been seasoned)
Your humidor seals well. If your humidor leaks there are no bead products that will keep a steady RH.
You can always check the RH of the beads by putting them in a Ziplock with a calibrated hygrometer. If you find that the RH of the beads is no longer where you want them, there are instructions to raise or lower the RH.Okay doki.. How long are we supposed to wait on these beads to equalize in humidor.. Its been sitting at 58-63% depending on temps.. i cant get the temps in my humi to go down either.. I opened the humidor for 10 seconds and the RH dropped to 58%. I just stuck my stock humidifier in the humidor along with 3 ounces of beads.. (25-50 count). I dont mind waiting but i just smoked one of my noir champagne cigars and bluckkk! it was so harsh, i might as well smoke the cigar with a lighter at the head the whole duration.

Where are the beads supposed to sit at in the humidor?
all the way on the bottom? off to the side? or on top of some cigars

[n0Odle]

I keep my beads in the bottom of my humidor, never had any issues. What kind of humidor do you have? Have you properly seasoned it and calibrated your hygrometer following the directions in the stickies?

Nevermind, saw your other thread. Honestly, you probably have a leak in the glasstop humidor and you're going to struggle with low humidity because of that.

thank you, i figured it was some kind of leak through the glasstop.
what do i use to seal the lid?

[MurphysLaw]

thank you, i figured it was some kind of leak through the glasstop.
what do i use to seal the lid?

Here you go: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=52938