Inexpensive beads?
 

I am talking under $8.. Thats all I have at the moment, and am in dire need of beads. Any one have any good suggestions?

Thanks
Colin

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

This discussion always comes up every few months...Let me save you some time and flaming brother...

1) Don't go cheap on taking care of your cigars.
2) Why spend so much $ on cigars and crap out on humidification? (kinda like shelling out hundreds on fine wine and drinking it out of plastic cups.)
c) You may not do it now but eventually your stash will outgrow how much you smoke, hence you'll start accidentally aging cigars. You don't want to smoke aged cigars that have not been taken care of properly.

Good luck

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

mpython, cash. Thank you!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

not a problem dude. Just sharing what people shared with me.

glad it helped. :tu

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Yep, just ordered up a few of the sheets and a tube!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

You wont be disappointed, the few extra dollars you spend today will protect your investment for years to come. It is well worth the sacrifice of a cigar or two. :tu

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Spend the money and go with Heartfelt beads!

I had a friend who bought cheap beads. He sent me a pound of them. They are trash and do not even come close to the quality of Heartfelt beads. These things stink and I don't want that smell on my cigars. When I spray them to charge them they explode. It takes forever for them to charge. I have half a pound of Heartfelt beads and side by side the quality really is there.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I have 2.5lbs of heartfelt's product. Have never looked back. Cost nearly as much to ship them here as the original cost. They are not expensive if you look at what your getting them to deal with. 6K in the wineador. 0.15K to humidify is cheap in comparison methinks. *S*

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

So true, has anyone had any experience with the Heartfelt sheets??

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I use shiala's beads now being made/sold by mike (cigarnut). I don't get why you would want a CHEAP product to protect and season your EXPENSIVE cigars. :2

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I have the sheets. I keep them in my vino, and only use them for temporary humidity control in travel humis. For that purpose, they work great!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I was thinking about getting some sheets to use in my travel humi when I will be gone for more than 1 or 2 days. right now I have a mix of heartfelt 65% beads in my Vino and and extremely overkill amount in my desktop (2-8oz bags in one 100ct humi :r) just keeping them in there until my new 16ct wine cooler is ready.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

If you're looking to cut corners, go ahead and put the boxes in your underwear drawer with a wet sponge, like your Grand Dad used to do. :2

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

My GrandDad never did that.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I was just telling Darrell that dirty underwear actually holds RH better than clean underwear. That, and there's a nice marrying of flavors from dirty underwear!

:r

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Lol calm down guys. :p I got some heartfelt beads, and sheets, so I didn't skimp.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Nice.

Thanks for posting this thread, btw. It has made me re-think my current humidification devices and I am planning on getting some beads soon enough.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Yeah, I was tired of the horrible humidity fluctuation from just having the puck that came with my humi. So I figured drop the money now to keep them in good health.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I think I remember Dave from Heartfelt telling me that the sheets would hold their humidity for 10-14 days assuming your sticks were already properly humidified and you didn't open the travel humi too often.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

And the sheets are just as refillable as the beads, correct?

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Nothing at all wrong with heartfelt beads good performance and a good operation but after trying Shilala Beads I prefer them.

There may be some other good stuff out there but it is not the el-cheapo stuff on Ebay so glad to hear you did not take that road.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Mine did.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Did he wear tightie whities?

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Alright, this thread has gone south.. :p

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Soggy ones?

:D

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Okay. Thats my cue to leave!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Yeah, U.S. Government Issue. They were right next to this:

http://www.armystudyguide.com/conten...pix/b1_896.jpg

:D

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Hey everyone, I'm new. I haunt another forum and really enjoy reading yours as well.

Buy these, and never look back. Make sure you buy unscented though.
http://www.ultrapet.com/
They will hold humidity at about 66-68% and work just like all the other beads mentioned here. They have been tested and experimented with on other forums, and they work perfectly!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Go punch yourself. :D

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

This has been discussed extensively here in the past, and the overwhelming majority consenus is :td

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showpo...6&postcount=14

:tu

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Well, thats not very friendly. Haha.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

;s

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Well, I definitely don't want to argue, but was this specific stuff tested? The guys I "discovered" it from love it, and don't have to use huge amounts of it either...

Oh well. Carry on with the Heartfelt and Shilala's! :) They for sure work!

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I can't tell you if the specific product you mentioned was tested, but I think all of the "kitty litter" products fall into the same category -- they all use the same basic compounds. As with most things some people swear by them, others don't want anything to do with them.

I personally don't believe that any of these products are very good for taking decent care of your cigars. It all comes down to this oft-repeated statement: you spend good money on your cigars; is it really worth cutting corners to save a few bucks?

I admit it. I'm biased :D

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Maybe Scott or Dave will chime in here, but I believe that the basic premise was that will the litter products could absorb humidity, they couldn't release it, so one would still need a humidification "releasing" agent of some type (distilled water, gel, solution, etc) in their humidor. The beads perform both functions, releasing and/or absorbing as the need arises.

Personally, I am not going to try to save 10 bucks when it comes to caring for thousands of dollars worth of cigars...I want the very best, not an "economy" solution.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

:tpd:
That is it in a nutsack . . . er . . . nutshell. :D

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Lmao! :r

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

When I first set up my vinodor, I bought a sheet with an order of beads. My plan was to lay it out on on of the vino racks so it would have open air on both sides. Well, I didn't have enough space to dedicate an entire rack to this humidity sheet, so I put in in the bottom of my vino, thinking that it would be good there...could soak up any excess condensation, etc. Some time later (maybe a week or two) I noticed the sheet had gotten soaked so I took it out, and it had mold forming on the side that was down on the floor of the vinodor (no air circulation).

Probably my fault for not using it correctly, but I won't be buying another one. I now use a container to catch my excess condensation, which I really don't have much of anymore since the RH and temp have stabilized.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

The sheets work exactly the same as the beads, they are the same material. I use small pieces as travel humidifiers in my bombs & they work just fine. I always have a few sheets in the Wineador, conditioning themselves.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

I need to get some sheets cuz I would look in the wineador.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Dam near made me spit beer on the screen:r

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

:tpd::l

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

When I get in more sticks that I currently have room for in my humi's I store them in their cello's in Ziploc quart sized freezer bags which I leave slightly open. These I store in a latch closing "tupperware" container containing a CI ziploc bag (good to recycle...) which I've filled with TerraSorb crystals. These are moisture crystals intended for gardeners to keep water in their plants. I've found that I can keep a constant 70% with this system. I even put together one for my son when I gave him 30 or so smokes that I just wasn't thrilled by... for him, it was a windfall....

The crystals are about 15 bucks at a garden center. They absorb a **** load of H20 and hold their humidity for an extremely long time...

Might be worth a try...

PG

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

Again, I am speaking with very limited experience, but my understanding is that this kind in particular can release and absorb.

Re: Inexpensive beads?
 

i've used both KL and Humidity beads... can't really tell the difference... for the KL i've used this one.. http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Pet-Crys...9452290&sr=8-7

No problems with either one... the KL in my vinotemp stays rock steady at 68%... they carry this one as well... i havne't personally tried... but its basically the drymistat stuff... http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Pet-Crys...9452290&sr=8-8

i have emailed the plant personally... the blue = just dye... no deorderizing...

both the pearls and the crystals... according to the plant...they maintain "freshness" by keeping a certain % of humidity... which I assume is the 68%... cause that's where mine stays..



again this is just based from my experience.... not scientific or anything