Anyone tried Aqua Gems?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Ok so I thought I would update you guys. The Aqua Gems are gone and have been for about a month or so now. I have two long and one short tubes of heartfelt beads.

I am pretty positive that the Aqua Gems are the same stuff as the humicare gel that they sell at CI and other places, but it is clear after using the HR beads that they are much better, and dropped my humidity down to 65%

Unfortunately my 100ct humidor is now full and for some reason I keep buying more cigars. Time to think about a coolidor.

There are a few different types of super-absorbent gel, differing mainly by chemical formula (& properties) and I'm skeptical that the Aqua Gems and Humi-Care, et. al. are the same, although it's almost certain that they are similar.

Just for shits and giggles, this thread had inspired me to go find the 99-cent package of dehydrated water marbles that I've had lying in a drawer for years and, hydrate some of them. They were running 85%RH-ish in one of the el cheapo 20-count logo humidors from CI, whereas a jar of humicare would hover in that same humidor at around 65-67%RH. I will say though, that the floral gel marbles I tested are not the same brand as Aqua gems, so, mileage may vary.

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Yeah I now think that the gel is good if you want 70% and don't mind keeping a very close eye on your collection but I think the beads will be better for a ignore yet expect perfect burn every time.

Unfortunately I did just see a 5 Vegas gold just split. I am not sure what did it though. I had 10 Carlos Torano Noventas torpedoes split and pop but I feel that was because of their tight wrap but I an not sure. I sent the best ones out for trade so I only have a few left that are split on the head or body. The 5 Vegas is split on the foot and has always been in the celo. I also had a RP OWS that had poor burn and pathetic smoke. Any ideas? Keep in mind I have about 90 other cigars in there all in celo that are perfectly happy looking. And the hydro reads 69f 66%.

I've been using a humicare jar for about 5-6 years in one of my coolers. Every time I've tossed a hygrometer in there, it is always 65%-66%RH.

Are these cigars splitting when you smoke them or splitting in the humidor?

If they are splitting in the humidor, it's the leaves swelling from the humidity. When you see a cigar with only the foot swollen and possibly some fine wrapper is cracks around the foot, that's usually an indicator of over-humidification. Sometimes the entire cigar will swell up, and, it's not always due to a problem in storage, sometimes they just do absorb moisture and swell. Years ago, a friend of mine had an entire box of Perdomo cigars that all of the cigars swelled up enough that a number of them actually tore/broke their bands. There was nothing wrong with the storage or them either and they smoked fine, just the whole cigar swelled.

If they are splitting while smoking, this could be any number of factors, cigar moisture, ambient humidity, temperature, how fast you are smoking, etc.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by T.G

I've been using a humicare jar for about 5-6 years in one of my coolers. Every time I've tossed a hygrometer in there, it is always 65%-66%RH.

Odd that yours hovers so low. Both of my fathers humidors are solid at 71% with the humicare jars. He has had one for a couple months, and the other for a couple weeks, both I seasoned for at least a week with boveda seasoning packs. Maybe I over-seasoned? lol

[T.G]

Originally Posted by dwoodward

Odd that yours hovers so low. Both of my fathers humidors are solid at 71% with the humicare jars. He has had one for a couple months, and the other for a couple weeks, both I seasoned for at least a week with boveda seasoning packs. Maybe I over-seasoned? lol

Could be any number of reasons: ambient humidity, temperature, volume of space being humidified vs. amount of gel being used, moisture levels of the cigars (if his cigars are fresh from a vendor they could be the cause), formula change in the gel in the last 5 years, wood of the humidor retaining moisture, age of gel affecting performance, etc...