Cheap alternatives to "cigar" beads?

Originally Posted by pnoon

From folks you trust?

I'm just sayin'

pnoon,
You've got a good point there. It's information I picked up here and there but nothing from anyone I know or any sources I trust. I did look at the information from the Little Pearls Kitty Litter website and the information there seems to point to it being okay. I may end up just getting some more Heartfelt myself though becuase th ones I have in my wineador just aren't enough.
Wouldn't it be nice though if the Kitty Pearls do work?

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

pnoon,
You've got a good point there. It's information I picked up here and there but nothing from anyone I know or any sources I trust. I did look at the information from the Little Pearls Kitty Litter website and the information there seems to point to it being okay. I may end up just getting some more Heartfelt myself though becuase th ones I have in my wineador just aren't enough.
Wouldn't it be nice though if the Kitty Pearls do work?

Of course the "information there seems to point to it being okay". They want you to buy it.

to the Heartfelt beads

Originally Posted by pnoon

Of course the "information there seems to point to it being okay". They want you to buy it.

to the Heartfelt beads

Heartfelt it is!

[Don Fernando]

Mario, just read Shilala's post. You need 9 to 17 times the amount of kitty litter and you need to replace te kitty litter every once in a while. In the long run beads are much cheaper and take less room in your humidor.

And btw, I don't think the beads are expensive at all.

I've read so many posts about "kitty litter" vs "beads" that I can hardly believe that anyone wouldn't pay to have beads in their humidors. I bought a pound of beads over a year ago and they work perfectly and the only maintenance is that I spray them once a month. They are self regulating, they work, I only keep a hygrometer to keep my OCD under control. I'm sure there will always be this debate and for me I go along with the majority on here and say to buy yourself some beads and relax and you won't have to worry anymore.

[borndead1]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm not a big fan of beads. They take up a lot of space and are slow to release/absorb moisture.

I use plain old floral foam rectangular humidifiers in my coolers and 100 count, and a Cigar Oasis in each of my wine fridges.

Granted, neither one of them absorb humidity like beads, but I set the level on the Oasis lower than I actually want it, and when the humidity gets low in the coolers/100 ct I just put a little bit of water in the foam humidifiers instead of soaking them. I'm gonna take a quick peek at my readings.

100 count -- 63% humidity
Cooler #1 -- 66% humidity
Cooler #2 -- 69% humidity (gonna leave it open for a few minutes )
Fridge #1 -- 62% humidity (Cigar Oasis unplugged for over 1 month now)
Fridge #2 -- 67% humidity (Cigar Oasis unplugged for over 1 month now)


You can get the old school rectangle humidifiers on c bid for $3.

[TheTraveler]

I'm not getting consistent, constant average RH with floral foam and distilled water. Granted, it's probably my technique ... I should add less water and do it more often probably.

Anyway, I'll add water to the foam and my humi will go from 62% up to 72% or 75% overnight, then I'll take the foam device out and over the next two weeks it will creep down to 62% again and I'll add the humidification device and start the process over.

It seems that every time I smoke a cigar when the humi is between 70% and 75% I get a bad smoke; won't burn right, won't stay lit, is a little harsh tasting, burns hotter 'cause of the relights, touchups and harder drawing.

What I want is consistent 65% RH with low maintenance. I believe I need some beads.

[eber]

I originally used the floral foam and had massive fluctuations, similar to the ones stated above, then I tried the kitty litter pearls and they worked a little better however still not very consistent (took a long time to get the RH up high enough) now I have a 1 1/3 pounds in my vino and a small container in my 100ct desktop and I rarely have to ever touch them and they rock a consistent 64%-66%.

For me it was completely worth the money, I am busy enough with school and work and family stuff to have to constantly monitor my RH. just my

Shilala,

I have some Heartfelt beads in my wineador right now but I don't think there are enough. I open it daily at least once per day. I kind of want to keep my humidifcation devices uniform. Since I'm opening it daily do you think using your beads or more of Heartfelts will be better. What do your beads even look like? I haven't found them anywhere.

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

Shilala,

I have some Heartfelt beads in my wineador right now but I don't think there are enough. I open it daily at least once per day. I kind of want to keep my humidifcation devices uniform. Since I'm opening it daily do you think using your beads or more of Heartfelts will be better. What do your beads even look like? I haven't found them anywhere.

I have Scott's Beads, and they work excellently. They are extremely simple to use. Put them in your Humi and forget they are there. If you want to change the RH that they are calibrated for, he provides instructions. Many people on CA use the beads and swear by them.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

Shilala,

I have some Heartfelt beads in my wineador right now but I don't think there are enough. I open it daily at least once per day. I kind of want to keep my humidifcation devices uniform. Since I'm opening it daily do you think using your beads or more of Heartfelts will be better. What do your beads even look like? I haven't found them anywhere.

You can never have too many beads.
Dave's (or Mark's) beads will do the job for you. You just have to follow his directions.
Depending on how old they are and how you have them distributed, and how often you've added water, and what size your winador is, and whether you have your drain plugged (you better), you can make a decision on what to do.
If you want to talk, send me a pm and I'll send you my cell number.
You can also start a thread and the guys will help.
Most of the guys here know more about my beads than I do. I just invented them. Literally, it's all the guys here and at our old home (Club Stogie) that helped me create them. They did all the field testing and gathered data and reported back to me, and it's honestly been a group effort from day one. Without all the guys, I'd have never been able to create them.
I usually do suggest that you keep your beads uniform. If you're using Dave's (or Mark's), I'd strongly suggest you keep using them.
The reason for that is that I've never done any tests to see how the two beads work together. Add to that, they are both brothers of the finest order. I do believe their beads are the identical product and directly interchangable, but you'd have to ask them to know for sure.
A side note...
Mark has supported me and helped me all along the way, too. It's not often you'll find a guy who's so decent and kind that he'll help someone who's creating a competitive product. Show's what kind of person he is.
He's far more interested in his brothers than making money.

The point of all my "blah" earlier is that I (or we) need a lot more info about how you are "doing things" to help you make an informed decision. It's what I was blathering about earlier.

[MrOneEyedBoh]

Yeah man, I'm hard headed about not searching enough. But dont be hard headed about these beads. They are deff worth the money up front for something that will last... well forever. your cigars are expensive, why settle for something inferior to what is needed to maintain their beauty?

Originally Posted by MrOneEyedBoh

Yeah man, I'm hard headed about not searching enough. But dont be hard headed about these beads. They are deff worth the money up front for something that will last... well forever. your cigars are expensive, why settle for something inferior to what is needed to maintain their beauty?

I hear ya and I already have a half pound of the Heartfelt beads. Just imagine if you can get 4 lbs for $10 instead of 1/2 lb for $20+sh? The brand I got looked almost identical to the Heartfelts. It's just a thought. I don't think I really need any more beads now that my Humi is semi-stabilizing, It's great to hear all of the good comments about this subject though. I've certainly learned a lot from all of you in like a day.

[bonjing]

I have a pound of Scott's beads in my little 9qt and once they stabilized they have been holding steady ever since. after a couple of months if think one of my hygros from the other humi is off I just place it in the cooler and it reads what the beads are rated at.

sooooo, Scott, when you gonna be making some more beads (nudge, nudge)

Originally Posted by bonjing

I have a pound of Scott's beads in my little 9qt and once they stabilized they have been holding steady ever since. after a couple of months if think one of my hygros from the other humi is off I just place it in the cooler and it reads what the beads are rated at.

sooooo, Scott, when you gonna be making some more beads (nudge, nudge)

I keep asking about Scott's beads. Can someone show me a friggin' pic or throw mw a link or something?! Please?

[bobarian]

Scott=Shilala, he is a member here. You can drop him a PM.

[bonjing]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

I keep asking about Scott's beads. Can someone show me a friggin' pic or throw mw a link or something?! Please?

here ya go Mario , this was the FS thread he had a few months back.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19160

Originally Posted by bonjing

here ya go Mario , this was the FS thread he had a few months back.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19160

Thanks Greg. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Very nice stuff this seems to be. Very nice indeed...

[roughrider]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

I keep asking about Scott's beads. Can someone show me a friggin' pic or throw mw a link or something?! Please?

He made a fresh batch. Get 'em if you want 'em.


http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25949

Originally Posted by roughrider

He made a fresh batch. Get 'em if you want 'em.


http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25949

Thanks for the heads up. I now have 3 of his 8oz bags and a bunch of HF beads too. I'm still interested in the KL beads thing though. TG gave me 1/2 a jug of the Equisicat pearls and I'll try them out eventually when I get a bigger cooler. This way I can transfer all of the contents to the bigger cooler and use the smaller one to experiment with.

From what I've seen so far, Scott's beads need no maintainance, whereas the HF beads do. I have Scott's beads as the primary humidifying source in my vino's and the HF beads to recycle any drippings from condensation. I use HF in my cooler.

I don't think there is anything out there that can duplicate Shilala beads. Silica is a different story though.