I need beads! There a difference?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Vitis

So how does the inability to accurately measure the water content in the beads relate to their abilty to maintain a specific RH?

Hi Vitis,
The simple answer is "it doesn't matter". I don't have to measure the water content in the beads at a specific RH%age. It's only indirectly relevant.
HCM beads work on the principle of equilibrium.
Equilibrium is simply a balance. It's the balance of water vapor in the air and water in the beads.
The beads bind a very large amount of water per volume. When the water vapor in the air drops, the beads give up a little bit of their water so that they can be balanced with the water content in the air.
When the vapor in the air rises, they gather vapor so that they can be balanced.
The reason the volume of water in the beads can't be accurately measured at any point is because it is ever-changing.
That's somewhat misleading because it's a fiercly dumbed down statement. The key word is "accurately". I can make a very good guess with simple math.
Equilibrium is far more complicated than I stated, as well.
I've done a lot of writing on the principle as related to my HCM beads. It's long, drawn out and boring.

When Mark made the comment that beads weren't equal, he was absolutely correct. I don't think he meant to be disparaging at all. It's fact. The "money's worth" comment is one of those subjective things.
If something does the job for you at half the price, that's awesome.
Thing is, what works for you and provides value may not work for me because of my environment, my humidor, or how often I visit said humidor.

I've done tests of dozens of types of humidification media.
The goal was to find where the "value" was.
Someone mentioned Kitty Litter.
In order to get the same humidity buffering benefit from Kitty Litter as from HCM beads, a person would need to use 9 to 14 pounds of kitty litter as compared to one pound of HCM beads.
At $40 for a pound of HCM beads and $28 for 14 pounds of Kitty Litter, it appears at first to be a "value".
Problem is, in order for the Kitty litter to work as well as one pound of HCM beads, it needs to be arranged so as to provide 910 square inches of surface area as opposed to 65 square inches of surface area for HCM beads. (I'm not willing to spare that kind of room in my winadors or humis.)
Even at that rate, the Kitty Litter is far slower reactively than are HCM beads. They can handle the buffering and provide the volume needed, but they take much longer to recover the conditioned space's RH%age.

All the different humidity control products have been designed from the designer's particular perspective. I have my own needs addressed by the HCM beads. Those are the things that I feel are important.
HCM beads tend to my needs the way I want them to be delivered.
I'm full aware that my perspective may be different than Mark's or Dave's as to what they want from their beads and how to achieve it.
That difference is exactly why I researched and developed HCM beads.
I wanted what I wanted the way I wanted it.

None of the the three of us have ever been pitted against one another, and there's no need for that to ever happen.
I have the greatest respect for Mark and Dave both as businessmen and BOTL's. They more than deserve it. They're incredible people with exceptional personalities.
They also offer excellent products and provide top notch service.
If I weren't using my own beads, I'd definately be using theirs.

Shilala, thanks for the in-depth explanation. I think I understand this now.

Originally Posted by shilala

Thing is, what works for you and provides value may not work for me because of my environment, my humidor, or how often I visit said humidor.

This to me is the most important thing. We all need humidity retained, but a lot of it has to do with how quickly it regains the level when the humi is opened for some ammount of time. I do assume that kitty litter can have a much greater fluctuation and still work appropriatly for its appliation.

Thanks

~Vitis

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Vitis

This to me is the most important thing. We all need humidity retained, but a lot of it has to do with how quickly it regains the level when the humi is opened for some ammount of time. I do assume that kitty litter can have a much greater fluctuation and still work appropriatly for its appliation.
~Vitis

Actually, Kitty Litter fails miserably in the situation you mentioned.
It's best suited for long storage where the humi is very seldom opened.
Even at that, it still takes up a huge amount of space in order to be useful.
If space isn't an issue, the ambient is relatively stable, and the humi isn't opened often, Kitty Litter can be made useful.
Value-wise, it still sucks though.
A guy can use a couple pans of wetted sodium nitrate in his humi and hold a perfect 65% for FAR less money and use up FAR less floor space.
Once again, it's all about what makes me happy.
I'd pay 15 bucks for kitty litter if sodium nitrate was the only thing available because I wouldn't have to worry about spills or salt-crawl. There are many options out there that are far more appealing to me than either of those things, so I choose to go that way.
I think my "bottom line" is that I want the very best and most reliable solution that takes a minimal amount of maintenance. I have a LOT of money tied up in my cigars. More importantly, I want them to smoke good. I don't want to have to fuss with my humidor all the time to keep the environment stable.
If a product delivers on those levels, I'm going to be happy. If it doesn't work, I'm not going to be happy.
If another product provides an improvement over the one I'm using, I'm going to switch if and when I can, so long as I can afford it.