Anyone tried Aqua Gems?

[LostAbbott]

http://www.aqua-gems.com/

I was at the fabric store a few weeks ago trying to get some floral foam to replace the stuff that started to mold in my humi when I saw these. I figured they were exactly the same stuff that all the other bead manufactures use and you can get a pack that makes 1gallon for $5. I made enough to fill up my humidifier box and added some more in a little cup for the other side. So far I have had them in there for about two weeks now and they are keeping my box at a consistent 70% humidity as read on my digital humidifier. I have a bally IV glass top with about 70 cigars in it some still in celo and some naked.

What do you guys think? Anyone else tried them? Could be a really good option especially if they are the same stuff as found in more expensive humi beads.

[icehog3]

How did you decide they were "the same stuff that all the other bead manufactures use"?

Also, from their website:

Just add water to rehydrate the AquaGems. Over weeks, liquid beads will slowly lose water through evaporation and as your growing plants or fresh-cut flowers drink the water. This rehydration process can be repeated many times.

Many times? My beads have lasted for years and years, certainly this implies that the aqua-gems will not.

Also can't see anywhere on the site a set humidity level. You say the gems have kept your humidor at 70%...any idea why?

My opinion? I am not going to risk thousands (or hundreds, depending on your collection) of dollars worth of cigars to save $20 on my humidification source....but hey, that's me.

Sounds to me like this would not be a wise usage for cigars. My first thought is simple, there is no humidity control associated with these Aqua Gems. They simply are an absorbing agent that effectively dries up over time.

You mentioned that you replaced the floral foam due to mold...........did you use straight water on the foam or did you use a mixture of water and propylene glycol? The reason I ask is that by itself floral foam is not intended nor will it act as a humidity stabilizing component which is what you want in your humidor.

The use of propylene glycol has a twofold benefit.

Firstly, the formation of mold as well as bacteria is actively prevented. Secondly, propylene glycol forms a thin layer on the surface of the humidifier, which absorbs humidity at humidity levels of over 70% and which emits humidity at humidity levels below 70%. In this way, the humidifier is self-adjusting and will automatically stabilize the humidity level at an optimum level of approximately 70%.

Now if you were looking to replace your humidification unit I can understand looking for alternatives, however, I would think your main concern would be to find something that is an active humidifier. By active I mean something that will release moisture when the content in your humidor is below a set point (whatever percentage you like but between 60% and 70% and my preference would be closer to the 60% range) and would absorb moisture if the RH% in your box went above the set point.

There are a multitude of options out there.

foam and propylene glycol.
A half dozen if not more bead suppliers (heartfelt, cigarmony, HCM beads, cheaphumidors, etc etc)
Active digital units like Cigar Oasis, Hydra
Humipacks like Boveda

While your RH is constant after 2 weeks I would argue that it is more a matter of chance than a good substitute humidification system. It sounds to me like it would take much more monitoring and you would subject your cigars to fluctuations in RH, that may be ok for you but I am of the opinion that cigars like wine do not like change and that an environment that is not constant puts them at risk.

For myself I am with Tom on this one, they simply are not designed for the purpose and therefore it is not something I would do or recommend.

[massphatness]

Originally Posted by SilverFox

Sounds to me like this would not be a wise usage for cigars. My first thought is simple, there is no humidity control associated with these Aqua Gems. They simply are an absorbing agent that effectively dries up over time.

You mentioned that you replaced the floral foam due to mold...........did you use straight water on the foam or did you use a mixture of water and propylene glycol? The reason I ask is that by itself floral foam is not intended nor will it act as a humidity stabilizing component which is what you want in your humidor.

The use of propylene glycol has a twofold benefit.

Firstly, the formation of mold as well as bacteria is actively prevented. Secondly, propylene glycol forms a thin layer on the surface of the humidifier, which absorbs humidity at humidity levels of over 70% and which emits humidity at humidity levels below 70%. In this way, the humidifier is self-adjusting and will automatically stabilize the humidity level at an optimum level of approximately 70%.

Now if you were looking to replace your humidification unit I can understand looking for alternatives, however, I would think your main concern would be to find something that is an active humidifier. By active I mean something that will release moisture when the content in your humidor is below a set point (whatever percentage you like but between 60% and 70% and my preference would be closer to the 60% range) and would absorb moisture if the RH% in your box went above the set point.

There are a multitude of options out there.

foam and propylene glycol.
A half dozen if not more bead suppliers (heartfelt, cigarmony, HCM beads, cheaphumidors, etc etc)
Active digital units like Cigar Oasis, Hydra
Humipacks like Boveda

While your RH is constant after 2 weeks I would argue that it is more a matter of chance than a good substitute humidification system. It sounds to me like it would take much more monitoring and you would subject your cigars to fluctuations in RH, that may be ok for you but I am of the opinion that cigars like wine do not like change and that an environment that is not constant puts them at risk.

For myself I am with Tom on this one, they simply are not designed for the purpose and therefore it is not something I would do or recommend.

and now i can die happy

/threadjack

[Salvelinus]

These look so fun I might just get rid of my cigars and fill my humi with multiple colors

I'd like to hear how your experiment goes, but until then I keep my beads.

[LostAbbott]

icehog:
Well I am pretty sure that most of the guys who supply beads do not actually make them, as they probably buy the beads from dow, basf or some other large firm who produces these types of polymers or who holds the patents. Also any of these products release and absorb moisture. I imagine that they do it at varying rates, foam being the lowest and beads having varying degrees closer to what a humidor needs. Also with the amount of beads I got they could die after two uses and I would still have 4years wort of beads.

salve: I got the clear beads figuring that maybe the colored ones might have something more that I don't want in my cigars.

Might be a mistake but I figured they would be an upgrade from foam and as I just found this forum and read about the puckifier, and RH beads. These things look really similar and I could throw some dry beads in there to suck up moisture, I am also thinking I can tweak the humidity by adding or subtracting beads.

[icehog3]

Well, let us know how if goes in the longer term, should be interesting. I wish you luck...for me, I will stick to what is tried and true for hundreds of us.

[LostAbbott]

I just used distilled water in the foam and aqua gem beads. I look at the hygrometer once or twice a day and the humidity has been solid at 70% even with temp changes of about 5 degrees up or down from 70%.

[LostAbbott]

How often do people typically recharge actual cigar beads? Or do they even need it? Can you tell I am new yet?

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

How often do people typically recharge actual cigar beads? Or do they even need it? Can you tell I am new yet?

In my climate (Chicago), more often when during the winter when forced air furnaces are running. Might have to add water here once every 4-6 weeks in the summer, and maybe every 2-4 weeks in the winter...but the climate you live in can have a great effect on how often the beads need distilled water.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

How often do people typically recharge actual cigar beads? Or do they even need it? Can you tell I am new yet?

Are you the owner, proprietor, or an employee of Aqua Gems?

[bobarian]

Floral foam + water= Damp sponge. You are not regulating humudity, you are culturing mold. By changing to these "beads" you simply changing the method of delivering moisture. Most of us prefer a source that will absorb as well as release moisture as needed. I am not willing to risk my collection on such a foolhardy attempt to save a few dollars. My Heartfelt beads have kept my Rh steady at 62-65% for the last 3 years and I find them to be excellent investment.

[LostAbbott]

Originally Posted by bobarian

Floral foam + water= Damp sponge. You are not regulating humudity, you are culturing mold. By changing to these "beads" you simply changing the method of delivering moisture. Most of us prefer a source that will absorb as well as release moisture as needed. I am not willing to risk my collection on such a foolhardy attempt to save a few dollars. My Heartfelt beads have kept my Rh steady at 62-65% for the last 3 years and I find them to be excellent investment.

Well what I am trying to get at is I am not sure these are not the same product as what you might find in a cigar specific application just marketed differently, so yes they are a small risk(only if I am not paying attention to my hygrometer), but also an upgrade over floral foam which I suspect most people who have small home humidors use.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Well what I am trying to get at is I am not sure these are not the same product as what you might find in a cigar specific application just marketed differently, so yes they are a small risk(only if I am not paying attention to my hygrometer), but also an upgrade over floral foam which I suspect most people who have small home humidors use.

That would be an erroneous assumption. At least for those here at CA who take this hobby/obsession seriously.

If you are a cigar smoker, you should head on over to the New Inmate forum and introduce yourself.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

so yes they are a small risk(only if I am not paying attention to my hygrometer),

I disagree that the risk is "small", but I also am not even willing to take a small risk with hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of cigars.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Well what I am trying to get at is I am not sure these are not the same product as what you might find in a cigar specific application just marketed differently, so yes they are a small risk(only if I am not paying attention to my hygrometer), but also an upgrade over floral foam which I suspect most people who have small home humidors use.

This thread has shades of Kitty Litter vs Beads written all over it...

There are a few different ways to make and post-treat super-absorbent gel polymers, all of which will result in slightly different behaviors, only some of which will be suitable for cigar storage. Just because they are a squishy water absorbent gel thingie, doesn't mean that they will work the same as the squishy water absorbent gel thingies packed into Drymystat tubes or jars of Humi-Care gel.

Without knowing the chemical makeup of these aqua gems, it's really just a guess if they might or might not work as you want them to.

[LostAbbott]

Originally Posted by pnoon

Are you the owner, proprietor, or an employee of Aqua Gems?

uh. no

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

uh. no

uh. thanks.

[LostAbbott]

Your right T.G I am guessing/hoping. People use kitty litter? That sounds a little gross.

Seeing as how some have commented that my risk is larger than I think. What kind of risk am I looking at going with these instead of cigar specific beads?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Your right T.G I am guessing/hoping. People use kitty litter? That sounds a little gross.

Seeing as how some have commented that my risk is larger than I think. What kind of risk am I looking at going with these instead of cigar specific beads?

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...

You're misusing or misunderstanding what "beads" are. "Beads", in the cigar humidification sense are a solid, rigid, often silica based, humidity control medium that comes in the shape of tiny beads (1/16" diameter or so) that functions as a 2-way humidity control substance - it both releases and absorbs moisture to maintain a certain pre-set humidity level.

Heartfelt is one well established supplier of trusted bead based humidity control products.

Comparing the Aqua Gems to beads is really an apples to oranges comparison.

Aqua-Gems are a super-absorbent polymer gel, not a bead, they just happen to come in a spherical shape. What you should be comparing the Aqua Gems to is other super-absorbent polymer humidification gels found in products such as Drymistat tubes and Humi-Care Crystal Gel jars. Gel humidifiers do work, and can maintain a set humidity, but they are less than ideal for climates where the humidity goes above their "set point" as they are kind of sluggish to absorb humidity out of the air and lower the RH in a humidor. Beads react much quicker to changes and seem to work about equally well/quickly for both raising and lowering humidity.

Now, as for your risk... *shrug* I dunno. Assuming that the aqua gems are in fact non-toxic as claimed, which they probably are, your max risk is the value of the cigars you are humidifying plus the value of the humidor, if something happens that were to contaminate the humidor and make it unusable.

As for the kitty litter, there are some unscented litter "pearls" that are pretty much just silica and because of this and their nature to absorb moisture in the form of cat urine and then slowly release the water to evaporation, there are some who feel that KL is equal to, if not completely identical to, it's cigar bead counterpart and for the cost of about $10 for 7 lbs they are getting exactly the same thing as the cigar beads which are about $30 a pound.

One can spend quite a lot of money on cigars, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Why **** around with the unknown and put your whole collection and humidor at risk, just to try and try to save a few dollars, and in this case, aqua gems versus humi-care gel, it really is only a few bucks you are going to save at the most.