How to boost your humidity

[shogun89]

After recently becoming interested in collecting cigars and building my own humidor I have learned a lot about keeping and stabilizing safe levels of humidity. Previously discussed methods here such as using florist foam and the medusa method had a high risk of mold and really no regulation of humidity meaning it could swing from 50% to 80%, not good. Now days a lot of cigar humidors are using a product called heartfelt beads, they are simple silica beads that you spray with distilled water, they regulate the humidity to a set 60%, 65% or 70% depending on which bead you buy. Apparently they are very reliable and keep the humidity dead on. Now the problem with heartfelt is that they cost $30/lb. and one needs about 1lb. of beads per 5 cubic ft. however many cigar collectors use a cheaper alternative that works just as well. Exquisite Pearl Kitty Litter is the exact same thing and can be purchased for about $16/8lbs. People have had much success with this product and are able to hold a steady humidity level of about 67% So my idea is make a huge pumidor, a closet sized one. After measuring my current storage closet, it is about 80 cubic ft. So I figure If I buy about 16 lbs. of this stuff and spread them out on trays in the closet and feed them distilled water, I should be able to have a walk in humidor at the cheap price of about $30. These beads are non toxic and never need to be replaced, they last forever, just add distilled water. Having the entire closet a humidor will reduce risk of molding the cakes due to the large amount of air flow. This is just and idea but tell me what you guys think, as I believe this could solve alot of our low humidity problems.

[Maitre_Tea]

Could you post the link of cigar collectors using kitty litter for humidifying purposes? The product is non-toxic, but does that mean that there's no funky smell that might contaminate our stash? Also, how regularly do you have to keep adding water?

[shogun89]

http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-c ... earls.html

This is just one link, there are tons of links on google though. No, there is no smell and all i know about refilling is a desktop humidor needs it like once a month or so. They are clear when humidified and turn milky when they need to be watered.

[TIM]

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9856
Topic: Pu Erh / Pumidor Candidate

For a big space like this, would you consider a humidifier with digital control?

[TomVerlain]

you need to think about humidity on the surfaces of the closet, as well as getting good airflow, including fresh air as well as circulation of stagnant air. I'd worry about having the large amount of surface area needed to keep it all humid, with out kitty litter slightly below the top layer getting "funky" - but I am cynical ...

[Drax]

I agree with the issues brought up here.

You'll probably need a fan of some sort to help mix the air inside. With a space as big as a closet, you're bound to see a big differential between the humidity in the bottom and the top (if you don't have a way to mix it).

You can solve the fresh air problem by making sure to open it up every so often. It would probably be a good idea to monitor the trays with a very good and frequent inspection early on to see how (or if) they change at all over time (funky odors, sliminess, etc).

Finally, I'll say the obvious -- pick a good closest. Seems like a best one would be stone... humid dry-wall doesn't strike me as generating a pleasant odor (but who knows?), and you should be able to seal the whole space, especially at the door.

That would be my last concern -- if you can't seal the space very well, it might get expensive to be refreshing your closest with that much distilled water (the beads used distilled water, right?)

[physiognomy]

I'm sorry that this is my first post here... I will make sure to post a proper introduction, but I wanted to add my 2c based on several years collecting/smoking cigars. No offense meant to shogun89, just want to make sure people do a bit more reading before charging into this head first...

...however many cigar collectors use a cheaper alternative that works just as well.

Some do use alternatives to the type of beads available through Heartfelt (David is a great vendor btw) and others, but it is debatable that they "work just as well". The main difference is that these beads both absorb and release moisture to maintain a RH that they are permanently set to. They work indefinitely and don't require anything but distilled water out of the box.

Exquisite Pearl Kitty Litter is the exact same thing...

I'm sorry to say that this isn't true... The chemical differences (sadly I am no chemist, but I believe it relates to salt concentrations/composition within the silica beads) mean that their properties are not the same. The kitty litter will need to be put through a conditioning process in order for them to have any chance of holding a useful RH. In my experience (yes, I have tried using kitty litter in my humidors/coolers) they are not reliable in effectively maintaining a stable RH and definitely not worth the hassle just to potentially save a few bucks. If you take a read of post #66 of the first thread quoted above you will find more accepted info... Scott definitely knows his stuff where humidity beads are concerned.

...I should be able to have a walk in humidor at the cheap price of about $30

Some more advice based on my experience with cigars... Why spend a sizable amount of your hard earned $ on tea and then skimp on storage? It doesn't make any sense & you will likely end up spending more $ in the long run if you don't do it right in the first place. For what it is worth, I don't know of anyone who humidifies a large space like a closet with beads alone. If you have such a large collection that you need to humidify a whole closet, I would suggest an adjustable active humidifying device coupled with a calibrated hygrometer and dry humidity beads as a fail-safe when RH rises above an appropriate level.

Just my humble thoughts...

[TIM]

A warm welcome physiognomy. A cigar and tea collector I assume?

[Maitre_Tea]

Seemed too good to be true...

Is there anyway to humidify a small area, like as a shelf in a book case for a relatively low cost, or does one need to just bite the bullet and invest in a humidification system

[physiognomy]

A warm welcome physiognomy. A cigar and tea collector I assume?

Thanks for the welcome Tim! I've always enjoyed Chinese green teas & have recently become interested in pu-erh.

... Is there anyway to humidify a small area, like as a shelf in a book case for a relatively low cost, or does one need to just bite the bullet and invest in a humidification system

Cost does not need to be high at all... Relatively speaking.

http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/Produ ... ONSERVAGEL

I give the above link only to show that you can find humidity beads for cheaper than $30/lb. I have not bought from this company myself. One of the main considerations when using these beads is having a good seal so you are not charging the beads with distilled water every day (after all, we want this to be easy). I would also pick up a hygrometer that you can calibrate (http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/prod ... DHYG_ROUND - given as an example) as well as a small fan for air movement (I use aired out Oust fans).

For larger spaces I would suggest something like this (there are other brands and vendors)... http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/prod ... HYDRA%5FSM

Good luck! I will post some pics of the setup I'm trialing when I get a chance...

[shogun89]

So after giving this some more thought, I'm thinking it may be better to just invest in a humidification deice for my entire room, as some of you suggested. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind to get?

[TIM]

So after giving this some more thought, I'm thinking it may be better to just invest in a humidification deice for my entire room, as some of you suggested. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind to get?

Depends on how big is the space.

[Maitre_Tea]

Using an Oust fan for circulation....brilliant!

I have a small space: 2 ft. long by 1 ft. wide by 1 ft. tall

Would using these beads and an oust fan work for humidification purposes, and if not, where can one buy a good small humidifier?

[shogun89]

I'm currently looking at these. First one for my entire room, or the second for closet only...

http://www.amazon.com/Crane-Gallon-COOL ... _sim_hpc_5
http://www.amazon.com/Sunpentown-SU-105 ... B00125JGNE

[nonc_ron]

I'm currently looking at these.
http://www.amazon.com/Sunpentown-SU-105 ... B00125JGNE

Hi shogun,
This one looks to be the same type, and it's $10.00 cheaper. (on the same page)
Drunken Master