Seasoning the humidor....in-season

[Shelby07]

Ok, I think I'm a bigger boogerhead than Indysmoker.... I use water from my drinking tap (it's softened and then ran through a reverse osmosis filter) to keep my (dare I say it?) sponge and silicon wet. So, feel free to berate and educate!

I don't know what the reverse osmosis does, but don't they use salt to soften water?

[SideWinder]

I don't know what the reverse osmosis does, but don't they use salt to soften water?

Yeah, we use salt to soften the water. The RO filter takes 100% of most of the nasty elements in tap water out and 97% of the rest of the nasty shit. I think sodium falls in the 97% grouping. Am I abusing my cigars? The humidity levels stay pretty constant.

[Shelby07]

Yeah, we use salt to soften the water. The RO filter takes 100% of most of the nasty elements in tap water out and 97% of the rest of the nasty shit. I think sodium falls in the 97% grouping. Am I abusing my cigars? The humidity levels stay pretty constant.

I don't know, but considering that a gallon of distilled water costs about 97 cents and lasts a few months, I'd just wonder why you're taking the chance with sticks that could cost quite a bit more each. Seems that might be penny wise and pound foolish.

[SideWinder]

I don't know, but considering that a gallon of distilled water costs about 97 cents and lasts a few months, I'd just wonder why you're taking the chance?

Well, damn Shelby, since you put it that way....

[stjohnroe]

Tap water will eventually clog up whatever humification device you use and reduce its efficiency. Distilled water is cheap, buy some.

[WOXOF]

A buddy of mine has a Reverse osmosis thingy. He has a bunch of saltwater fish tanks he has to keep supplied. I think the RO should be just as good as distilled water if you don't have to buy it(already have the RO thingy). But you still need the beads.

[SideWinder]

A buddy of mine has a Reverse osmosis thingy. He has a bunch of saltwater fish tanks he has to keep supplied. I think the RO should be just as good as distilled water if you don't have to buy it(already have the RO thingy). But you still need the beads.

I have a container of Madelaine's Crystal Clear Tobacco Humidifier. Forgive my ignorance, but is that what you're calling "beads?"

[indysmoker]

having had a 200 gallon reeftank.....and A Reverse osmosis unit....it is just as good if not better than distilled water. Same thing a different way of getting there....Reverse osmosis basically runs the water through different filters using a slow and high pressurized process. one of which I know is charcoal. I used it to keep a different type of "stick" healthy....coral.....A coral frag (maybe the size of your pinky) could run anywhere from 25 to 75 and up.....RO water is okay to use.

cited proof (hey its on the internet)
The answer is distilled and r/o are so close in quality that it is a 'wash'.
Some say (I agree) that r/o has better flavor because the oxygen hasn't been boiled out of it. Distilled tends to have a 'flat' taste. R/O is far more convenient and cost effective. The difference is that distilled cost about 3 to 5 times as much per gallon to produce. My home has a special R/O lead-free tap and a connection to the ice maker. That is hard to do with any bottled water. There are some fine r/o systems out there. You can visit WQA.org and look up "drinking water devices". Whatever you choose make sure they meet the WQA and NSF standards for performance. You can check them out at NSF.org. The National Sanitation Foundation is the most respected lab for that sort of thing, and the Water Quality Association represents water treatment equipment dealers world wide. So your decision is really one of convenience and what you feel comfortable with. Good Luck, hope I helped, Fred

[WOXOF]

I have a container of Madelaine's Crystal Clear Tobacco Humidifier. Forgive my ignorance, but is that what you're calling "beads?"

They'll do, but I would upgrade to the Heartfelt beads from Viper(do a search, lots of good info on them in here)

having had a 200 gallon reeftank.....and A Reverse osmosis unit....it is just as good if not better than distilled water. Same thing a different way of getting there....Reverse osmosis basically runs the water through different filters using a slow and high pressurized process. one of which I know is charcoal. I used it to keep a different type of "stick" healthy....coral.....A coral frag (maybe the size of your pinky) could run anywhere from 25 to 75 and up.....RO water is okay to use.

cited proof (hey its on the internet)
The answer is distilled and r/o are so close in quality that it is a 'wash'.
Some say (I agree) that r/o has better flavor because the oxygen hasn't been boiled out of it. Distilled tends to have a 'flat' taste. R/O is far more convenient and cost effective. The difference is that distilled cost about 3 to 5 times as much per gallon to produce. My home has a special R/O lead-free tap and a connection to the ice maker. That is hard to do with any bottled water. There are some fine r/o systems out there. You can visit WQA.org and look up "drinking water devices". Whatever you choose make sure they meet the WQA and NSF standards for performance. You can check them out at NSF.org. The National Sanitation Foundation is the most respected lab for that sort of thing, and the Water Quality Association represents water treatment equipment dealers world wide. So your decision is really one of convenience and what you feel comfortable with. Good Luck, hope I helped, Fred

yeah what he said.

[cls515]

Some say (I agree) that r/o has better flavor because the oxygen hasn't been boiled out of it. Distilled tends to have a 'flat' taste.

I'm pretty sure distilled water that you find in the grocery store is more free of contaminants than the reverse osmosis water.

You don't boil out oxygen when distilling. If you did that, you wouldn't end up with water. The process works by taking some water, boiling it so that water evaporates, while the impurities in the water does not. The evaporated, pure water vapor, is allowed to condense and is collected.

[Bkcloud114]

Shit

[Bkcloud114]

I don't know what the reverse osmosis does, but don't they use salt to soften water?

I hope this answers your question Shelby..... Salt is used in a water softener, but the sat itself is not added to the water to soften it. The ions are used to clean the beads which hold the ions which create hard water.....

http://home.howstuffworks.com/question99.htm