Question regarding balance between humi temperature and RH level

[DB17210]

Good morning,
I have had my humi for about a month now, and things seem to be going well.
I have the following setup:
-120 cigar Cuban Crafters Humi
-Madelaine Digital Hygrometer (I think I am going to buy a new one. Seems to need
re-calibrating alot)
- I currently have 50-60 sticks in there. Not sure of exact count
- 2 72% Boveda Packs... Based on many recomendations I am switching to Heartfelt Beads

My temp consistantly runs between 72-74 depending on how hot it is in Miami. I'm not really interested in trying to address that because of the increase in electric bills it will cost to get it lower. With the 2 Boveda packs my RH level was holding steady at around 69-72 depending on how many times I open the humi (I am a rookie and can't help myself to opening it to get a nice whiff and admire my collection). However, after I added a few more sticks the other day the RH has been decreasing everyday, and got into the low 60's. I'm guessing I hit the threshhold for ratio of sticks/Boveda pack count. Rather than mess around with the packs anymore, I am making the move to the beads.
Based on my temp running slightly above the 70 Degrees/70% ratio that I seem to find recomended alot, what level beads do you guys suggest I go for? I know alot of it comes down to personal preference, but my main concern is avoiding beetles.
Thanks in advance for you advice and suggestions.

[badwhale]

Beetles have nothing to do with rH. That's all temp and their presence to begin with.

FWIW, I use 65rH heartfelt beads.

Will

[Mizicke5273]

I use 65% beads in my desktop, which is in my room. My room's temperature fluctuates a lot in the summer due to poor air duct placement. It gets a good 10°+ hotter in my room, so it can get upwards of 80°+ during the day with the sun beating on the side. Which is why I have a wall mounted AC unit, even though the whole house has AC, and will drop the temp back down to ~70° for a bit.

I have two coolers in the basment as well, one with 70% and the other with 65% beads. The basement is a much nicer ~70° temperature.


So I don't consider 72°-74° high. Get what ever rH level you prefer.

Beetles have nothing to do with rH. That's all temp and their presence to begin with.

FWIW, I use 65rH heartfelt beads.

Will

It was my understanding that at high temperatures, a real high rH (like 75%-85%) will increase the chance of beetles. Or at least that is what I remember from reading a bunch of posts.

[VancouverMark]

I started with 70% beads and switched after about two months to 65% beads. I find my cigars burn better at 65% than 70%.

Mark

[DB17210]

Thanks guys! I just ordered the Extra Large 65% Rh (BLUE Cap) Heartfelt Humidity Tube. Hopefully this will make it so I can spend more time enjoying my cigars, and less time tinkering w/my humi

[VancouverMark]

Thanks guys! I just ordered the Extra Large 65% Rh (BLUE Cap) Heartfelt Humidity Tube. Hopefully this will make it so I can spend more time enjoying my cigars, and less time tinkering w/my humi

That's the exact one I have in my Cuban Crafters 150ct humidor and it works great.

Mark

[craig]

Published peer-reviewed research shows the current generations of tobacco beetles are mostly inactive and mostly do not hatch below 65 degrees F. (Search for the link to the research paper, I've posted it before.)

It used to be 70 degrees F decades ago (1930's research IIRC), but evolution works .

[DB17210]

Well I got my tube in the mail this weekend, but was a little over zealous hydrating it so I now need to dry them out in the oven or w/hairdryer and try again. I made the mistake of hydrating w/the syringe they sell dirrectly into the tube (through the holes around the tube), but since the tube itself is pretty white/opaque I went well past the recomended 4-5 teaspons. Once I get them dried out tonight I was thinking my next attempt would be to soak a paper towel w/distilled water and then pour the 70% of beads I want to hydrate onto it until they are clear. However this seems like a lot of extra work, and I immagine will result in some spillage transfering back and forth from the paper towel. I read this method on BOTL forum when I googled how to dry out my beads, and correct hydration. How do you guys hydrate?

Regarding drying them out... The packaging says in an oven, but not above 120 degrees. My oven doesn't even have a setting that low.
Any suggestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[Paddy]

Thanks guys! I just ordered the Extra Large 65% Rh (BLUE Cap) Heartfelt Humidity Tube. Hopefully this will make it so I can spend more time enjoying my cigars, and less time tinkering w/my humi

As your addiction grows out of control, buy a pound of both 70% & 65%. purchase the tubes seperatly. I use the 65 in the summer months ( when it's humid as hell ) and 70 in the winter ( when it's bone dry ). I had a hard time keeping my humidity up at 65 in the winter so I changed to the 70%. It runs at an even 67 % all winter long.

[Mizicke5273]

I would just use a spray bottle and spray them until most are clear. That is the easiest way.

[DB17210]

I would just use a spray bottle and spray them until most are clear. That is the easiest way.

Thanks. Do you have yours loose in some sort of container so that you can spray dirrectly onto the beads, dump them out of the tube, or spray through the tube?

[Mizicke5273]

I just spray the tube and bags.

[DB17210]

Thanks for the help guys! I think I got my beads dried out, and then re-saturated them w/only 4 teaspons. I only applied water (distilled) on about 3/4 of the surface area. I'm using 65% beads. Is it normal for the RH level to run high (around 70-72%) for a day or 2, and then drop down and level out? Thanks

[VancouverMark]

I have seen my 65% beads as high as 72% and then they drop down slowly. Once they my gauge reads about 60% I add some more water.

[DB17210]

I have seen my 65% beads as high as 72% and then they drop down slowly. Once they my gauge reads about 60% I add some more water.

OK. Great... I just wanted to make sure I didn't over saturate again.
Thanks

[Gern Blansten]

I have seen my 65% beads as high as 72% and then they drop down slowly. Once they my gauge reads about 60% I add some more water.

This is good info. Thanks for posting it. I'm not looking forward to our dry winters!