My Heartfelt Beads (65%) seem to need hydrating more frequently

[DB17210]

I've had my beads since around July 2011 and they have been working great, but it seems like I am needing to rehydrate them more frequently. If I don't rehydrate once a week...max every other week, my level starts dropping below 65%. Is this normal? I bought the XL Tube (2000 cubic inches) and I have a humidor that is 14 3/4" x 9 5/8" x 7 1/8". I bought a tube larger than needed because I tend to open my humidor somewhat frequently, and wanted a quicker recovery time as they advertised.

Is this normal, and is there anything I can do do get them back to the way they were when I bought them?
Thanks in advance for your input!

[badwhale]

Did you change humidors?
Do you have less cigars in than before?
Did you change the location of your humidor?

I'll assume you sized the beads for the volume of your humidor.

Is there something mechanically wrong with your seal?
I'd assume in Miami, it's not cold enough to warrant the heat being on (if ever)

The short of it is, if you've been using them with distilled water, they're not going to wear out.

Will

[cigarsarge]

Bill says you gotta "dip your puck".

[DB17210]

Did you change humidors?
Do you have less cigars in than before?
Did you change the location of your humidor?

I'll assume you sized the beads for the volume of your humidor.

Is there something mechanically wrong with your seal?
I'd assume in Miami, it's not cold enough to warrant the heat being on (if ever)

The short of it is, if you've been using them with distilled water, they're not going to wear out.

Will

Nope...Same humidor
I have more cigars than when I first bought the beads
Location is the same
According to my calculations my volume is about 1050 cubic inches... I rounded up, and the dimmensions listed are external measurements, so actual internal volume will be lower.
I believe the seal is fine... It passes the dolar bill, and woosh test
Correct in Miami I have never turned on the heat (I have forgotten how to do so since I left Colorado )
And yes I use distilled water to hydrate

I guess I'll contact Heartfelt and see what they say.

[badwhale]

Yeah, you can do that I guess.

Re-hydrating them ever couple weeks doesn't sound too excessive to me either. Maybe you just got a batch of smokes that were on the dryer side and they're sucking up the moisture?

Will

[kevin7]

Beads suck ass IMHO. I use floral crystal gel and dont fuck with it until it gets below 52% and take it out if it gets above 65%. If you get all anal about humidity it will suck the fun out of the hobby real fast. 103 out 100 newbies over humidify their cigars . Being to Miami a few times I honestly wonder why you would need any type of humidification

[cinda]

Nope...Same humidor
According to my calculations my volume is about 1050 cubic inches... I rounded up, and the dimmensions listed are external measurements, so actual internal volume will be lower.
I believe the seal is fine... It passes the dolar bill, and woosh test
.

[hed]

I use 400% of the recommended amount in my wineador because it's so dry here. Even so, I was still having to add water every couple of weeks, which is no big deal. But I'm a lazy-ass, so I've re-routed the condensation drain and now it automatically replenishes my beads instead of going into an external tray.

...Being to Miami a few times I honestly wonder why you would need any type of humidification

I was wondering about that too. But I think running the A/C will remove as much moisture as heating does.

[ggiese]

I use a combo of beads and gel/foam. I have a 500 count humdidor so I'm looking to keep the humidity as even as I possibly can throughout my entire humidor. I alternate between foam/gel and beads between drawers/levels.

I've personally noticed with beads that I have to re-hydrate them more often than the other humidification devices - but they do tend to keep the humidity a bit more even than foam or gel. I've also noticed that the beads do start to turn brown over time - I'm assuming that is the attributed to the oils in the cigars making it into the beads.

Even if you faithfully use distilled water to prevent bad things in tap water from leaching into the beads - beads do have a shelf life. You probably should replace them every year or three (depending on how they're doing), just as you would floral foam or gels.

[DB17210]

OK. Thanks for your input guys! I'm not going to worry about it, I was just wondering if it was normal as the beads age.
anyhoo... Enjoy your smokes!

[b.read]

That's a good call. I used to worry about it also..."Am I hydrating too often? Too much? Too little? " it was taking the enjoyment out of it like Kevin said. The battery in my hygrometer died awhile back and I haven't replaced it yet. The rh stays at a good level as long as I keep an eye on the beads.