6. Beads
‘Beads’ usually refer to beads made from ‘Silica gel’ (and made by Fuji Silya). ‘Gel beads’ are typically poly-acrylics, not silica. Both beads are white when dry, and clear-ish when wet. ‘Gel beads’ can change shape and be squishy; Silica beads are spherical, hard, and do not change shape.

If a humidor is regularly opened in only a dry room, then ‘gel beads’ will probably work better than Silica beads. Gel beads are least expensive at the local garden centre – gardeners mix the gel beads with soil to increase the soil’s water retention ability. However, craft stores sell smaller quantities. (Craft stores also sell old-school green sponge, used with 70% RH-achieving PG solution.)

However, if excess room humidity is also an issue, or if one doesn’t like to fiddle, then Silica beads are the way to go. ‘Gel beads’ do not absorb moisture very well, and PG solution sponges absorb moisture relatively slowly, and only at 70% RH. Beads work better at picking up moisture. (Due to the moisture barrier properties of cigar wrapper above 65% RH, short-term excess humidity is less of an issue than dry air.)

The best silica beads for humidor use have some Lithium Chloride (IIRC) added and are sold under the trade name “ArtSorb.” This makes the beads faster in releasing/gaining moisture in the RH range that we are interested in. However, other than that, regular Silica beads, for example, various unscented 100% Silica ‘crystal’ kitty litters, can work pretty well – but over twice as much kitty litter is needed, and kitty litter has to be ‘trained’ to the RH desired. (Do not use blue-indicating kitty litter, just the white/clear kind.)

Silica beads can be trained/re-trained to work at a particular RH, as follows:
1. Spread the beads in thin layers on shallow pans or screens. Dry the beads at 120 degrees C (about 250 degrees F) for 12 hours or more.
2. Place the hot beads in sealed metal airtight containers until cool.
3. Spread the cooled beads back out in thin layers on shallow pans/screens.
4. Place the pans/screens in an airtight container along with a Cigar Oasis or Hydra or similar set at the RH you want the beads to be at. Unlike regular use, do not spray the beads. Make sure the reservoir is full and the low-moisture alarm is on. Each kilogram of beads may absorb a cup of water or more (exact quantities depend on bead grade/type).
5. Leave everything sealed for at least a week at the desired RH. (I left mine in for a month.)
6. Load the trained beads into the tubes/socklets/hosiery/aquarium bags/etc. that you will be using. Beads work best up to three beads’ thickness, i.e., bags filled to a six by six bead cross-section. Store leftover trained beads in a humidor or a sealed container, e.g., Mason jars.
(Reference for temps/times: Lafontaine, Raymond, “Silica Gel,” CCI Technical Bulletin 10, ISBN 0-662-53370-4, 1984)

Two vendors that sell quality beads trained to appropriate RH’s are Heartfelt Industries and Cigarmony.

Beads will last essentially forever unless the pores are clogged with contaminants like cigar oils (yellow beads), over-watered into breaking, etc.

Bead sheets are beads flattened out and made into sheets, and covered on both sides with flocking-like material, so no bags/tubes are needed. Bead sheets offer space and material advantages in specific cases, e.g., in a portable humidor. However, bead sheet is more expensive than ‘good’ beads (by weight), which themselves are about ten times the cost of regular Silica beads (kitty litter).

7. Air space
In most cases, the less open air space there is, the better/faster the moisture will eventually be distributed within the humidor. Fill space. Add empty boxes – even use old tubes in small humidors.

Sometimes there will just be a lot of air space in a humidor, for example, in a display humidor, or a walk-in humidor – or even in a cooler. In all cases, the solution is the same – fans. However, continuous circulation is not needed – the Oust intermittent fan was popular for coolers and wine-a-dors, but is no longer available.

8. Hygrometers
How many times do you open a humidor just to check the RH?

If the answer is “rarely to never,” then use beads and don’t bother with a hygrometer. If the answer is not “rarely to never,” then for most, use beads and don’t bother with a hygrometer.

If you use active humidification, then use remote hygrometers to help determine the best location for the humidifier, and to monitor the system.