Humidor Seasoning and Heartfelt Beads Question

[rn6070]

Thanks for the responses. I went with the 65% rh beads, that's all my last humidor could really get up to and the cigars smoked great.

[Purepoker]

heartfelt beads are by far the best choice imo. Conserva gel, and HCM beads are really good choices as well. The cheapest route is Kittly Litter, however if space is an issue (which sounds like it is) they arent the best choice. Not sure what you were using for humidification before, but you may also want to consider the quality of the humidor. There are several tests you can do on you humidor to check the seal. The paper test is one of them. Im sure you can do a search on it and get some info. Also, what are you using as a hygrometer? You really have to make sure it's calibrated to get an acurate reading, but dont worry, i trust heartfelt beads more than any hygrometer. When you get the beads, take a paper plate and crease it down the middle. Open up the plate and pour the beads on to it, being careful not to spill them. Sprits (cheap sprits bottle from walmart) a little distilled water on them so about 60-70% of the beads turn clear. Take it slow, you don't need much water. Carefully pour the beads back in your tube and you're good to go. Hope this helps.

[JuicyRoy]

Hey, if you want to season your humidor without taking forever you can wipe it down with distilled water and a sponge like you mentioned. You can also get a little travel spray bottle from like target for a $1 and lightly mist the entire inside with distilled water. If you don't go crazy with it you will have a nice uniform layer of moisture and you wont have any saturated areas. Do that then place a shot glass inside the humidor ( I like it cause it takes up very little floor space) and then lay a dampened sponge on top of it. Make sure you give the lid a slight wipe with a sponge and distilled water to make sure the lid has a good seal. As long as the lid is sealed good you wont lose humidity and just let the wood soak up that moisture for a couple days.
Get a digital hygrometer and place it in there before you close it. When you charge you humidification device use a good pg solution. I use one that a buddy got online. The price is good, i never heard of it but it worked better than what I have been using. The bottle has the website ( www.cigarlube.com) on it. Just make sure you use this every 2nd or 3rd time and you should be good to go. As far as the beads go I personally do not care for them. They take up a lot of space and because they are technically a desiccant, when their internal moisture level drops to a certain point they can actually wick moisture slowly from the interior of the humidor. Not that they don't have good points, like they are great at absorbing excess humidity. Just my preference though, I am not putting them down I just prefer pg solution and gel. Hope this helps.