where to buy humidity beads?

[IcedCanuck]

Over the weekend I picked up a third cooler because my other two are full. I need to purchase humidity beads. I have two sources; heartfelt and cigarmony. One of them is not taking any orders until next week and the other is out of stock for the %65 beads. I was wondering if anyone has links to other vendors of cigar and smoking accessories that sell beads. I have a few boxes on the way and would really like to order the beads pronto. thanks.

*[bold emphasis added, Wilkey]

[riazp]

you could go the kitty litter route for a tempoary solution...go to a pet store, buy uncented silca beads kitty litter. A few guys use this for their coolers. Works very well holds RH between 63 to 67 depending on the surroundings.

[CanuckSARTech]

Phil, are you still coming to the T.O. herf? If so, I have something to help tide you over, at least until you're able to order some 65% beads in from Mark Neff or something like that.

[IcedCanuck]

you could go the kitty litter route for a tempoary solution...go to a pet store, buy uncented silca beads kitty litter. A few guys use this for their coolers. Works very well holds RH between 63 to 67 depending on the surroundings.

Good point, completely forgot about that. I'll use the kitty litter as a temporary last resort if I absolutely have to but my preference is definitely for the beads.

[Ginseng]

you could go the kitty litter route for a tempoary solution...go to a pet store, buy uncented silca beads kitty litter. A few guys use this for their coolers. Works very well holds RH between 63 to 67 depending on the surroundings.

I suspect that IcedCanuck is aware of the "beads v litter" debate. Since he's posting explicitly about commercially-produced beads, let's give the man a chance to find the answer he's seeking.

As for short term solutions, it sounds like he is presently using beads. If so, it might be more convenient for him to simply redistribute the beads he has now until he can secure more. It might be pushing the system a bit, but given that he's settled on beads, may provide more peace of mind.

Wilkey

[cckandb24]

I would honestly wait my friend till they take orders again. I have tried beads from various other vendors and none have seemed to last very long or be the quality of the two vendors you initially listed.

[jpn]

Try this place. Great service and knowledge. heartfeltindustries.com

[IcedCanuck]

Try this place. Great service and knowledge. heartfeltindustries.com

They are currently sold out of %65 RH beads.

[mk05]

I personally just have a ten pound bag of industrial silica beads in a stocking charged at 65% holding 64-67% solid which was attainable for ~$4, but specifically regarding branded products, Shilila's beads.

[CanuckSARTech]

Phil, I think if Mark isn't taking orders until next week (therefore taking about a further two to three weeks to get to us), that's not that bad. I'd go with what Wilkey said - depending on the size of your coolers, and the amount of beads you have in there, you should be good (I have 100 quart coolers, with 3 different packs of 8oz 65% beads, so that's about double what's needed, so it can work to stretch it out).

But, there's a vendor in Toronto that might have some. I'll PM you their webpage.

I've gotta order from Mark again shortly too, as I'll be putting another new cooler online shortly.

[riazp]

I've gotta order from Mark again shortly too, as I'll be putting another new cooler online shortly.

Same here.

[Daidemo]

If you can wait for Heartfelt Ind.

After 6 years I am still using David’s 65% beads in most of my humidors without any problem.

In meantime you can use any other short term solution.

[PigFish]

How much do you want? I can probably work something out for you. Preconditioning... correctly, takes a couple of days.

Email me @ smokedpigfish(at symbol here)hotmail.com if you want to see what I have. Include your phone number if you would like to chat.

-Piggy

[IcedCanuck]

I suspect that IcedCanuck is aware of the "beads v litter" debate. Since he's posting explicitly about commercially-produced beads, let's give the man a chance to find the answer he's seeking.

As for short term solutions, it sounds like he is presently using beads. If so, it might be more convenient for him to simply redistribute the beads he has now until he can secure more. It might be pushing the system a bit, but given that he's settled on beads, may provide more peace of mind.

Wilkey

I had not considered that. Currently my other two 70 qrt coolers have 16 ounces (one pound) of beads each and the new cooler is also 70 qrt. I think that is actually around double what is needed so I could potentially remove 1/3 beads from the other two coolers and put them in the new cooler until I order and receive more. Can anyone confirm my numbers on the required beads?

[Ginseng]

Oh, and to help the beads out a bit if you do try to stretch them, you might want to fill any large free spaces with things that do not "consume" or lock up humidity. I mean things like glass jars other humidity-inert fillers to reduce the work the beads will have to do. This is the same kind of thing as keeping the fridge or freezer full to maximize thermal mass to dampen temperatures swings from opening and closing the door.

70 quarts is a pretty sizable cooler.

Wilkey

[PigFish]

... to follow that thought.

Everything depends on numbers of air exchanges/day and the ambient conditions of the outside environment. Telling someone how much beads they need is an impossible task without knowing minute details about their storage. If the storage is truly air tight, once conditioned you don't need beads at all.

Beads don't create water, they hold water vapor. The dryer, the less airtight, the more you open the container the more air exchanges you will get. Water vapor will enter or exit the system accordingly. Desiccants are not magic, they simply have a greater means to hold greater amounts of water vapor than does air, cigars or cigar boxes/gram of dry material.

-Piggy

[Ginseng]

... to follow that thought.

Everything depends on numbers of air exchanges/day and the ambient conditions of the outside environment. Telling someone how much beads they need is an impossible task without knowing minute details about their storage. If the storage is truly air tight, once conditioned you don't need beads at all.

Beads don't create water, they hold water vapor. The dryer, the less airtight, the more you open the container the more air exchanges you will get. Water vapor will enter or exit the system accordingly. Desiccants are not magic, they simply have a greater means to hold greater amounts of water vapor than does air, cigars or cigar boxes/gram of dry material.

-Piggy

Helpful and illuminating. Well stated. Habits of use are so commonly disregarded in favor of "spec sheet" kanoodling.

Wilkey

[PigFish]

Helpful and illuminating. Well stated. Habits of use are so commonly disregarded in favor of "spec sheet" kanoodling.

Wilkey

There is a lot of hocus-pokus involved in every aspect of the cigar market (MHO) and this is just another facet of that. There are lots of flavors of desiccants. What material? What density? What pore size??? Are they water resistant?

I have been experimenting with desiccants for years now. There is information out there to fill volumes of textbooks. I know... I have bought a bunch of them!!! -LOL

-Cheers -Piggy

[riazp]

This is true. I've noticed that my aging cooler holds its humidity level a lot better than my daily cooler, probable due to the fact that I only open my aging cooler once or twice a month just to check up of things, and my daily one, well almost every day to pick out what to smoke and whanot.

Interesting thread, Very illuminated and usefull comments, Ray, Thanks for sharing your insight

[PigFish]

This is true. I've noticed that my aging cooler holds its humidity level a lot better than my daily cooler, probable due to the fact that I only open my aging cooler once or twice a month just to check up of things, and my daily one, well almost every day to pick out what to smoke and whanot.

Interesting thread, Very illuminated and usefull comments, Ray, Thanks for sharing your insight

... and some think I am just a political antagonist!!! -LOL My pleasure mate! Cheers. -R

[riazp]

... and some think I am just a political antagonist!!! -LOL My pleasure mate! Cheers. -R

Nawww...I always saw you as the Leader of the EL/RE hate club !LOL!, and now back to the subject! Cheers!

[IcedCanuck]

Nawww...I always saw you as the Leader of the EL/RE hate club !LOL!, and now back to the subject! Cheers!

LMAO

Two of my coolers are opened when my main humi needs restocking. The new one is going to be strictly for aging so it will mainly only be opened when I add another box to it. That being said I will probably keep a closer eye on all three of them after I remove beads from the first two for the third until they each have 16 ounces each back in them. Thanks for all the help and replies guys. It has been a big help. I was starting to worry a little bit but now I have a course of action!

[CanuckSARTech]

... and some think I am just a political antagonist!!!

[demiurgic]

Aloha Piggy!

Been away from the cigar world for a while and somehow, with a slightly better business, it's the first thing I thought of stocking up on! Like a bear in a salmon creek after a long nap!

Anywhoo, I wanted to ask if you have a recommendation for high humidity, medium to high heat areas like Hawaii for example! lol! Was thinking of 65 RH beads (definitely extra than what recommended to suck the excess moisture)for one of those giant marine igloo coolers. This is for a cooler I will probably leave at a Storage facility (always air conditioned, unlike my home).

Probably leave an OUST fan inside it and try and open it alteast once every 8 weeks.

Any input on this endeavor, anyone? Would you rather do a cigar oasis (seems redundant unless the storage facility is too dry in general right?)

Thanks for letting me jump back into the forum guys!! Good to be back!

Cheers!

demi

There is a lot of hocus-pokus involved in every aspect of the cigar market (MHO) and this is just another facet of that. There are lots of flavors of desiccants. What material? What density? What pore size??? Are they water resistant?

I have been experimenting with desiccants for years now. There is information out there to fill volumes of textbooks. I know... I have bought a bunch of them!!! -LOL

-Cheers -Piggy

[PigFish]

Everything depends on one's budget my friend. While not a cooler guy I am very interested in up-scaling the popular cooler to an active device. I prefer true refrigerated models as they solve problems, more than they cause, if correctly engineered and assembled.

The main problem with my interest in affordable controlled active humidors is the 'affordable' part!

I am gonna' give you a sneak peak at a pending project.

This is a kit product I will be bringing to those who enjoy the flexibly of the ice-chest humidor, but are looking for more control and better function. I will be selling kits for these and can talk more about that privately, or with Rob's blessing since this is his board. I will likely be writing a tutorial for the board, and while they will showcase products that I will be selling, the information will be free for those not wishing to buy pre-packaged, but would like the engineering help to put together their own list of products.

This ultimate Coolador will have at its core a programmable logic controller programmed by me for the use in coolers. The controllers (I am currently beta-testing them) will be very flexible, meaning that they can grow with your future project and can be reprogrammed to handle more controls than anything that I can currently find for the price. The kit is not going to be cheap by any means, but it will give you a fully controlled, but not cooled humidor, such as you would buy from Bob Staebell for a fraction of the price. You supply the cooler and I supply the engineering and if you like, the engineered products.

This small cooler I bought for $20 bucks as a test piece. The kit will include the controller, the housing, the sensors, an active humidifier, over 1.5 Litre of my desiccant in a silo and an auxiliary fan in a housing that can be placed around the humidor at your whim. I program it, you cut a hole and some wires and put it together!

If you are not going to go for a refrigerated humidor, one that will knock out a high humidity problem for you, this is gonna' be your best bet, I think.

As a primer, these controllers can be massaged into a configuration were they will cool, heat, humidify and dehumidify in the proper enclosure with the proper parts. I will be marketing kits for that application as well. I may even custom make some for those who don't like the kit idea.

In the meanwhile, even though I am changing hats, I will continue to dole out whatever help I can to mates for the asking. I just figured it was time to offer better products than I was recommending and make the profit on those products mine rather than for another.

If your coolador will be in an air-conditioned space, then high humidity should not be a problem for you. The AC in you room/office will likely make the humidor work as it should and with air exchanges, gradually lose water vapor to the office environment. In any case the active humidifier can be removed or made very dry to accommodate any over humidification issues.

Proper understanding of the beads that you buy will also help you. If you can manage to dry them and have accurate controls you can chart isotherms for your beads yourself. My desiccant product will have that work done for the customer. I am currently writing a tutorial on proper bead conditioning and should have it done pretty soon, if time permits it. Anyone who uses desiccant buffers for cigars will benefit from the read, even if they don't emulate the processed described.

If you have more specific questions, just post or email me. Your humidified servant!!!

I am currently running my controllers patched into my humidors now with a marked improvement in performance. The flexibility, at some cost to the customer in learning and understanding how to use them, is well worth it. -Ray