1 year on using HCM beads...

[Cohiba Stevie]

Hi guys!

Many people on here are probably wondering "where the hell have you been?!!"

Lol my busy work and family life dont give me as much opportunities to contribute to a forum that is very dear to my heart but please know that im lurking around every day lol.

So today i was working overseas and while i was sitting through a very boring seminar i had a reminder pop up on my iphone, it read:

"today you will have had your hcm beads for one year... Thoughts?"

I remember setting it when i got hold of the beads which you guessed it was one year ago.

I made the change when i got fed up with another very well known and extremely popular type of bead just wasnt cutting it anymore. I will withhold the vendor and type as i dont want to denigrate their business.

I was using them in my aristocrst humidor that is equipped with an air circulation fan connected to a timer. The first beads went ok for the first few months, then slowly bht surely the distilled water refills became more frequent, the beads broke down and they turned an awful brown colour.

I will pre empt any "you must have a bad seal on your humidor" comments by saying my aristocrat humidor is sealed like a nuns ******. Ive never had a problem with it and dont expect i ever will have.

So having became disenchanted i ordered the appropriate volume of HCM beads based on the reccomendation of a forum member here.

All i can say is that i need never buy another humidification device for what should be a very very long time.

I bought the 65%rh beads and in the last 12 months the lowest rh my hunidor has ever been at is 63%rh, the highest being 65%

How do i know this? I have tracked the humidor data electronically using one of these: http://amperic.com/manual/

Once a month i export the data to an excel spreadsheet and do the averages.

Im not going to wax lyrical about hcm beads for another few hundred words but for me they have been perfect.

I threw them in my humidor a year and left them there to do their job and they did it well, no messing about with distilled water or pg solutions.

Overall im delighted.

P.s. There are people on here who know me well enough to know i do not do endorsements and have no affiliation to hcm beads whatsoever. The above is my honest opinion.

Thanks for reading

Stevie

[StingMeadery]

I really like my HCM beads also.

During this summer I did need to perform an emergency recharge on them and actually recondition the humidor as It is only an average quality cabinet humidor which simply dried out...

RH dropped to 58 and took several weeks to recondition the Enviroment to retain moisture in the wood and stabilise the beads at 65 again.

Now I keep an eye on everything and maintain a default setting of distillerd water in there for evaporative insurance.

My seal is like "the Wizards sleeve"

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wonky]

I am trying a new method on a humidor I have with HCM beads. To be fair, the humidors seal is good, but not perfect. Other beads discharge too quickly. The HCMs hold really steady for a long time, but I have added a single large Boveda 65% pack to buffer everything. Working like a champ and takes up less space.

[BradNC]

Hi guys!

Many people on here are probably wondering "where the hell have you been?!!"

Lol my busy work and family life dont give me as much opportunities to contribute to a forum that is very dear to my heart but please know that im lurking around every day lol.

So today i was working overseas and while i was sitting through a very boring seminar i had a reminder pop up on my iphone, it read:

"today you will have had your hcm beads for one year... Thoughts?"

I remember setting it when i got hold of the beads which you guessed it was one year ago.

I made the change when i got fed up with another very well known and extremely popular type of bead just wasnt cutting it anymore. I will withhold the vendor and type as i dont want to denigrate their business.

I was using them in my aristocrst humidor that is equipped with an air circulation fan connected to a timer. The first beads went ok for the first few months, then slowly bht surely the distilled water refills became more frequent, the beads broke down and they turned an awful brown colour.

I will pre empt any "you must have a bad seal on your humidor" comments by saying my aristocrat humidor is sealed like a nuns ******. Ive never had a problem with it and dont expect i ever will have.

So having became disenchanted i ordered the appropriate volume of HCM beads based on the reccomendation of a forum member here.

All i can say is that i need never buy another humidification device for what should be a very very long time.

I bought the 65%rh beads and in the last 12 months the lowest rh my hunidor has ever been at is 63%rh, the highest being 65%

How do i know this? I have tracked the humidor data electronically using one of these: http://amperic.com/manual/

Once a month i export the data to an excel spreadsheet and do the averages.

Im not going to wax lyrical about hcm beads for another few hundred words but for me they have been perfect.

I threw them in my humidor a year and left them there to do their job and they did it well, no messing about with distilled water or pg solutions.

Overall im delighted.

P.s. There are people on here who know me well enough to know i do not do endorsements and have no affiliation to hcm beads whatsoever. The above is my honest opinion.

Thanks for reading

Stevie

Love the KNUT. I have one as well. Awesome to connect wherever I am and see what the temp and RH is. Good stuff. I haven't gone the bead route yet but thanks for the info.

[Vortigan]

Many people on here are probably wondering "where the hell have you been?!!"

I've thought about little else! I'll should finally get a good night's sleep now

[Dimmers]

Another vote for HCM here, good product

[earthson]

Just got a pack of HCM to test in a desktop and I, too, am growing amazed at how well they work. The old HF just fell apart and I got tired of picking out bits of plastic stuck into my cigars. I plan on doing the full HCM conversion over the next 6-9 months. Ill keep the HF in there for a while, but mostly to help condition and stabilize everything until Im tired of cleaning up the plastic detritus.

[LeafLover]

"sealed like a nun's ******".....so wrong.....but so funny!!!!

[mash]

That's pretty cool of them to ask for your feedback.

[polarbear]

Reading the website I've got to ask

Do these lower RH in a already high RH environment?

I've got a couple of desktops that sit at 70% regardless of what I do

[Duxnutz]

They keep my fridge in Syd rock solid PB. House has been in the 80% range with frequent door opening.

[Cohiba Stevie]

That's pretty cool of them to ask for your feedback.

if you have a point to make why dont you just come out with it? I can assure you there is no dishonesty with the above post.

Shame we cant do an unbiased review without people jumping to senseless conclusions

[Ubergosupro69]

Seems like jumping to a senseless conclusion to assume that mash was mocking you. I imagine he just misunderstood the reminder you set yourself for an email sent to you by HCM. Hardly any evidence he meant to attack

[oliverdst]

Seems like jumping to a senseless conclusion to assume that mash was mocking you. I imagine he just misunderstood the reminder you set yourself for an email sent to you by HCM. Hardly any evidence he meant to attack

that´s what I understood too.

" while i was sitting through a very boring seminar i had a reminder pop up on my iphone, it read:"

[joeskow]

I see both sides to this mix up.. I think mash just ment that it was good business practice for HCM to follow up to see how your beads were doing and your thoughts..

It was a self reminder not a message from HCM..

No harm no foul.

I have the "other" beads in my cooler and so far so good but have only had them for about 6 months.. If and when I start having problems with them HCM is my next investment as I like the idea of clay based and no need to add direct water.

[Cohiba Stevie]

Ok, i see where i may have got mixed up.

Mash - i certainly retract my previous comment if thats what you meant. The reminder was set by myself and not instigated by the company.

Please accept my apology mate i have misconsrued your msg.

Thanks for the clarification gents, i hope my return to the forum hasnt made me look like a douchebag lol

[Ubergosupro69]

Misunderstandings like this are so much easier to have happen on a forum than in person, I'd imagine it's something everyone can sympathize with.

[mash]

I see both sides to this mix up.. I think mash just ment that it was good business practice for HCM to follow up to see how your beads were doing and your thoughts..

This is what I meant. I didn't catch you'd reminded yourself. No worries Stevie.

[oliverdst]

Ok, i see where i may have got mixed up.

Mash - i certainly retract my previous comment if thats what you meant. The reminder was set by myself and not instigated by the company.

Please accept my apology mate i have misconsrued your msg.

Thanks for the clarification gents, i hope my return to the forum hasnt made me look like a douchebag lol

Don't worry, Stevie, you don't look like a ****** because of that...

[bandm]

I've had great luck with HCM beads as well, pretty much maintenance free and hold rock steady.

[Quint]

Reading the website I've got to ask

Do these lower RH in a already high RH environment?

I've got a couple of desktops that sit at 70% regardless of what I do

PB yes the theory is if RH starts to go above they absorb the moisture and for drier conditions they release. HTHs

[CUBANO]

Have both HF and HCM beads. I like HCM better

[FHFinster]

I'm a big fan of Bovedas. Set it and forget it. Want to forget it longer, add a few more Bovedas to the wineador.