Heartfelt bead substitute?

[Rhinoww]

My set up has included a Coolidor w a pound of heartfelt beads and a few Iris weathertight containers for aging.  The boxes in the Iris containers have been stabilized at 65 in the Coolidor for a month to 65rh before going into lockdown . The Iris containers are rarely opened and have stayed rock solid at 65 without any beads or bovedas
 

My collection has grown and now I have more open boxes than fit in the Coolidor. I have another cooler to use, but I need to get some beads given that I want more regular access to those boxes. Heartfelt is out of the pound bags. I was also thinking of getting some beads for the Iris containers given the investment in sticks and the likelihood that I will move those boxes to deeper storage. So I’m thinking of getting a few pounds of beads. 
 

im wondering if there are any good two way humidificatiin alternatives out there for 65rh that folks have used, perhaps frOm another industries used for storage?  
 

I may wait for heartfelt to get their stock back online, but since I was pondering I thought I would ask this group if there were any alternatives that have proven to be effective. 
 

TIA

[eldude]

I use Boveda packs. They make them in different sizes and humidity levels. I have 3 of the 320gram 65% ones in my cooler and it holds steady at 65. 

 

https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

[Sir Diggamus]

I will second the Boveda packs idea. I have only been using them for less than a year, having exclusively used Heartfelt beads for a dozen or more years prior. I use them both in one of my humidors and in a few different tuppers. They are easy to manage and hold humidity a lot longer than I expected them to. I did a few side-by-side tests with the same cigars placed in humidors with beads and Bovedas with no discernible differences. 

[SansSin]

not sure where u live but the us amazon still has 1LB heartfelt beads available, there is also a brand called rhshield i have limited experience with but seemed to work the same as heartfelt for me. i switched to boveda from heartfelt a couple years ago, just seemed to work better at regulating rh for me and i like being able to stick the 60g throughout the boxes

[Tstew75]

All you need is Boveda. No mess, rechargeable, consistent.

I use them in all of coolidors & my wineador.

[Rhinoww]

Interesting to see the Boveda support here. Thanks for the input so far. 
 

Thinking about getting the 12 pack of the 60g 65rh pack so the can go around the cooler to even things out. The multiple packs would also let me throw one or two in on of the Iris containers if I wanted to put a little insurance inside. 
 

Amazon looks to have a good price and returns until 1/31. Considering ...

[asmazda]

I tried them all...  expensive education.  Boveda is the way to go!

[J-Slay]

All Boveda in my coolidors too!

[Smatthews607]

Boveda is the way to go. So easy to use.

[Yellot00tr]

Bovedas. Without a doubt. Use them in my aristocrat too.

[Rupe]

Bovedas are the easiest but if you want to save some money and don’t mind a little DIY project, un-scented crystal kitty litter is the way to go. You can basically “train” it to meet a certain humidity level and it will work exactly the same as beads.

I have put together a step by step document that explains how to make it work. If you are interested in trying kitty litter, please send me a PM and I will send you a copy. 

[Rhinoww]

1 hour ago, Rupe said:

Bovedas are the easiest but if you want to save some money and don’t mind a little DIY project, un-scented crystal kitty litter is the way to go. You can basically “train” it to meet a certain humidity level and it will work exactly the same as beads.

I have put together a step by step document that explains how to make it work. If you are interested in trying kitty litter, please send me a PM and I will send you a copy. 

Interesting idea for sure. I will likely stick w easy but I am a fan of the creativity. My wife will have a lot of questions if she sees kitty litter starting about a cat and ending in a review of my cigar collection ?

[sdlaird]

UNSCENTED silica kitty litter does the trick.  at a fraction of the cost.  When I had 2 huge coleman coolers for storage, that is what I used.  Put them into old cigar boxes in 3 different spots in the coolers with small micro computer fans set on a timer to make sure the humidity circulated.  Once stable, rarely had to do anything.  Would spritz with distilled water as needed.  In addition to old boxes, can use fish tank filter bags too.