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Hey guys, I am thinking about switching over to a cooler for my cigar storage. Can you fill me in on the humidification beads for this method? Is this the only good way to properly humidify a cooler? What is the best product to buy that won't break the bank and where is the best place to get them for a good price?

Or lettuce.

Drafter uses lettuce (though he never eats it.....)

Never tried kitty litter, but many here have said they have had success with it.
Personally, I use Heartfelt 65% beads in ALL my humis and coolers, and they work GREAT . . . just a wee bit pricey, but worth it in my opinion.

I also need some help in regards to the setup of the cooler. From what I have read you just stick the boxes in and some beads and let it go. Anything else I need to know? How do the cigars inside the boxes get proper humidity? What do you do if you have loose cigars and no boxes to put them in?

I use HF beads. Get them from HF directly. If you're a veteran, send them a note telling them so. David is great guy -- used to offer vets a discount -- not sure if he still does. Seems pricey, but they last for years, are low maintenance and well worth it in the long run.

https://www.cigarbid.com...555/Specific-Coolerdor-
https://www.cigarbid.com...53/One-of-my-coolerdors
https://www.cigarbid.com...-Depot-Lowes-or-Target-
https://www.cigarbid.com...osts/647108/A-coolerdor
https://www.cigarbid.com...my-first-coolidor-ready

https://www.cigarbid.com...smell-just-use-it-as-is

https://www.cigarbid.com...posts/16308/My-Coolidor
https://www.cigarbid.com...50327/Starting-Coolidor
http://www.cigarbid.com/FORUM/c/post/2834004/

I use HF, KL, and Bovedas. They all work.

Yank the Crank is on fire. These are all great issues that have never been discussed here before.

No worries.
You're using the noop Search link. Once your post count and $$ spent reaches the appropriate level, a little red star will appear next to the "Search" link. Then you'll have access to the good search engine, as well as free shipping, special discounts and of course matches and humidified delivery.

All my big Sterilite tubs use one gel jar, four 69% Boveda packs spread out inside, and of course lots of cigars.

I have rock-solid correct humidity, in all the containers. I just refill the gel jars with distilled water as needed, and they refill the Bovedas automatically through excess water vapor released into the air. I never have to replace or even touch the Bovedas, and the jars last for many years... I don't even know how long, since I can't remember ever replacing one yet.

I've had no problems with this arrangement.
.

The King is under MY cone of protection.

Nothing can touch him you plebe.

65% by the pound.

Or lettuce by the head

I bought bulk beads. Then tied them up in wife's old nylons and some fine mesh bags that I'd had laying around. I do have one cooler with a layer of naked beads in a shallow plastic bowl...I need to bag those up before I spill them...but, they work just fine that way, too.

What did Carl suggest?

Sorry, didn't even see that comment. I will send him a message.

I would say the value of my stash is probably over $1,000. Is kitty litter not a good idea since the investment is higher?

+1

What is the best place to get the Heartfelt beads?

Google Heartfelt beads and go the their site.

Buy twice as many as you think you'll need because once you go to a coolerdor you'll never go back.

ME <--- ---> dstieger

my .02.
i started with drymistat tubes, working for that 70/70 target. i got maybe 8 or 10 tubes since i had multiple humidors going because i thought 40 count meant 40 count, and when you go a little overboard with auctions and weekly shipping, you just get another humidor. also it was super easy to get packages that included humidors. that changed when i got a small fridge that i was gonna make into a wineador. for that i used the old jars/tubes, and added KL since it was a much large volume to humidify. it wasnt thermo electeric, and my room got super hot in the summer, so that caused me to experiment/play around/constantly monitor it for the whole summer and just became a serious PITA. it got easier in fall, but i had to again monitor it a sh*t load, so again, PITA.
during this time i started to read the forums more, started trying (and really liking) the smokes that cost more then i what i looked at. so instead of searching for 1$ bid stuff, my auction habits changed, and the humidor investment increased. having more investment in the stogies made me more irritated with temp swings, humidity swings, and sub par smokes when i got around to it. so for peace of mind, a thermo winedor project became a birthday gift to myself. solved my temp issues and after drawers got seasoned, it would be around 70% with a baking sheet of KL at the bottom, another nylon/aquarium media bag in a top drawer and a tube or 2 per drawer. probably over kill, but checking them has been a habit ever since i moved on up from the cigar storage bags i started with. not a bad set up, but i would notice some cigars would not like it around 70 (which could climb up to 72 at times). for those cigars, they are in a diffrent tray, with a 65% boveda packet on top (been in there for about 7 months now, with no sign of shrinkage or need to be replaced. this became my super cheap insurance policy to try and keep the rh more consistent. and it has worked this has keep the top end of the wineador RH around 65-66, and the bottom around 67-68. if i doubt the hygros, i swap them out with one another and they do register the change. i understand that i probably have some overkill steps, but i use all the extra jars and tube and have to infrequently add DW to them until the winter, and i did not find a purpose in throwing out perfectly good stuff.
so the KL works, and as long as you follow the instructions on it around many pages here, it will keep you near 70RH (i think i used this, but it was long since tossed "exqusicat fragrance free) . BUT if thats not what you want, then your quite hard pressed to drop it lower. i had played with ways that got me somewhere i am happy, and dont mind the upkeep. when space will get tight, heartfelt 65% will be my way to go, and if some cigars are a little wet in that range, then i will segregate them with a 62 or 58 boveda around them.
if i were to start all over, then i wouldn't waste time with KL. for the amount of surface area i needed to get what i wanted, i used a good deal of space, and had a lot more guess and check work. not epic, but not always possible. if you want an easy, smart and safe bet, heartfelt is the way go man. and thats coming from someone who has not used it yet.

Meh, don't listen to the snobs.

Kitty litter works great, my overflow sits at 62% to 66% and I have to spray them every couple of months.

HF Beads work great, sits at 62% to 66% and I have to spray them every couple months.

Boveda packs work great...

I received my first order of HCM beads recently. I haven't had them long enough to form an opinion based on experience. But, I do acknowledge that many many people who's opinions I value are HCM customers.

There's a fascinating discussion on beads on a different forum that I can't link here. However, if you google "HCM beads pigfish" it's one of the first few links.

The real takeaway for me is that the cigar humidification market just isn't a big enough slice of the dessicant world to support a product designed from the ground up for keeping your cigars at the correct rh. So, there's LOTS different ways to get to a bead that might do the trick....lots of ways to do it...lots of different products. Lots of differing opinions on which products are best for you. I like HF beads. But I still have some old gel jars I won here many, many years ago and am using in a cooler. And, I don't normally admit this, but in the deadest driest weeks of winter, I even use green foam with distilled water in one of my best humidors. No PG. No KL. But nothing so very wrong with either.

They last forever and there is no maintenance on them. Well worth it if you are storing anything of value.

Plenty of nice inexpensive options for bid.

I always get a laugh at the BOTLs that spare no expense or effort to get the cigars they want, only to pinch every freakin penny to store them properly. Even when I was a noob, I never understood this frugal practice.

I spend a least of 15% of the cost of my computers, TVs, firearms, even vehicles, for "protection" including surge protectors, battery back-ups, regular maintenance and extended warranties. Why would you not apply that same principle with storing your investment in cigars?

But I have to do maintenance on my vinyl siding...

I always wondered if anyone actually buys extended warranties... now I know that they do!

Anyway... KL and HF Beads are made out of the same stuff, and they basically work the same.

In my main humidor, I got a pound of HF Beads, in my overflow, I have around a pound of KL, and the both perform equally well.

It's ok to be a tight wad if you're choosing something that performs just as well as something else for a lower cost.

You act like keeping your cigars at 65/65 is rocket science or something, lol.