Kitty litter crystals
- Thread starter Cohiba123
- Start date
See. This how it is done. No fists. No yelling. Just a couple of guys whose combined knowledge of cigars exceeds that of probably 10 people on average kidding each other. All in fun and very entertaining. New guys take note. BOTL is about cigars, cigar smoking and having a good time. Relax and enjoy yourself. :clap::clap::clap:
[THREADJACK]I thought on doing this via PM, but if the wrong waspublic, so should the appology be. cigarhew, I appologise for the way I approached ye regarding yer comment towards Kevin. Bad day, little sleep,...I snapped. I understand the way to learn is to ask. Nonetheless, I stand by the fact that ye could do well keeping at bay next time.[/THREADJACK]
When I first started smoking ten years ago, I made my own credos using a plastic dish and the green sponge stuff that you can get at a florist. I then got some PG solution from the local pharmacist and some distilled water. The PG (propylene glycol) solution is the active agent that regulates humidity. It's the same agent that the credos used. Then I switched to the silica beads kitty litter and it seems to work. It does fluctuate a little and I wonder if seasoning them with PG solution would make them more consistent like the heartfelt beads? I always liked learning about chemistry and watching Mr Wizard,so part of the reason I use KL is out of curiosity and the other was to save a little money. If you google beads and art conservation, you'll find that they use beads to store valuable paintings. I do remember reading that the beads for modern art and perhaps heartfelt are made under more exact standards compared to kitty litter. I would love to see a chemist be able to break down and explain the differences as well as there chemical makeup. I suspect it has to do with an active agent like PG as well as the quality or purity of the silica.
PLUSH
Some random brother
Check out here
http://www.shilalabeads.com/faq.asp#Why_Cant_I_Just_Use_Kitty_Litter
They talk about differences between the two.
My coolidors still using the original kitty litter beads going on 3.5 years. Getting the same results of 66%-68% year around. Originally thought would have to replace them by now, when I spritz them they tended to break up a little. Another brother I gave KL to says he still using them as well with no issues.
Anyone new to wanting to try kitty litter beads read the ingredients before you buy some: MUST BE silica sand, oxygen, and water ONLY which is the same as the cigar beads. The KL potentially regulate at an different pre set than the beads. The KL I bought was discontinued so unsure what is out there today.
Anyone new to wanting to try kitty litter beads read the ingredients before you buy some: MUST BE silica sand, oxygen, and water ONLY which is the same as the cigar beads. The KL potentially regulate at an different pre set than the beads. The KL I bought was discontinued so unsure what is out there today.
Still using mine 2.5 years later and no issues.
thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
I had HF beads (65%) and the RH recently went up to about 75%.. Pulled the beads and went to dry KL. Within a day its was back to 65%.
When summer comes, we'll see how they do in the southern heat/humidty.
When summer comes, we'll see how they do in the southern heat/humidty.
I've probably been using mine about the same time frame and have had absolutely no issues with them. I've been perfectly happy, especially since if I remember correctly I think I only gave something like $11 dollars for 7 pounds of litter/beads.
Ahh, ok. I'd love to get something similar, an Avallo maybe, but with the condensation issues I have, I don't know if that'll be possible unless I move to a more stable climate with a basement. You don't find houses with basements in Aussie.
Oh, and congrats, Larry, on having that much wood at you age :eyepoke:
Oh, and congrats, Larry, on having that much wood at you age :eyepoke:
Just curious... that seems like an awful lot of condensation. You mentioned the ambient temperature; do you know the ambient RH?
Also, is the wineador a compressor or thermoelectric unit? And finally, is the drain plugged?
In a truly closed system with the right amount of beads (HF or HCM), there should be no condensation.
Yeah, it's just too much. Ambient room RH is about 42% and 85F. It's a thermo unit. About a 28 bottle. It's 600mm in height :dunno:
Drain is plugged and the setup is as per the pic below:
It starts with the rear container empty and the front being full with DW. I do this coz the RH is only 55%. I want to raise the RH and maintain it at 67% +/- 2% so keep the 2lb of HCM. As the DW evaporates, it just runs down the back wall and into the rear container. It's catching about 200mL each week.
I then empty the rear into the front and start a new week.
I've at least got a routine going so I'm not overly concerned about it. If it's an easy fix to reduce condensation, I'd be happy.
The amount of DW that you are going through along with the ambient RH and temperature lead me to believe that you have a leak somewhere. A closed system would not operate the way yours is. I would recommend that you check all the door seals as well as the seals around the compressor for any that are worn or in need of replacement.
orangedog
Navin R Johnson
This was my initial thought as well. That seems high even for a compressor unit.