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Rehydrating Bovedas

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So my first try at rehydrating bovedas seemed to have worked.. some were totally dessicated, some just a little moist... Only one problem the paper towel appears to have a little black mold on it, and their still is distilled water in the glass (cut down plastic cup)... is that normal? Is that going to be a problem for the bovedas that were exposed to it?
Just wondering...
I'm no expert but mold is never a good thing. First question is did you use distilled water? If you did you may want to not use paper towels and just use the water. I use florist foam to rehydrate bovedas cause they are less prone to growing mold.
Yeah, I was using distilled.. that floral foam might be a good idea.. Il lgive that a shot..

Thanks
 
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I actually used the replacement gels that you would use for flowers instead of water or floral foam... the stuff that expands to crazy times its size as it absorbs h20... that seems to work so far... I actually first added soem 50/50 PG solution to help inhibit mold growth...

BUT,

My question about this re-hydration.... is it possible, and and what point, can the the Bovedas be OVER re-hydrated?

Steve
 

danthebugman

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Only one problem the paper towel appears to have a little black mold on it, and their still is distilled water in the glass (cut down plastic cup)... is that normal? Is that going to be a problem for the bovedas that were exposed to it?
Mold and cigars don't mix. The warmer the temps, the easier it is/quicker mold will grow. If you're using a container that seals air tight (I do not include zip lock bags in this category, though you can follow this policy if you'd like) I'd open it every couple of days and let the air exchange...stale air = mold. Even if the mold wipes off the already affected Bovedas I'd be hesitant to use them. Bovedas are cheap, cigars are precious, why risk it?

My question about this re-hydration.... is it possible, and and what point, can the the Bovedas be OVER re-hydrated?
Is it possible? Yes and no. I've actually been conducting an experiment the last few months testing this. Here's a picture of the result...



As you can tell it's puffed up like a fat kid in a Twinkie factory. Also note the mold (I haven't burped the container in at least a month...oops). The seams didn't rupture, but I've had a few that I forgot about do that. I usually let them rehydrate until they're as full looking as they were new...maybe a little fuller.

Dan
 

Jfire

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Dan,
Fwiw I know I use a different set up. Because of using just a couple oz of DW in a wiskey glass and a sandwich bag. I've been able to hydrate bags for over 6 months in container never looking that bloated and never moldy. I think using the towel as a wick is half the problem. Although it takes a few more days to a week for them to recharge with out the towel.... I've never had to burp my system or worry about mold. A little bit of a slower recharge for no mold no bloat.
Regards,
Jfire
 
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Wanted to add a note of support here. I re-charged a dead and dry water pillow using this method. I put a soaked and folded up paper towell in a screw-top tupperware container, with the pillow on top of it. After two days it was puffed up exactly like a pillow would be and I am impressed as heck about it. lol, it's the little things, right?
 
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I hadn't used Boveda packs because like everyone says they can get pricey if you have to throw it out after they dry out but this worked for me. I went and bought a double set for my humis so I can cycle the system and never have to worry about them drying out.

You are awesome for posting this much appreciated.

Cheers,
JM
 
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Anyone experience a short useful life on recharged packs. What I mean is that I recharge them and then they only last like a week. I'm constantly rotating them. Any thoughts?

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Anyone experience a short useful life on recharged packs. What I mean is that I recharge them and then they only last like a week. I'm constantly rotating them. Any thoughts?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2 because, you know, I love Tapatalk 2.
Recharged and thrown into my humi at 67%my 72% packets last a while and technically they are working at giving off humidity 100% of the time to try to make up for the 5% difference in humidity. My guess is the humi is slightly dry Paul; not necessarily a bad thing brother. But a week is a little extreme, so it may be just slightly under 60% (if they are 68% packets that is). Your beads still working ok?
 

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Never seen anything like that pbibby... I dont have to recharge mine very often.. the RH stays above 65% around here most of the year.. so mine spend most of the year absorbing excess rather than expelling moisture..

but when I do recharge them.. it normally takes less than a week to get them filled up.. and they are good to go for months (they'll make it through the entire winter on one charge)...
 
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I brought in 69RH packs and I'm actually recharging them as we speak once they are complete I will try tossing them in and seeing if it last over a week.
Like was said your humi could be a little on the dry side.
 
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Anyone experience a short useful life on recharged packs. What I mean is that I recharge them and then they only last like a week. I'm constantly rotating them. Any thoughts?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2 because, you know, I love Tapatalk 2.
Only time i've had this happen is when waiting too long to rehydrate. Got to rehydrate before they get crunchy, had a couple that got little cruchy on the edges and they didn't last long once recharged. try rehydrating them longer may fix the problem.
 
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Anyone experience a short useful life on recharged packs. What I mean is that I recharge them and then they only last like a week. I'm constantly rotating them. Any thoughts?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2 because, you know, I love Tapatalk 2.
Recharged and thrown into my humi at 67%my 72% packets last a while and technically they are working at giving off humidity 100% of the time to try to make up for the 5% difference in humidity. My guess is the humi is slightly dry Paul; not necessarily a bad thing brother. But a week is a little extreme, so it may be just slightly under 60% (if they are 68% packets that is). Your beads still working ok?
Oh yeah! It's working fine. This is just for my daily desktop. I'm wondering since I didn't use it for about a month if it just dried out and so now is recharging as well. We'll see...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2 because, you know, I love Tapatalk 2.
 
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Do you guys have to add more water to the towels/cup during the week or two week period? Or just leave the seal shut until done...

thanks,

david
 
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