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XIKAR humidifiers
- Thread starter Mike72
- Start date
+1 to this..
I used the Xikar's but too complicated when you compare it to Boveda. Boveda packs are a lot more controlled and efficient
Depends on the climate/location where you store your stash, the humidor, the size, and which xikar humidifier you go with. I live in Arizona so the gels are great since humidity is pretty much always needed. It's pretty consistent at regulating at no more than 72% RH, but you will have to use more gel if your preferred RH isn't reached. The gel humidifiers work great but you have to get the amount correct to humidify your humidor. It can get somewhat expensive if you like Glass tops (they are leaky) so you will go through more PG solution and will require 2-3 xikar humidifiers. Solid wood humidors work better so just get the correct sized xikar gel humidifier. Go bigger rather than smaller since the PG solution works great at regulating between 70-72% Rh. With airtight containers Boveda packs are way better so don't bother with xikar gel humidifiers.
Here's my experience with Xikar jars:
To start off with my first Glass top 50 count humidors i had to go with one 4 oz jar and a 2 oz jar to get it to stabilize at 66% rh during winter. My room fluctuates during winter since i don't uses a heater so the room goes from 62 degrees to 71 degrees from night to day. During summer its much more stable since the AC keeps the temps stable and the humidity sticks to about 70 rh%. I didn't like 66% RH and didn't want to shell out another 7 bucks so i went with a small amount of cat litter and it solved that issue.
I'm not going to lie i hate messing with my humidors so i came up with a system where i only have to saturate the cat litter with Distilled water once every two months and the xikar jar and Boveda packs regulate and absorb any excess humidity. Boveda packs were a gift so i use them but they are not necessary (my brother bought me a 20 count bag of the 60 gram 69% rh boveda packs). Without the boveda packs my humidity fluctuated between 70-72 %rh. With the boveda packs it pretty much always stays at 69-70% RH and only spikes to 71-72% RH when it rains.
Currently in my first 50 count glass top humidor, I uses two 4 oz plastic containers of cat litter, 1 4 oz xikar jar, and three 69% rh boveda packs
The Hygrometer reads 71 degrees and 71 RH. The two cat litter containers are completely soaked with distilled water since the 4 oz xikar jar regulates the humidity to no more than 70-72 RH and the Boveda packs were a gift so are just there for extra insurance. I've had those same Boveda packs for close to 10 months and i've never recharged them or mess with them.
My second Glass top i have one 4 oz Xikar jar, one 2 oz xikar jar, one 4 oz jar of cat litter, and three 69% rh boveda packs.
The hygrometer reads 21.6 degrees C (~71 degrees f) and 72 RH. Its been raining so the ambient humidity has spiked and i'm currently at the highest RH level it ever reads.
Normally it reads around 69% humidity. Here's a pic of the first humidor i took back when it wasn't raining (i.e. normal weather here)
I also have a solid 50 count wood humidor where i keep my shit sticks and in that one i just use one 4 oz jar of crushed water beads with a handful of boveda packs to keep the humidity within reason. The crushed water beads only have distilled water so the humidity can spike up to about 75 RH. This is my turds and experimental humidor where i tested cat litter and water beads as alternatives to xikar jars.
The hygrometer reads 75% Rh humidity and 21.8 degrees C. Normally it reads 69% rh but it spikes when it rains but since this is where i house my turd sticks i don't care; hence i don't waste PG solution here. These are mostly short/combo fillers and some Acid krush cigarillos that i dislike.
I hope you noticed that they are glass tops which are notoriously leaky. Living in Arizona constant humidification is necessary. If you use less humidification media you will have to constantly be recharging your humidifiers every 3-7 days. Using crystal gels in dry environments is an absolute must if you go the wood humidor route. I love the look of the glass tops and its not a big deal to uses lot of humidification media since cat litter and distilled water are dirt cheap.
The amount of humidification may seem excessive but it works great since i don't have to recharge anything but the cat litter every couple of months. I'm not sure why people need to recharge boveda packs when you can create a set up that prevents them from ever drying up.
Btw, those are not my only humidors. I have other humidors but i use a different set up in them and the question pertained to Xikar gels and how well they regulated humidity. The answer is that xikar gel works just as advertised; you just have to use the proper amount. I combine the xikar gel with cat litter since distilled water is cheaper than PG solution. The Boveda packs were a gift so i use them since they are take up no space and they function as a secondary hygrometer.
Here's an example of air tight containers: This is where Boveda packs really shine.
The reason for recharging boveda is obvious, because they are no longer actively giving off humidity. If you have a setup that requires you to not have to recharge the bovedas, then why have them? Most prefer to use just boveads as they are some of the most accurate 2-way humidification devices. If your adding other humidification devices with the boveda, especially different RH's, there is a chance the devices are just working against each other.
On another note, if I had a humidor that didn't hold humidification, then why have it? It's not doing its job.
I think you completely misunderstand why i have it set up the way i do. I don't want to have to recharge anything for a very long time and this set up does that for me. My set up was originally just the cat litter and the Xikar jars. The cat litter was just there to provide an extra humidity source to boost my RH to 70% because it was only reaching 66% Rh (i.e. not enough water vapor available). I didn't want to pay 6-10 bucks for more xikar gel when i could just use cat litter saturated with distilled water to boost the humidity. The Xikar jars have plenty of PG solution to regulate and just need an extra source of water vapor to reach the desired 70% RH.
The Boveda packs i have are 69% Rh and the Xikar jars are 70% RH which basically makes them equivalent. The Boveda packs should basically be at equilibrium with the Xikar jars. Btw, You don't have to remove the Boveda packs to recharge them, you can just boost the humidity in the humidor and they will absorb the excess humidity and hence recharge in place (cat litter's role is to provide the extra water vapor). That whole nonsense about different humidity media "fighting it out" is just stupid shit that Boveda made up to confuse the gullible into thinking that they can only use Boveda packs and that they have to be tossed when they lose all their water vapor.
The only reason i have Boveda packs is because they were a gift. The Boveda packs are basically just there because i have them and they can be useful as a hygrometer (i.e. if you weigh them you can tell if they are losing water vapor or slowly gaining it like they theoretically should).
I don't understand why people dislike Xikar crystal gel since it work just as advertised. I don't get it, Xikar gel works perfectly fine so why do people lobby for Boveda packs instead?
Btw, I don't mind losing cigar capacity so why do people get annoyed with the amount of humidification that i use. I have plenty of storage capacity and i'm under no pressure to jam the most cigars into any given space. If i needed more space i can easily just go to Target and buy so weather tight storage bins and convert them into a humidor. I literally have 3+ lbs of cat litter and 13 spare 60 gram 69% rh boveda packs that are readily available.
http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-2...tote-transparent-with-blue-latch/-/A-15066036
http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-5...tote-transparent-with-blue-latch/-/A-15079778
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I read all your posts and personally don't care if you put 3 cigars in the glass top humidors or 30.
If you have to do all that work with Xikar gels (like combine with kitty litter or use bovedas,) I do not see the point just as I don't see the point in keeping cigars in humidors that leak.
However, you have the right to do whatever you like. It's your cigars and your deal.
I don't do anything the cat litter, Xikar gel, and Boveda packs do everything. I only had xikar gel before and the only reason i use cat litter is because i didn't want to spend any more cash on humidification as i expanded. The Bovedas were a gift and i uses them since they don't hurt anything and don't take up much space.
I like the look of glass tops so i use them. Not sure why people think its took much effort to toss in some cat litter to increase the humidity.
I don't think I misunderstood anything you said. My point still stands. I understand that you enjoy glass tops, but having 6 oz. of just gel should be way more than enough to cover a 50ct humidor. I would invest in a better glasstop or try sealing the leaks. When recharging the the bovedas, your better off replacing them more bovedas while you recharge the others. Putting some type of humidifier in the humi to recharge the boveads would mean that the bovedas would have to go over their RH level for a period of time to recharge. Which means the RH in the humi is now over its desired RH.
As far as humidification fighting, if you have a 70RH humidification device and a 60RH humidification device, the 60RH device will absorb the RH from the 70 and become over saturated, which results in 70RH.
The reason I don't like any type of gel is I don't like 70RH.
Bottom line, use what works for you.
To the OP, I would suggest Boveda, as I have had the best results with it.