Recharging Boveda

[defetis]

Quick question. I have been one of the many who have been wasting money throwing them away after 6 months of use when they are all dried up. Right now Im trying to recharge maybe 8 large packs and 4 1g sized ones in a mason jar sealed with a shot glass of distilled water. They have been in for 5 weeks now but not much progress in recharging. Is there a faster way?

Thanks

[DogRockets]

What I did (at the advice of Horseshoe ) was to take a long plastic tupperware container and put an inch of distilled water in the bottom. Then he had me jam in a smaller size tupperware lid above the water line. I then put the Boveda packs on this lid. Then we closed up the large tupperware container with it's lid. I let that sit for about a week and most of them had plumped back up. A few of the older ones didn't really recharge, but the newer ones sure did. Give that a try.

[jhedrick83]

Make sure it gets some sun too if you can, it'll heat the water and raise the ambient RH in the tupperware.

[Emperor Zurg]

You need MOAR surface area. Put them in a tupperware with a plate of water with a sponge or scotchbrite pad sitting in a shallow puddle of warer. If you want to get technical, weigh everything up with a gram scale and add an appropriate amount of water instead of just winging it until he pack looks about right.

[StogieNinja]

warmer temp = more movement. Warm it up, it'll plump.

[piperdown]

Joel, my recharging setup is a 10x6x4 Tupperware container. Have a small platform (smaller plastic container ~3x4x2) that the boveda packs sit on. I fill the main container with about 1 inch of warm water. Only takes a few weeks to plump them back up.
As others have mentioned, you need to get the surface area up to make a difference. More surface area = more evaporation and more absorption by the boveda.

[TreySC]

I haven't tried my self, but saw a post on instagram a while back. Guy said he uses a freshly cleaned and dried container, fresh distilled water and submerge the packs about halfway for 2-3 days. Set on a towel to dry and good to go. He said it also purges some of the impurities it may have picked up.

[Horseshoe]

What I did (at the advice of Horseshoe ) was to take a long plastic tupperware container and put an inch of distilled water in the bottom. Then he had me jam in a smaller size tupperware lid above the water line. I then put the Boveda packs on this lid. Then we closed up the large tupperware container with it's lid. I let that sit for about a week and most of them had plumped back up. A few of the older ones didn't really recharge, but the newer ones sure did. Give that a try.

Very good grasshopper! This is the ticket!

Plus, if you have room for a shot glass, or gel humidifiers, I place something that is over my intended rH to force the boveda packs to stay plump. I have black ice pie humidification I place in my wine cooler. It keeps my 65's locked in and they are as fresh as day 1. They are 6 months old by now. Still good to go. I have two gel tubes that I keep in my other boxes. One in my wood box and one in my tool box. I charge those every few weeks and it keeps the boveda just right.

[dinoa2]

after much scientific research on this subject, considering temp. relative Rh, phases of the moon and the equatorial sun factor, I use a quart plastic sherbet container, orange seems to work best. I put 1 or 2 boveda packs, standing on edge with a sponge wetted down with distilled water. I wring the sponge out so it does not drip. I dont like to get the packs wet in case this would cause a leak of whatever is in boveda packs. Close the lid and check in a few days to see if sponge is dried out. If sponge is dry and packs havent plumped up, wet the sponge again and check back.

Depending on how dry your packs were to begin with, 2 packs in the container can be fully recharged in a week. After you recharge a pack several times, sometimes it seems they wont fully fill back up but well worth the effort to re-use them.:stogie:

[Sticky B]

I put mine in the microwave on HIGH with a wet towel for about 85 minutes, watching the whole time with my nose pressed against the glass door :fusmile:
defetis, don't you know how to use SEARCH?

[defetis]

I put mine in the microwave on HIGH with a wet towel for about 85 minutes, watching the whole time with my nose pressed against the glass door :fusmile:
defetis, don't you know how to use SEARCH?

I did search thats how I found out you can recharge them. It just isn't working to well some I described how I did it seeing if there was input I missed

[c.ortiz108]

I've also read you can get the newer brown ones wet with no worries. I probably wouldn't want to fully submerge them, buy misting would work, or just rubbing a little water on them to speed up the process. Good tip about increasing the heat!

[Bull]

Start recharging before they go dry and they come back in 2 weeks.
Dried out ones may not be worth the wait.
Buy twice what you need and rotate them sooner rather than later

[defetis]

I've also read you can get the newer brown ones wet with no worries. I probably wouldn't want to fully submerge them, buy misting would work, or just rubbing a little water on them to speed up the process. Good tip about increasing the heat!

I think the heat/sunlight is what its been missing. Thanks for the tips

[Gunther7912]

I put mine in the microwave on HIGH with a wet towel for about 85 minutes, watching the whole time with my nose pressed against the glass door


85 minutes, damn Sean!

[Dreadedtrash]

My boveda packs typically last a couple months in my humidor. I just have 2 sets. Onefor the humidor and one to recharge.I only have a 50ct desktop humidor and I keep 3 packs in it, so it is cheap enough to have 6 boveda packs.

I just swapped them around last night actually. The ones that were recharging were more plump than a brand new one.

[Zeede]

Really the key is that the membrane will begin to break down after some time has passed. The cube packs are listed as having a shelf life of two years, so I think it would be a good idea to toss them and buy new ones every two years.

[WNYTONY]

defetis - here's my setup. Large sealed bowl from Wally World, smaller one in bottom for distilled water and a rack from old refrigerator shelf or one of the closet ones would work. I've had 8-10 in at one time, but works best with 4-5 at one time. I stick it in a closet and turn / check them about every other day.

Top view
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/tsmrek1/IMG_20150523_212912043_zps1ryrasr3.jpg (http://s40.photobucket.com/user/tsmrek1/media/IMG_20150523_212912043_zps1ryrasr3.jpg.html)

Side view
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/tsmrek1/IMG_20150523_212935661_HDR_zpsg4sbknv7.jpg (http://s40.photobucket.com/user/tsmrek1/media/IMG_20150523_212935661_HDR_zpsg4sbknv7.jpg.html)

[Sticky B]

Start recharging before they go dry and they come back in 2 weeks.
Dried out ones may not be worth the wait.
Buy twice what you need and rotate them sooner rather than later

NAILED IT! I didn't do double, but plenty enough that I can take a huge batch out and recharge til they're fluffy without worries. I also blend HF and Boveda though, so who knows...

[fastnbulbous]

This!


Start recharging before they go dry and they come back in 2 weeks.
Dried out ones may not be worth the wait.
Buy twice what you need and rotate them sooner rather than later

[fastnbulbous]

I have been recharging for a couple of years. The attached pics seem like the perfect setup.

My setup is Tupperware with a tumbler glass of distilled water and i place the boveda packs around the glass. I have placed 8 packs this way, tightly packed and they all came back. I have even splashed a lot of water on the packs and the humidity checks out later. The packaging looks a little thinner (if that makes sense) but I have noticed no difference in RH.

Someone else mentioned not letting them dry out too much. I second that notion vehemently.

Boveda rules.


defetis - here's my setup. Large sealed bowl from Wally World, smaller one in bottom for distilled water and a rack from old refrigerator shelf or one of the closet ones would work. I've had 8-10 in at one time, but works best with 4-5 at one time. I stick it in a closet and turn / check them about every other day.

Top view
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/tsmrek1/IMG_20150523_212912043_zps1ryrasr3.jpg (http://s40.photobucket.com/user/tsmrek1/media/IMG_20150523_212912043_zps1ryrasr3.jpg.html)

Side view
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/tsmrek1/IMG_20150523_212935661_HDR_zpsg4sbknv7.jpg (http://s40.photobucket.com/user/tsmrek1/media/IMG_20150523_212935661_HDR_zpsg4sbknv7.jpg.html)

[WNYTONY]

Yes - the key is to have extra and rotate them before they get too crunchy and they will keep on going.

[LGHT]

Just get some beads. I've had mine for more than 10 years and they don't need any "special" treatment whatsoever.

[Demuths1770]

i have no issues with mine. i have a small airtight container that i put a damp sponge and the boveda in and let it sit for a few days and it recharges. i have to recharge the ones in my wooden humidor more than the ones in my tupperdors. usually every 6 months i have to recharge the humidors. i have yet to recharge my tupperdors going on 8 months!!

[Billb1960]

i have no issues with mine. i have a small airtight container that i put a damp sponge and the boveda in and let it sit for a few days and it recharges. i have to recharge the ones in my wooden humidor more than the ones in my tupperdors. usually every 6 months i have to recharge the humidors. i have yet to recharge my tupperdors going on 8 months!!

Yep both of the 65s in my tupperdors are like new after 6 months as well.