Long, round, firm, porous containers for kitty litter

[Ropey]

Being thinking of taking a giant leap into kitty litter.

For cigar humidification. Got some "Mimi" brand $4 for 4 lbs at Walmart.

However, I don't really care for the idea of using nylons to hold it in a big, somewhat-spherical blob. I use several smallish tupperdors, and something like that would fill the space poorly.

Therefore I'm thinking about using some aluminum tubos with holes punched in them. I'm just not sure if they would allow enough vapor transfer and I obviously don't want anything to mold.

Here's a pic, lemme know if you think something like this would work for some 40-count tupperdors:



If anyone has any other ideas for a good, cheap container like the above, I'm all ears.

[TreySC]

Don't know why it wouldn't work. I've seen other guys use single cigar coffins with holes drilled in them.

[Tobias Lutz]

I think that would work fine

[gordo1473]

Only one way to find out

[Ropey]

Woops I've already experienced the downside of kitty litter: the fact that its performance depends almost entirely on the amount of water that's in it. I thought I read that it had a "set-point" of 68 RH. Guess not.

I made two of the above tubos and put some KL in one. Poured some distilled water in, shook it a little, capped it, and stuck it in a plastic bag with a hygrometer. After about 10 minutes it was rock-solid at 68. I thought "Great!"

Then I took some more KL, put it in the other tubo, wet it, shook it and stuck it in an identical plastic bag. Guess I used slightly less water this time, because the hygrometer went down to 62! I pulled out the tubo and added a little bit more water, put it back in the bag. Currently the hygrometer reads 74 and rising!

Not sure I'm gonna stick with the KL. Already seems like more work and uncertainty than I want to deal with. I don't want to have to measure water and so forth to find just the right balance.

Guess the Heartfelt beads are "pre-trained" for a specific RH... maybe I'll think about those.

[OnePyroTec]

A little history on Kitty Liter. The first people who figured out it works and started pushing the concept were laughed at severely from guys & gals who "knew" these guys were crackpots. Over time, peoples minds were changed one person with an open mind at a time until no one (or not many) is laughing at using Kitty Littler any longer. I had the pleasure of having dinner with one of the innovators of using Kitty Litter just over a decade ago. I asked him point blank "how does it work?" He said it is the simplest thing you could ever think of. He told me to "train" Kitty Litter, you simply put it in an ice chest with a Cigar Oasis that is set to what ever % you want to have...be it 65% or 70% or anything else...and close the lid for a couple weeks. When that fan quits coming on you know you are at your desired humidity level and you are good to go.

[Ropey]

He said it is the simplest thing you could ever think of. He told me to "train" Kitty Litter, you simply put it in an ice chest with a Cigar Oasis that is set to what ever % you want to have...be it 65% or 70% or anything else...and close the lid for a couple weeks. When that fan quits coming on you know you are at your desired humidity level and you are good to go.

That's not the simplest thing I could ever think of.

Especially since I have neither an ice chest nor a Cigar Oasis. And I don't particularly want to screw around with a cigar humidification system.

Bovedas -- which I've been using -- are 0% maintenance. My only problem is that they are "slow to respond" to temperature-change-induced RH swings.

I'm not the type of guy who laughs at a new idea or laughs at the concept of using KL for humidification. I've read old threads where people got into huge arguments about KL vs non-KL. I really don't care either way. I just want something that's as little maintenance as I can have; I have enough to occupy my mind.

If HF beads lock on to a certain RH and don't let go, then I'll be happy to throw those in my DIY containers.

(FYI, my DIY containers seem to work well with vapor transmission. There are 16 columns of pushpin-punched holes in each tubo. Punching the holes was extremely easy, though a bit time-consuming. I just eyeballed it. I used La Gloria Cubana 'Gloria en Cedro' tubos for the project.)

[OnePyroTec]

I wasn't suggesting for you to condition the KL, simply giving the history behind them.

I'm curious what would be an easier or more simple way of conditioning KL to a desired humidity level.

[Ropey]

I'm curious what would be an easier or more simple way of conditioning KL to a desired humidity level.

Believe me, I am too.

Until one is found, I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and get some HF beads.

[steelman]

This is what I do (and did). It seems to me KL with no water will give me a RH of 62%. BTW I use an aquarium filter bag to hold mine for a wineador and use 2 tubos as you did in my 70 count humidor. If you need to raise the RH for your preference, spray distilled water (2 or 3 squirts) and then shut your door. This will raise the RH. Then go from there, squirt a little more several hours later if you want it higher or leave it if it is at a suitable RH for you. It holds at that RH very well but if you notice the RH dropping then give it a couple more squirts.

This may not be as precise as the Oasis method but is suitable for my purposes.
I was told not to pour water on the KL as it would wash away the salt thus limiting its effectiveness but can't verify how true this statement is.

Either way use it or don't use it. Whatever your comfort zone tells you. It has always worked well for me and I have no plans to use any other method besides the odd Boveda pack for a traveldor.

Cheers....