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Beads: Distilled vs. Filtered water

martinman

martinman

Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2005
Messages
55
For a while now, I've been using filtered water from from our britta in the frig to recharge my beads. I haven't noticed any coloring issues (a previous thread said they 'yellow' over time). However, I'm having a heck of a time keeping them charged in the Michigan winter. I recharge them and the humidity sometimes jumps to 68, then slowly, slowly drops to 65, stays there for a few days, then it starts going down, down down... It gets to around 63 for a couple days, I start the whole process over. So, are my beads broken because of the filtered water?

Humi has been seasoned and there are no leaks (tested this a while back when I first got it).

Any ideas? I'm sure the humidity fluctuation isn't playing nice with my sticks!!

mark
 
Distilled water: is desired due to its purity and lack of minerals.

Filtered water: normally brita filters only remove chlorine taste and odor to tap water but still contain many other impurities and minerals.

I think that is why ppl prefer distilled water.
Less chance of any mineral or impurity in other H20's to interact in your already volatile RH environment!..LOL!!


Have you properly calibrated your hygrometer?
Also what temps are you seeing in your home and or Humi environment.

Temp will also effect RH.
 
I thought temperature played only a small role in RH? It's around 66deg right now, but can get as low as 62 (but as high as 70). I (finally) found a spot in the room that maintains a decent temprature range.

So what is the optimum temperature? 70deg? That probably won't happen here in the winter months (at least no in my old house).
 
Yes, distilled to be sure, to remove the minerals that will plug the beads.

My guess in that the RH in your home is like mine - very low due to the ambient weather. I have to add a sponge element to my humi, moistened with plain old distilled H2O, when it's very dry like it was before the monsoons kicked in. With a sponge element in there, I could keep things 65-ish without too much drama though the sponge needed water every five to seven days.

Good luck - B.B.S.
 
read the viper's bead faq forum

my understanding is that using filtered water allows minerals along with water to get into the beads while they're breathing, but while the water leaves, the minerals do not and eventually clogs the beads and makes them unable to work
 
Use distilled water. Reason above.

As far as the beads turning yellow, this will happen even with distilled water. Mine are a light shade of yellow and I only use distilled water. Make sure you have a really good seal. Your humidity should not be dropping so fast. You might want to put a shot glass of distilled water in your humidor for a day or so to help kick start the environment.
 
So far I have only used distilled water, but I do have reverse osmosis system. Would the water from the RO be pure enough?
 
i dont have the energy to do a "compare and contrast" tonight, but as stated before, there is a big differene in the makeup between distilled and filtered water.


ask wilkey, he has more energy than me. hes probably got me on smarts too.
 
Ekans said:
Distilled water still has impurities, I'm using sterilized water
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So the water cant have kids anymore huh :p
 
Wurm said:
Ekans said:
Distilled water still has impurities, I'm using sterile water
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So the water cant have kids anymore huh :p
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lol, it's used for irrigation

edit: I just realized it's german water
 
DISTILLED! DISTILLED! DISTILLED!!!!!!

Sterile water doesn't mean that the impurities are gone. You can autoclave water or filter sterilize water, or chemically sterilize water, etc, etc. Point is this....THE MOST TRIED AND TRUE WAY TO RENDER WATER FREE FROM IMPURITIES (like metals and minerals,) IS TO GLASS DISTILL/DEIONIZE IT!!!!! Don't try to shortcut hundreds of years of chemistry!

It is based on boiling points and condensation points. Short of getting a research grade water purification system in which you end up with PURE H2O, glass distilled/deionized water is your best bet. If you don't work in a lab like I do, you can buy distilled water by the gallon for next to nothing at the grocery store.

Go that route so you don't have to worry about anything.

Good luck!
 
I'm not a chemist, but i did talk to the pharmacist and they said that distilled water still contains bacteria or something like that and sterile does not contain any impurities (bacteria, minerals, ionides(sp?))

bchem said:
DISTILLED! DISTILLED! DISTILLED!!!!!!

Sterile water doesn't mean that the impurities are gone. You can autoclave water or filter sterilize water, or chemically sterilize water, etc, etc. Point is this....THE MOST TRIED AND TRUE WAY TO RENDER WATER FREE FROM IMPURITIES (like metals and minerals,) IS TO GLASS DISTILL/DEIONIZE IT!!!!! Don't try to shortcut hundreds of years of chemistry!

It is based on boiling points and condensation points. Short of getting a research grade water purification system in which you end up with PURE H2O, glass distilled/deionized water is your best bet. If you don't work in a lab like I do, you can buy distilled water by the gallon for next to nothing at the grocery store.

Go that route so you don't have to worry about anything.

Good luck!
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It depends on how the water is sterilized/distilled. If it is distilled in a sterile environment, don't worry about microbes all that much. If it is ONLY sterilized, you'd still have the impurities. To get around that, you'd have to have sterilized AND distilled water.

I wouldn't worry about the microbes though. IF there are any present at all, and you truly have distilled water, they won't do anything but die. They don't "walk" over from the humidifier to the cigars and start growing on them, and if they are on the humidifier, I doubt they'd do much of anything. Temperature isn't ideal for most bacteria, and if you have truly distilled water, there would be nothing for them to grow on (no nutrients or minerals...just water) so they'd likely die. Most organisms HATE a pure water environment (including humans!) Osmotic balance is way off in pure water and many cells (mammalian and bacterial) will often lyse in a pure water environment.

I say, for reasons I've stated, and also those mentioned above, use whatever water you want, sterilized, anti-freeze, pissed in, whatever, just as long as it is distilled at the end!!! That's the important part. ;)

Ekans said:
I'm not a chemist, but i did talk to the pharmacist and they said that distilled water still contains bacteria or something like that and sterile does not contain any impurities (bacteria, minerals, ionides(sp?))

bchem said:
DISTILLED! DISTILLED! DISTILLED!!!!!!

Sterile water doesn't mean that the impurities are gone. You can autoclave water or filter sterilize water, or chemically sterilize water, etc, etc. Point is this....THE MOST TRIED AND TRUE WAY TO RENDER WATER FREE FROM IMPURITIES (like metals and minerals,) IS TO GLASS DISTILL/DEIONIZE IT!!!!! Don't try to shortcut hundreds of years of chemistry!

It is based on boiling points and condensation points. Short of getting a research grade water purification system in which you end up with PURE H2O, glass distilled/deionized water is your best bet. If you don't work in a lab like I do, you can buy distilled water by the gallon for next to nothing at the grocery store.

Go that route so you don't have to worry about anything.

Good luck!
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bchem is right about the water, but I think that he's using Milli-Q water in his humidors without telling.

We all have problems keeping humidity high enough in the winter due to low ambient humidity. Not opening your humidor very often helps, and as others suggest keeping some extra humidification in there.
 
SeanGAR said:
bchem is right about the water, but I think that he's using Milli-Q water in his humidors without telling.

We all have problems keeping humidity high enough in the winter due to low ambient humidity. Not opening your humidor very often helps, and as others suggest keeping some extra humidification in there.
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Haha! I have access to all types of water...Milli-Q (ever taste that stuff? weird!) glass distilled, deionized, autoclaved, .22um filtered, etc. Believe it or not, I ended up buying a gallon of store brand distilled water! For sake of convenience and not having to smuggle out 50mL conical tubes with Milli-Q water! Although, I am guessing that'd be the safest bet. :laugh:
 
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