Bovedas for 74qt container

[smbauerllc]

Anyone able to work out the math on how many 320gr bovedas would be needed for a 74qt container?

 

I found someone's calculations through a Google search, but it came out to needing ten which seems pretty extreme.

 

Someone on one of the forums mentioned only needing 2 for a roughly 50qt container.

 

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[mbflash80]

From personal experience you literally drop 2 62RH 60 gram bags in and forget about it for years and years...if your climate is moderate like mine than the bags will never need to be replaced...they just hum along perfectly...

[Chibearsv]

I use one 60 gram Boveda for each 46 quart weathertight container.  Have not had to replace one in over 2 years.  In fact, the only replacing I've done is to swap in a half dry Boveda pack if the RH goes higher than I want in the container.  If the RH in the container is 65, a fully charged 62 pack won't bring the RH down so I've had to keep a couple 1/2 dry 62s at the ready to use when necessary.  Works fine.

[smbauerllc]

Very surprised that a single, 60gr pack would work for that much space.

I use 1, 320gr in my large tupperdoors since they can hold 80 and bovada says 1, 320gr is needed per 100 Cigars

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[Shrimpchips]

Just make sure that your cooler is full so you have a critical mass that can maintain the humidity.  Empty cooler will still need a lot of bovedas to maintain 62-65, but if it’s full will only require 1-2 as long as your cooler/container has a good seal.

[SCgarman]

We are currently waiting for a new house to be built so my humidor cabinet is in storage. I have my 50 or so boxes in a 105 quart Sterilite plastic container. Have 2 320 gram 65 Bovedas in there and humidity is rock solid. 

[Ginseng]

One bag or one container of crystals is sufficient at equilibrium because its only function will be to replace the moisture lost through the gaps and seals of the cooler. This assumes two key points:

• The cooler seals well and tightly
• The cigars in the cooler, whether one stick or packed solid with boxes, are already at the target RH of the humidification element

This means that the following situations will impact the ability of the humidification element to maintain the RH inside the cooler:

• Loading one or more boxes that are significantly below or above the response capacity of the element
• The frequency with which you open the cooler
• Leaving the lid open for an appreciable length of time

If the demand for makeup moisture exceeds what the pack can provide, it'll dry out and the RH will drop and not return to target. If the excess moisture to be uptaked exceeds what the pack will adsorb, then the RH will rise and may not return to target. If the compensation is sufficient for the required change, then the pack will do its job. The more packs, the faster the return to target.
I can't conceive of any situation where a 74-qt cooler would require 10 elements. However, if equilibrium is achieved, it won't make any practical difference whether you have one, two, or ten in there.

[smbauerllc]

We are currently waiting for a new house to be built so my humidor cabinet is in storage. I have my 50 or so boxes in a 105 quart Sterilite plastic container. Have 2 320 gram 65 Bovedas in there and humidity is rock solid. 

Nice, good to know

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[smbauerllc]

I have several 72-74 qts and I only need like 3-4 Boveda each…if that …….some of them have no Boveda at all and humidity holds steady at 60-65


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Good to know, thanks

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[SCgarman]

May I also add to my post that I placed weather strip sealing on the top lip of the Sterilite container where the lid makes contact. I think you need to have a better seal than just the plastic lid sitting onto the plastic lip of the container. Airtight? No, but you also don't want too much air transfer either.

[smbauerllc]

May I also add to my post that I placed weather strip sealing on the top lip of the Sterilite container where the lid makes contact. I think you need to have a better seal than just the plastic lid sitting onto the plastic lip of the container. Airtight? No, but you also don't want too much air transfer either.

The lid has a foam gasket and is supposed to be weatherproof, which I'm inclined to believe since it held 65% perfectly for a couple weeks with the room rh at 60% at the most, and the beads are almost completely dry, so it wasn't adding much moisture if any except to recover after the couple times I opened it

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[saltbox]

1 hour ago, Chibearsv said:

I use one 60 gram Boveda for each 46 quart weathertight container.  Have not had to replace one in over 2 years.  In fact, the only replacing I've done is to swap in a half dry Boveda pack if the RH goes higher than I want in the container.  If the RH in the container is 65, a fully charged 62 pack won't bring the RH down so I've had to keep a couple 1/2 dry 62s at the ready to use when necessary.  Works fine.

I use 44qt weathertight containers, and I use 8-10 67g 62RH Bovedas in each, but that's because all of my stuff is newly purchased. All of it was wet, and it required many months, and multiple rounds of drying out the Bovedas outside and putting them back in, to bring the humidity finally down to where I wanted it.

A year from now, when the humidity has really settled, I imagine I won't need nearly as many, and new boxes will likely acclimate faster as there's more mass to help absorb and settle the humidity level.

[inter4alia]

I use four 320s in my 74 quart. Bovedas work slowly so I feel like four big guys in this size container gives me a decent opportunity to deal with small fluctuations in temp or in RH when I'm adding in new boxes that come from higher RH, etc. No calculations or science behind what I'm doing, but I've done it this way for years and am happy with the results.

Just my two cents. 

[smbauerllc]

I use four 320s in my 74 quart. Bovedas work slowly so I feel like four big guys in this size container gives me a decent opportunity to deal with small fluctuations in temp or in RH when I'm adding in new boxes that come from higher RH, etc. No calculations or science behind what I'm doing, but I've done it this way for years and am happy with the results.
Just my two cents. 

Thanks.
Using Bovedas chart, I was estimating 3 minimum, but its difficult to guesstimate how many Cigars mine will hold, so was just kinda winging it

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[PigFish]

My answer is theoretical. I don't use passive humidity systems.

For me, a humidor protects cigar from instability. 

You first have to answer a few questions. What is the goal of a humidor? What is the goal of the buffer? Is the goal of the buffer (Boveda in this case) to be a primary (forward and reverse) supply of water, or an overall buffering agent?

In one case, the agent is used as an ultimate reservoir of water, where the hysteresis (the time to collect/disperse water) is not the primary concern. The second would be concerting the actual 'source' of primary EMC in the humidor. A working humidor, and a long term storage humidor will have different requirements (as I see it).

Here is an example. You have a net dry(er) ambient. You enter your humidor 2 times a day. Your rH in your humidor (as a result of air exchange) moves from 65rH to 30rH during the change. Where does your water come from to bring your humidor back to your desired EMC? Which elements have the weakest bonds on water or the ability to supply it the fastest? Do your cigars actually see the reduced rH condition, or are the protected from it?

All hygroscopic materials in your humidor will immediately react to the changed event. This is what drive diffusion, high to low, or low to high concentration. What has the greatest surface area and weakest bonds with water, the Boveda, or the cigars/boxes? Who gives up the water first, and how does it get it back then becomes the question?

Years ago I did a number of experiments with cigars in boxes as you moved them through different ambients. I would drop a data logger into a partial box where EMC was achieved and then move the box, to outside the humidor (for example). The results were pretty telling. Boxes, especially SLB boxes are pretty porous.

The ultimate question then becomes; are you looking to have your cigars the primary source of water for EMC, or do you expect that service from a supplemental buffer? It comes down to your definition of what a humidor is supposed to do for you. Is it supposed to protect cigars from extremes, or protect them from unstable conditions?

If you don't care, it matters very little. For some, if their car makes it 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds vs. 5.0 seconds, it is a big deal.

Cheers! -Piggy

[Bijan]

I use two 320g in my 120qt coolers. Probably overkill but it has worked for over a year so far.

[SCgarman]

3 minutes ago, Bijan said:

I use two 320g in my 120qt coolers. Probably overkill but it has worked for over a year so far.

Sounds about right, and the more full you keep your coolers/containers with boxes the easier to maintain a steady environment with the Bovedas. I actually recharged my two 320 gram 65 ones. They were bone dry and hardened up. Kept them for about a month on a little island inside a large plastic food storage container filled a quarter way up with distilled water. Of course Boveda frowns upon recharging them, not good for business when you can reuse instead of throw away and buy new!

[smbauerllc]

My answer is theoretical. I don't use passive humidity systems.
For me, a humidor protects cigar from instability. 
You first have to answer a few questions. What is the goal of a humidor? What is the goal of the buffer? Is the goal of the buffer (Boveda in this case) to be a primary (forward and reverse) supply of water, or an overall buffering agent?
In one case, the agent is used as an ultimate reservoir of water, where the hysteresis (the time to collect/disperse water) is not the primary concern. The second would be concerting the actual 'source' of primary EMC in the humidor. A working humidor, and a long term storage humidor will have different requirements (as I see it).
Here is an example. You have a net dry(er) ambient. You enter your humidor 2 times a day. Your rH in your humidor (as a result of air exchange) moves from 65rH to 30rH during the change. Where does your water come from to bring your humidor back to your desired EMC? Which elements have the weakest bonds on water or the ability to supply it the fastest? Do your cigars actually see the reduced rH condition, or are the protected from it?
All hygroscopic materials in your humidor will immediately react to the changed event. This is what drive diffusion, high to low, or low to high concentration. What has the greatest surface area and weakest bonds with water, the Boveda, or the cigars/boxes? Who gives up the water first, and how does it get it back then becomes the question?
Years ago I did a number of experiments with cigars in boxes as you moved them through different ambients. I would drop a data logger into a partial box where EMC was achieved and then move the box, to outside the humidor (for example). The results were pretty telling. Boxes, especially SLB boxes are pretty porous.
The ultimate question then becomes; are you looking to have your cigars the primary source of water for EMC, or do you expect that service from a supplemental buffer? It comes down to your definition of what a humidor is supposed to do for you. Is it supposed to protect cigars from extremes, or protect them from unstable conditions?
If you don't care, it matters very little. For some, if their car makes it 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds vs. 5.0 seconds, it is a big deal.
Cheers! -Piggy

Yeah, the rh is back down to 65% now, even though nothing has changed.

Was just very odd and really bugged me.

Also didn't instill a lot of faith in the beads.

I'm likely way overthinking it as I have General Anxiety Disorder anyway and am actually considering getting rid of all the hygrometers in my tupperdoors with bovedas as they have earned my complete faith, and the hygrometers only serve as a source of anxiety and aggravation when there is much of a change at all.

Once the 74qt container becomes stable and proven, its hygrometer will go away too.

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[Bijan]

23 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

Sounds about right, and the more full you keep your coolers/containers with boxes the easier to maintain a steady environment with the Bovedas.

Mine are pretty full but I'm also very lucky that while my house and basement range from 30-50% relative humidity, my cold storage room is usually 60-65%. I have some glass top desktop humidors that were useless in the rest of my basement and they're fine in there.

Next step might be to get a heater for that small storage room as temperature does fluctuate over the course of the year. Very wide range actually: 2.5C to 18.5C. I could just heat to 18 year round. Have to experiment to see what that'll do to the humidity in winter.

[SCgarman]

1 minute ago, Bijan said:

Mine are pretty full but I'm also very lucky that while my house and basement range from 30-50% relative humidity, my cold storage room is usually 60-65%. I have some glass top desktop humidors that were useless in the test of my basement and they're fine in there.

Next step might be to get a heater for that small storage room as temperature does fluctuate over the course of the year. Very wide range actually: 2.5C to 18.5C. I could just heat to 18 year round. Have to experiment to see what that'll do to the humidity in winter.

We just moved from Virginia to Myrtle beach South Carolina. Currently in temporary living as we have to wait for the home builder to complete our brand new house in the fall. So ultimately my cigars are also in temporary living in a 105 quart Sterilite plastic container with 2 320 gram Bovedas. If I didn't have a nice wooden end table humidor cabinet in storage with the rest of our belongings the cigar boxes seem to be just fine in a storage container. Believe it or not the local news here said the dewpoint (measure of water vapor in the air) was a whopping 81 today! 70 is considered oppressive. Very hot summers here, but no snow nor extreme cold in the winters. I can likely sit outdoors December-March and smoke cigars without freezing. 

[djrey]

My cooler is 150 qts and I have around 12 60 gr pouches at 62-65%. Haven’t changed a pouch in 5-7 years...

[inter4alia]

One of these days I'd really like to graduate to a proper humidor. Would love a small walk in closet type or at least a large cabinet. Until then I'll keep slogging along with my tuppers. 

[oneizzzz]

I'm in Idaho - so pretty dry out here.  I dropped 5-6 in my 96 qt and they still seem super full of water after 3 months.

[smbauerllc]

My cooler is 150 qts and I have around 12 60 gr pouches at 62-65%. Haven’t changed a pouch in 5-7 years...

Interesting.
That's just a little over 1, 320gr pack for a 74qt.
Honestly can't believe how many people are doing just fine with so few bovedas.

How many Cigars do you think is in your cooler?
@djrey

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[djrey]

3 hours ago, smbauerllc said:

Interesting.
That's just a little over 1, 320gr pack for a 74qt.
Honestly can't believe how many people are doing just fine with so few bovedas.

How many Cigars do you think is in your cooler?
@djrey

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Yeah I’m absolutely amazed at how well it works with so little but it does great. I’m probably sitting on 800-1000 cigars in that cooler. It’s my main cooler too so it’s opened almost every day.