FYI: Recharging Boveda packs

[HopeUgood]

I had some crunchy ones, left them in a bowl of distilled water for 5 days, out of pure laziness, and they were soft and fluffy as could be when they were pulled out. 

[shadowACE]

I wrap them in a damp paper towel
and toss it in a ziplock bag. Let sit for a few days...good as new.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

[---YNWA---]

Googling this topic would have given you hundreds of answers without having to experiment, this is not at all an uncommon question.

[ponfed]

I have an 85% big boveda used to season a humidor.

I keep it in a big freezer ziplock and recharge  my small 62% ones 3 or 4 at a time.

Works like an charm.

[Derboesekoenig]

1 hour ago, ponfed said:

I have an 85% big boveda used to season a humidor.

I keep it in a big freezer ziplock and recharge  my small 62% ones 3 or 4 at a time.

Works like an charm.

How long does it usually take for them to recharge when they go flat?

[ponfed]

1 hour ago, Derboesekoenig said:

How long does it usually take for them to recharge when they go flat?

I don't quite know. Two or three days. 

I think that's the earliest I checked.

[DBNInc]

I like to wrap them in paper towels dampened with distilled water and leave them in a Tupperware style container for a week.  I check every couple days in case I need to add more distilled water.  I like this method because the paper towels absorb any off smells the Bovedas have picked up.  I say they absorb off smells because the paper towels sometimes smell bad afterwards, then I toss them and use fresh paper towel.

[Chucko8]

Looks like some helpful tips here to try out for myself. Thanks all!

[Isaac]

Sorry for the thread resurrection.

 

I recently recharged all of my Boveda packs.  I added them back into my storage units and the rh is reading at like 74% with the 65% packs.  Ambient rH is 52%.  Temp is 68F.  No clue what is going on with these Boveda packs.  They were recharged using distilled water. 

Any thoughts on what might be going on?.  

[Nocoins]

I found an article online a while ago describing the same thing. The author recharged his bovedas and the resulting RH read too high.

Much as I'm tempted to experiment with recharging them, I just buy new ones when necessary (which is not all that often). At this point, they are preserving a lot of irreplaceable cigars, and almost every box in my trunks cost more to acquire than all the boveda packs that have been preserving them for years.  

[Nevrknow]

3 hours ago, Isaac said:

Sorry for the thread resurrection.

 

I recently recharged all of my Boveda packs.  I added them back into my storage units and the rh is reading at like 74% with the 65% packs.  Ambient rH is 52%.  Temp is 68F.  No clue what is going on with these Boveda packs.  They were recharged using distilled water. 

Any thoughts on what might be going on?.  

Was it Himalayan distilled water that has been hand drawn by virgins? If not, there's your problem.

[gormag38]

4 hours ago, Isaac said:

I added them back into my storage units and the rh is reading at like 74% with the 65% packs.

Were the packs you used recharged multiple times? Or just that once?

When you recharged them do they seem like they are super full? Like full pillows almost? If so maybe try leaving them on the counter for a day or so, so they can release some of their moisture. Could be they are trying to release some excess moisture that they had gathered in a super humid environment. 

I know that the company states that 'you should buy new ones and not to recharge'. Perhaps they could become less accurate over time too. Hasn't been my experience in recharging but I suppose it could be possible. 

Let us know what you find out, as this thread has definitely helped me in the past!

[Michael303]

5 hours ago, Isaac said:

Sorry for the thread resurrection.

 

I recently recharged all of my Boveda packs.  I added them back into my storage units and the rh is reading at like 74% with the 65% packs.  Ambient rH is 52%.  Temp is 68F.  No clue what is going on with these Boveda packs.  They were recharged using distilled water. 

Any thoughts on what might be going on?.  

Did you recharge them by submerging or just in a container next to some water?  I've seen quite a few pictures of recharged packs that were submerged and they come out way over filled.  If they're significantly over saturated they'll be expelling water until they're not.  When you recharge them they should weigh about what they say on the packet (eg. 60g) when you're done or they may be over saturated.  

[Isaac]

So I charged them By placing them in a container and filling with distilled water. Definitely more like pillows than how they were when new.  This is the second time I have recharged. Definitely think b perhaps they are overcharged. 
 

interesting that the 65% should weigh about 65g. They are “drying out” on a counter currently. I suppose I’ll check them every day to see if they get down to 65g

 

i would toss them and buy new ones, but want to try to avoid spending the money to replace 150 packs. 

[Bagman]

2 hours ago, Isaac said:

So I charged them By placing them in a container and filling with distilled water. Definitely more like pillows than how they were when new.  This is the second time I have recharged. Definitely think b perhaps they are overcharged. 
 

interesting that the 65% should weigh about 65g. They are “drying out” on a counter currently. I suppose I’ll check them every day to see if they get down to 65g

 

i would toss them and buy new ones, but want to try to avoid spending the money to replace 150 packs. 

I can confirm that you need to get them down to 2.2 ounces for them to work correctly.  I dunk them in water to recharge, I then let them dry out to 2.2 ounces and then put into the humidor.  You should always weigh your packs before putting them back in.

[alephilmac]

46 minutes ago, Monterey said:

I can confirm that you need to get them down to 2.2 ounces for them to work correctly.  I dunk them in water to recharge, I then let them dry out to 2.2 ounces and then put into the humidor.  You should always weigh your packs before putting them back in.

This is the way.

[Michael303]

3 hours ago, Isaac said:

interesting that the 65% should weigh about 65g.

Just to clarify, the packets will have a weight in grams listed on them.  My 65% packets all say 60 grams on them.

[Homer]

Maybe people don't understand what is gram?

[Bagman]

9 hours ago, Homer said:

Maybe people don't understand what is gram?

A term drug users use in talking about volumes of drugs to disperse/buy.  Don't turn this into some political thing.Gram/Ounces, English/Spanish  C/F we all use the terms we choose to use.  I don't have any scales at home that measure in grams, and I'm not going to convert my ounces to grams "to be cool".

[Isaac]

13 hours ago, Monterey said:

I can confirm that you need to get them down to 2.2 ounces for them to work correctly.  I dunk them in water to recharge, I then let them dry out to 2.2 ounces and then put into the humidor.  You should always weigh your packs before putting them back in.

 

yeah, im averaging 100-110gr per pack at this moment.  Not good.  So just basically leave them out on the counter until they come down?

[Homer]

2 hours ago, Monterey said:

A term drug users use in talking about volumes of drugs to disperse/buy.  Don't turn this into some political thing.Gram/Ounces, English/Spanish  C/F we all use the terms we choose to use.  I don't have any scales at home that measure in grams, and I'm not going to convert my ounces to grams "to be cool".

I am not turning this into anything. It just reads under the 65% (60 gram).

https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco/products/boveda-size-60-single-65-rh-for-cigar 

[Michael303]

This is my recharging bin just for reference.  I use water beads so I don't have to worry about spilling in the bin and I throw in a mix of different % packets and they all fill up.  If I leave them in there for a long time they can get over weight a bit but they never look like some of the over inflated ones that have been submerged.  I live in a dry environment so it's not an issue if my packets are a little overfilled as they pretty much never need to remove moisture from the air.

[Bagman]

16 hours ago, Isaac said:

yeah, im averaging 100-110gr per pack at this moment.  Not good.  So just basically leave them out on the counter until they come down?

Dude, you probably live 10 miles from me.  So not going to go online and convert grams to ounces for a fellow Oregonian!  2.3 ounces is the most you want.  If they are above that, leave them out (not outside, it just started snowing!)  Usually takes a few days.  Put them close to a heater vent, our heaters will be cranking all night long due to it being 20F.  Good times.

Next time don't let them get that big!

[Hammer Smokin']

people buy overpriced cuban cigars on the regular. 

i don't think this group represents cheap assholes. 

[Isaac]

57 minutes ago, Monterey said:

Dude, you probably live 10 miles from me.  So not going to go online and convert grams to ounces for a fellow Oregonian!  2.3 ounces is the most you want.  If they are above that, leave them out (not outside, it just started snowing!)  Usually takes a few days.  Put them close to a heater vent, our heaters will be cranking all night long due to it being 20F.  Good times.

Next time don't let them get that big!

Yeah. I don’t need the conversation. Never asked for one. Haha. 
 

i had also done a 2 day soak on 62 grams and they are puffing out 75%.   What a mess.