Drymistat Tells You When to Add Water
Drymistat releases water vapor when it's needed and only when it's needed. The crystals shrink as they give up water. That makes it easy to tell when it's time to add water. Tap the tube on a table to settle the crystals to the bottom of the tube. When they go below the 'Add' line simply fill with water to the 'Fill' line.
Note: Typically this occurs between 2 and 12 weeks, depending on the humidification demands, (how many cigars, how large the humidor, the ambient environment, etc., etc). Please note; you do not have to wait until the crystals shrink a lot. You can refill to the 'fill line' at any time. Most people set up a regular schedule, for example every 3 weeks in the winter and 5 weeks in the summer, and fill their Drymistat regardless of the crystal level.
Do Not Refill With PG Solutions – This can ruin the balancing effectiveness of the Drymistat
Note: Pure Propylene Glycol is the liquid that regulates the relative humidity when mixed with water in certain ratios. Initially a special solution of water and Propylene Glycol has been pre-charged into the Drymistat which has been formulated to regulate 70% RH in cigars at 70°F. The regulating properties greatly depend on a very specific ratio of PG to water being maintained. Too much PG and humidity goes down. Too little PG and humidity goes up.
Note: Pure PG does not evaporate. It does break down however, but very slowly and over a long period of time. To compensate for this, when you see the humidity level inside the humidor start to rise, only refill Drymistat to the middle of the logo (the patent number line that no one can read). After some more time, you might only need to fill to the bottom line. You may have to fill it more often, but it will still work.
Note: Adding additional PG 50/50 Solutions instead of just plain water will not 'clog' the unit. It will however increase the ratio of PG to water and thereby reduce the RH level in the humidor.
Note: Adding Regulating PG Solutions, the ones that do not say they're 50/50, are like buying bottles of plain water with a very small amount of actual pure PG. They're better than PG 50/50 because they are mostly water, but you shouldn't add these every time you refill, or again you may increase the ratio of PG to water and decrease the RH in your humidor.