Cigar Oasis 2 bead conversion question

[GotaCohiba]

Has anyone replaced the foam in their Oasis or electric humidifier with RH beads?

Just curious if this might be an option for getting rid of the foam

[Philc2001]

Yes, I did it a few years ago, still using it with my Oasis. But don't use beads, you need to use polymer crystals... like Soil Moist or something similar. You don't need a lot, about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon is enough, they will expand to hundreds of times their size to fill the space inside the reservoir. Just use distilled water and top it up every couple of months. 

[GotaCohiba]

2 hours ago, Philc2001 said:

Yes, I did it a few years ago, still using it with my Oasis. But don't use beads, you need to use polymer crystals... like Soil Moist or something similar. You don't need a lot, about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon is enough, they will expand to hundreds of times their size to fill the space inside the reservoir. Just use distilled water and top it up every couple of months. 

Thank you, I’ll give it a whirl

[BlueClaw]

I also did the same using those polymere gel crystals. Very easy to do. Make sure you scrap all that green foam out then rinse good with distilled water. First expand the crystals in another cup for a day then spoon it in the oasis. That way you don't overfill over expand in the oasis which can screw up the small motor. I've had my oasis last like this for years and works great.

[GotaCohiba]

2 hours ago, BlueClaw said:

I also did the same using those polymere gel crystals. Very easy to do. Make sure you scrap all that green foam out then rinse good with distilled water. First expand the crystals in another cup for a day then spoon it in the oasis. That way you don't overfill over expand in the oasis which can screw up the small motor. I've had my oasis last like this for years and works great.

Sounds good and thanks 

I figured folks would laugh me off the board for asking the question

[irratebass]

On 12/23/2017 at 4:35 PM, Philc2001 said:

Yes, I did it a few years ago, still using it with my Oasis. But don't use beads, you need to use polymer crystals... like Soil Moist or something similar. You don't need a lot, about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon is enough, they will expand to hundreds of times their size to fill the space inside the reservoir. Just use distilled water and top it up every couple of months. 

 

On 12/24/2017 at 4:47 AM, BlueClaw said:

I also did the same using those polymere gel crystals. Very easy to do. Make sure you scrap all that green foam out then rinse good with distilled water. First expand the crystals in another cup for a day then spoon it in the oasis. That way you don't overfill over expand in the oasis which can screw up the small motor. I've had my oasis last like this for years and works great.

Very interesting, I have the Magna 2.0 Oasis, and I have been using these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSMJCY4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 but have had to replace them a few times, maybe this Soil Moist will work better, and last longer.

[GotaCohiba]

I’ve ordered the water crystals that PhilC recommended and will provide an update after a week or 2 of operation

Im not quite as picky as most about humidity

I’m ok with a little range(65ish to 70) in the cabinet, given that I dry box for a few days prior to smoking

 

I just feel that cigars are a lot more durable than most think and have no intention of keeping them for 20yrs

 

 

[Philc2001]

4 hours ago, GotaCohiba said:

I’ve ordered the water crystals that PhilC recommended and will provide an update after a week or 2 of operation

Im not quite as picky as most about humidity

I’m ok with a little range(65ish to 70) in the cabinet, given that I dry box for a few days prior to smoking

 

I just feel that cigars are a lot more durable than most think and have no intention of keeping them for 20yrs

 

 

My experience with the cigar oasis has been very good, it's been a set and forget affair as it keeps rock steady RH. The only thing you need to watch out for is not letting the well run dry. In my case I just add some distilled water to the polymer crystals every couple of months. If I forget and it starts to run dry the built-in fan on the Oasis tends to run non-stop, which lets me know I need to add water, but the RH seldom drops more than 2-3% before I catch it, and it doesn't cause any problems in smoking. 

[darinjanssen]

I replaced the foam in my oasis with silica humidity beads about 7 years ago and it has worked very well. I use a converted wine fridge and have the oasis at the bottom. I put a couple of mesh bags of beads on the top and middle shelves, and it maintains a pretty steady humidity of 63-67%. A couple of times a year I’ll spray the beads with distilled water to “recharge” them.  Seems to work pretty well.