Oasis XL Plus

[mdwest]

Got a couple of questions about the Oasis XL Plus if anyone here uses (or has used in the past) one..

I have never gone the active humidification route before.. but have recently gone to a cabinet.. and am considering this as an option..

I really dont want to punch a hole in the back of the cabinet for the power cord if I can avoid it.. I noticed the Oasis XL Plus has a battery pack option.. does anyone know how long the battery pack works? Are we talking days? weeks? or months? before having to replace the batteries?

Next (and last) question.. how well does this unit work compared to the hydra and other common units? The cabinet I am looking at putting this in is small.. (maybe 8 cubic feet?)..

 

[cyclerr]

I have a powered one and haven't tried the battery option sorry. I have a large cabinet and the seals aren't the best and it works well though this time of the season there are more frequent re-fills. I would think on a smaller cabinet like yours it should work great. Depending on the seals and how often the fan is running I would think the batteries would last pretty long.

Mike

 

[Joeytivo]

I have an Oasis Ultra in my desk top and I love it. It has a ribbon cord that I keep plugged in. The first cartridge didn't last that long but the second cartridge is running on 3 months. If you keep it plugged in, it runs 24 hours a day when needed. If you use the battery it turns itself on every 15 minutes and then it runs accordingly.

 

[mdwest]

Great info.. thanks...

All of the XL Plus come with 110v capability.. the battery pack is just an option.. I guess I could always give the battery pack a try.. and if its eating batteries every few weeks or something crazy.. I can always use the 110v as a fall back position..

thanks again for the info.. this is good stuff...

 

[strife]

Great info.. thanks...

All of the XL Plus come with 110v capability.. the battery pack is just an option.. I guess I could always give the battery pack a try.. and if its eating batteries every few weeks or something crazy.. I can always use the 110v as a fall back position..

thanks again for the info.. this is good stuff...

I think I have a complete Oasis XL with battery pack lying around somewhere if you need a battery pack.

 

[mdwest]

PM headed your way Strife...

 

[mdwest]

So strife doesnt just hit me with an Oasis XL Plus... he throws a couple of bodyguards in the box on escort duty (who didnt see that one coming!?!?)...

Ive already got the battery pack loaded up and am giving it a whirl while I wait on the new power cord to make it here.. looks like its going to work out well (for what I can tell from just a couple of hours... will know more in a few weeks I guess)...

thanks strife.. I owe you one (to be repaid very soon!)... hopefully this will be just what the doctor ordered and along with the trays I ordered from Forest will put the final touches on my cabinent project...

 

[burghblast]

I hope the Oasis works out for you, but a word of warning from someone who has tried it in the past:

In my brief experience (I gave up after about 3 months and went back to passive humidification), the Oasis does not function on batteries. Sure, it comes with a battery pack that ostensibly provides power to the unit. But it does not seem to actually *work* when running on batteries. For whatever reason, the humidity reading was always way off with the battery pack connected, which caused the device to run when it shouldn't or not run when it should. It seems like the battery pack is not capable of providing sufficient current to the device which causes it to go wonky. (And yes, I tried replacing the batteries several times.) On top of that, everyone else who had an Oasis told me they had to replace the batteries every few days (not weeks), but I didn't stick with the batteries long enough to find out for myself.

When the Oasis was running on DC power it would at least read and display the correct humidity level but it had other problems that quickly led me to give up on it. The biggest problem is that it turns on the instant the humidity level drops one-tenth of one percent below the set level and turns off the instant it reaches the set level. I had mine set at 65%. All day every day it was constantly turning off and on every few seconds with the slightest fluctuation in humidity level. 64.9%, unit powers on and runs for 10 seconds. Unit detects 65.0%, powers off. A minute later, back down to 64.9% and back on again. And of course it turns on every time the moment you open your humidor. Horribly, horribly designed. One of the first things sophomore engineering students learn how to do in an electrical engineering class is design a thermostat control to avoid this problem. Apparently the Cigar Oasis was designed by a freshman.

 

[Joeytivo]

Burghblast, why is this a problem? I have an Oasis Ultra in my desktop and I love it. My cigars are always perfect. The reason I ask is, I just bought the Oasis Xl Plus and a fan unit for my wineador. My shelves and drawers will be here on Thursday and my new Oasis and fan artived last week. I have never used beads or KL before but I know the oasis works in my desktop. Thanks

 

[burghblast]

If it keeps your cigars in good condition and if you don't mind listening to it constantly run for 10 seconds at a time every minute or two and every time you open the humidor, it's not a problem. For whatever reason it did not keep my cigars in good condition. I started to notice an acrid, chemical taste in my cigars not too long after I started using it. I'm not sure if it was due to the humidifying solution in the cartridge (it's some kind of water/alcohol blend, not just distilled water) or if it was due to my cigars being over or under humidified even though the hygrometer thought it was maintaining 65%. I also had the Ultra and I was also using it in a desktop, which I think may have been part of the problem. When it's running it shoots a blast of wet air out through the fan. You kind of have to position your cigars so none are sitting directly underneath the unit, which is hard to do in a desktop humi. I would actually expect the Oasis to work better in a cabinet or wineador. If it's working for you, more power to you.

 

[Joeytivo]

I don't mind the noise. My humidor is in my office. I have been refilling the cartridge myself with distiller water. My biggest worry using it in the wineador is will it circulate the humidity enough. That is why I bought the fan to help move it around. We'll see what happens. I am just psyched my drawers and shelves will be here Thursday and I get this thing going!

 

[Kip]

I've been using one for years (2003-4 ish) in one of my cabinets, and haven't had any of the troubles mentioned above. It does run a little more than normal when it's time to replace the cartridge (about $12). I just refill it with distilled water when it's low, and they tend to last about 18 months for me (refill every 4-6 weeks depending on weather and how often I open it up, and replace the cart every 18 months). I didn't use the battery pack because it made for a smaller cartridge (it hooks on below the water reservoir - which is a smaller version to accomodate it). I just use the bigger cartridge with the 110V connection - which has a ribbon cable that lies flat between the lid and box, thus preserving the seal. It's been set on 65.5% all this time, and rarely goes more than a couple points either way off that for more than a little while....of course I live in Florida where the ambient humidity is not far off that much of the year anyway.

That being said, once it dies I will be going to beads in this humidor. Since I bought this original unit, I have changed all my humidors to beads. So, this one will follow suit at that point.

 

[burghblast]

I don't mind the noise. My humidor is in my office. I have been refilling the cartridge myself with distiller water. My biggest worry using it in the wineador is will it circulate the humidity enough. That is why I bought the fan to help move it around. We'll see what happens. I am just psyched my drawers and shelves will be here Thursday and I get this thing going!

My drawers and shelves just arrived a few days ago and I am loving it. I have 2 pounds of beads in the bottom of my wineador with no fan and it seems to maintain pretty consistent humidity throughout, although it's usually a couple % higher on the bottom shelf than at the very top -- which is perfect for me, because I keep my NCs on the bottom, and they seem to do better at slightly higher RH than CCs. When I checked earlier this afternoon the humidity level on the bottom shelf was 69% and it was 64% on the top shelf.

Before I put the drawers in and stuffed them full of cigars a few days ago, it was maintaining an even 66-67% from top to bottom.

Love the wineador! Can't believe I didn't do this sooner.

 

[whatadam]

Having horrible luck with humidity. I currently have this humidor:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidors/38621/indulgence-table-humidor/

I have these humidification devices active inside:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidification/70651/humi-care-black-ice-humidification/
(4oz and 8oz)

Along with two:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidification/38308/large-rectangle-humidifier/#p-8431

I can only get it up to 60rh. I would like it to be 68-70. Anyone have any suggestions? Do I not have enough humidifiers inside?

Or should I just go with:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/humidification/37952/cigar-oasis-electronic-humidifier/#p-26823

or
http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=Electronic+Humidification

and call it a day?

Thank you for your help!

 

[King Kill 33]

Might want to reseason it?


-KK33-

 

[Carpenter69]

I hope the Oasis works out for you, but a word of warning from someone who has tried it in the past:

In my brief experience (I gave up after about 3 months and went back to passive humidification), the Oasis does not function on batteries. Sure, it comes with a battery pack that ostensibly provides power to the unit. But it does not seem to actually *work* when running on batteries. For whatever reason, the humidity reading was always way off with the battery pack connected, which caused the device to run when it shouldn't or not run when it should. It seems like the battery pack is not capable of providing sufficient current to the device which causes it to go wonky. (And yes, I tried replacing the batteries several times.) On top of that, everyone else who had an Oasis told me they had to replace the batteries every few days (not weeks), but I didn't stick with the batteries long enough to find out for myself.

When the Oasis was running on DC power it would at least read and display the correct humidity level but it had other problems that quickly led me to give up on it. The biggest problem is that it turns on the instant the humidity level drops one-tenth of one percent below the set level and turns off the instant it reaches the set level. I had mine set at 65%. All day every day it was constantly turning off and on every few seconds with the slightest fluctuation in humidity level. 64.9%, unit powers on and runs for 10 seconds. Unit detects 65.0%, powers off. A minute later, back down to 64.9% and back on again. And of course it turns on every time the moment you open your humidor. Horribly, horribly designed. One of the first things sophomore engineering students learn how to do in an electrical engineering class is design a thermostat control to avoid this problem. Apparently the Cigar Oasis was designed by a freshman.

You must have got a bad unit. I've had mine about 4 1/2 years and no problems. I run on DC power only so I can't speak for batteries. If I leave it open for a couple minutes it'll kick on but other than that I think it's great. Best of luck.

 

[Pappy]

I have a Hydra XL in a 12cu.ft. cabinet. It works very well. Not as quick to cycle as the Oasis is described here. I did shit-can the green foam early on. Had some mold appear. I'm using "floral beads" with distilled water. I've got a couple years on it with no complaints.

whatadam, something doesn't sound right with your setup. If you are using the analog hygrometer pictured with your humidor, that could be your problem. Pick up a digital unit. Otherwise, it could be a seal problem. Check out the door, glass, corners, etc. for possible infiltration.

 

[problemsolverjc]

I have a Hydra XL in a 12cu.ft. cabinet. It works very well. Not as quick to cycle as the Oasis is described here. I did shit-can the green foam early on. Had some mold appear. I'm using "floral beads" with distilled water.

Had the exact same problem with my Oasis XL ... mold very early on. Replaced the foam with rH beads and it works great. I do find that I set it about .5% lower than the rH beads (67.5) so that it really only goes on when it is needed. Otherwise I found it ran all the time. now it really only runs on really dry days or for a few minutes after I open the door.