Bringing back an old post Hygra vs Oasis

[themaindude]

Now that the hydra has been out for a while, Has anyone used this and what are their impressions.

Just picked up a Vinotemp 28btl and am in the market for active humidification.

Will the Hydra SM have enough capacity if used in conjunction with heartfelt beads???

 

[Tegu]

I use a sm hydra in a 1500+ cabinet, along with about 1.5 lbs of beads and it works great, no problems. I would guess it will be just fine in a vinotemp with some beads.

 

[_Lac_Man_]

Does the Hydra use the same Oasis-type foam brick?

 

[uncelnino]

anyone know if you can take the oasis brick out and replace with beads? If so, does it work better and how many beads did you use?

 

[themaindude]

I did a proper search for Hydra not HYGRA and found a little more info..
I saw a reference to a super absorbent polymer in place of the foam brick.(IE cartridge)

Someone please tell me if i am incorrect in this assumption

 

[cf2112]

anyone know if you can take the oasis brick out and replace with beads? If so, does it work better and how many beads did you use?

I would not use beads, they do not hold enough water. If you want to take the foam out, use Super Absorbant Polymers. I've done this with the Cigar Oasis, Set n Forget and Hydra with excellent results.

My only complaint with the Hydra is if the power goes off you must turn the unit back on and reset it to your desired humidity level. With the CO it just comes back on and is set where you left it.

 

[Headbanger]

For a wine cooler I suggest using both the active RH system and beads. The active system to put RH in and the beads to absorb any extra when RH is high or add distilled water to the beads if the RH runs too low. The active system should be placed on the bottom and the beads toward the middle or top away from the water supply.

I have an older Oasis system with 65% beads and the wine cooler runs great with an exterior temperature controller. Good luck.

 

[_Lac_Man_]

Interesting. I'm looking to get a wine cooler too, but I don't like the foam brick in the Oasis, dunno why.

cf2112 -
Woud you recommend one of the units over the other, looking past the power loss issue w/ the Hydra? Does the Hydra come with 'Super Absorbant Poly"?

 

[solowgregg]

I've had my oasis for about 2 years now and it works like a charm.

 

[uncelnino]

I would not use beads, they do not hold enough water. If you want to take the foam out, use Super Absorbant Polymers. I've done this with the Cigar Oasis, Set n Forget and Hydra with excellent results.

My only complaint with the Hydra is if the power goes off you must turn the unit back on and reset it to your desired humidity level. With the CO it just comes back on and is set where you left it.

Thanks for the info. Just as a warning, I can't remember specifics for the life of me, but back when i was researching RH/humidification, etc I recall coming across some info about polymers. I narrowed my choice down to polymers vs beads and, once again I can't remember specifics, but there was some chance that the polymer would react in some way that is harmful to your cigars over time. Just wanted to mention this, have you heard of this?

 

[Moro]

Well, polymers, for starters, do not regulate humidity. Ye'll have to add water every month to keep it in a neat RH level. Here's some info from Cigar Family:

Where to buy: http://www.watersorb.com/mainstore.html

What size crystals do I buy: Medium for travel humidifiers, Large for the CigarOasis cartridge

Cost: $12 for 2 pounds - will last you forever

How do I mix: Add 1/2 cup of distilled water to 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of dry polymer nuggets.

Then what: Let sit in an open tupperware container overnight to achieve maximum absorbtion. 1- 2 hrs to reach functional state.

What about adding PG: Optional. May help retard mold but it also inhibits water absorbtion (me think). Recommend you try first with distilled water.

Tap Water: Recommend distilled for max absorbtion but tap can be used in a pinch

How to store surplus wetted polymes: Sealed tupperware or comparable container. Check once every few weeks for any signs of discoloration. Discard and replace if necessary with a new batch. I have not had this problem so far. Wash your hands before handling polymers as to avoid contamination.

Best application: travel humidifiers, e.g. Humiditubes in lieu of sponges, silica gel, and florist foam. And as a replacement for the factory-supplied florist foam in your CigarOasis cartridge. You will never have to buy a replacement CO cartridge again. Best, polymers really do shine in the CO cartridge.

Fill the cartridge only half way with wetted polymers. Check every few weeks to see if they have shrunk in size appreciably. If so, re-wet with an ample supply of distilled H2O. Squirt bottle works best. Check for any discoloration.

Not to do: Wetter polymers should not come in contact with certain metals such as brass. They will discolor.

A further word on polymer use with Humiditubes: After the overnight hydration, discard the excess run-off. The fully hydrated polymers should fill the entire length of the Humiditube. Discard any overflow (and there will be). Avoid over-packing.

Also in other comments:

A while back Richard and I had some good discussions on the differences between silica beads and polymer crystals and the and merits and disadvantages of each. Having some of both types of hydration media, I decided to do a little comparison of the two and the test is now a couple of days away from being finished.

For the test I used a standard Premier Humidifier and about 1 tsp of hydrated polymer crystals.

I used each type of media in my desktop humidor for 30 days, recording the humidity level each day. What I wanted to find out was which media would give me the most consistant humidity level longest without adding water.

I didn't change a thing in this humi other than the hydration media - no new cigars in, none out, open the lid once a day to check the humidity (good thing I have an overflow tupperdor to smoke out of). Only thing I didn't have a lot of control of was ambient temperature and as one might expect, with warmer weather coming on it occasionally got warmer in the house and raised the RH just a tad.

I started the test with the humidor ar appx. 70%RH and added water when it got below 68%. The silica beads in the Premier were up to bat first. On the average I had to add water to the beads every 10 days.

After 30 days I removed the Premier and replaced it with the hydrated crystals. Today is day 28 for the crystals and so far I haven't added any water at all. Humidity levels have ranged from 69% to about 71%. 71 is wetter than I would like but as I mentioned earlier, the weather and temperature of my house has been a good bit warmer lately than when I started the test. I think if I left the lid open a little bit to drop the humidity level a little I could get it to hold at 68 fairly well.

For me the polymers worked better than the silica - at least they do in my desktop humidor. Now to see how things look and compare in my tupperdor - I suspect the results may lead me to use the silica in the tupperdor (tightly sealed environment) and the polymers in my wooden humi.

And there's a blood load of more info on these on the rest of the comments, yet I thought that these two were the best ones. Here's the link: http://lounge.cigarfamily.com/showthread.php?t=132513

 

[themaindude]

My intent is to go with the beads, I am also trying to avoid ordering from 15 different places. Heartfelt stocks the Hydra. Does the hydra utilize the same reservoir concept as the CO. other forums describe the CO reservoir as being a pain to open up. Does anyone know if the hydra has the same issue with opening the reservoir.

I have quickly become a non fan of the florist foam blocks. The polymer seems to be the way to go for the reservoir.

I can live with the setting reset upon power loss. If it becomes an issue I can always utilize a UPS for trips away.

Thanks for the watersorb link

 

[cf2112]

Interesting. I'm looking to get a wine cooler too, but I don't like the foam brick in the Oasis, dunno why.

cf2112 -
Woud you recommend one of the units over the other, looking past the power loss issue w/ the Hydra? Does the Hydra come with 'Super Absorbant Poly"?

Both have there pro's and con's. I like the digital read out on the Hydra but hate having to reset it. I like the CO because it's set for life and adjusting to my prefered RH was pretty simple. I guess CO by a hair.

You have to cut out the brick foam and add the polymers.

Thanks for the info. Just as a warning, I can't remember specifics for the life of me, but back when i was researching RH/humidification, etc I recall coming across some info about polymers. I narrowed my choice down to polymers vs beads and, once again I can't remember specifics, but there was some chance that the polymer would react in some way that is harmful to your cigars over time. Just wanted to mention this, have you heard of this?

Never heard of any bad reaction and have been using polymers for years. Some people add grain alcohol to prevent mold, I do not. If mold appears I throw out the polymers and wash the container and start with new. Mold will form on beads also but not as easily.

Polymers will not regulate humidity like beads (I have a system for my desktops but that is another post) but like beads you must add water every now and then.

For more info than you can stand on polymers go to CF and search HMS Richard in the Asseriory (sp) room.

 

[Donk]

Bro, the best way I have found with my vinotemp is a 1.5 lbs or even 2lbs of beads, split them up into 2 or 3 small glass bowls. keep one dry and wet the other two. I buy the 65% humi beads, and I have never had any problems keeping my humidity rock steady. Play around with the amount of moisture to match the amount of space you have to humidify. I have not had any issues using passive humidification over active humidification like the hydra or oasis. Pm me if you need help with your wine(ador)

 

[_Lac_Man_]

I thought polys were suppost to help keep humidity at acertan rh...? I'm just going off of the Xikar and MH humidifiers.

Going off of that logic, for those that suggest using polys or beads in conjunction with active humidification (Cigar Oasis or Hydra), could a Xikar Crystal Humidifier be used with say, an Oasis - instead of beads, since they are the same thing? Hope that makes sense...

Like you could use an Oais XL in your Vinotemp, then put one Xikar Cyrstal 100ct. on each side-wall of the Vinotemp?

Something like this - sorry for the poor quality...

 

[cf2112]

I thought polys were suppost to help keep humidity at acertan rh...? I'm just going off of the Xikar and MH humidifiers.

Going off of that logic, for those that suggest using polys or beads in conjunction with active humidification (Cigar Oasis or Hydra), could a Xikar Crystal Humidifier be used with say, an Oasis - instead of beads, since they are the same thing? Hope that makes sense...

You could add PG to the polymers to regulate humidity and prevent mold that may be what Xikar and MH humidifiers do to regulate. I don't like adding anything but distilled water to my cigars which is why I do not use PG or grain alcohol with my polymers.

I use active humidification for ease of use, the polymers just replace the brick foam to remove the chance of spilled water for me. I use kitty litter to reduce the humidity in the humid summer months, I've found they work better than beads for this. Beads, imho are good for desktop humidors, small coolers and to help regulate wine coolers (I would think KL could do this but have no experience with wine coolers) to do large coolers and cabinets an ative system would be my choice, extra fans help keep things stable in perfect world.