Cigar Oasis Experiment

[cbsmokin]

Well the floral foam in my Oasis is useless anymore. It seems like I constantly have to add water and it does not suck it up. I have ordered a replacement, but before I use it I have torn all the foam out of my existing one and filled it with distilled water and a touch of Vodka because I was afraid of mold.

I thought about filling it with beads, but I want to try it without them first.

I am going to watch it over the next few days and see what happens.

Anyone else out there done this before?

[ColdCuts]

I've never taken the foam out of an Oasis XL cartridge--I can't even figure out how one might do that without breaking the thing. But, I'll be interested to hear how your experiment turns out. The only drawback I can see straight out the gate is that you'll have to be careful not to tip the Oasis and spill the water. But then, that shouldn't be too hard.

[RHNewfie]

The results of this experiment will be most interesting to see! Filling with beads would also be most interesting!

[cf2112]

I put Super Absorbant Polymers (SAP) in mine years ago. They are the shi% so I put them in my Set N Forget. When the foam in my Hydra wears out I'll do the same with it.

http://www.watersorb.com/

Get the Large size and 2lbs will last years.

Search on Cigar Family for more info than you'll care to read on these.

[cf2112]

Originally Posted by RHNewfie

The results of this experiment will be most interesting to see! Filling with beads would also be most interesting!

Beads won't hold enough water, I tried.

[cbsmokin]

Well, so far it is holding rock steady and the fan is running much less. I think I may have found the best solution for me. I have a cabinet so it sits flat and I do not have to worry about it spilling.

I removed the foam by scraping the inside with a screwdriver. The chunks came out pretty easy. I then rinsed it out with water to get the small pieces.

We will see how this works for a longer term.

[cbsmokin]

Heres some snapshots:



First chunk out:



The rest of the guts scraped out:



I had just filed it with whatever water it would take so that is why it's wet.

[cf2112]

Becareful with just water in there it could slosh around and get on the controls. If you would like some SAP's pm me your addy and I'll mail you enough for the CO, you only need to fill it 1/3 full. Those little suckers hold a shi%load of water with no spilling.

[ColdCuts]

Originally Posted by cbsmokin

I removed the foam by scraping the inside with a screwdriver. The chunks came out pretty easy. I then rinsed it out with water to get the small pieces.

Ah, you see, the cartridges for the regular Oasis XL (you have the "XL Plus") don't have that largish hole in the center. Just the two small holes on either end. No straightforward way to get the foam out of a regular XL cartridge.

[RJT]

Originally Posted by ColdCuts

Ah, you see, the cartridges for the regular Oasis XL (you have the "XL Plus") don't have that largish hole in the center. Just the two small holes on either end. No straightforward way to get the foam out of a regular XL cartridge.

It will take longer but take a piece of stiff wire like a clothes hanger and just scrape it and rush with water as you go to remove the pieces. You can bend the stiff wire to get into the areas you need. Or just take a large wood but and drill out the center the same way.

[tfar]

watersorb is probably the way to go. Bt exquisicat holds 40 times the amount of water that RH beads hold. So those might be a good option, too.

Till

[cbsmokin]

A few days now and working fine. I think it would probably be a good idea to put the gel in there to prevent any accidental spilling. I may do so down the road, or I may post a thread titled "Oh shit water and cigars don't mix!"

[ColdCuts]

Thanks for the update cbsmokin. So, your humidity is holding steady with just distilled water in your Oasis XL Plus cartridge? I might have to try RJT's suggestion. My XL has been running just about nonstop, and yet the RH in my winecoolidor is stuck in the low 60s.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by cbsmokin

A few days now and working fine. I think it would probably be a good idea to put the gel in there to prevent any accidental spilling. I may do so down the road, or I may post a thread titled "Oh shit water and cigars don't mix!"

If you'll send me your address I'll send you some gel crystals.
All you'll need to do is add them to water. You can do it right in the hydra box or you can hydrate them in a jar and spoon the gel into the cartridge.
I'd leave the gel level down about a half inch from the top for better airflow.
Just drop me a pm with your address. One ounce of gel makes a whole gallon of gel, btw.
If you measure how much water that cartridge holds I'll send enough for you to replace it a few times.

Just so you know, the best thing a guy can do is to get a new foam. Nothing else will work nearly as well, although other things might work. Just not nearly as well.

[Dr. Stogie Fresh]

I retrofitted my Oasis a couple years ago. I used Superabsorbent Polymers. They hold a lot of water, and you can use some PG to keep the fuzzies away. It's been working fine. Just don't allow the polymers to get too close to the electronics.

My recipe for a small batch of polymers is as follows:

• Put in 1-1 ½ tablespoons of dried polymers into a medium sized plastic container.
  
• Stir in 2/3 cups of distilled water. Don’t mix it in all at the same time. Allow some time for the beads to take up the fluid and keep stirring to make sure the beads are evenly wet.
  
• Also mix in ½ - 1 cup of a wetting solution (i.e., a PG distilled water mixture). You can find wetting solution at any cigar shop.
  
• Keep stirring the mixture so that the polymers are evenly wet.
  
• Then let sit for at least two hours before using, or overnight for optimum absorption.
  
• After overnight hydration, discard any excess fluid and you’re ready to rock and roll.
  
• To recharge beads, simply pour in a little distilled water every few weeks. Use PG every once in awhile, maybe every third refilling.
  
• If beads become discolored over time, just toss them and cook up a new batch.

Doc