Cigar Oasis XL - refilling etc.

[mild to medium]

Hi there,

This is my first post on any cigar forum ever, so wish me luck. Been into the "hobby" for about a year plus.

I actually came on here today to read the wonderful threads cigarpass has, and in realizing that in order to read futher I had to register, I did, so thought why not throw out one of my current questions.

The Cigar Oasis XL. A lot of dicsussions on this unit on the net, nice videos from the founder, and decent website from the Company itself.
As a first time buyer I can tell you it wasn't a straightforward buy, what with all the negative experiences, and simple things too: like wondering if it came with an AC cord, which it did ( and I hope someone finds this post someday confirming that.)

That being said, I have the unit, first time use. 2 days in, in a "sure youve seen it before Humidor" with the wrap around see through glass panels, and 3 cedar trays. The impotus prior to this was RH management, which was tough via passive humidifaction (beads, 2 standard rectangular humidifiers).

I am really pleased with the Cigar Oasis XL since plugging it in. I haven't opened my storage humidor (the one with the door on the back ) since the COXL went it, however it really got that analogue Hygrometer showing circa 70 in the 'Ideal' range for the first time, and I'm sold on this device already.

Whether it breaks as it has unfortunately for some of my peers, within the 1st year warranty period or not, I will still support active humidifaction from now on.

All non-endorsed advertising aside, I was a little puzzled with the fact that the actual Oasis came pre-charged. I have now full belief in that after re-reading the manual online, where it hints that if it were not topped-off, the COXL display would show H20 when * symbol pressed, and the unit would run continusously, vs. intermittently.

Which brings me to my question. When it does, and I anticipate it doing so sooner than later at this rate (winter too), How to refill this thing the 3-4 times I will be before a new cartridge is sought.
Companys website says to fully submerge the Oasis in Distilled Water. Thats a lot of water column right there. One guy said somewhere else on the forum to let it sit for 3-4 hours, whilst he had a 2ndary Oasis to care for this Humidor during this maintanence.
COXL's site says to soak for 4 minutes, tap dry, definitely wipe dry, as that can clog the plastic diaphrams, and its good to go.

Can I just top of the two entry outlets in the oasis with water when letting the foam sit, fully submerged, or is a bath of it totally needed.

Your thoughts on this, new friends, are truly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[CRQuarto]

Hi there,

This is my first post on any cigar forum ever, so wish me luck. Been into the "hobby" for about a year plus.

I actually came on here today to read the wonderful threads cigarpass has, and in realizing that in order to read futher I had to register, I did, so thought why not throw out one of my current questions.

The Cigar Oasis XL. A lot of dicsussions on this unit on the net, nice videos from the founder, and decent website from the Company itself.
As a first time buyer I can tell you it wasn't a straightforward buy, what with all the negative experiences, and simple things too: like wondering if it came with an AC cord, which it did ( and I hope someone finds this post someday confirming that.)

That being said, I have the unit, first time use. 2 days in, in a "sure youve seen it before Humidor" with the wrap around see through glass panels, and 3 cedar trays. The impotus prior to this was RH management, which was tough via passive humidifaction (beads, 2 standard rectangular humidifiers).

I am really pleased with the Cigar Oasis XL since plugging it in. I haven't opened my storage humidor (the one with the door on the back ) since the COXL went it, however it really got that analogue Hygrometer showing circa 70 in the 'Ideal' range for the first time, and I'm sold on this device already.

Whether it breaks as it has unfortunately for some of my peers, within the 1st year warranty period or not, I will still support active humidifaction from now on.

All non-endorsed advertising aside, I was a little puzzled with the fact that the actual Oasis came pre-charged. I have now full belief in that after re-reading the manual online, where it hints that if it were not topped-off, the COXL display would show H20 when * symbol pressed, and the unit would run continusously, vs. intermittently.

Which brings me to my question. When it does, and I anticipate it doing so sooner than later at this rate (winter too), How to refill this thing the 3-4 times I will be before a new cartridge is sought.
Companys website says to fully submerge the Oasis in Distilled Water. Thats a lot of water column right there. One guy said somewhere else on the forum to let it sit for 3-4 hours, whilst he had a 2ndary Oasis to care for this Humidor during this maintanence.
COXL's site says to soak for 4 minutes, tap dry, definitely wipe dry, as that can clog the plastic diaphrams, and its good to go.

Can I just top of the two entry outlets in the oasis with water when letting the foam sit, fully submerged, or is a bath of it totally needed.

Your thoughts on this, new friends, are truly appreciated.

Thanks!

Welcome to Cigarpass! As is evident, I am also a newbie here myself. I would suggest posting an introduction in the proper forum first before delving too deep here. I've learned a lot here in my short time, these forums and the fine people who post here are extremely helpful.

I also use the Cigar Oasis XL, and I originally ordered the unit plus another extra cartridge for upkeep and recharging. I use PG humidifier solution to recharge mine personally, which works great. I just top it off by pouring solution in it, watching it soak it up, until it starts to take a bit for it to soak up the excess. Once it does that, I will tilt the cartridge over to let any extra pour out, and then it is good to go. I have zero problems with mine, and it keeps the humidity at a perfect 70%. I am dropping my humidity level to 65% right now though by lowering the setting by 1% once a week as that is the level I prefer to keep my cigars at. I would suggest not using the analog hygrometer that comes with most humidors, and go by the gauge that the Oasis has built into it. Also, do not trust the unit to tell you when it is getting low on solution, I would every few weeks pull the cartridge and actually look inside it with a flashlight to see if the foam is still dark, or if it is getting light which would indicate the need to recharge it. I probably will end up using just beads in my vinotemp when I finally set one up, but for my desktop unit I will use the Oasis as it is perfect for my 125ct humidor. I hope that answers any questions you had!

 

[Fatken]

Welcome to Cigar Pass! I just replaced my XL with another one (after a couple of years). I love it. I just remove the top, pour distilled water over the foam until it is saturated, but I don't leave water to the very top of the plastic. Put it back together and hook it up. I do not trust the hygrometer on them and got a couple of digital ones which I salt tested.

Ken

 

[mild to medium]

I wanted to thank you two Gentlemen, CRQuarto and Fatken for you invaluable replies.

Your advice on posting an introduction and understanding some more, the inner workings of Cigarpass.com is much appreciated. Prior to you mentioning that, I thought this was just an awesome forum on Cigars like Cigarafficiando's was, as both had poignant topics on Interweb searches. I will work on it.
Also, thats invaluable advice right there, regarding the Analogue Hygrometer. I will forever now follow the COXL digital gauge, and strive to get a digimometer.

And the flashlight tip, v.nice.

I hope this invaluable thread on COXL ownership reaches someone someday via a Google search and helps them too as it has me. Thank you.

 

[CRQuarto]

I wanted to thank you two Gentlemen, CRQuarto and Fatken for you invaluable replies.

Your advice on posting an introduction and understanding some more, the inner workings of Cigarpass.com is much appreciated. Prior to you mentioning that, I thought this was just an awesome forum on Cigars like Cigarafficiando's was, as both had poignant topics on Interweb searches. I will work on it.
Also, thats invaluable advice right there, regarding the Analogue Hygrometer. I will forever now follow the COXL digital gauge, and strive to get a digimometer.

And the flashlight tip, v.nice.

I hope this invaluable thread on COXL ownership reaches someone someday via a Google search and helps them too as it has me. Thank you.

My pleasure, I just wish to contribute to the community as others have done before me. It is what makes places like this great! This forum is more than just another cigar forum, it is a true community and it looks out for itself. Granted, I am a newbie here and know very, very, very little about things here, but it is pretty obvious from the dramatic difference in the way things are conducted here versus other forums, that this place is in a league of its own. Welcome aboard! :thumbs:

Welcome to Cigar Pass! I just replaced my XL with another one (after a couple of years). I love it. I just remove the top, pour distilled water over the foam until it is saturated, but I don't leave water to the very top of the plastic. Put it back together and hook it up. I do not trust the hygrometer on them and got a couple of digital ones which I salt tested.

Ken

I would also recommend this, as while the Oasis hygrometer that is built in to it is accurate and reliable, it is best to have a backup so you can compare readings and note any differences, which may indicate that the RH is perhaps not at what you thought. I use the Oasis gauge primarily right now, but I am picking up a second digital hygrometer to ensure accuracy.

 

[mild to medium]

Just a Quick update to this post.

I posted this within a day of cracking open a new Oasis XL out of the box. I had a feeling that the original stock date of the unit would play a role in how long this unit would stay sufficiently charged.
(As you may or may not know, the mfctr sells the unit Charged/filled and says it will last a few months at this).

I am not dogging the mfctr by any means here, but for anyone interested in this topic, I thought this update would be useful.

About two days after my posting this, the unit classically went on constant fan usage (I'm told this is the sign it needs to be refilled). I topped off the oasis with distilled h20 as the fine Sirs above reccomended its all good.

Moral of the Story: Keep in mind how dry your humidor might have been before the Oasis was put in place. Your Humidor, like mine, may have been Seasoned on inception, but really required a burst of humidifaction out of your new Oasis XL, and it may require refilling short of the 4 month date.

 

[jhappel1]

I'm glad there are people out there who have had good luck with the CO. I was thinking of buying one, but all I could find was bad reviews. I'm using gel currently and can't get my 150ct desktop over 65%.

Does anyone have any info on weather the CO hygrometer display is accurate?