Looking for info on Electronic Humidifiers

[dauker]

I'm thinking of making my coolidor, probably out of whatever 120 qt cooler is cheapest at Target. I was thinking of using around about a pound of RH beads spread between four sacks in each corner and a small fan just because. But then I got to thinking I could give Heartfelt a lot more of my money and get an electronic humidifier. I can't seem to find any reliable reviews on any electronic humidifier systems out there. What is the general opinion on "active humidification"? Any brands or models I should consider or stay away from? Also; I'm bad about keeping my current humidor maintained and it is in a location I walk by pretty much daily. This new coolidor will be pretty much out of sight and I think I might be even worse about maintaining it. I want a humidification system that will reliably give me the humidity I want while I pretty much ignore it for weeks at a time. Perhaps I should combine my two ideas? Electronic humidifier and RH beads as a backup? I'm open to ideas if someone has a better one, but mainly I'm curious about the electronic humidifiers.
Thanks for any input

[Shelby07]

Both systems will do the job. I used beads before I got a couple of Oasis units. I like the Oasis much better, but then again I live in a very dry area and the Oasis recovers the humidity quickly when the humi is opened.

A couple pounds of beads - $50
for $40 more you get the Oasis.

One thing that you may need to consider depending upon your ambient humidity is whether you will ever have to pull humidity out of the air. The beads can do it - the Oasis can't.

[dauker]

Actually, I'm in Aurora so excess humidity is never an issue.

BTW; nice car. I driver a Charger SRT8. When I'm not smoking cigars, I'm smoking tires. HA HA HA! don't tell my wife

[badwhale]

I have an Oasis XLplus (or whatever). It works very well in my humidor and doesn't require much maintenece. If I notice it running alot, which coincides with about a month, it needs filled with distilled water.

I've been meaning to pick up some beads, but haven't yet for the extra humidity situation.

Will

[Silencei2]

I use both the beads and Hydra/Cigar Oasis. The oasis is the best for a non-hassle humidity solution. I have seen problems with the Cigar Oasis and mine has been working great but he fan is loud. The Hydra I have does the same great job as the Cigar Oasis but the fan is much quieter. I also have the large Hydra for my 500ct. and it works like a dream.

I stopped using the green foam inside all my active humidifiers and put beads in my smaller hydra and cigar oasis and use gel inside the large hydra. I noticed the foam stops soaking up water after some usage.

The ideal setup IMHO is a cigar oasis or hydra with beads. The beads don't hold water like the foam/gel does but it does a great job at regulating RH. The Cigar Oasis/Hydra does a great job of putting out humidity and you can set it to whatever RH you want.

[Irish79]

The ideal setup IMHO is a cigar oasis or hydra with beads. The beads don't hold water like the foam/gel does but it does a great job at regulating RH. The Cigar Oasis/Hydra does a great job of putting out humidity and you can set it to whatever RH you want.

That is a great idea, combining the beads with the active unit. I bought a Hydra and it is doing a fine job thus far (couple of weeks), but I realized I didn't consider the summer when humidity will be much higher and I"ll need to remove the excess. Since I am using the Hydra in a coolidor, I'll want to place extra beads inside the cooler to help with the humidity.



badwhale - I noticed that you're from PA as well. Since you haven't picked up any beads, I assume that you've never had a problem with excess humidity? It can get pretty humid in my part of the state, so I was just curious as to your experience. But I see you have quite a few smokes in your humidor, so you must not have any issues.

[badwhale]

badwhale - I noticed that you're from PA as well. Since you haven't picked up any beads, I assume that you've never had a problem with excess humidity? It can get pretty humid in my part of the state, so I was just curious as to your experience. But I see you have quite a few smokes in your humidor, so you must not have any issues.

I've never noticed a problem with excess sofar. Its been setup for about a year now. I've been meaning to get a couple pounds of beads anyway just to be on the safe side.

We get some days that are pretty bad (central PA north of reading), but it doesn't last that long. Usually around July / August.

Will

[craig]

I've never noticed a problem with excess sofar. Its been setup for about a year now. I've been meaning to get a couple pounds of beads anyway just to be on the safe side.

We get some days that are pretty bad (central PA north of reading), but it doesn't last that long. Usually around July / August.

Will

You have a sh*tload of thick spanish cedar in there as a humidity buffer, so your need for beads is much less than in a coolerdor.

Back to the original poster: one thing to watch with active humidification is power outages. My Hydra's do not turn back on after a power outage - and when I turn them on manually, the setpoint has to be reset from the default 70%.

If the coolerdor isn't going to be accessed very often, then you don't really need an active system - the fan and beads will do the job nicely. If you want to spend more money, consider a wireless or remote hygrometer like an Oregon Scientific so you can monitor remotely.

[Irish79]

If you want to spend more money, consider a wireless or remote hygrometer like an Oregon Scientific so you can monitor remotely.

It's not like I want to spend more money, but I'm anal enough to want to keep checking the humidity level that I open the coolidor more than I should, so a remote hygrometer would work well for me. I am an accountant, so my anality serves me well. lol