Just a quick thank you to everyone that raved about the oust fans. I bought 2 off amazon .. Just put the batteries in and I mustvsay this is the worst buy that I ever made...these things didn't even move a hair on my arm...I should of listend to the ones that said they were no good.....oh well learn from your mistakes.....at least I can use it in my bathroom nown:argh::argh:
Oust fan
- Thread starter Andyman
- Start date
ATL
BoM 10/12, 9/13, & 8/14
Take a pair of scissors, sturdy ones, like kitchen scissors, and cut the little plastic wavy pieces off of the front of fan. It works, trust me. Then place them in your cooler, I assume you have a cololador, in a fashion that the one pulls the air from the other. Even though they don't move much air, they will circulate more air then you think in a closed environment. The only other option that I can think of is the computer fans and I'm not in wiring those things. You can also take the oust fans apart and wash the plastic, not the circuit boards, and get the air freshener scent off of them that they picked up in the package. Removing the wavy pieces helps move a bit more air. If you can wire the computer fans, go for it. I'm not even trying.
On the other hand, I don't have fans in my other cooler, where I keep boxes, I keep a whole pan of beads in there, and I open it once a day and fan it with a magazine or something and it works just fine. The abundance of beads stabilizes the rh quite quickly.
On the other hand, I don't have fans in my other cooler, where I keep boxes, I keep a whole pan of beads in there, and I open it once a day and fan it with a magazine or something and it works just fine. The abundance of beads stabilizes the rh quite quickly.
Somewhat related digression. Anyone tried one of the Off! fans? I saw them at the grocery checkout this week but they run on a AA battery so might not work as long. I am similar to ATL and open the boxes cooler daily and stir the air. So far so good.
ATL
BoM 10/12, 9/13, & 8/14
This is what is looks like once you've cut away the wavy bits.
Thorne, mine run on D batteries so they are probably a little more powerful. I also find that you have to change the batteries once a month at the least or they are worthless. running for five minutes every 15 drains the batteries.
My issue with the oust fans was their life span. Bought two on eBay, one stopped after a week and another after a month.
ATL
BoM 10/12, 9/13, & 8/14
ThroughHisStomach, I have the same issues. Changing the batteries and finding the sweet spot on the switch is the only thing that works. Buy a lot of D batteries and change them often, or just open the cooler once a day and fan the air. I think all my efforts with the ousts just placates my coolador ocd.
I have posted this in another thread in the past, but it deserves being reiterated.
Disposable batteries off gas toxic chemicals including potassium hydroxide and hydrogen!
This happens through the chemical reaction that is continuous, and can not be prevented. It builds up pressure in the battery and many batteries explode or discharge toxic fluids toward the end of their life cycle.
I dive with a rebreather and we have gone through all of the data and understand the importance of not having power sources in the air we breathe. Additionally, I personally do not want those chemicals in an enclosed environment, like a wineador, to be able to permeate products that I will eventually set ablaze and consume.
I have never been one to preach what is right or wrong, rather I believe in sharing knowledge and letting you decide. With that said, I will never power a circulation source in my humidors with batteries.
I am sure you can go down to radio shack and ask them to put together a simple plug, resistor and connection to power a larger computer fan and run the wire out the back drain hole or across the seal of the door. Or better yet, if there is enough interest, I bet Ron at Avallo could whip up a simple kit that could have one or two fans and en external plug at minimal cost (but not sure on this last one).
Hope that helps,
TG
Disposable batteries off gas toxic chemicals including potassium hydroxide and hydrogen!
This happens through the chemical reaction that is continuous, and can not be prevented. It builds up pressure in the battery and many batteries explode or discharge toxic fluids toward the end of their life cycle.
I dive with a rebreather and we have gone through all of the data and understand the importance of not having power sources in the air we breathe. Additionally, I personally do not want those chemicals in an enclosed environment, like a wineador, to be able to permeate products that I will eventually set ablaze and consume.
I have never been one to preach what is right or wrong, rather I believe in sharing knowledge and letting you decide. With that said, I will never power a circulation source in my humidors with batteries.
I am sure you can go down to radio shack and ask them to put together a simple plug, resistor and connection to power a larger computer fan and run the wire out the back drain hole or across the seal of the door. Or better yet, if there is enough interest, I bet Ron at Avallo could whip up a simple kit that could have one or two fans and en external plug at minimal cost (but not sure on this last one).
Hope that helps,
TG
ATL
BoM 10/12, 9/13, & 8/14
Holy. Crap.
SurpriseMVP
Mike
Well said Tommy.
As far as computer fans go I didn't want to mess with them either but now that I have it's really a 10 second job that my 8 year old daughter could do. If you need help shoot me a pm
Andyman, you don't want a fan that is moving a lot of air. The idea behind a fan is that you aren't opening the humi it's in for long periods of time, and it just gently circulates air to keep the RH consistent throughout. You do NOT want air to move quickly by any means, as that can have adverse affects to the oils on your cigars.
Guys, getting "fresh" air in your humi isn't as big of a deal as many are making it out to be. If you have consistent RH throughout your humi, the lack of moving air could in fact be helpful for the aging of cigars. I will say this, turning your humi into a wind tunnel is an excellent way to dry out the oils on your cigars, making that 5yr old cigar you've been dreaming about, taste much more bland than it should.
Guys, getting "fresh" air in your humi isn't as big of a deal as many are making it out to be. If you have consistent RH throughout your humi, the lack of moving air could in fact be helpful for the aging of cigars. I will say this, turning your humi into a wind tunnel is an excellent way to dry out the oils on your cigars, making that 5yr old cigar you've been dreaming about, taste much more bland than it should.
Not a problem, man, hope it helps some.
What about a rechargeable Ni-MH battery?
I'm thinking about using a solar fan kit. They have this little fan/solar motor kit for science projects, etc. My thought was to run the solar panel to a window, and mount the fan/motor (very small) inside the coolidor via the drain lug, with a break-away in the wire so I can move the coolidor without moving the whole solar panel, etc... The the fan would gently circulate the air/humidity during the day, and rest at night. Any thoughts or concerns with this set up?
Thanks!
Brian
Thanks!
Brian
dscl
BoM October '14
This makes sense, but how are you measuring humidity in a humidor/coolador/wineador? I'm assuming this principal would apply to the same batteries used in Digital Hygrometers?