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Whole House Humidifier
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Author:  blindreality [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Whole House Humidifier
I am just looking for recommendations for a whole house (store) humidifier. I got to looking at some of the instruments that had been here awhile and noticed some minor humidity issues. I've got a couple small junk humidifiers going to compensate, but I think I just need to put in one that runs off the forced air. I am looking at a Desert Springs Humidifier. Thoughts?

http://www.desertspringproducts.com/products/humidifier.asp
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
blindreality wrote:
I am just looking for recommendations for a whole house (store) humidifier. I got to looking at some of the instruments that had been here awhile and noticed some minor humidity issues. I've got a couple small junk humidifiers going to compensate, but I think I just need to put in one that runs off the forced air. I am looking at a Desert Springs Humidifier. Thoughts?

http://www.desertspringproducts.com/products/humidifier.asp


I bought this same model, and never seen it work. I called the company and they just said it has to be cold enough outside for it to start working. It was 10 degrees out, and my heater was going full time. I called them back and said "cold enough for you..." all they could say was just give it time. I shut it off and never turned it on again. Back to the little room humidifiers. :evil:
Author:  psl53 [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
It is my opinion the ones that work best are units that shoot steam into the air handler (furnace). Tracy, I'm afraid those of us that live at altitude and in arid locations like Colorado have much better results in trying to concentrate on one room, below grade if possible. I believe Aprilaire makes a steam unit there are others.
Peter LaMorte
Author:  burbank [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
Here's one we had put in when we had our house furnace converted from oil to gas, back in '98. It's still going strong.

http://www.allergybegone.com/honeywell-he120a1010-whole-house-humidifier.html?gcid=C11639x005

This is the model. I found the link for illustration, but I know nothing about this vendor. Unless you're well-versed in hvac, I would have it profesionally installed.

Works great, never missed a beat. It's evaporative, so it doesn't leave dried minerals in your ducts or on your furniture.

Some downsides:
our water is very hard, lots of dissolved solids, so the medium needs changing yearly (about $20), plus soaking the water tray and valve in vinegar when I change the medium.

The "humidistat" isn't really a humidistat. It has no feedback, so it seems to run a percentage of the time that the furnace runs. Maybe you could get an upgrade to a real one with feedback. Ours just needs fiddling when the outside temp changes a lot.
Author:  B Dickey [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
Concentrating on one room is good for guitars.

I've found though, that I'm too much happier humidified than dried out like a prune, scaly and parched feeling.

I'm pumping about six gallons a day right now here in Arkansas, where it is freezing up outside at nights really dries out the inside of the house as the heater also runs.

No one in these parts even know what humidifiers are. I've never seen one in anyone's home but my own. My guitars told me to start humidifying years ago. They were hanging on the wall, and light was coming in a window reflecting off the top finishes. The braces and top looked all contorted and stressed. That sold me on humidification in Arkansas winters.

I also purchased my first digital hygrometer which are notoriously inaccurate, but they at least get you in the ball park. Mine is about 3 percent low. A new one I bought recently was returned because it was 8 percent high. Another subject for sure.

I'm running a dual 6 inch Fan Emerson, it's about 30 by 30 by 16 deep. Fairly quiet on low, but medium and high are a bit noisy. I keep it on low unless the RH is really low. Good luck, anything you do to add moisture when needed will help.

Just a side note, guitar related. Buzzing is a common winter ailment, a symptom of a dried out guitar. Got one coming in tomorrow. I'll bet anything it's RH is low and no dampit or soundhole humidifier either, I'm guessing.
Author:  David Collins [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
I have a Desert Springs model just like that one on my home furnace, and it sucks. To be fair, the mineral content is very high in my water, so it's performance probably suffered from the mineral buildup. Even when it was freshly cleaned though, (which certainly was not and easy or pleasant job) it seemed to have a hard time boosting the humidity in my house by 10%. The motor was not sealed, and proceeded to corrode and freeze up twice in one season. They of course want some ridiculous amount in the $40-$50 range for a replacement, but you can find the exact same generic tiny motor though any industrial supply house for about $5.

Maybe seemed like a good idea, but in my experience it was a pretty worthless product.

Due to the mineral content in my water, steam systems are pretty much out of the question unless I get a serious water purification system. I ended up disconnecting the Desert Springs and getting a Generlaire 1137. It's a flow-through style, which isn't as conservative as others but I haven't seen my water bill move a dime so it can't be too bad. It works great. Filter doesn't clog quickly, and is easily cleanable or replaceable when it does, it's built much more solid. I would stay away from the Desert Springs stuff and look more at makers like Generalaire or Honeywell. Talk to a local HVAC shop for suggestions. The people who service them are the ones who will tell you what's practical and popular in your area.
Author:  Hesh2 [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
David A2 water is over 400 parts per million of hardness and just terrible on anything that uses filters. My last place had a whole house humidifier on the furnace too and I experienced just what you described.

Pat Allergybegone is an excellent provider and I have bought many things from them over the years with excellent service every time.
Author:  David Collins [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
Hesh2 wrote:
David A2 water is over 400 parts per million of hardness and just terrible on anything that uses filters. My last place had a whole house humidifier on the furnace too and I experienced just what you described.


When I was looking at humidifiers I spoke to people at Nortec for commercial and Lobb for residential, and the response from both was "Oh, you're in Ann Arbor - well......."

The water tastes great, but it makes humidification quite a challenge. Steam cylinders get build up in them way to fast, filters and discs clog in no time. Flow-through with treated filters turned out to be the best deal I found for our water. They still clog, but the filters are treated in some way that makes them easy to rinse out and at least last a season or two before replacement.

That's why I think it's important to talk to a local HVAC shop. Depending on your water, some systems may work better than others.
Author:  JohnR [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
I have a new Carrier whole house humidifier and it does not work. I have it set for 45% humidity and the most it can do is 30%. So I have a room humidifier in my shop. The company has been out many times but the problem has not been resolved.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
That's very interesting. I have a Carrier humidifier on my system, and it keeps my house nailed at 45%. It will not go higher than that, by design. Any higher, and you start to get a lot of condensation. I get enough on the metal clad windows on my porch now.
Author:  Bobc [ Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Whole House Humidifier
I had a new forced hot air and AC unit installed in the new shop and couldn't be happier. My HVAC guy suggested an Aprilaire
humidifier unit and it works great. Keeps the shop at a pretty constant 44-48% RH. He has it wired so that I can set the desired humidity and it runs even if the furnace is not running. He also set the furnace up so that the blower runs constantly on low speed. The Aprilaire unit was somewhere around $225 Worth every penny so far. :lol:
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