new humidifier day

[fazool]

Got uncomfortable with all the humidifying worries, woodburning fireplace, chapped lips and crackling skin.

Just bought a whole house humidifier. Its running on high right now so its a little loud. Once the house "catches up" I am hoping it quiets to a lower fan speed.

Appears very easy to operate and maintain.

[Leftyplay]

Hey fazool, I bought a very similar unit a month or so ago for my house. They work great. Easy to maintain too. I also bought the water additive to reduce the scale and deposits on the inards and a few extra filters. Best $100 I've spent in a long time. The guitars love it and the air in the house is much healthier.

[pitner]

I have one on my heater and it only gets about 35% or so. Put a stand alone tower style in the music room for a level 45% got fill it daily is the only problem.

[SongwriterFan]

The only thing better is one that's built into your HVAC system, like the one I have now. I hear that thing "drinking" water all the time in the winter.

[fazool]

Its like adding central air conditioning to our house. I don't know *how* we ever lived without it.

My only complaint with this, so far, is that it takes a while to humidify our house (2000ft2) and the fans are loud when running on the high speed. Also you do feel a little cooler with humidity in the air (water carries away body heat faster) so I'll probably raise the thermostat 1-2 degrees.

Last night, with the fire dying down and the furnace turned down, the humidifier reached equilibrium at 45% and turned off and/or was in quiet mode all night long.

My daughter woke up without chapped bleeding hands. I woke up without a bloody nose. My wife commented how she didn't she chapped dry lips in the morning.

And, my nearby room with my guitars in it is stable at 45% right now.

[fazool]

came home today and the unit was sitting quietly in its corner (hidden behind a couch). The weather station showed the kitchen at 48% RH.....my digital gauge in my den (where I keep my guitars) was 43%.


All is right with the world.....

[fazool]

I just bought a new set of wicks/filters.

I was impressed by the systems maintenance monitor. After 720 hours of run time, it flashes "CF" for check filter.

So, I did and was unpleasantly surprised. Not by the humidifier, but by the amount of mineral deposits and "stuff" on the filter/wicks.

Our water is very scaly and hard, so this is not a humidifier issue. Quite the contrary - I am glad that its being taken out of the water before filling my house.

So, during this super dry few months, I will be spending an extra $40 per season for new filter/wicks. IN the non-dry season , I expect to stretch the filter life out to 6-9 months (or so).

So, just be aware of this extra cost - its still very worth it to me.

[kauffmds]

The humidity in WV seems to average around 30%, but in winter dips to below 10%. We have 2 gas furnaces, 2 central a/c systems, and 2 fireplaces. It's so dry my nose bleeds.

You made a wise decision.

The best thing my husband installed (he's retired HVAC, so he installed everything), was the whole house humidifier, which is a part of our system. Even with the humidifier running, when the humidity is extremely low outside, it's hard pressed to keep the humidity in the house above 40%. I still keep humidifiers in my guitar cases.

[fazool]

We recently had a blizzard here with temps dropping to -10F. Even with my humidifier on full blast, I couldn't get above 30-35% RH (in the same room as the fireplace), so I put my gel bead humidifiers back in the cases. Interestingly, those case humidifiers are lasting weeks now (instead of days) between refills.

But I haven't woke up with chapped lips or a bloody nose all winter.

I grew up with similar heating and everyone always had cracked fingers, bloody noses, chapped lips. This is a massive lifestyle improvement.

Becuase of the configuration of the house, the "whole house" humidifier isn't really enough for the whole house. The farthest reaches aren't getting all the benefits. I'm trying to concoct a way to duct the humidified air into my cold air return to circulate it better.

And I think the rating of 2900SF is for moderate conditions. Our house is about 2100SF but extremely dry and this is just enough.

[MBE]

My life, both as a guitar owner and otherwise, became easier when I bought a console humidifier. It really does make the difference.

Rather than worry about case humidifiers when the humidifier isn't quite enough (I have a lot of instruments and live in canada), I keep them in my walk in closet with a second, smaller tower humidifier. During cold snaps that make my console humidifier struggle to reach 35%, the tower humidifier kicks in to raise the "guitar repository" above 40% RH without breaking a sweat.

I can go a month between refills of the tower unit and don't have to check all the cases all the time. It keeps my 10 guitars and 2 ukuleles happy.

Now, I may be a bit paranoid, but ice storms have been known to cause brief power failures around these parts, so I even have the tower on an uninterruptible power supply from Best Buy. It can keep it actively running for a couple of hours in the event of a power failure, and keeps it from "resetting" and turning itself off if the power blips. I was away for a weekend during an ice storm once and was worried that a brief power outage could have left my instruments without humidity for 3 days. The UPS prevents that, but I'm clearly a bit on the neurotic side.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by MBE

...I'm clearly a bit on the neurotic side.

I may be a bit over-cautious about this. Especially since I never had a problem in the past and never humidified (pure lucky only!).

But, now I try not to be neurotic or obsessive but just prudent.

Also, I find the topic interesting and educational. I am a gadget-guy and one of my aspirations is to "smart" my home with an arduino system.

I started out when I went on vacation. In addition to an elaborate home security system, I hooked up a couple remote webcams I could access from my smart phone. While in Disney, our kids could check in on the "cat cams" to see what heir cats were doing (and even talk to them).

I just ordered a PC Sensor USB hygrometer so I can monitor the house from anywhere. Obviously, there is absolutely no need for this - its just an excuse to do a fun gadget project. Then I am going to hook up other sensors (temp, light, etc.). Eventually I will hook up a solenoid PCB so I can turn the humidifier and lights and such on and off.

I have a power failure alarm now and am interested in, is setting up a sump pump alarm or back up.

I'll probably install a whole house generator next, though, negating the need for much of this.

Hi, Fazool,

I know the feeling (literally and figuratively ) I recently bought the Essick Air MA1201, which doesn't look as "pretty" as your Essick Air model, but it has the digital control (a must for my OCD personality) and a large capacity. Also does the job perfectly. Once the spring/summer hits, I've got a Frigidaire FAD504DWD on my wish list to keep the humidity around 45% during those humid summer months here in SC.

It's great not having to mess with in-case humidifiers.

[fazool]

My basement gets pretty damp so I have a similar dehumidifier downstairs, draining directly into the sump. That seems to work really well.

I should lock them both in a closet and let them fight it out

[riverrummed]

Just be careful of breathing what you are pumping into the air of your house.

[Wardo]

I have the same one except bought it from Sears a few months ago and it's black with fake wood trim. Runs quiet and the digital readout on the humidifier is at 44 right now same as the analogue hygrometer on the wall - when it gets very cold though the humidifier has to work harder to keep up with the forced air heat and the windows get wet. Usually change the filters once over the winter and I use an antibacterial additive in the water. This unit is more than enough for my 1300 sq. ft. condo. Been using humidifiers like this one for about 25 years - never could be bothered with the case humidifier packs and such.