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Whole House Humidifier

bobditch on Tue, 03/13/2007 - 22:37

Energy, Heating & Insulation

I live in Charlotte where winters are mild but still can get cold and dry. I'd like to install a whole house humidifier for next winter. My new hardwood floors are showing some cracks plus it just feels dry in the house. Any suggestions on type or brand are appreciated.
Thanks, Bob

by TGNY in reply to bobditch [original] on Tue, 03/13/2007 - 22:47

I have had no problems with Aprilaire and my concern was wide plank floors shrinking.

by rjw in reply to bobditch [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 00:26

First thing to do is weatherize the house and cut down on the number of heat exchanges - thus keeping "naturally" generated moisture longer

You might not need a humidifier and you'll save heating costs.

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

- Psalms 109:30-31

======================================== "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." Reinhold Niebuhr: 'The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness' http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/ ========================================

by MrBill in reply to bobditch [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 01:17

Bob,

This is just my experience with a whole house typ humidifier. Our house is about 2100 sqft and fairly well insulated. We have gas forced air heat. Almost 30 years ago when we moved in, we had some concerns with dryness also during the heating system. So we purchased a whole house humidifier that mounted in the furnace duct.

The problem we had is that the furnace really does not run often enough. We keep the t.stat set at around 67 degrees and down to 64 at night. The house is comfortable at this temperature, but the furnace does not run very often. If the furnace is not running, the humidifier is not working. So .... gave up on that idea and bought a Sears 12 gallon console humidifier. I have had it almost 25 years now and it does the trick. I usually have to put a 3-4 gallons in it every evening during the coldest part of the year here in the Washington DC area. It keeps the humidity at about 30% and the house is much more comfortable with it. It is noticable when I get lazy and let it run out of water.

Moral of the story is, unless you want to keep the furnace fan running constantly so the humidifier will work, you may want to think about how often your furnace runs and decide from there.

Just my opinion,

Bill Koustenis

Advanced Automotive Machine

Waldorf Md

Bill Koustenis Advanced Automotive Machine Waldorf Md

by bobditch in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 11:26

Thanks Bill, great input. That was kinda in the back of my mind about furnace run time. This time of year it hardly runs at all yet it is still somewhat dry. I was also thinking of running a water line to where I'd put a free standing humidifier to ease maintenance.

by bungalowjeff in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 12:28

Does anyone have experience with a hole-house humidifier that is independent of the heat (I have one-pipe steam)?

...that's not a mistake, it's rustic

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 13:31

There are a few models that install kind of like a wall furnace, with their own fan and intake and output grilles separated by a foot or two. No experience with them.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by norman in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 13:32

I have hot water heat and installed an Aprilaire hot water humidifier. It is basicly a blower that pulls air across a metal grid where hot water drips down. It works well, not all that loud and does stop the woodwork from cracking in a 2 story Chicago bungalow.

Much better than the portable on the floor models, never has to be refilled, never gets moldy. The drip element does have to be replaced every year or so.

by bungalowjeff in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 11:25

Thanks, I will look into the Aprilaire models.

...that's not a mistake, it's rustic

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 13:29

MrBill, see my post just above. You can feed hot water to an Aprilaire, so it can run with just the furnace fan. If you're clever you can even rig things so the fan comes on when the humidistat calls, so you don't have to leave the fan running all the time.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by DanH in reply to bobditch [original] on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 13:27

Aprilaire has the best selection, and decent quality products. But not generally sold by retail outfits except mail-order. There's a hole-in-the-wall mail-order outfit in Louisville I've had good luck with.

One advantage of Aprilaire is that most of their units can be fed hot water, so they can be run with just the furnace fan vs requiring heat. This helps a lot in the "shoulder" seasons when the furnace doesn't run often enough to do the job.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by pjmcgarvey in reply to bobditch [original] on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 20:14

same here on the Aprilaire, been using one for about 4 years now, installed myself. Since I installed a water softener before this winter, I've noticed the water panel needs less replacing. I run hot water to it as well.

As I continually insulate and seal the old house, I'm hoping to rely on it less and less, but it was a very quick and effective solution to dry winters.

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 21:41

Yeah, a water softener will greatly reduce the frequency with which you need to change the panel. (Of course, the usage timer in the humidistat doesn't know if you have soft water or not, and so will start blinking when the panel is only 1/3 to 1/2 gone.)

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by FrankRizzo in reply to bobditch [original] on Fri, 03/23/2007 - 05:15

You want a steam humidifier. It will run independant of the furnace, and there are no white deposits from the minerals in the water because they get boiled off in the steam generating process.

Check out:
www.skuttle.com
or
www.ewccontrols.com

P.S. get a good humidistat.

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 03/23/2007 - 10:12

Where do they get "boiled off" to?

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by Tim in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 03/23/2007 - 17:34

"...and there are no white deposits from the minerals in the water because they get boiled off in the steam generating process."

NO. The steam generating process is the same as the first part of the distillation process. No minerals (or any dissolved solids) are carrried over in the steam, with the exception of very large capacity boilers and extraction at high velocities, such as a fossil fired power plant.

A steam humidifier is a good idea, but in the commercial world, a very popular type has a disposable, replacable canister specifically because the steam generating process leaves behind (almost) every bit of the white deposits from the minerals.

‎'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.' - Barry Goldwater

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 03/23/2007 - 18:43

And if you read the maintenance procedures at the first of those sites it tells the customer how to remove and disassemble the humidifier so that the deposits can be chipped out. I'm not sure how many people would buy the units if they read that first.

A flow-through panel unit is much lower maintenance, and the Aprilaire uints, when fed hot water and properly wired, will operate fine without the furnace burner.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

by FrankRizzo in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 03/26/2007 - 05:00

"And if you read the maintenance procedures at the first of those sites it tells the customer how to remove and disassemble the humidifier so that the deposits can be chipped out. I'm not sure how many people would buy the units if they read that first.

A flow-through panel unit is much lower maintenance, and the Aprilaire uints, when fed hot water and properly wired, will operate fine without the furnace burner."

I own both a Skuttle 220V 15KW residential steamer and a EWC 110V 12.KW residental steamer. I went back and read the manuals over and over, yet I find no mention of this "chipping" procedure you speak of. Care to point me to it? You can download the I & O manuals at the websites I mentioned earlier. I'll check back here later.

Steam humidifiers are by far the best way to go. No white dust build up, the good ones that I mentioned are all stainless and have sacrificial zinc annodes for long life. They provide superior steam output and can turn the furnace fan on independant of the heat to give real effective humidity control. Most steamers have auto flush devices that keep the water drained to keep junk from developing in standing water. Truely first class.

Pad humidifiers are usually pathetic plastic devices that require frequent maintenance, have poor outputs, and are discusting mold and algae breeding grounds. In my many years in the HVAC business, I rarely see a funtional pad humidifier a year after installation. The drum type are even worse with thier laughable bypass ducts.

by DanH in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 03/26/2007 - 11:18

Have you read the manual? The autoflush system is an extra-cost optional feature.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. --Theodore Roosevelt

"I'd like to install a whole

by gm0nk3y in reply to bobditch [original] on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 11:14

"I'd like to install a whole house humidifier for next winter." - Honeywell whole house humidifier brand is great.

We will be installing a

by Jeff_Clarke in reply to gm0nk3y [original] on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 23:36

We will be installing a Honeywell TruSteam 12-gal unit shortly with the IAQ stat - I'll post on how it goes.

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Whole House Humidifier