Adding humidity in winter

[carestx]

Now for something completly different.........

I need to add humidity back into home in winter. In process of putting in new HVAC for home (see Trane VS Rheem)

Have used Aprilaire units in past but have found them to be trouble prone and unreliable..

What other options are out there for whole house, forced air systems?

Someone mentioned "misting/fog" systems but I can't find anything one them

[coolwhip]

Whats wrong with a by pass flo through humidifier? They work well on a properly designed system. You could also try a steam humidifer made by skuttle. Check out their website.

[carestx]

Found them to work well for one season then act up.

Truthfuly, I have only had two units in two homes so I'm no expert.

Just looking for options to the standard config.

Thanks for the web site info...

[drk]

I know I'm going to be crucified for this but here goes! I would recommend a table top humidifier! they use less water than by-pass easy to clean and you can see howl much water is going in the air. Just fill once per day and your done.

[t527ed]

Originally posted by drk
I know I'm going to be crucified for this but here goes! I would recommend a table top humidifier! they use less water than by-pass easy to clean and you can see howl much water is going in the air. Just fill once per day and your done.


whole house humidifier has capacity if 12-18 gpd. would take one hell of a tabletop for one fill up per day. any humidifier will require annual maitanence. do not install mister type humidifier on standard duct system unless you want to rot it out. aprilair one of the best out there in my opinion.

[2hot2coolme]

Originally posted by carestx
Found them to work well for one season then act up.




I'd stick with the Aprilaire 600 or 700, have the outdoor sensor installed, depending on your water, add an "in line" filter. They are very dependable IF you maintain them annually. :)

[carestx]

Good thought, given the price points of alt. systems a in line filter makes a lot of sense...

Annual service is a issue on to itself, haven't had much luck getting anyone that really feels confident when it comes to the humidifier during "annual maintence" visits..

Quick "look over" and they move on...

Again, not a blanket observation just my limited experence.

As you can tell, I haven't had the best of luck picking service companies...

[2hot2coolme]

There is not very much to a humidifier.

Humidistat,evaporative pad, solenoid & water line.

Have the pad changed every season, make sure the water line & drain is clear, I check the backside of humidistat and blow off dust that may have built up on the sensor.

[drk]

In VA a table top does fine!

[mark beiser]

In the DFW area I wouldn't recommend anything but a steam humidifier.

Even with 2 stage heating, we tend to not get enough run time in the heat mode for a traditional humidifier to do its job.

The one I have used is the AutoFlow steam humidifier by EWC. It can cycle the systems fan on when humidification is needed since it doesn't require heated air to evaperate the water.

Maintenance is super easy on them too.

http://www.ewccontrols.com/steam_humidifier.htm

[carestx]

Mark,

You have helped in the past, thanks again for your input!

Are you in the DFW market? Would you be interested in bidding job?

Have you seen other thread? Trane VS Rheem? Do you perfer one brand over another?

I firmly beleive that design trumps mfg. and I am really wanting to do this right this time...

[docholiday]

The mod fires at 40%, it will have sufficient run time. Other 2 stage furnaces fire at 60-70%.

[carestx]

Mark B.

Getting feedback that mister units clog up easy given Dallas hard water?

Seems like it would effect all equaly?

[mark beiser]

Misters and steam humidifiers are not the same thing.

All humidifiers require yearly maintenance to funciton properly, or at all.

I would recommend that you stay away from mister, fog and spray type humidifiers.

[carestx]

Mark,

My bad! Get it now!

Are you local to Plano, TX

[casturbo]

Originally posted by t527ed


....a whole house humidifier has capacity if 12-18 gpd. would take one hell of a tabletop for one fill up per day.

Remember that 12-18 gallons per day output is IF the heating system NEVER shuts off. No house has it's furnace running 24/7.....hopefully.

All in all, I haven't seen nor serviced a central humidifier that works as described after the first year or two. Stand alone units in the living space do as intended since the homeowner sees the thing everyday as CRITICALLY needed.