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Central vs Console Humidifier

I am replacing my forced warm air furnace with a new one and am considering adding a central humidifier to it. I presently have a Sears console humidifier that is rated at 12 gallons/day. (I am heating/humidifying 2200 sq ft) I just had a contractor give me an estimate for the furnace and he recommends against central humidification. He says it just leads to problems & that my present console humifier will do just as good a job. If he is right I'll save a little money so it's fine with me! Would a central humidifier be that much better than my old console one or not? Any advise would be appreciated.

Reply to
Dick
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I am replacing my forced warm air furnace with a new one and am considering adding a central humidifier to it. I presently have a Sears console humidifier that is rated at 12 gallons/day. (I am heating/humidifying 2200 sq ft) I just had a contractor give me an estimate for the furnace and he recommends against central humidification. He says it just leads to problems & that my present console humifier will do just as good a job. If he is right I'll save a little money so it's fine with me! Would a central humidifier be that much better than my old console one or not? Any advise would be appreciated.

Reply to
Dick

Your portable has a fan, the fan costs money to operate, a 100 watt fan costs apx 10 $ a month to run 24 x 7 at .125 kwh. And you have to fill it every day .

Reply to
m Ransley

A poor quality or poorly installed humidifier will cause problems. A good one should not. I'm personally very happy with the one I have an Aprilaire.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Consoles are a pain to refill. I have to refill Bionaire W-6 every three or four days in the winter. The wick filters must be replaced minimum three times a season. I'm planning on upgrading to a new central system asap.

considering

Reply to
mkochsch

considering

If he recommends against central humidification, he is either: Seeing something about your home, or ducts that we cant see on the other end of the computer .. Does not know the proper way to install one, Or is not experenced in the proper installation and design of a simple bypass unit.

You may wish to consult with another licenced experenced professional.

Reply to
*CBHVAC*

I have the April Air unit you set humidity once, at condensation level or comfort level and forget it . it has an outdoor temp stat I recomend that unit . Model ? I forgot. But a contractor that warns against them worries me, he isnt experianced or very smart. they are the norm for instals. Instaled they require realy no increase in elec usage unlike your portable . You will be happy with an April Air with Auto set.

Reply to
m Ransley

The biggest problem with installing a "central" humidifier is it can rust out the heat exchanger of your furnace. The typical installation is to have the humidifier located in the main duct just above the furnace; any water that drips from it will end up on your heat exchanger and that can only be bad. The cost of operating a console humidifier is a drop in the bucket compared to replacing your furnace years before you otherwise would. Be careful you don't overhumidify your house; with too much moisture you can cause unanticipated problems such as mold and mildew and even rot damage to the structure if the moisture condenses out inside the walls and ceilings.

Reply to
Bruce

I am sorry...where do you get this information from? If he has a ThermoPride, he wont rust it out, thats a given. And I am indeed curious, how a BYPASS type humidifier will rust out a heat exchanger??? Wives tale, based on old steam units that were installed wrong.

Again....lies...all lies. Installed correctly, it wont happen.

Also, we replace units every year that are rusted out, years ahead of their time, that have no humidification on the units. amazing that isnt it? Todays units are not like yesterdays.

Too little humidification can lead to mold as well....

Amazing huh?

Reply to
*CBHVAC*

Gee Bruce mine is instaled Not above the heat exchanger, its off to the side. But Leaks if they occur should be fixed, as yearly checkups will indicate. Instal locations can be planned. But im not sure as to your arguement of rotting heat coils as to not being owner neglients, poor design or install, and Lack of maintenance. I say go for a properly set up full set up . You realy need someone Competant.. = inteligent , not cheap , but someone that Will make the install work. It seems you both are working with Hacks....../...

Reply to
m Ransley

Thanks for your reply to all. To M. Ransley..... I just left the Aprilaire website & there are a few things that I didn't like hearing:

  1. They recommend connecting to hot water. (not a huge deal but an additional cost, nonetheless)
Reply to
Dick

Those are factors to consider. However let me make a couple of suggestions.

  1. Hot water. It uses only a little water each day, not much cost. All of that which is not used to wash and is added to the air, is not lost heat. If the water was cooler, it would cool the air more. So there is really very little loss.
  2. The amount of water entering the septic system is also small, but if you have a system that is on the edge anyway, then maybe it would be a problem, but then I would think your system needs to be re-sized if that little additional is going to cause a problem

I might also note that the model 400 does not use that system so there is no drain water and no heat loss from the "hot" water.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

I hooked mine to cold water , it=A0 works Fine

Reply to
m Ransley

"stephen", obviously I simply made all that up. I am a shill for the console humidifire industry. There is absolutely NO chance at all that a central humidifier can damage a furnace in any way. Any idiot would know that placing a source of water directly above a very expensive appliance is always preferable to the alternative.

(please note: the above contains sarcasm)

Reply to
Bruce

If you have experienced problems, then you most likely experienced one that was poorly designed or improperly installed.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Sarcasm or not, your comments were wrong. I dont have a problem with sarcasm....what I have a problem with is comments that are presented as fact and are wrong.

You have a source of water in your home...lets see...YOU, and any toliets, showers..etc...if you wanna get sarcastic...:)

However, the fact remains, a properly installed, bypass unit will not hurt the heat exchanger. Period.

Reply to
*CBHVAC*

What he said.....

Reply to
HeatMan

My boss and I have installed quite a few Aprilaire humidifiers, and have had excellent results with them. The couple nice things about them include that they don't require carrying buckets of water. And they don't get totally loaded up with minerals, since they run an excess ammount of water, and much of it goes down a drain.

Personally, I really like those Aprilaires. It is possible that the guy you talked with is only familiar wtih the pan and wheel types that go over the heat exchanger -- and those are trouble. We may be talking apples and oranges.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Hi Bruce, hope you are having a nice day

On 19-Feb-04 At About 08:38:35, Bruce wrote to All Subject: Re: Central vs Console Humidifier

B> From: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Bruce)

B> "stephen", obviously I simply made all that up. I am a shill for the B> console humidifire industry. There is absolutely NO chance at all B> that a central humidifier can damage a furnace in any way. Any idiot B> would know that placing a source of water directly above a very B> expensive appliance is always preferable to the alternative.

The fact is that you are wrong. if installed properly it won't be above the heat exchanger at all.

-=> HvacTech2

Reply to
HvacTech2

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