Humidifier - York, AprilAire, Suggestions?

I'm looking for suggestions on what home humidifier to get.

Any helpful suggestions out there? Has anyone had experiences with the AprilAire or the York system?

What should I look for in a humidifier to take care of a 1000 square foot house with forced air?

Consumer reports was worthless on this issue. They didn't have ratings for any of them. I've gotten quotes as high as $800 for a model another vendor wants $500 for. Now it sounds like the model I was looking for is about as good as the next model down which is just $350 installed.

Help -- looking for suggestions.

Reply to
USguy
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IMO, you can't beat Aprilaire. I've had the powered fan model, 760?, for about 7 years now. It's a simple, clean design, easy to install and clean. All I've done is replace the media element every couple years. To do that, you just lift off the fan/case assembley, no tools required.

I'm not a big fan of the bypass models that short circuit some air around the furnace instead of using a fan. First, they decrease blower capacity and you have to remember to close off the thing during AC season. Second, sending hot moist air over a metal heat exchanger doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Reply to
trader4

Do you have any experience with the York model?

Reply to
USguy

I just installed an Aprilaire 550 about two months ago. It replaced a Fieds Control unit (with a media wheel) that was rusting out after 4 years. The AA 550 is a bypass unit and is all plastic with an integral damper. It bleeds off a small amount of water when running to minimize lime buildup. It is working well. I purchased the AA because I had a similar unit in another house that was at least ten years old and was working well when we sold the house.

BTW I bought m> Do you have any experience with the York model?

Reply to
Howard

April air and im sure others have a model with an outdoor thermometer, it tracks the temp and keeps the humidity at the right level after you do the set up.

Reply to
m Ransley

Every house I've had seemed to have an aprilaire of some sort. Never had a problem with em for whatever that's worth.

Reply to
Todd H.

I've had 4 humidifiers installed in a 1400 square foot house in the cold Northeast USA over the last 35 years. The first two each lasted only a few years. The 2 Aprilaires have been absolutely outstanding. One lasted 18 years and the other was just installed a couple years ago. They are extremely efficient, quiet, automatic (including ability to compensate for outdoor temperature), easy to install, and fully supported by a very reliable manufacturer in Wisconsin. I am neither an installer or have any vested interested in them. I am merely a very satisfied consumer Their top model was available a couple years ago on the web for about $250 and took a couple hours to install. Should be maybe a $400 to $500 job in my opinion, but your local installers may charge more for their time.

Reply to
Smarty

Don't. Airseal the house instead, to raise the indoor humidity and lower vs raise your fuel bills.

Nick

Reply to
nicksanspam

I just Knew Nicky would come along and stupidly state again that caulk will cure all your dryness issues, your a bonehead nick.

Reply to
m Ransley
061215 1238 - USguy posted:

In a couple of apartments that I had inhabited, I built an aluminum angle rack to hold the two trays, and the cold air return was up high -- the furnace was downdraft. I had a short aluminum ladder to get up to the humidifier to fill it with hot water. I have a small electric pump and control system for my hand and a water tube that stretches from the kitchen sink to the humidifier, which is only about 10' away. I fill a small bucket with hot water and then, with the pump in the water, turn it on and the hot water comes out of the small tubing into the humidifier trays, where I cover the sponges with hot water while I am filling the trays. The furnace should be running while this operation is performed so that the rooms will be immediately filled with warm, moist air.

On a home, a register could be cut into the cold air return on the furnace, and an aluminum angle rack made to hold two of the Rubbermaid trays with the four sponges. In this way the humidifier can be maintained properly and filled when low on water. It should be filled with hot water while the furnace is running to gain full advantage of the warm, moist air moving. The trays usually need filling about once a month, or every two weeks when it gets really cold out and the furnace runs a lot.

With such a system, the quality of the moist air in the rooms is held at a high standard. The four sponges will begin to crust a little at the top where the moisture is mostly removed from but with the maintaining schedule the sponges can be easily removed from the trays and cleaned and rinsed in a sink.

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Reply to
indago

I bought a Sears humidifier about 15 years ago. It's a media wheel unit. I've replaced various parts that have failed over the years, usually available through Sears Parts stores and all pretty simple to install. I've had to go to other sources recently, since Sears seems to be trimming their inventory of parts - definitely not a good thing, IMO. I completely disassemble it to clean it and replace the media twice a season (probably not often enough). My only complaint is that I've had to replace various parts that have failed over the years. There are far too many moving parts compared to the other type (I don't know what it's called). If I were going to replace this unit, I'd probably get an AprilAire. They're simpler, virtually no moving parts, no reservoir of stagnant water, and the company has been around forever.

Just my 2 cents.

Reply to
Mike Hartigan

Great idea. Instead of a $250 system like Aprilaire that requires maintenance once a season, the way to go is this contraption that requires constant maintenance. Careful you don't trip over that water line from the sink. Or maybe you have and that's how you came up with the idea.

Reply to
trader4

I am very familiar with the commercial type humidifiers. To say that a humidifier doesn't need any maintenance but once a year is to say that the water in it is stale and not fit for circulation throughout the home, not to mention the crust built up on the rotating "sponge". Some folks -- me included -- are very sensitive to dry air in the home, and the relief that warm, moist air brings is a blessing. I'm for changing the water in the humidifier about once a week, and making sure that the sponges are kept up so that the moisture circulates properly.

And as far as "don't trip over that water line from the sink", I don't. It is not a permanent setup; just when I refill the water trays. A pitcher of hot water would work also, pouring over the sponges and filling the trays. And, it doesn't cost $250 or more, plus the cost of installation by a "pro"...

061220 1129 - snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net posted:

Reply to
indago

When USguy asked:

BUZZ! I'm sorry, that's completely the wrong answer, but thanks for playing our game. Jacqui has a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni, "the San Francisco treat", as a parting gift for you back stage.

#1: In many areas of the country, the humidity level goes down during the Winter. #2: If USGuy has a forced air heating system of any kind, heating the air then dries it further over time. Sealing the air into the house only ensures the already low humidity level will go down. #3: If USGuy lives in an older house with a gas-permeable foundation, you've now told him to raise the radon levels in his house without cautioning him to have a radon test done periodically or have a radon sensing unit in the living space.

I will say your suggestion is valid for lowering heating costs, as many people are unaware as to how much heat (and cool in the Summer) is lost through inefficient doors and windows as well as poor insulation.

BUT, I hope you're not an engineering student at Villanova. Whatever your major, if my cousin in Downingtown ever sees this post, on behalf of 'Nova alums everywhere she's gonna find you and whup you upside the head for embarrassing the school.

Reply to
Kyle

Your reply demonstrates that you are unaware that there are whole-house humidifiers that don't have rotating sponges and trays of stinky water, and require little-to-no maintenance during the season.

Instead, a water line is run (usually off the water supply to the hot water heater) and the humidifier is a vertical "chunk" of filter down which water runs only when humidity is called for, and the tray underneath drains to a sink (in our case, using the condensate pump for the air conditioner). This way, no bacteria can build up in standing water, you don't get anywhere NEAR the mineral build-up on the humidifying "sponge/filter", and you don't need to change materials but once a season or year.

Yes, you still need to close the air deflector and turn it off out of the heating season, and yes, it costs more to install, but it's still a lot lower maintenance and mess than what you describe, and it's healthier for the occupants of the house.

Since installing an AprilAire unit two years ago, I haven't gotten a chest cold, upper or lower respiratory infection or bronchitis once, when in years past I would get bronchitis at least once a Winter (and have had pneumonia three times in 25 years). My doctor says it is due in part to the fact my humidifier isn't blowing bacteria into the house's air, like previous ones did.

Just my 2 cents' worth...

Reply to
Kyle

Ignorance can be cured :-)

The absolute amount of water vapor in colder outdoor air is less.

Wrong. Heating air does not change the moisture content at all.

Wrong. Houses contain humidity sources. Andersen says showers, cooking, breathing, green plants, and so on add about 2 gallons of water per day to house air for an average family of 4. In a perfectly airtight house, the RH would keep rising until condensation occurred on the coolest indoor surface, eg a window pane.

Radon tests and fixes are good.

... while naturally raising the indoor relative humidity.

Sounds like fun. Send me her phone number.

Nick

Reply to
nicksanspam

Hmmm, I use spray type. Works great for >10 years. I have a spare nozzle so I can switch it in when one in service needs cleaning. Just soak it in CLR and it's ready.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

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