Humidifier Recommendation

[david]

I've scheduled a furnace replacement for next month. It will be a 95% high efficiency natural gas unit. The contractor wanted an additional $600 to install an Aprilaire 600 whole house humidifier. The price on Amazon if about $190, maybe cheaper elsewhere, so I can buy that one and install it myself.

However, I've also looked at literature for other brands and they all claim to do wonderful things. In the absence of objective data, I'd like for the knowledgeable folks in this newsgroup to make a humidifier brand /model recommendation. I live in the Kansas City area and need to humidify about 2400 square feet of living space. Thanks for the advice.

[Jim Elbrecht]

I'll be real surprised if you get many recommendations for anything other than Aprilaire.

I paid $168 delivered from American Wholesale [ebay store] for the 600 last year. I see westsidewholesale.com has it for $165. [I bought my first one from discountfurnacefilters in 2008-- It had 'an accident', so when I put the new furnace in last year I replaced it.]

I look at mine twice a year & have enjoyed perfect 'humidification' all winter. I kick myself every couple of weeks for not buying one 20 years ago.

BTW- I'd do it myself, too-- but I don't think the $600 the contractor wants is out of line if you know how well he'll stand behind his work. Mine has been trouble free- but stuff happens. I probably took 6-8 hours to install mine, lots of that was 'headscratching' time.

Be sure to hook it to the hot water side. Aprilaire recommends it & it makes sense from a 'make humidity' standpoint-- but also makes it easy to see if the thing is working. While the furnace is running I'll occasionally lay my hand on the tubing where it enters the humidifier-- the warmth gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that all is well with the world.

Jim

[ransley]

The april air that adjusts humidity by tracking outdoor outdoor temp is good. See if he will come down in price or do it youself, I think is price is high.

[Catwatcher]

Well, it sounds as if Aprilaire is the way to go. I'm pretty much a diy person, so I'll buy online and install it myself. Thanks so much for the recommendations.

[Cory]

Pfffftttt! The contractor is bending you over, especially when installing a new gas unit.

The AA 600 is a nice unit, but not at that price.

I'd shop around for "competitive" rates along with a good installer. Don't be afraid to actually look at some installs. Simple things like neatness, will let you know if they're a hack or not.