Still checking out humidifiers, even though I can only use one model, not this one, and I notice that the poplular Aprilaire 700A has these specs?
Water Feed Rate 6 Gallons/Hour Water Capacity 18 Gallons/Day
If it feeds 6 gallons and hour, how come it only uses 18 gallons a day?? Where does it feed it?
It also says, "Complementing any HVAC system, the 700A has an evaporation capacity of 0.75 gallons per hour, among the highest capacity humidifiers sold." So if its evaporation cap is 0.75 gph, what does it mean that its WFR is 6 gph?
The water feeds though your supply, then trickles down over a water pad. [looks like a filter] Much of it is then drained out.
The 18gal/day is the .75 gal/hr x24. In reality, you're in big trouble if it actually put that much into the air because it would mean your furnace fan was running 24hours straight.
I bought one because folks here thought it was good. A couple years later I replaced my furnace and bought another one because it was
*everything* it was cracked up to be.
Somebody will make a liar out of me-- but I can't remember seeing a single naysayer on the Aprilaires.
Agree with Jim on all of the above. Another way to look at it is if it ran 24/7, you'd put 18gallons of water into the air and it was use a total of
24X6 gallons, with the difference flowing through it and out the drain. Actually I'm surprised the ratio is that high. It needs to have some water running out so that it flushes the minerals out, which would otherwise accumulate on the media. But it seems on the high side to me.
My understanding is that they no longer make the 700A and it's replaced by the 700, which is basicly the same thing. They used to offer it as a
700 without the outside temp control, and the A version with. Now the
700 includes it, AFAIK.
I've also had two of them and highly recommend them. The first one only died because dropped it during servicing. All you need do is service it once a year by cleaning it and changing the media element, if necessary. I got two years out of each element.
Yes, when it was discussed last it sounded wonderful and I decided to get one with my upcoming new furnace. With the curved lines in the picture, I didn't realize how thick it was (more than 10 inches), and I've only seen one of my neighbors' new furnaces, but it was arranged just like the old ones are, and even though my basement ceiling is 8 feet like everyone else, somehow there is no place to mount the Aprilaire or any of the fancy humidifiers. The flue is in the way in the front, and the A-coil is in the way for more than a foot above the 56" high furnace (the replacement might be 2 inches shorter, and after that, I have to go look again where the other 28 inches go, (Well, they duct goes at an angle, to avoid the I-beam that is above the furnace, and that section is not tall enough for a fancy humidifier.)
Anyhow, I'm stuck using a General Aire 800, which sticks out only an inch, but is very simple, more than I want. (the only way to control the amount of water is to change the number of fiberglass plates, and it has a limit of 1.4 gallons a day, but that's okay for me.) Other than that, it's a simple good humidifier and will fit almost anywhere, and costs 61 dollars plus 9 dollars shipping at
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I never understood that they had a drain, and by coincidence not until last night did I realize that the hole in the bottom of mine is meant to be a drain sometimes. I thought it was just if things went wrong.
So I had water draining out of my humidifier for years, and didnt' really know it, and that's why my furnace looks like crap, rust and crud on and near the burner, adn why the flue-catcher or flue-funnel rusted out at the start of last year, and why water poured out a couple days ago and kept the furnace from running at all. I'm going to take the drain hole and connect a hose to it to run the water away from this furnace and certainly away from the next one, which I don't want to look like crap.
(I have a spare burner I save for parts, that I got when a neighbor got a new furnace, and it looks real nice after about 29 years when I got it. But mine looks like crud, although that doesn't make it work bad (other things make it break sometimes.).)
Maybe everyone was buying the 700A. I thought it was worth the extra money.
Thick? Mine is mounted on the vertical side of the hot air plenum. I would guess it is 6" thick or so maybe a foot square more or less. My furnace is a low profile, which is designed for crawlspaces, but I've got it up on blocks in the basement and it gave me plenty of room to hook up existing ductwork. [no A/C to mess with, thank you]
I had to get creative when I installed the new furnace in order to still use the existing cold air return with the furnace that I bought. [I would have shopped for one that fit better-- but I found a new furnace on Craigs list for $500.]
If you sit and stare at it for a few days something might come to you. Or better yet- in the spring when your new furnace is here- tear everything out back a few feet and re-routing of existing ductwork might be the way to go.
I just measured my 700A and it is 10" thick. It has to have room for not only the media panel, but also the onboard fan that moves the air, since it's not a bypass type.
The A coil should not present a problem. The humidifier doesn't go inside the plenum. All you need is enough room for clearance to be able to cut out the opening without hitting the coils. MM is looking at a new furnace. He'll likely wind up with an A coil that comes inside it's own plenum casing and mates up with the furnace. You just need to look inside that and figure out where you have clearance to make the cut before you put it together. The most logical spot for the humidifier would be one side. As MM pointed out, the front is blocked by the exhaust vent, intake, etc. I'd cut the opening before I mounted the coil assembly.
Also, I used the term A coil, but many of the newer AC's come with an N shaped coil now. More surface area for efficiency. Same things apply though.
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