Need Humidifier recommendation

[IXLR8]

I am tired of all the static electricity in the winter at my condo in Mass. It is heated with forced hot air via heat pump and the local HVAC company says that it doesn't run hot enough to properly use an in-duct whole house system. They said I would have so many issues with it they won't even give me a quote. The condo is about 900 sq ft, I know I will get tired of refilling it all the time, but presently I am tired of the 1/2"+ sparks nailing me when I touch something that is grounded. I have also discovered it is in the condo rules/regulations that a minimum level of humidity (40%) is maintained and last weekend it was at 29%.
Anybody have any recommendations of brand/style/model I should look at. I am leaning towards an ultrasonic unit as I am not there several days a week and when I return I would like to get it working ASAP and not have to wait for water in the tank to heat up. Humidity control/sensor is also a must have.


Thanks

 

[RalphVa]

We installed a Honeywell Truesteam one in the upstairs for the upstairs heat pump system.

Ralph

 

[eth555]

Honeywell truesteam here with geo; seems to work good. It does not matter how hot your heat system runs, it makes the steam.

Whole-House Steam

 

[eth555]

I read your post again, right now our house is at 48% humidity inside; I also have a honeywell thermostat that controls the truesteam. The thermostat has an outdoor sensor that knows outdoor temp and humidity. If you do not have the honeywell thermostat there are controllers you can get for it. Yes the truesteam does have to heat water to make steam but is ready to go in a matter of minutes; when installed there is a setting for how hard of water your is; the truesteam flushes itself periodically based on this setting. So far it has been pretty much set it and forget it. We had tried numerous humidifiers prior to this and this one so far has been working the best.

 

[RalphVa]

Easy to clean, too. Ours is actually situated in our towel closet in the master bath, as it is just below where the upstairs air handler is and is close to water (tapped in) off the bath tub. Drain goes into a tap there, too (it self flushes every so often, very important on any humidifier). Had to install another 120v outlet in the closet.

Ralph

 

[IXLR8]

Thanks folks, this looks perfect, I love the set and forget part, I don't need to worry about it if I am away for a few days.... if I can physically install it. The morons who built the condo complex actually installed all the heating units upside down and the outlet is mounted to the floor in a tiny closet without much room, I have about 4" on each side. There is no way to install the unit directly to the duct, I am going to have to see about the remote mount option. The other issue is, it is a little expensive for a place I am only going to be at for another 18 months. I am going to research this further though as this could be a selling point then.

 

[Daver1963]

Besides the shocking aspect of low humidity another reason to humidify between 40-60% is electronics. Most people don't know that when you feel the flash of static electricity it is at about 1,000 volts and that the body can hold a charge up to 50,000 volts. It doesn't kill you because of the extremely low amperage, but consider that most modern electronics, especially microcomputer circuits, run on 5 volts DC and when you introduce anywhere from 1k-50K vdc of static electricity just by touching them the damage can be irreversible.
Check this link: Microcircuit ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) Damage

 

[IXLR8]

Besides the shocking aspect of low humidity another reason to humidify between 40-60% is electronics.

Good point, as I work for that little chipmaker Intel, at least for the next 18 months, this is something I am well aware of, so I make sure to touch the plate screw of a grounded outlet before touching any of my electronics.

 

[IXLR8]

Looks like I need a portable humidifier of some sort. I finally found a contractor in my area who deals with the Honeywell system, he said the way my system is installed, upside down, he didn't want to install his system. He said there was no room to install the duct for the unit as there is no room between where the electric heating elements in the system and the floor where the outlet duct enters. He didn't want to install it higher up with the extra humid air being pulled thru the coils, fan and electric heating elements, he was afraid of things corroding. It is a 20 year old system that will be very difficult to replace due to the way it is shoe horned into the closet it is in. I suspect the closet was built around the unit it is such a tight fit. So does anybody have any recommendations for a good portable unit to handle a 900 sq ft condo? With the caveat that the water tends to run a bit hard so I am leaning against an ultrasonic unit as I don't want any more white dust than I already have.