Humidification in winter

[Coyote machine]

How about hooking up a Reverse Osmosis filter before your water softener and using that to supply water to the humidifier? That should cut WAY down on how much junk builds up on the filters.

Aaron Z

The RO would need to be sized to accommodate the extra water used for that purpose and as such might not be economically feasible.
A volume based softener system would allow for better adjustment of salt to use that a timer based system. What softener brand do you use currently?

 

[tractchores]

We use a emerson stand alone wick unit. We're on well water and while we do get some minerals it isn't too bad, the filters last the winter and we replace them every year. We do have a whole house water filter (for rust), so that may help. We try to keep it generally at least partially full, I think this helps as the remaining minerals just concentrate more in the water that remains, if it runs totally dry we seem to get more of a crust on the filter.

We can tell whether its working or not by how electricuted the cat gets, when it's dry he's a nervous wreck and can't touch anything without a shock!

 

[CalG]

How does going thru several gallons a day of water on the stove differ from any other method?
In my case the static goes away and the windows fog up. The rooms we don 't use we close the door and they get less humidity. We are heating the house anyways so I'm pretty sure the heat balances out.

Several gallons a day from a pot on the wood stove? I question that on any but the very coldest "hard burning" days.

But if you DID get several gallons of water into the air in your house on any given day, then I bet you would see it on your hygrometer.

My comment is directed at the "fill the pot twice a day" (about 1/2 gallon). That really doesn't do squat!

But as mentioned, I fill the pot when it's low, the soothing sound of simmering water makes my sinuses feel better ;-)

 

[Shutesbury]

We had the rotating wheel type for years, and the best replacement we could find was the Holmes 3500. It has a canister shaped filter that stands on end in the section underneath an exhaust fan. It draws room air through the filter, pushing moist air out the top.

The problem is that after a few days, it would not wick nearly as well as it did when new. Flipping it end-to-end works for awhile, but the wicking action still dropped off, and replacing the filters got pricey.

My solution was to take a small water fountain pump that we were using in a cat waterfall, and place it in the middle of the filter. I then took about two feet of tubing and ran it up near the inside lip of the filter, and coiled it around inside the filter circle. Thin wire (old telephone wire) looped through the filter holds the tubing tight to the filter. A half dozen holes in the tubing along its length allows the pumped water to dribble out against the filter, keeping it constantly moist. It works quite well. We go through about 5 gallons a day, heating solely with a woodstove.

Paul

 

[MillWeld]

Shutesbury, that's the same unit we have and had the same experience.

The fountain pump is a clever idea. I will try that. Sounds like a creative solution.
Thanks

 

[Shutesbury]

You're welcome, Millweld,

If you can find a solid round ring that would sit atop the filter, to pump into, that would channel the water more evenly and effectively, let me know. That was my original plan, but I didn't find anything around the house to use.

The only other tip I have to correct design errors on the Holmes unit, is to put a small strip of traction tape under the handle of the water tanks. With no lip on them, I worry about a full one slipping off my fingertips and breaking a toe.

 

[orezok]

Out here in the desert, I use a Skuttle spray type of humidifier. Skuttle | Indoor Quality Air Products

You can install different size spray heads. I've tried both the .5 and .75 GPH heads and the .5 does a good job.

No filters or other mechanical parts to replace.

I do soak the spray head in CLR at the start of each heating season for the past 7 years with no additional costs.

A word of warning though, the minerals in the water are sprayed into the heat duct resulting in a very very fine layer of mineral dust in the house (as opposed to in the filter in a media system).

 

[MillWeld]

Thanks, orezok, but I am going with Shutesbury's approach. Any system I have must be evaporative for the reason you gave and easily accessible, i.e., not in my crawl space, for maintenance purposes. Right now I am waiting for my fountain pump.

 

[Iowachild]

As we heat with a hot water baseboard heat, we use a stand alone humidifier. For the last 13 years that has been a Emerson HD1204 wick type with two fans. I can easily add 5 gallons, with a bucket, to the unit every day when the temperature stays below 30 or so. Adding that amount of moisture to the air keeps the relative humidity measured two rooms away in the 40% to 43% range. The problem is humidity is relative to the temperature of the air. The warmer the air the more moisture it can hold. Very cold air can have a high relative humidity and still feel dry. Dew point is a more accurate measure of moisture in the air. The dewpoint temperature is the temperature at which the air can no longer "hold" all of the water vapor which is mixed with it, and some of the water vapor must condense into liquid water. The dew point is always lower than (or equal to) the air temperature. This winter our dew points have been near or below zero F quite often. All that dry air makes for dry noses. As I type this the dew point at my little local airport is -14.3 degrees F.

 

[tow653]

We just built a new house,using open loop geothermal heat/ac. So far this winter the humidity has stayed around 35-40%. Do you all think we need to add humidifier?

 

[s219]

We just built a new house,using open loop geothermal heat/ac. So far this winter the humidity has stayed around 35-40%. Do you all think we need to add humidifier?

It depends -- are you comfortable? I can tell when it's time to switch on the humidifier for the season when I start getting sinus issues. We have ours set to 45% (its highest setting) and it really helps. When outside temperatures drop during an extreme cold snap, I will crank it back to 30-35% if I start seeing too much moisture/frost on the windows.

We mainly heat with geothermal system, but supplement with wood fireplace (also for enjoyment). The fireplace will definitely dry out the interior air.

 

[orezok]

We just built a new house,using open loop geothermal heat/ac. So far this winter the humidity has stayed around 35-40%. Do you all think we need to add humidifier?

This chart might help.

 

[Travelover]

I have an old Aprilaire furnace humidifier. The instructions say not to use softened water and indeed, I can see where the original owner re-plumbed it from softened to unsoftened water. It does build up mineral deposits over time and needs the pad changed yearly and the deposits melted off with a mild acid every few years. I augment it with a Holmes portable humidifier in the bedroom.

 

[Cpjlube]

I have an old Aprilaire furnace humidifier. The instructions say not to use softened water and indeed, I can see where the original owner re-plumbed it from softened to unsoftened water. It does build up mineral deposits over time and needs the pad changed yearly and the deposits melted off with a mild acid every few years. I augment it with a Holmes portable humidifier in the bedroom.

I'm using the Aprilair 600. I use softened hot water for the humidifier. It stayed pretty clean until I forgot to add salt. Only took about three weeks to waste the water panel. Turned a healthy orange pretty quick. I'll stick to softened water. I replace mine at least once a year. The panel is about 10 dollars on Amazon.