On Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 10:30:43 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I know this post is old but I would like to add to this. I agree 100% with Attila's conclusions. Aprilaire and any other plate type humidifiers are for the most part just running water down the drain.
IDK what constituties a "plate type" humidifier, but Aprilaire like many
others use a media that they call a panel. And sure they run water down
the drain, to carry away the minerals that would otherwise build up,
but they are also putting water into the air, humidifying the house,
doing exactly what they are designed to do.
I have been in HVAC for 35 years and 1st learned of the humidifier scam when I installed a system for a customer that was very concerned about her grand piano. Aprilaire states that if you want more humidity output you should run your fan on "on". This is completely a waste of energy and water and I knew this going into the project. Knowing that heated air was critical, I built a hot water coil to run with the boiler.
Not clear at all what's going on here. April 600 and similar are designed
to be used with hot air furnaces, not boilers.
This allowed me to have 180° air enter the humidifier.
Good idea, that's what they are designed to work with.
I also had a ducted fan to allow my system to run 24 hours if needed.
I've had humidifiers in several homes, never had a need for the humidifier
to run more than when the furnace was on to do it's job.
Problem solve! So I thought. The humidity in the house was terrible. At the time the Aprilaire literature stated an output of somewhere in the area of 18 gallons a day so I was completely confused and believed I had a wiring issue that was shutting the system down when I left the job. I also came up with clocking the water and catching it in a bucket coming out of the drain without any heat or airflow and comparing it with the system operating with heat and air. I could not believe that there was virtually no difference.. I think the output was well under 1 gallon per day. I didn't waste time changing the pad but instead cut a hole in the front of the humidifier so I could watch the water. The humidifier was perfectly level but the pad was not getting wet because the water would only trickle in a few spots down the honeycomb before running down the drain. I messed with the top to try and get the water to flow evenly over the plate but no matter what I did the water would just trickle somewhere else. I waste many hours at my shop at night trying to understand why "My" install didn't work.
IDK what's wrong with yours, but I've had two Aprilaire's now on
my furnaces and they work as designed. Also have seen many others
post here saying they are very happy with theirs.
The new ones have a material on top to help wick the water but it's basically the same.
I thought you were talking about a new install for a customer?
The pads also have clay on them to help attract the water. I called Aprilaire many times and they said they had never had any trouble.....until on one call to technical service I was lucky enough to get an old engineer who opened up and explained that in the "old days" they worked fine. Back then before water conservation, the humidifiers did not slow down the flow and the water splashed and swirled down the pad in a waterfall. The feel good/cheap solution to put a small restrictor orafice in the water line replaced the waterfall with a trickle. Anyone who stood next to a waterfall and then a creek has felt the difference.
But it does no good to send excess water down the drain, it just wastes
water and energy. Mine has a pencil size flow of water going down the
drain and it has more than enough capacity to keep humidity at 45%+
in a 3200 sq ft house. It only runs a small fraction of the furnace on
time.
With that knowledge, I solved my project by building a pump with a flush system to bring back the waterfall. That was 10 years ago and I can still output 24 gallons a day!
I imagine it's better than the old factory numbers because I'm recirculating the water which keeps water temperature up. I stopped installing those humidifiers but all the other companies are making a fortune installing the "water wasters". I did find a huimdifier from Canada that has a rotating drum. They solved the stagnant water issue by adding a flush system to the drain that pumps out the water every 12 or 24 hours.
http://www.desertspringproducts.com/...ring/index.asp Their float system stinks but it works. As for the "old engineer". I tried calling him back after I got the system working to thank him but he was no longer there. I'm guessing he was retiring and heard my frustration. Thanks sir, where ever you are.
IDK what your problems are, but mine works perfectly, installed per
the directions.