Testing humidifier
 

We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

Chris

Testing humidifier
 

Chris,

1) Purchase a hygrometer, which is a relatively inexpensive
device which measures relative humidity. Just do a Google
search on the word "hygrometer." Very possibly you can
borrow one from a friend, since many folks have one hanging
on the wall (in conjuction with a barometer).

2) You can also turn off the water supply to your humidifier
for a while and observe whether the water level in the unit
decreases significantly. If it does, then the unit is probably
working ok. If you notice that the water supply was already
turned off, then you've solved your mystery. :)

Good luck,
Gideon

==========

Christopher Nelson wrote in message
. com...
We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

Chris

Testing humidifier
 

Christopher Nelson wrote:

We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

That was already noted...I'd ask whether there is a humidstat on the
humidifier and whether it is working or set properly. If the control is
in the 'off' position or is set way low, may never turn it on...

Testing humidifier
 

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Christopher Nelson wrote:

We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

That was already noted...I'd ask whether there is a humidstat on the
humidifier and whether it is working or set properly. If the control is
in the 'off' position or is set way low, may never turn it on...

or even if the water is turned on to the unit (or that it is fact GETTING
any water to it).

Testing humidifier
 

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Christopher Nelson wrote:

We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

That was already noted...I'd ask whether there is a humidstat on the
humidifier and whether it is working or set properly. If the control is
in the 'off' position or is set way low, may never turn it on...

or even if the water is turned on to the unit (or that it is fact GETTING
any water to it).

if the unit is working, it will consume at least a few gallons of water
per day.

Mark

Testing humidifier
 

We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier
isn't
doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the
humidifier
was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry. Is there
something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

What kind is it? If it is the old spinning disks type, you might want
to make sure your disks are hanging up on corrision. You could wash
them in mild acid.

If it is an AprilAire type, you can pull off the cover and see if water
is trickling through the element.

Testing humidifier
 

Christopher Nelson wrote:
We've got a hot air furnace with an attached humidifier but in the
winter we wake up with dry throats, our aquarium water drops quickly,
and our windows never fog up. It seems to me that the humidifier
isn't doing anything. The furnace has been serviced recently, the
humidifier was cleaned and adjusted but the air still _seems_ dry.
Is there something I can to to _test_ the RH in the house?

Chris

In addition to the information already given, I suggest that you should
not expect the humidistat to be too accurate. Most are not, but they are
close enough for what you need. In other words if you have it set to 50%
and you get a reading of 40 - 60% you are likely OK.

Also note that it is not at all unusual for humidifiers to be
disconnected or non-functional after a year to two or even less. People
find out that they require maintenance and or that they did not last very
long and don't take corrective action. Most brands are short lived. Most
people, including myself, like the Aprilair line. Not the cheapest, but
must of us who have them find that years later they are still functioning
with minimal maintenance.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Testing humidifier
 

Get a humidistat, digital is better as analog need calibrating, Recently
I went looking for a good analog and found all were instore reading
10-15% off. I bought a very large Taylor, who make 95% of the ones I
see sold. which stated calibrate every 6 months. Digital are alot better
basicly , but to really know you need better than 10$ units and need to
calibrate it yourself, but any analog you can calibrate will work in a
narrow range, the one your need to know about now .

Testing humidifier
 

m Ransley wrote:
Get a humidistat, digital is better as analog need calibrating,
Recently I went looking for a good analog and found all were instore
reading 10-15% off. I bought a very large Taylor, who make 95% of
the ones I see sold. which stated calibrate every 6 months. Digital
are alot better basicly , but to really know you need better than 10$
units and need to calibrate it yourself, but any analog you can
calibrate will work in a narrow range, the one your need to know
about now .

I agree

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Testing humidifier
 

You don't need a hygrometer, just a thermometer and a cotton ball.
Cover the thermometer's bulb with the cotton and dip it in water.
Shake the thermometer to help the water evaporate, and after a minute
of this the temperature should stabilize. This is the wet bulb
temperature. Compare it to the normal room temperature, which is the
dry bulb temperature, and look up the readings in a psychometric chart
to find the relative humidity. These charts are available from several
Internet sites or in about any book about air conditioning, including
factory auto repair manuals.

At 68F dry bulb, the following wet bulb temperaturs translate into
these humidity amounts:

Wet Bulb Relative Humidity

46F 10%
48F 20%
51F 30%
55F 40%
56F 50%
59F 60%

Testing humidifier
 

Buck Turgidson wrote:

If it is an AprilAire type, you can pull off the cover and see if water
is trickling through the element.

Didn't you get the latest memo from General Jack D. Ripper? He said it
wasn't good enough for the communists that we drank their fluoridated
water, so they invented humidifiers to make us breathe it as well.

Testing humidifier
 

Yeah, that sounds a lot easier and more efficient than buying a
$5 hygrometer. I'll get on that soon, but right now I'm out in the
garage manufacturing some new brake rotors out of scrap iron.
I figure I'll save 5 or 6 dollars per axle and only waste a couple
of hundred hours of my time.

================

wrote in message
. com...
You don't need a hygrometer, just a thermometer and a cotton ball.
Cover the thermometer's bulb with the cotton and dip it in water.
Shake the thermometer to help the water evaporate, and after a minute
of this the temperature should stabilize. This is the wet bulb
temperature. Compare it to the normal room temperature, which is the
dry bulb temperature, and look up the readings in a psychometric chart
to find the relative humidity. These charts are available from several
Internet sites or in about any book about air conditioning, including
factory auto repair manuals.

At 68F dry bulb, the following wet bulb temperaturs translate into
these humidity amounts:

Wet Bulb Relative Humidity

46F 10%
48F 20%
51F 30%
55F 40%
56F 50%
59F 60%

Testing humidifier
 

Gideon wrote:

wrote in message
. com...

You don't need a hygrometer, just a thermometer and a cotton ball.
Cover the thermometer's bulb with the cotton and dip it in water.
Shake the thermometer to help the water evaporate, and after a minute
of this the temperature should stabilize. This is the wet bulb
temperature. Compare it to the normal room temperature, which is the
dry bulb temperature, and look up the readings in a psychometric chart
to find the relative humidity. These charts are available from several
Internet sites or in about any book about air conditioning, including
factory auto repair manuals.

Yeah, that sounds a lot easier and more efficient than buying a
$5 hygrometer. I'll get on that soon, but right now I'm out in the
garage manufacturing some new brake rotors out of scrap iron.
I figure I'll save 5 or 6 dollars per axle and only waste a couple
of hundred hours of my time.

I didn't know hygrometers were available for as little as $5, but I
haven't shopped for one in a long time. On the other hand the method I
described takes only a few minutes and saves a trip to the store,
although I use the humidistat built into my tachometer.