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#1
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Humidifier
I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and
it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. |
#2
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Humidifier
On 12/20/2016 11:48 AM, philo wrote:
I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. Sounds like it should be working. I've got one and humidity in house is 41% compared to 59%/30 deg F outside. Maybe because you may be in a more arid area, i.e. outside air is very low. |
#3
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Humidifier
"Frank" wrote in message news On 12/20/2016 11:48 AM, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. Sounds like it should be working. I've got one and humidity in house is 41% compared to 59%/30 deg F outside. Maybe because you may be in a more arid area, i.e. outside air is very low. Concerning Health issues you Relative Humidity should be around 50-60% And yes when is cold outside "demand" for Humidity will be greater then if is warm. Because your furnace is displacing RH or taking it out through your smoke stock. |
#4
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Humidifier
On 12/20/2016 12:55 PM, Tony944 wrote:
"Frank" wrote in message news On 12/20/2016 11:48 AM, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. Sounds like it should be working. I've got one and humidity in house is 41% compared to 59%/30 deg F outside. Maybe because you may be in a more arid area, i.e. outside air is very low. Concerning Health issues you Relative Humidity should be around 50-60% And yes when is cold outside "demand" for Humidity will be greater then if is warm. Because your furnace is displacing RH or taking it out through your smoke stock. Well, we don't get that many really cold days anymore so I guess I need not worry about it. Thanks |
#5
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Humidifier
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 1:55:39 PM UTC-5, Tony944 wrote:
"Frank" wrote in message news On 12/20/2016 11:48 AM, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. Sounds like it should be working. I've got one and humidity in house is 41% compared to 59%/30 deg F outside. Maybe because you may be in a more arid area, i.e. outside air is very low. Concerning Health issues you Relative Humidity should be around 50-60% And yes when is cold outside "demand" for Humidity will be greater then if is warm. Because your furnace is displacing RH or taking it out through your smoke stock. I'd say 50% is the upper limit when it's moderate temps outside. When it's below zero, like Philo has, I'd say 30% or so is tops, unless you want water condensing at windows, inside walls, etc. |
#6
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Humidifier
On 12/20/2016 04:19 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On T snip Concerning Health issues you Relative Humidity should be around 50-60% And yes when is cold outside "demand" for Humidity will be greater then if is warm. Because your furnace is displacing RH or taking it out through your smoke stock. I'd say 50% is the upper limit when it's moderate temps outside. When it's below zero, like Philo has, I'd say 30% or so is tops, unless you want water condensing at windows, inside walls, etc. The recommended settings are -20F 15% humidity 0F 25% +20F 35% The humidifier and humidistat is working I checked all functions just not doing a sufficient job. |
#7
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Humidifier
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 10:43:57 PM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 12/20/2016 04:19 PM, trader_4 wrote: On T snip Concerning Health issues you Relative Humidity should be around 50-60% And yes when is cold outside "demand" for Humidity will be greater then if is warm. Because your furnace is displacing RH or taking it out through your smoke stock. I'd say 50% is the upper limit when it's moderate temps outside. When it's below zero, like Philo has, I'd say 30% or so is tops, unless you want water condensing at windows, inside walls, etc. The recommended settings are -20F 15% humidity 0F 25% +20F 35% Exactly. It needs to back off the lower the outside temps. And I presume you have the outside temp sensor that automatically adjusts it? That is a great feature. |
#8
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Humidifier
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 11:48:25 AM UTC-5, philo wrote:
I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. First question is if the humidifier is actually running whenever the furnace is on? Or is an inaccurate/defective humidistat the problem? I have an Aprilaire 760 in a 3100 sq ft house and it puts out enough moisture that it only needs to run a fraction of the on time. I do have mine hooked up to hot water, which will increase the amount of evaporation, but i doubt it makes a big difference. When it'd down in the teens or 20s, I could have water dripping off the windows if I set it high enough. If it's on all the time that the furnace is running, is water trickling out of it? You say it has a fan, so I assume it's one that just mounts on the hot side plenum and not a bypass style? That's what I have, the 760. |
#9
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Humidifier
On 12/20/2016 04:17 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 11:48:25 AM UTC-5, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. No big deal just thought I'd ask. First question is if the humidifier is actually running whenever the furnace is on? Or is an inaccurate/defective humidistat the problem? I have an Aprilaire 760 in a 3100 sq ft house and it puts out enough moisture that it only needs to run a fraction of the on time. I do have mine hooked up to hot water, which will increase the amount of evaporation, but i doubt it makes a big difference. When it'd down in the teens or 20s, I could have water dripping off the windows if I set it high enough. If it's on all the time that the furnace is running, is water trickling out of it? You say it has a fan, so I assume it's one that just mounts on the hot side plenum and not a bypass style? That's what I have, the 760. Yes, it runs continuously when the furnace is on, the water flow is sufficient (plenty coming out the hose) and the fan is working...plus I put in a new element My house is only 2000 sq ft, so it should be doing the job. Will have to investigate further. |
#10
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Humidifier
Yes, it runs continuously when the furnace is on, the water flow is sufficient (plenty coming out the hose) and the fan is working...plus I put in a new element My house is only 2000 sq ft, so it should be doing the job. Will have to investigate further. do you have an excessive amount of air leaking in/out of the house to the outside? m |
#11
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Humidifier
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#12
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Humidifier
On Tue, 20 Dec 2016 10:48:12 -0600, philo wrote:
I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. I've found that in cold weather I have a limit on the amount of humidity because above that limit (which varies with outside temp), the humidifier just causes condensation on windows. -dan z- |
#13
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Humidifier
On 12/21/2016 06:27 AM, slate_leeper wrote:
On Tue, 20 Dec 2016 10:48:12 -0600, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. I've found that in cold weather I have a limit on the amount of humidity because above that limit (which varies with outside temp), the humidifier just causes condensation on windows. -dan z- Yes, I know but mine is not even getting up to the recommend level, I'm going to have another look, I think I better clean the calcium deposts off the diverter |
#14
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Humidifier
On Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 8:03:07 AM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 12/21/2016 06:27 AM, slate_leeper wrote: On Tue, 20 Dec 2016 10:48:12 -0600, philo wrote: I've had an Aprilaire humidifier on my furnace for quite some time and it does work. but recently I got a hygrometer to check the actual humidity in here, and see that when it gets below zero the humidity in the house is only about 12%. In warmer weather the humidity is up where it should be,,,in the 25% to 35% range. I suppose I could just get a stand-alone unit but was wondering if my on-furnace unit could be improved any. The fan is working, the water flow is fine and I put a new element in it. I've found that in cold weather I have a limit on the amount of humidity because above that limit (which varies with outside temp), the humidifier just causes condensation on windows. -dan z- Yes, I know but mine is not even getting up to the recommend level, I'm going to have another look, I think I better clean the calcium deposts off the diverter It's installed on the hot plenum? You could put hot water into it to increase the evaporation. It's not like you're wasting hot water. Whatever heat is in the water pretty much winds up in the air. But I agree something is wrong because mine only runs part time in a 3100 sq ft house. When it's zero, I could be flooding the windows by setting it higher. Have you stopped it when it's active and looked at the media? Is water covering all or most of it? If that diverter is somehow letting all the water go down one small section, instead of spreading it out, that would be a problem. You sure the fan in the humidifier is running? |
#15
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Humidifier
On 12/21/2016 09:41 AM, trader_4 wrote:
Yes, I know but mine is not even getting up to the recommend level, I'm going to have another look, I think I better clean the calcium deposts off the diverter It's installed on the hot plenum? You could put hot water into it to increase the evaporation. It's not like you're wasting hot water. Whatever heat is in the water pretty much winds up in the air. But I agree something is wrong because mine only runs part time in a 3100 sq ft house. When it's zero, I could be flooding the windows by setting it higher. Have you stopped it when it's active and looked at the media? Is water covering all or most of it? If that diverter is somehow letting all the water go down one small section, instead of spreading it out, that would be a problem. You sure the fan in the humidifier is running? The fan is absolutely running, and the diverter is fine. I just checked to see if there were excess calcium deposits and it's fairly clean. The media is new but it's hard to tell if it's fully saturated. Will continue to poke around |
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