How do we humidify

Constantin

I recommend you buy equipment made for the purpose. Using a steam boiler for the purpose of steaming up the house will introduce more make-up water into the boiler and hence hasten its demise. Besides, boiler water tends to be pretty smelly in a musty kind of way, not sure I'd like that in my house.

One company to consider is Nortec. They make steam humidifiers and I like ours.

Dave Miller

Now that the new one pipe steam

boiler is running well and the system is pretty well balanced, my wife is wanting another way to humidify our 2 story 2500 sf house. She (and I) are tired of refilling the 2.5 gal bottles in the kitchen sink everyday or two.

I seem to remember seeing a steam humidifier on "This Old House" that was mounted in a basement stairwell. We have a spot in the basement stair landing area that could feed the whole house. I have searched the web without success for a similar steam humidifier that would be big enough.

What do the pros here recommend? What have other HO's come up with? We're tired of filling tanks............

Thanks,

Dave

Unknown

Dave

You`ll find that if you use the steam from the boiler to humidify, it will require much more fresh make-up water. Constantly adding this fresh water to your boiler is very hard on-it, and the rest of your system. I would advise against going this route. TV shows are only on for half an hour, or an hour, they rarely show what happens after! Can you get a plumber who can install supply-water to these other units instead of "carrying"?

Cosmo_3

Steam boiler?

I think Dave was asking about a stand alone steam humidifier.

As Constantin said, Nortec makes a very good steam humidifier I believe it is the Axair model- can be installed into exiting ductwork, or use a "Power Pack" accessory for stand-alone operation. The power pack distribution fan can be remote mounted.

Here is a link- http://www.humidity.com/AxairNortec/en/products/products.jsp?idMenu=2&subId=9#


Cosmo

mel rowe

I also have steam heat and got tired of filling console humidifiers with water. I asked my heating contractor to find a way to humidify my house. He came up with a small air handler tied into an a/c system that was already installed. The installation included a steam humidifier unit. After 2 1/2 years with it I ripped the steam unit out. My experience was that when running 24/7, it cost me about $95 dollars a month in electrity. Plus, I had so much trouble with buildup of calcium and lime that I couldn't keep it clean enough and the float hung up twice and flooded. When I asked about how I could get enough humidity using room temperature air, someone here on the Wall suggested I look at the Aprilaire humidifier. They have several models that will humidify abaout 12 gallons of water a day. The way it is able to do that is by using a flow of hot water rather than cold. I installed the Aprilaire 600 this fall and so far am very happy with it.

Dave Miller

Cosmo, you are right........

I am looking for a separate from the main boiler solution and thank you for the Nortec link. It looks to be the one they had on "This Old House" and we will investigate.

I would still appreciate any other suggestions from the Pro community or creative HO's as the wife is now objecting to the basement door being open. Seems that bat that came down the chimney many years ago left some sort of impression............

Thanks,

Dave

Constantin

Ah...

I apologize. I misread your first paragraph to mean that you used the steam heating system in your home as a way to humidify and wanted to expand that "capacity".

The Nortec is a tidy little unit and if you have ductwork installed, a Thermostat that can also work as a Humidistat (like the Signaturestat from Lennox, which is a rebadged Robert Shaw/Invensys unit) can then start the air handler fan to coincide with the humidifier coming on. Besides humidifying the air, cycling the air handler will also tend to freshen up the air throughout the house.

The Nortec is nice in that they also offer wiring diagrams, etc. on how to ensure that the air handler is running properly before the Nortec starts to release steam into the ductwork. They use a pressure switch to prove air flow and a humidistat inside the ductwork to ensure that your ductwork is not rusted out from the inside.

The outlet of the Nortec is something like a 2" round tube that feeds into some sort of distribution device. Mounting the humidifier low in the house helps as the humidity tends to rise inside the house. We currently have a higher humidity higher up in the house than in the part where the humidity is being added.

Techman

Indoor humidity

Be carefull of over-humidifying ,sweating walls,fogged over windows.

Mike Lampkin_2

Elite Steam Humidifier

Generalaire also makes a steam humidifier called the "Elite". I will be installing it for a customer in the near future and will let you know how it turned out.

jim lockard

skuttle

Skuttle has both a duct mounted and a stand alone steam humidfier. Skuttle also sells a flush timer to reduce lime build up. J.Lockard