Spray/Steam Humidifier Recommendations

BigRob

Hello, our cabin in the CA Sierras gets pretty dry in the winter and it's time to do something about it. The furnace is a horizontal 90% unit. There is not much room or metal duct work, except for the furnace intake and exhaust, so I don't think a bypass system will work.

The furnace room is at the top of the home due to space limitations, and it requires a ladder to access.

Optimally, I'm looking for reliability and low maintenance. There is 115V, water, and a drain in the furnace room.

What brand systems do you like and why?

Thanks, Rob!

EBEBRATT-Ed

I have not installed any in years but others will chime in, Aprilaire used to be popular

BigRob

Thanks, Ed. I'll look at them.

Anybody have any other recs?

HVACNUT

General. Honeywell.
Keep spare canisters handy.
Most can be wired into the thermostat if there's enough wires.
You might need a capable thermostat.

Henry

General! I have just now to change the barrel after 8 years. You should use the manual blowdown switch at least once every two months. I got lazy the last two years and only did it once a year. Otherwise, I could of gotten a few more years

John Mills_5

Are Generals still made by Carel? We put 1 and only 1 in and it was a NIGHTMARE! The Aprilaire 800 seems to be a lot better.

Bob Bona_4

Aprilaire 800 seems to be the most accepted and I've used them. HW True steam units, not so much. Generals are re labeled Carel, last I looked too. Have a few out there.

BigRob

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments. I was reading through the install manuals and online comments and it looks like setting these bad boys up for 230V and max amps is what I will need since we are at the cabin intermittently. My thinking is we will need a bunch of steam to get the cabin moist when we arrive. It might be good to wire up non-heating humidification mode; not sure though. The cabin came with a Nest 2nd gen, so it can control humidity, but I might need to wire up a relay if the humidifier activates on a two wire contact closure.

Running a new circuit doesn't seem to be an option. Hopefully I have 12 gauge so I can run an Aprilaire at 240/16A.

BigRob

Well, it turns out our water is TOO good. The conductivity is 92uS/cm. Our water source is a community mountain sprin, which I read is usually around 100uS/cm, so the 92uS/cm makes sense. The units I've looked at said 92 is too low. I'll now look into the bypass types, which I'm not a fan of.