Steam Humidifiers

Eugene Silberstein 3

That's great to know...

May be I can hit the fine people at Honeywell up for a steam humidifier for use in my lab??

(hint hint)

:)

TGO_54

Steam Humidifiers

Anyone have any input on the new steam humidifiers? I used one when they first came out and it would lime up every month. Do the new ones work any better?
Thanks

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Eugene Silberstein 3

New steam humidifiers

As we all know, the number one enemy of an air distribution system is moisture. Moisture in the air distribution system, the ever-present dirt and dust as well as the heat provided by the furnace provide a great breeding opportunity for mold and othe unwanted guests.

Since steam and atomizing humidifiers are putting saturated water vapor into the duct system, condensation on the interior surfaces of the duct has been a problem that we have been dealing with for a long time.

Newer atomizing and steam humidifiers are more sensitive to the needs of the ductwork as well as the needs of the space as determined by the humidistat setting/actual relative humidity diffrential.

The really neat thing about newer steam humidifers is that many of them control the furnace blower indepebndently of the fan-limit control. This does a number of things... The big breakthrough, however, is this. In the heating mode, the furnace blower would only operate when the thermostat was calling for heating, regardless of what the humidistat said. So, the relativehumidity in the space could be very low, but the humidifier would not cycle on. Remember that there is an interlock between the blower and the humidifer that prevents the humidifier from coming on when the furnace blower is off. This eliminates the introduction of moisture into a duct system that has no air moving through it.

Now, with the independent blower control, if the relative humidity falls and the space is at its design temperature, the blower and the humidifier will come on to satisfy the humidity needs of the space. This is actually a really neat thing, as we can be comfortable at lower temperatures if the relative humidity levels are higher. This, in a small way, reduces the run time of the furnace.

In addition, some new steam humidifiers dump all water from the unit after 12 hours of operation. This helps ensure that there is no stagnant water in the unit, especially in the of season.

I personally am much happie with the advances made in the design and control of these devices.

Check out the HOT TECH TOPICS area for a piece, written by yours truly, about absolute and relative humidity.

Hope this helps.

TGO_54

Thanks Professor

> As we all know, the number one enemy of an air

> distribution system is moisture. Moisture in the

> air distribution system, the ever-present dirt

> and dust as well as the heat provided by the

> furnace provide a great breeding opportunity for

> mold and othe unwanted guests.

>

> Since steam

> and atomizing humidifiers are putting saturated

> water vapor into the duct system, condensation on

> the interior surfaces of the duct has been a

> problem that we have been dealing with for a long

> time.

>

> Newer atomizing and steam humidifiers

> are more sensitive to the needs of the ductwork

> as well as the needs of the space as determined

> by the humidistat setting/actual relative

> humidity diffrential.

>

> The really neat thing

> about newer steam humidifers is that many of them

> control the furnace blower indepebndently of the

> fan-limit control. This does a number of

> things... The big breakthrough, however, is this.

> In the heating mode, the furnace blower would

> only operate when the thermostat was calling for

> heating, regardless of what the humidistat said.

> So, the relativehumidity in the space could be

> very low, but the humidifier would not cycle on.

> Remember that there is an interlock between the

> blower and the humidifer that prevents the

> humidifier from coming on when the furnace blower

> is off. This eliminates the introduction of

> moisture into a duct system that has no air

> moving through it.

>

> Now, with the independent

> blower control, if the relative humidity falls

> and the space is at its design temperature, the

> blower and the humidifier will come on to satisfy

> the humidity needs of the space. This is actually

> a really neat thing, as we can be comfortable at

> lower temperatures if the relative humidity

> levels are higher. This, in a small way, reduces

> the run time of the furnace.

>

> In addition, some

> new steam humidifiers dump all water from the

> unit after 12 hours of operation. This helps

> ensure that there is no stagnant water in the

> unit, especially in the of season.

>

> I

> personally am much happie with the advances made

> in the design and control of these devices.

> Check out the HOT TECH TOPICS area for a piece,

> written by yours truly, about absolute and

> relative humidity.

>

> Hope this helps.





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TGO_54

Thanks Professor

I tried a steam humidifer over 10 years ago when they were first introduced for the residential market. The design was simple, as small pan inserted into the duct with an electric element immersed in the water. The uit was capapble of turning on the blower independent of the heat - the perfect devise, on paper at least. The unit worked well - for about 3 weeks.

Then I was called back because "my" humidifwer had stopped working. I pulled it out and found the element encrusted in mineral deposits and shorted out. I called the MFG and was told that the unit would require periodic cleaning depending on the use and water quality. The tech rep said this was accompished simply and could be done by the homeowner, yeah right.

"Well Mrs Smith, next time you wake up with a bloody nose, just come downstairs, turn off the water valve, turn off the 220V power, disconnect the water line and hi volt wire. Then take out the 9 zip screws carry the unit to the bench and chip out the lime, just be carefull not to break the heating element. Then simply reverse the procedure to re-install. You will probably only have to do it once a month or so."

"are you kidding?"

"no, thats what the tech rep said to do"


This thread will be deleted if I type the next comment, Dan won't allow langauge like that here.


It really did become "my" humidifier again.


Have they solved the problem yet? I heat my house with a fireplace and haven't figured out how to connect the last one I got back, sure don't need another.


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Eugene Silberstein 3

LIke I said...

Like I said, Tom.. the newer units dump all of the water from the unit after about 12 hours of use.

What I failed to mention to you is that, after the water dump, the humidifier remains void of water until the next call for humidifier operation. The benefit of this is that heated air moving through the humidifier, helps evaporate any residual water, so the unit stays relatively dry.

TGO_54

Sounds like

> Like I said, Tom.. the newer units dump all of

> the water from the unit after about 12 hours of

> use.

>

> What I failed to mention to you is that,

> after the water dump, the humidifier remains void

> of water until the next call for humidifier

> operation. The benefit of this is that heated air

> moving through the humidifier, helps evaporate

> any residual water, so the unit stays relatively

> dry.





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TGO_54

Sounds like

They addresed the problem. I'll take a look at them again.

Any advice on connecting the old one to my fireplace? It gets kind of dry here on the rare aoccasions I run the heat;-)

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carol_5

The Honeywell steam humidifier comes with a reverse-osmosis water filter--no extra charge. The RO removes the dissolved minerals that otherwise accumulate at the hottest surface--the humidifier heating element, of course.