NeoConMan Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 It's humidifier season again. Here in Arizona the temps have finally broken, no more 100 degree days. That also means extremely dry air is on its way, dew points can drop below zero here with ease. In the colder climes, you guys are now running your heaters with some dry winter air, a double whammy! What do you use to keep your precious gems from drying out? I was cleaning my humidifier, getting it in shape for the dry winter. It occurred to me that I made a great purchase when I bought it in 2003. It's given me nearly 7 years of trouble-free service, only cleaning has been required due to water deposits. I did some shopping around before I bought, wanting to avoid the cheapo junk that wouldn't last a month. This is the one I have, it's made by Hunter - the ceiling fan people. Model number 33357. I mail ordered mine when I bought it, just over $100 at the time. I see they've come down in price slightly. Coupla links if you're interested. http://www.hunterfan.com/product_detail.aspx?id=7674 Home Depot sells 'em if you wanna avoid the whole mail order thing; http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100661750/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 Important things to consider for me were the digital humidistat for accuracy, and the auto shut-off on lo level. I've checked the humidistat regularly with three others I own, and it's always been within 10% of the others. That's pretty damned good for an inexpensive one. At work, the ones we use are thousands of dollars apiece for dead-on accuracy. Also consider the ease of filling the tank. This one holds 3.5 gallons and can easily go thru a tank every day when it's really dry here. The biggest bonus of all? I was impressed how well made this one is. To give it a REALLY thorough Mrs. Neo-approved cleaning I completely disassembled it. (She saw all the yucky stuff inside and gave me The Look - I had no choice in the matter....) Everything unscrewed and unsnapped without breaking, and went back together like a Swiss timepiece. I give it the NeoConMan endorsement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 It's humidifier season again. Wah? You mean some people need to ADD to the humidity? Yeeesh! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 Yeah, I had to buy one after I moved to AZ from Houston. Living there, I remember how excited I would get if the humidity inside my house ever dropped below 50%! Now and then in the winter it would happen.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I've got one attached to my forced air heating system. Best investment for the house I ever made... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 How's the water injected? Much maintenance or cleaning required? Leaks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 How's the water injected? It's an Aprilaire. There's a small line from the water pipe to the humidifier. It's all automatically controlled by an electronic system. You just set the percent humidity you want. A good rule of thumb is to set it just to the point where condensation appears on the window. I don't know much much water it uses in a day. Much maintenance or cleaning required? Not much at all. You just need to replace the pad' date=' which I do one a season and clean it out. Leaks? Never had a problem in eight years. BTW, here's a nice chart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 Yeah, my target is 40% to keep the guitars happy. If it get's below 30% in the house I'll boil a pan of water and run the central fan to disperse it. If it weren't for them I wouldn't bother - I LOVE dry air! Probably wouldn't run the heat either, 60 degrees in the house is no problem for me. Mrs. Neo is typical of pre-menopausal women, she's always cold. :-) Doesn't matter if it's 80 degrees in the house, she's looking for cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 When we first moved back to the NE we stayed in my parents house until our house was built. It was in January and they had no humidifier. The dryness did bother my skin a bit, but I've had no issues since we moved into our house with a humidifier. I don't mind the cold but I like my air to be humid as possible. Looks like Mrs. Rocketman and Mrs. Neo are two peas in a pod. She's always freezing too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Yeah' date=' my target is 40% to keep the guitars happy.If it get's below 30% in the house I'll boil a pan of water and run the central fan to disperse it. If it weren't for them I wouldn't bother - I LOVE dry air! Probably wouldn't run the heat either, 60 degrees in the house is no problem for me. Mrs. Neo is typical of pre-menopausal women, she's always cold. :-) Doesn't matter if it's 80 degrees in the house, she's looking for cover.[/quote'] Wait for a little bit till it swings the other way - it will be 40 degrees outside and she'll have the windows open cuz she's too warm!! Although the hot flashes can be nice if it's a little cold in the bed . . . As for the humidifier, not this week in DFW, nothing but solid rain and 90+ humidity!! Could use a bit of the dry heat here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 ......the digital humidistat for accuracy' date=' ...[/quote'] What is digital..? really. I had a 'digital' bathroom scales 'for accuracy'. That's why I bought it. It automatically came on when you stepped on it and displayed my weight in light-up red numerals. After a couple years, it quit on me. Being the curious sort, I dis-assembled it, hoping to find out what inky, dinky small gizmo was used to determin weight. What to my wondering eyes would appear? A 10 inch disk, just like my old fashioned bathroom scales, that while it still worked after 25 years was looking a bit haggard. This new fangled wonder was an analog scales in disguise! The disk was in close proximity to a sensor which counted the magnetic hash marks as they went by. Is this digital? Is this more accuate? bloody 'ell I can count hash marks the old fashioned way. By it's very definition digital is less accurate than analog. I'll tell you why. Digital is only accurate to it's least level of in put. i.e. one hash mark. Analog, I can read to a fraction of that hash mark. I can read it to a minimum half a hash mark, one third or even a fourth of a hash mark. Put decimally, when the scales could tell me my weight to within .1, the equivalent of the distance between the magnetic hash marks, i can discern to .05, or maybe .025 by mentally dividing the distance between the last hash mark and the next, which the 'electronics cannot see. True, I am limited and true analog measurement has an infinite number of positions which can be read. But.. I beleive I can read closer than a digital bathroom scale. My current one? Got it free on a garage sale. It has a big dial and is accurate to .1 lb. I can split that into .05. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 ... True' date=' I am limited and true analog measurement has an infinite number of positions which can be read. But.. I beleive I can read closer than a digital bathroom scale. My current one? Got it free on a garage sale. It has a big dial and is accurate to .1 lb. I can split that into .05. [/quote'] My digital scales use strain gauges not springs so they're fully electronic, although they're still converting an analog voltage difference into a "digital" readout. BTW, you're confusing accuracy and precision. The fact that you can read it to 0.1 lb doesn't mean that's how accurate it is. Accuracy is usually expressed as a percentage . Most scales are usually accurate to about +/-2% (unless they're commercial doctors types). So even though you're reading that to the nearest 0.1 lb if you weigh 150 it means that your true weight is someplace between 147 and 153! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Wah? You mean some people need to ADD to the humidity? Yeeesh! :- +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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