Recommended bypass humidifiers?

[Joseph D. Skrypka]

I'm thinking of installing a bypass humidifier. Any advice on preferred or problematic units would be appreciated.

[Joseph D. Skrypka]

Flow through - not bypass, sorry.

[rjohnson11]

General 1042 works nice and very easy to maintain. Fairly inexpensive to purchase and easy to install. Your fairly close, so I would recommend either Don Park or Eastern if you are interested in purchasing one.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by jskrypka

I'm thinking of installing a bypass humidifier. Any advice on preferred or problematic units would be appreciated.

If you have to install a humidifier due to winter dryness, your house is very loose and energy inefficient!! Consider an airsealing program!

[James H. Bushart]

Brian's right.

Purposefully introducing moisture into a sealed and air controlled structure is never a good idea. If it is not sealed and air controlled, to resolve the air leaks is to resolve the low humidity level issue.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

The steam humidifiers seem to do the best job. Make sure it goes on the supply side of the furnace. Never the return. A humidifier should never be set more than 35% humidity.

[rjohnson11]

Steam humidifiers do a great job, but maintenance is costly long term. The best low cost solution is a flow-thru. Maintenane is the cost of the pad, each fall for about $15.

In regards to Mr Braun, optimum humidity is between 40-46%.

Also, humidification is a good option for most homes with forced air heating as the heating cycle dries the air out lowering the humidity causing problems with any wood work in the home.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by rjohnson11

Steam humidifiers do a great job, but maintenance is costly long term. The best low cost solution is a flow-thru. Maintenane is the cost of the pad, each fall for about $15.

In regards to Mr Braun, optimum humidity is between 40-46%.

Most regular homes cannot have an RH that high in the colder parts of the winter without having excess condensation occurring somewhere, sometimes visible but often hidden.

Also, humidification is a good option for most homes with forced air heating as the heating cycle dries the air out lowering the humidity causing problems with any wood work in the home.

The heating cycle does not dry the home; exchange of house air (and heat you paid for) containing humidity being replaced with very dry outdoor air is the problem........remember too much air exchange costs $$$$.


More to follow.................