What do you use to add humidity?

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bbfarm

bbfarm

Minister of Fire
Jan 2, 2012
708
wisconsin
We would like to add some humidity to our house by putting some kind of pan of water on top of the pellet stove.

The problem is our stove has a custom paint job. I called a pellet stove dealer and he was kind of wishy washer with his answer as to anything ruining the paint. He wasn't really sure. He said he thought as long as it didn't get slid along or boil over he thought it would be ok.

We bought one of those cast iron tea kettles. gently set it on there for 1 day. I took it off to check and it left 2 black marks that I really had to scrub to get off.

Just wondering what everyone else uses, or if anyone has any ideas.
 
Good question. Having the same problem here. We have humidifiers in all the bedrooms upstairs so thought about getting a whole house humidifier for downstairs. Not sure. Hoping for some good advice!
 
I have a couple of large portable humidifiers going. They help but can't do a good enough job! I have looked into whole house humidfiers.There are ones that can go on the furnace but then the fan needs to run. There are also stand alone units that can be mounted inside a closet wall. I'm going to try and tighten up my building evelope (foam, caulk, etc) This is a major cause of low humidity. Leaky house draws in DRY cold air. I'm also going to installed and OAK for same reason...there I said it (OAK)!! Hopefully this thread won't derail now :)

Both of these were well liked by HVAC pros on other forums

http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfAction=ProductDetails&category=5&item=700.....Furnace mount
http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfAction=ProductDetails&category=5&item=350..... Stand alone
 
bbfarm said:
We would like to add some humidity to our house by putting some kind of pan of water on top of the pellet stove.

The problem is our stove has a custom paint job. I called a pellet stove dealer and he was kind of wishy washer with his answer as to anything ruining the paint. He wasn't really sure. He said he thought as long as it didn't get slid along or boil over he thought it would be ok.

We bought one of those cast iron tea kettles. gently set it on there for 1 day. I took it off to check and it left 2 black marks that I really had to scrub to get off.

Just wondering what everyone else uses, or if anyone has any ideas.
Click to expand...

You could try a cast-iron trivet
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pre-Seasoned-8-Inch-Cast-Iron-Trivet/dp/B00063RXKQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_4
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Mountain-Seasoned-10128-Diameter/dp/B001AT917I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_7
Or a small wire rack
http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Imports-6-Inch-Round-Cake/dp/B000I1ZUWO
Or if you are worried about scratches, a silicone trivet
http://www.amazon.com/Spice-Ratchet-16812-Multi-Use-Silicone/dp/B005FPD6VA/ref=pd_sim_k_3
 
My personal experience is that a pellet stove does not get hot enough to evaporate water fast enough. Better of with a portable humidifier of one of the larger whole house.
 
My personal experience is that a pellet stove does not get hot enough to evaporate water fast enough. Better of with a portable humidifier of one of the larger whole house.
Click to expand...

X2

I have had a ceramic pot, looks like Winnie the Pooh's honey pot on the stove for a long time, the water would eventually evaporate out of it, but never boil. stovetop doesn't get anywhere near hot enough. My wife bought a 1 gallon room humidifier at Walmart last week, about $30, and i am putting about 1 gallon into the air every 24 hours. relative humidity went from about 15-18% to 35-40% with the stove running. I check the R/H with this:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/EXTECH-HygroThermometer-4PC65?cm_sp=EN-_-L2-_-TopSellers&cm_vc=FFTS

and check that with this:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/BACHARACH-Sling-Psychrometer-6T173?Pid=search

John
 
We have a tea kettle on top of the pellet stove. Seems to be adding just enough moisture as we arent having any problems with static electric.
 
We use a small stainless steel pot, sometimes adding cinnamon sticks or apples for aroma. I keep abt a gallon of water in it at a time, fill it twice a day, seems to do the trick, wife puts a fancy pot on when we have company.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
The level in my house is around 45% without humidifier. what`s the level of your houses?
Click to expand...

45% here too. No humidifier in any of the rooms.
 
Xena said:
Jason Robichaud said:
The level in my house is around 45% without humidifier. what`s the level of your houses?
Click to expand...

45% here too. No humidifier in any of the rooms.
Click to expand...

That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine around 40%.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
Xena said:
Jason Robichaud said:
The level in my house is around 45% without humidifier. what`s the level of your houses?
Click to expand...

45% here too. No humidifier in any of the rooms.
Click to expand...

do you find it hard to heat at that level
Click to expand...

Not at all but it would probably feel warmer at 50% humidity.
 
GrahamInVa said:
Xena said:
Jason Robichaud said:
The level in my house is around 45% without humidifier. what`s the level of your houses?
Click to expand...

45% here too. No humidifier in any of the rooms.
Click to expand...

That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine between 35-40%.
Click to expand...

just alot of cold air from the windows ...old windows i think that's why. my house is hard to heat a little bit
 
GrahamInVa said:
That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine around 40%.
Click to expand...


Wow 20% is really low. Is that from pellet stove heat only?
I'm only heating with pellets no other heat source turned on.
Never get any static from the pellet stove even if I crank it
up all the way.
 
We are in the mid 20% humidity also, it's very dry. Lot's of static and dry skin. No pellet here yet, just propane and forced air. Have a whole house humidifier attached to propane furnace in the basement, but it's not doing much if anything. Had to block off the one attached to the air handler in the attic due to poor installation. Just running a small portable unit int he babies room now.
 
I bought a whole house portable unit.It's the cool mist type.Works good except the air feels cold when you get near it.
 
1wired1 said:
We are in the mid 20% humidity also, it's very dry. Lot's of static and dry skin. No pellet here yet, just propane and forced air. Have a whole house humidifier attached to propane furnace in the basement, but it's not doing much if anything. Had to block off the one attached to the air handler in the attic due to poor installation. Just running a small portable unit int he babies room now.
Click to expand...

I really think using a pellet stove doesn't contribute all that much to winter dryness - as your situation with no pellet stove would indicate. The looser your house is, the drier it will be - it is drier outside in the winter time, so if that air is getting in, it will be drier inside too.
 
Xena said:
GrahamInVa said:
That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine around 40%.
Click to expand...


Wow 20% is really low. Is that from pellet stove heat only?
I'm only heating with pellets no other heat source turned on.
Never get any static from the pellet stove even if I crank it
up all the way.
Click to expand...

Yea, I know.. Nothing new though. The humidity is always this low in the winter. Even when I wasn't running the pellet stove.

I have a whole house humidifier that is tied into my downstairs HVAC system. I run my circulate fan on low all night (comes on automatically) which is needed for my humidifier to work. It also keeps my temps more even downstairs.
 
GrahamInVa said:
Xena said:
Jason Robichaud said:
The level in my house is around 45% without humidifier. what`s the level of your houses?
Click to expand...

45% here too. No humidifier in any of the rooms.
Click to expand...

That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine around 40%.
Click to expand...

X2, have whole house humidifier, this weekend I had to refill both days and still struggled to keep R.H. in the 30's, have it set for 45% so it has been running constantly.
 
I just bought the 12 gallon humidifier from sears today. I woke this morning up and the humidity was 32%. I set the humidifier to 40%. The wife says it feels better now.
 
Xena said:
GrahamInVa said:
That's really good.. Are you near the water maybe?

Without a humidifier mine gets down in the middle 20%'s. Lots of static and dry skin.

I try to keep mine around 40%.
Click to expand...


Wow 20% is really low. Is that from pellet stove heat only?
I'm only heating with pellets no other heat source turned on.
Never get any static from the pellet stove even if I crank it
up all the way.
Click to expand...

How do your pipes not freeze?

To the original poster I just use humidifiers and it seems to do the job. I bought this from home depot and it's pretty handy.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
 
I have no idea what the humidity level is but it's damn dry. I suppose I should get a hygrometer to see.

I have a kettle I keep on top of the stove, and on the cold days when the stove is running constantly, it does steam and evaporate in less than a day. So it is putting moisture in the air, just not enough.

I also have a small humidifier in the bedroom which helps for night, but I need something bigger. ugh.

Also no other heat source in the house, I don't even have the option.
 
thedak said:
Leave the toilet seats up.

That adds at least 1% humidity to the air.
Click to expand...

And the smell...
 
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