Humidifier... distributing moisture.

[Seasoned Oak]

Yes but that's 25% humidity inside, ............you might be surprised at how high the humidity is outside during the winter months. Depending on how cold it is.... well over 50%... into 60 70% It's counter intuitive but that's why they call it... "relative humidity".

Once it goes below freezing RH drops fast outside as there not much evaporation goin on. Gets down pretty low around here.

 

[Malatu]

The automatic whole house units are nice, but I don't know if they require heat in the duct work to function properly, and in our cases with wood heat it'd just be circulating air. In my case in particular I have NG boiler with baseboard heat and A/C that was added on later with the exchanger in the uninsulated attic. When I run the fans for the A/C it sucks the heat out of the place.

Water will evaporate as long as its not frozen. There is heat in 50 degree air, just not as much heat as 80 degree air.

 

[Malatu]

Once it goes below freezing RH drops fast outside as there not much evaporation goin on. Gets down pretty low around here.

Sounds logical but that's not how it works. Relative humidity is mostly a function of relative air temperatures not whether the air temperature is below freezing.

And actually, the lower the temperature goes below freezing, the relative humidity of that same air goes up!

 

[STIHLY DAN]

I have been around and worked on a million humidifiers, Never have I come across one that had an outdoor temp sensor. They are all set to the humidity needed or wanted. If an operating rm needs 45% humidity, do you think it matters what temp it is outside. I believe you are not understanding your charts.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Water will evaporate as long as its not frozen. There is heat in 50 degree air, just not as much heat as 80 degree air.

Freeze dried.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Sounds logical but that's not how it works. Relative humidity is mostly a function of relative air temperatures not whether the air temperature is below freezing.

And actually, the lower the temperature goes below freezing, the relative humidity of that same air goes up!

RH is the amount of moisture in the air. Temp comes into play with how much moisture the air can hold. The lower the temp the less moisture it can hold. Dew point

 

[Malatu]

I have been around and worked on a million humidifiers, Never have I come across one that had an outdoor temp sensor. They are all set to the humidity needed or wanted. If an operating rm needs 45% humidity, do you think it matters what temp it is outside. I believe you are not understanding your charts.

Outdoor temp sensor? Not sure what you are talking about.

Are you suggesting it's ok to keep your indoor humidity at 45% if it's -5 degrees outside?

 

[woodgeek]

I just use this calculator when I am confused...

http://www.dpcalc.org/

I just remember that 50%RH at 70°F is 100% RH at 50°F. If the dewpoint is over 50°F, and I open a window, it will increase the indoor humidity, and vice versa.

 

[Malatu]

I just use this calculator when I am confused...

http://www.dpcalc.org/

I just remember that 50%RH at 70°F is 100% RH at 50°F. If the dewpoint is over 50°F, and I open a window, it will increase the indoor humidity, and vice versa.

Just book marked it. Thanks!

 

[jdp1152]

So are you saying distributing moisture is not a problem no matter where you place it in the house?

In my case, I can't put it in the middle of the house where the stove is. I can either put one large unit (preferably... cheaper purchase price and cheaper consumables) at one end of the house, or purchase two units (more $, more consumables) at both ends of the house...

Yes. I have two heating systems with a humidifier on main floor. As long as your house isn't changing air 3x an hour the entire house should find the same level with proper air and moisture management.

 

[Hogwildz]

My take. A humidifier on the floor with the stove circulates the moisture throughout the house along with the heat through air circulation. If heat goes there, it takes the moisture with it. And if you do what I did two years ago and turn the place into a rain forest because of a humidity related health issue the result ain't cheap. I ended up having all of the roof decking ripped off of this barn this past June to get rid of the attic mold it caused. Yeah I know. Air sealing. Did that too but the second floor humidifiers were the main culprit.

This past winter one humidifier was used on the main floor and the moisture and the heat traveled together.

The lack of attic ventilation also played a major role in that issue.

 

[Retired Guy]

Freeze dried.

Water will evaporate as long as its not frozen. There is heat in 50 degree air, just not as much heat as 80 degree air.

Water will sublimate when frozen, basically the same

 

[JayD]

I was looking at these I think one would work fine, A little pricy, But I like the idea of not have to fill it. Jay http://www.filtersfast.com/Trion-Herrmidifier-707U-Filter.asp

 

[Bster13]

That is $230 and too ugly for my wife, haha.

This is the research spreadsheet I have put together thus far:

I was looking at these I think one would work fine, A little pricy, But I like the idea of not have to fill it. Jay http://www.filtersfast.com/Trion-Herrmidifier-707U-Filter.asp

 

[Firedancer]

That is $230 and too ugly for my wife, haha.

Whata guy!

 

[BrotherBart]

One of these sitting in the air convection path handles this 2,500 sq. ft. two story barn just fine. And just needs to be filled once a day. Unlike the wood stove. In the Spring I buy the filters at Walmart when they mark'em down to five bucks to clear them out. During the season rinsing them in the sink in some bleach and water extends the filter life a lot.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-Cool-Mist-Humidifier/19536346

 

[Bster13]

I can't find any specs on that sunbeam in terms of what sq footage it claims to cover, nor the gallons per day rating. Do you recall when you bought it?

One of these sitting in the air convection path handles this 2,500 sq. ft. two story barn just fine. And just needs to be filled once a day. Unlike the wood stove. In the Spring I buy the filters at Walmart when they mark'em down to five bucks to clear them out. During the season rinsing them in the sink in some bleach and water extends the filter life a lot.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-Cool-Mist-Humidifier/19536346

 

[BrotherBart]

Bought it two years ago. Mine is when they made one with digital readouts and humidity controls. Too many people complained about them turning on and off too often over a one percent boundry so they just have a manual dial now. I don't know what sq. footage it claims to cover. Just what sq. footage it covers in this house. The tank holds a gallon and a half I think.

 

[woodgeek]

I can't find any specs on that sunbeam in terms of what sq footage it claims to cover, nor the gallons per day rating. Do you recall when you bought it?

square footage ratings would be pretty useless, given the house to house variations in air leakage can be a factor of 3-5, easy.

 

[Bster13]

That's true. I was looking at the gallon per day output. But yeah, each home is different.

 

[woodgeek]

I got a 3 gal/day unit, and it is plenty for a decently airsealed 2300 sq ft place,

 

[Bster13]

So weird that I am seeing many more gallon/day for same sq footage (see my chart above).

Another reason for oversizing was so that I can run the unit's blower on low and keep things quiet.

But I guess if I buy something that i grossly oversizing, it would foster more mildew and mold.

 

[woodgeek]

I think about it a bit differently. You have a target RH, mine is 30%, since I have an older house I worry about condensation in wall cavities, etc. That is plenty to keep the furniture from falling apart, and on the low end of the 'healthy window' 30-50% RH. No matter what unit you get, you are gonna let it run on a humidistat, and play with the stat setting until you hone in on your target. If the unit is too small, you won't get there. If it is too big, it will cycle, and that can be more annoying than a smaller unit cycling less.

I got a cheap unit (with a h-stat) that looks like BB's, and it can 'lift' the RH by about 10-15% over what it would be otherwise, going full out at 3 gal/day. Before I airsealed, I could put 3 gal a day in the air, and see **no effect** on a hygrometer (maybe a point or two). I suppose I could've paid a bundle to dump 10+ gallons (?!) a day into the air, but at some point it gets kinda craaazy.