anyone know anything about Aprilaire Humidifiers?

I just moved into my new house last week, and it has an AprilAire 600 installed on the furnace. the house has all new windows, insulation etc. well, i’ve been getting lots of condensation building up on the windows, so i kept turning the humidifier down until it is “shut off” on the manual control unit. it has been shut off for 4-5 days now, and the condensation levels have gone down, but i’m still getting some, and small amounts of standing water on some of the window sills.

how long does it take for the humidity level to clear out in the house?

does anyone have any experience with these things, and what i can do?

thanks!

Not sure if it is possible with some types of windows to not get frost or moister on them. Maybe a fan blowing or really drying the house out. Ill put up with some frost on the windows just to keep the moister in the home during the winter. When the windows rot out it will be time to get rid of these crappy windows.

Guess I am assuming higher end windows dont frost up as fast as cheap ones.

Sounds like you need an air exchanger more than a humidifier. Newer homes are built so tight that the normal humidity and condensation produced through daily living can’t escape and it will condense on your windows. That could cause a mold or rot problem if not taken care of.

Call an HVAC Company to see what they reccomend.

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Not sure if it is possible with some types of windows to not get frost or moister on them. Maybe a fan blowing or really drying the house out. Ill put up with some frost on the windows just to keep the moister in the home during the winter. When the windows rot out it will be time to get rid of these crappy windows.

Guess I am assuming higher end windows dont frost up as fast as cheap ones.

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they are anderson double hung, double paned. not sure of the model.

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Sounds like you need an air exchanger more than a humidifier. Newer homes are built so tight that the normal humidity and condensation produced through daily living can’t escape and it will condense on your windows. That could cause a mold or rot problem if not taken care of.

Call an HVAC Company to see what they reccomend.

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it is not a new home, just new to me. it was built in 55, but has been completely remodeled inside within the past 4 years.

Check out this post….same problem any HVAC guys out there….

What is the humidity reading in the home? What temperature do you keep the house at? What is the temperature outside? All of these factor in what kind of problems you are having.

The colder outside temperatures can cause windows to frost or condensate. Also keeping the home at a cooler temperature and not lowering the humidity level can also cause this problem.

We install as a standard the 700A in every home we build. I haven’t worked with a 600 in a few years, but here is a few things to check.

Your RH (relative Humidity) should be set for a max of 35%. There are a number of different controls, so hard to say which you have. If you have a digital humistat, perfect…just set for 35% and leave it.

1. Warm air supplies – Are they installed to force air accross your window?
2. Do you have blinds drawn down/shut to prevent air flow to your windows?
3. Are your double hung windows the 400 series…I think they are Silverline??? They are a vinyl/wood clad window. We don’t use them, so all I know is rumor mill stuff. But vinyl windows will expand and contract throughout the heating/cooling seasons. If the nailing fins are not propperly taped/sealed, you will have unconditioned air infiltration.
4. Are the seals matching up on the sashes to make a propper seal?
5. Any idea what your water consumption in a given day is? Cooking, showers, excessive watering of plants,…. will all contribute to too much humidity.
6. Exhaust fans propperly ducted to the exterior? We do all 4″ hard duct to the exterior. Flex duct can be easily damaged and fail.
7. Check your dryer vent to propperly be venting with no obstructions. This is a common cause for too much humidity in the winter.

8. Exhaust fan at range..Is it vented to the exterior? If so, be sure to run it while cooking.

My gut feeling without seeing any of your home is the home improvements done in the last few years has tightened up the envelope of the home. Set your humidifier to a setting of 2 or 3 which should get you to about 30%. Run the most central located exhaust fan for 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. Also, leave the exhaust fan run during any bath or shower AND run for at leat 20 minutes after. Keep window dressings from obstructing air flow to your windows. If you have ceiling fans, run them on the lowest setting for longer periods of time to increase air flow.

PM for any specific info

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We install as a standard the 700A in every home we build. I haven’t worked with a 600 in a few years, but here is a few things to check.

Your RH (relative Humidity) should be set for a max of 35%. There are a number of different controls, so hard to say which you have. If you have a digital humistat, perfect…just set for 35% and leave it.

1. Warm air supplies – Are they installed to force air accross your window?
2. Do you have blinds drawn down/shut to prevent air flow to your windows?
3. Are your double hung windows the 400 series…I think they are Silverline??? They are a vinyl/wood clad window. We don’t use them, so all I know is rumor mill stuff. But vinyl windows will expand and contract throughout the heating/cooling seasons. If the nailing fins are not propperly taped/sealed, you will have unconditioned air infiltration.
4. Are the seals matching up on the sashes to make a propper seal?
5. Any idea what your water consumption in a given day is? Cooking, showers, excessive watering of plants,…. will all contribute to too much humidity.
6. Exhaust fans propperly ducted to the exterior? We do all 4″ hard duct to the exterior. Flex duct can be easily damaged and fail.
7. Check your dryer vent to propperly be venting with no obstructions. This is a common cause for too much humidity in the winter.

8. Exhaust fan at range..Is it vented to the exterior? If so, be sure to run it while cooking.

My gut feeling without seeing any of your home is the home improvements done in the last few years has tightened up the envelope of the home. Set your humidifier to a setting of 2 or 3 which should get you to about 30%. Run the most central located exhaust fan for 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. Also, leave the exhaust fan run during any bath or shower AND run for at leat 20 minutes after. Keep window dressings from obstructing air flow to your windows. If you have ceiling fans, run them on the lowest setting for longer periods of time to increase air flow.

PM for any specific info

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the home has a manual humistat

there is an air vent next to every window

Blinds are drawn on some windows, but i have been leaving them all open lately.

Not sure on the window model.

water consumption – minimal. 2 showers, very minimal cooking during the week.

I keep the house at 68 from 5:30am – 9am, 4pm – 10pm, and 62 during day and night.

thanks for the info too!

all exhaust fans are vented properly, so i can tell without going in the attic.

As I mentioned above about running your most central exhaust fan – usually a powder room or bath2 – run it in the morning and evening for at least a half hour each for the next few days to see if it makes a difference. If it doesn’t, start checking for air leaks around doors and windows. BTW – you don’t have a pool in the basement do you? We had a customer that has a pool room and complains about condensation on the windows of the pool room every winter…..hard to exhaust that much water

Would switching your furnace fan to “on” instead of “auto” help out?? This way there would be air moving continuosly.

Anybody???

yes – it is more wear/tear on the motor in the furnace plus energy consumption, but will give you a better circulation and filteringh of air

would leaving my heat set at 68 all day help out at all?

Not really. Looking at the differential of temps between 10 degrees outside and 68 or 62 inside is pretty minimal. You just need to identify what to do to minimize it.

I just installed an Aprilaire humidifier a month ago and it took a little time to get it set correctly. I think you can add the outside temperature sensor to automatically adjust the settings. I know it said if you don’t have the auto system you would have to adjust the settings all winter as the temp changes. You should make sure that the humidifier only comes on when the fan kicks on, and make sure that the humidity sensor in the cold air return is properly installed. My house is just the opposite as yours. Before the humidifier it was so dry it was unbelievable. It is nice to not have to slap on copious amounts of lotion to keep from itching from dry skin anymore.

I am having the same problems with condensation and i have a venmar system. It has a high and a low setting and an outside temp dial. I run the furnace at 70 degrees all the time. I am the second owner of the house and i have no idea what settings it should be on. I have used it on high and low and turned the outside temp dial to the current temp outside and have seen no improvement of the condensation problem. The house was built in 2003. The house humidity has been in the 30’s. When it gets really cold the entire window is covered with frost and even ice. Anyone know what setting this thing should be on. The house has pella double pane windows.

We find that starting is harder on the motor and over the years we have less trouble with customers who leave on and maintain their furnace. fwiw

While looking for major problems you might just consider its very cold out and windows have a tendency to frost up easier, buy a CO detector or two and wait till it warms up and see what happens, running your furnace fan will help as will anything that passes air over the windows, warming them enough to evaporate the moisture.

look for the easy stuff first imho

We sell Aprilaire so if you need a manual let me know.
Al

We also have an Aprilaire 600. If you have hard water you’ll get a lot of “bonus humidity” when it overflows once or twice a winter. The scale from the hard water must make a path for the water to flow over the outside of the evaporation panel, so I’ve learned not to store anything near the furnace and to clean the evaporation panel once or twice during the winter.

As to having too much humidity, if you don’t have a humidistat you should get one so that you can tell if there is too much moisture, or if it’s that the windows need attention or that you may need an air exchanger as others have mentioned.

Good luck.

Dan

If you put 3M window insulator(clear plastic)kits on your windows. you will solve all of your problems.You then can turn up the humidity all you want with no problems. I also had this problem.

Bassn Dan, hook up the water after the softener and better yet, hook it up to hot water.

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Bassn Dan, hook up the water after the softener and better yet, hook it up to hot water.

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Thanks, but I HATE soft water and am not thrilled with dumping tons of salt into the environment.

Guess I’ll just stick to cleaning the unit an extra time in mid winter, but Aprilaire REALLY could have made this a much better design if they had a water tight lower section that drained any overflow into the outlet. Doesn’t seem that complicated to me.

Dan

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Aprilaire REALLY could have made this a much better design if they had a water tight lower section that drained any overflow into the outlet.

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What model do you have? If you replace the panel annualy that should work even if the limescale is high. There really isn’t all that much salt going down the drain. They also make a 400 model that doesn’t drain any water, it uses it all.

If not, get a Honeywell steam humidifier.

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Aprilaire REALLY could have made this a much better design if they had a water tight lower section that drained any overflow into the outlet.

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What model do you have? If you replace the panel annualy that should work even if the limescale is high. There really isn’t all that much salt going down the drain. They also make a 400 model that doesn’t drain any water, it uses it all.

If not, get a Honeywell steam humidifier.

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We’ve got the 600 model and I install a new evaporator panel each year. A bit of fuzzy scale builds up on the “diverter” (the thing on the top of the water panel unit with holes in it to distribute water across the evaporation panel) and on the drain area. One or both of which leads to the water seeping outside of where it should be and leaking between the two halves of the outside shell. An INTELLIGENT designer, would have made the unit so that the lower several inches were seamless with a drain in the bottom. The idiots that designed this, made the outer case a “clam shell” style case that is split at the bottom, and therefore LEAKS.

Ideas other than cleaning the unit in mid winter, or going to soft water would be appreciated. Cleaning the humidifier is almost as bad as going icefishing.

Thanks.

Dan

well, i found the easy fix for my problems…

I decided to change the water panel on the unit on friday, and in the process of following the maintenance instructions in the manual, and shutting water off, etc, i found that they had installed an AprilAire Automatic Humidistat, and had it bolted around the side of some ductwork. it has settings of 1-7, it was set on 6. i turned it down to 3.5, changed the panel, and everything has been good now.

so, needless to say, the humidistat i was using upstairs, isn’t even wired up to anything anymore…

Thanks again for everyone’s help on this though!

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An INTELLIGENT designer, would have made the unit so that the lower several inches were seamless with a drain in the bottom. The idiots that designed this, made the outer case a “clam shell” style case that is split at the bottom, and therefore LEAKS.

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If I’m understanding you correctly the part that holds the water panel should not have any splits in it. When you take the top part off and the panel out, the squared off “U” piece should be uniform all the way from top to bottom across and back up, and of course the drain opening. If there are any splits in there, its cracked, and that needs to be replaced.

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it has settings of 1-7, it was set on 6. i turned it down to 3.5

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Once you have the controller set, you will never need to adjust it again. Keep in mind that if the outside temp is in the teens or twenties and you have the humidity level you like, and then the outside temp falls well below zero you might get frost or condensation on the windows. Do not adjust it because it more than likely is not running. The cycling of the furnace will dry out the home. Just remember, it cannot predict the forecast. More often than not, the setting at 5 takes care of most applications.

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An INTELLIGENT designer, would have made the unit so that the lower several inches were seamless with a drain in the bottom. The idiots that designed this, made the outer case a “clam shell” style case that is split at the bottom, and therefore LEAKS.

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If I’m understanding you correctly the part that holds the water panel should not have any splits in it. When you take the top part off and the panel out, the squared off “U” piece should be uniform all the way from top to bottom across and back up, and of course the drain opening. If there are any splits in there, its cracked, and that needs to be replaced.

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I mean the outer case of the unit should not be designed so that the seam between the base of the unit and the cover, is the lowest part of the case and a source of leaks. Nothing is cracked, and I commented about this to the guy that installed it when he was here this summer to look at the A/C and he said “Try cleaning the unit in mid-winter.”

There’s no good reason for this design, other than maybe it’s cheaper for Aprilaire to mold the case in this shape.

Other than the occasional flooding it works fine but when it comes time to replace this I’ll be looking at other brands.

Thanks for input, but it’s one of those “product design problem things.”

Dan

Personally I’d rather have it overflow on to the floor then fill up and dump into the furnace.

Can’t understand why some are having some much trouble, you read the owners manual and do what it says they run just fine.
We have thousands out in the field now and the vast majority run well with proper maintenance.

As far as setting and forgetting, only the newer ones with the outside sensor will do that, the older or non sensor models still need to be adjusted as temps vary.

Al

The only time I’ve ever had a problem with water leaking on the floor and the unit was intact is when the panel hasn’t been changed in several years. At that point, the humidifier isn’t humidifying, and the water panel weighs a few pounds because its filled with limescale. You should not need to change the panel or service it more than once a year. Is the water shutting off when not needed? Is the unit mounted level left to right, front to back? If everything is mounted correctly, you won’t have any problems. What does the HVAC contractor say? If it was incorrectly installed and they did it, I guess they wouldn’t know any better.