Cleaner Indoor Air

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

It is time to change the pad on my model 400 which I purchased in November 2009. I followed the instructions on the replacement pad box and from the owner’s manual on your web site. Both instruct in step 4 to tip the Water Panel evaporation assembly forward and lift it out of the humidifier.  I tried to do this but the assembly appears to be attached at the top on both sides to the housing and I can not see or figure out how you remove it to get the assembly to tip forward.

Would you please instruct me on how to do so?

Aprilaires' response:

The internal components of the model 400 will require that they be removed from the humidifier in order to replace the water panel successfully. To remove the internal case from the base of the humidifier, you will need to pull it out from the top where the distribution tray is located. When pulling the internal case from the top you will need to tilt it towards you to remove the components. Once the internal parts are removed the water panel can be replaced at that time by removing the tray on top. After removing the distribution tray from the "U" shaped frame, pull out the used water panel and place the new water panel in the "U" shaped holder. We have also included the owners manual that references the proper process for replacing the water panel for the model 400 humidifier.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

The electronic water valve is that supposed to regulate the water flow or is it an on/off? It started releasing water at full rate when activated and it splashes water back on the cover and on the floor vs the drain. It's never been restricted from the saddle value and this was not touched. thanks

Aprilaires' response:

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

My Aprilaire 550 is running every time the furnace comes on and we are not getting an improvement on the low humidity. Our house is about 1200 square feet. Any suggestions? We have installed an energy efficient furnace recently.

Aprilaires' response:
Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 550 Humidifier. The energy efficient furnace may be running less than the previous model. By limiting the run time of the 550, it's performance over an hour will drop. Is your humidifier fed by hot water or cold water? The 550 will perform better with water temperature as close to 140°F as possible. This will also give you the added benefit of being able to run the humidifier with just your furnace fan. You may need to speak to your contractor to ensure it's properly wired to run with the heat and with the fan, but if it is, you can turn your thermostat's fan switch to the On position, the water provides the heat, and you can get humidity 24 hrs/day or until your desired set point is reached.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

The water flow to my model 760 continues even when the unit stops (when the HVAC heater and fan stop). Does this mean the solenoid is faulty?

Aprilaires' response:

Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 760 Humidifier. The water valve should close at the same time the humidifier's fan stops. They both receive their power from the same point inside. If the fan stops and the valve stays open, try unplugging the 760. If the valve continues to allow water through, the valve is stuck open. Without any source of power its internal plunger should spring closed. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

I recently installed the humidifer and it worked fine for a few days.  Now it is leaking water out the bottom and not through the drain hole.  Could the filter be defective?

Aprilaires' response:

Thank you for contacting Aprilaire. Humidifiers can leak for several common reasons,

1) Is the unit level?
2) Inspect the feed tube for cracks.
3) Is the water panel in upside down?
4) Is the scale control insert cracked?
5) Does the drain line plugged or restricted?
6) Erosion of the water panel do to reverse osmosis (RO) or deionized (DI) water.
7) Heat registers in the house that are closed?

Closing heat registers can cause high pressure in your ducts which can blow water off of the water panel. If the static pressure in the duct  is more than .4" of W.C. water will be sprayed off of the water panel.

I hope this helps. If you still can't stop the unit from leaking you will need to contact your local HVAC contractor or you can call our technical support department for more trouble shooting assistance. You can reach us at 1-800-334-6011 Monday - Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM central time.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

How much water (gal/min or ltr/min) should unit use while working "On"? Water connected to valve and looks like I can ajust it.

Aprilaires' response:

Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 700 Humidifier. As this unit runs, it uses 6 gal/hr, or about .1 gal/min (.378 litres/min). No adjustment to the valve is needed. There is an orifice inside the plastic feed tube that creates the proper flow rate. Neither the solenoid valve nor the saddle valve should restrict the water to a level below your normal house pressure.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

I have a condominium of approx. 2000 sq. ft.  Is there a unit I can attach to auto water feed and which can be mounted on a wall?
What are the requirements, i.e. weight, drainage facility, etc.


Aprilaires' response:

Aprilaire offers two humidifiers (Models 350 and 360) that can run independently from any HVAC system.

These systems require a 120 VAC outlet, a drain line for the excess water and they need to be connected to the hot water line. Review the literature and installation instructions.

Consumer questions submitted to Aprilaire:

My humidifier is not sending water to the panel. Water is flowing to the valve but it seems to be shutting off the flow.

Aprilaires' response:

There are three components that govern the valve. The humidistat sends the activation signal to the valve when the furnace is running. The second part is the transformer or power source that the humidistat uses. The third would be the solenoid valve itself. If it has a signal to open and voltage and it doesn't, the issue is the valve. You may need to call your installer to have them check over the system. They can verify which part, if any, needs to be replaced.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

Water is not getting into the distribution tray. It is in the water line. Can you tell me possible reasons for it and how to fix the problem?


Aprilaires' response:

There are a few reasons that water would not be getting into the distribution tray.  Here is a small list:

1. Perhaps the solenoid valve is not opening.  That could be due to no voltage getting to the solenoid, or just a solenoid gone bad.

2.  If there is no voltage getting to the solenoid, you would need to determine the cause of that.

3. The inline strainer may be clogged.  This is in the solenoid.  If you remove the copper feed from the main water source, then use a Philips screwdriver and put that into the opening where the copper line just came out of and use a scrapping motion to pull out the strainer.  You may clean it and put it back.  It is about an inch long and shaped like a pen cap.

4.  The orifice may be blocked.  The orifice is located in the feed tube that comes out of the solenoid and puts the water into the humidifier.  If you remove that feed tube from the solenoid, and tried to look into the tube you would not be able to because the orifice is right there at the end of the tube.  Make sure that there is a small hole in the center, and that is not blocked.  If it is blocked, use a small pin or needle to clear the hole. Do not stretch the hole any bigger.

Consumer question submitted to Aprilaire:

Is it possible to upgrade the efficiency of the pre-filter from the current MERV-8?


Aprilaires' Response:

Thank you for contacting us with regards to our Model 1750 Dehumidifier. We do not offer a high-efficiency filter for this model other than the supplied MERV 8. However, if this unit were attached to your HVAC system and its intake positioned downstream of your HVAC filter, that could potentially have a higher efficiency than MERV 8. In that situation, the internal filter would not be needed as all air it uses would be pulled through your HVAC filter. For example, our Aprilaire whole-home air cleaners begin at MERV 10 and go higher from there. The two could work together to give the 1750 cleaner air than the dehumidifier could create on its own.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.

Comment:
I have the same issue. I installed 600A last week. For some reason, the humidifier does not increase the RH above 30% even on the highest setting (7). Our home is 40 years old and only 1500 sq ft. It was installed for automatic operation with the outside air sensor. Any comment to fix this problem

Aprilaires' Response:
One of the most common reason for lack of humidity is lack of humidifier run time do to lack of runtime of the furnace. Another reason is the homes ability to hold the moisture. No matter how well a house is built it breaths. As air escapes from the house so does the humidity. The older a home gets the leaker it gets. So the trick is adding the humidity faster than it is escaping. In most homes the humidifier gets enough run time, but older leaky homes or new homes that are so well insulated that the furnace hardly runs, you will need to extend the humidifiers run time.

If the Model 600 humidifier runs every time the furnace comes on, runs whole time the furnace is on, and gets forced to turn off when the furnace goes off, it is added as much humidity as the furnace is allowing it to. If the humidifier could run longer it would. So if the humidifier is wired to run with the furnace fan, connected to hot water (140 Max), and if you run your furnace fan continually, the humidifier can add up to 16 gallons of water to the air per day.

Some people don't want to run their fan continuously, so another option would be to use the Aprilaire 4851 Blower Activation Relay. This relay will turn on the furnace fan and let the humidifier run as many hours a day as it need to without the fan running continuously.

Comment to an earlier post:

I am having a similar problem. I just installed a 600A humidifier and the control is set at 7. The 600A humidistat says that the air is at 42% RH, but I have two other humidity meters in the living area that read 33%. Does the 600A humidistat need calibration?

Aprilaires' Response:

Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 600A Humidifier. The humidistat for this unit does not require calibration. It does, however, only update its display when it detects activity in the furnace, typically the heating mode. If the display constantly shows 42%, regardless of humidity changes in the home, the control may not be wired correctly. If the control does change its display, but stays around 9% apart from the other gauge, then the issue is just a discrepancy between devices. Most gauges will be accurate within 5% to 10% of actual humidity. With the humidity reading at 42% on the humidistat and the control setting at 7, we would expect that the humidifier will be running with each heat cycle of your furnace as long as outdoor temperature is 20°F or higher. If this unit is operating in the manual mode, it should run under these same conditions regardless of outdoor temperature.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

Do these units work independently from your current heating  system.
 I have a forced air unit located in a closet accessed from the  outside.
This is in the mountains of Colorado where freezing is a  problem.  Cannot
connect humidification systems directly to the furnace for  that reason.
Would this unit be hooked up to a water supply so it would work all  the time or
does one need to add water when it is needed

Aprilaires' response:

Our models 350 and 360 are independent units.  They do not connect to the HVAC System at all.

They do connect with a hot water line.  Simply tap into a hot water line from your house so that they can get water as needed.  They also need a drain line connected to them and an outlet for power.

They come with a manual control humidistat that gets mounted on a wall in your living space.

Question submmited to Aprilaire:

I have a Model 5000 filter. I'd like to get an upgrade kit, but I am not sure whether there is one that would fit. I am confused between the Model 2400 and 5000 and the media for each. Are these two different models with interchangeable parts?

Aprilaires' response:

There is no upgrade at this time for the model 5000 electronic air cleaner.  Because of the electronics involved, we have not yet come up with an upgrade for this unit.

The size of the 5000 is the same as the size for the 2400.  Although, the 2400 is not electronic.  Also the filter used in the 2400, even though the same size, is not recommended for use in the 5000, just as the filter for the 5000 is not recommended for use in the 2400.  The 501 filter for the 5000 has metalic stripping on the pleats of the filter.  These are necessary for the correct operation of the 5000.  If you put a 401 filter into the 5000, sure it would catch dust, but you would loose all the electronic capabilities that you purchased the 5000 for in the first place.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

This humidifier is noiser than my furnace. My father and I both had these installed on our new furnaces by the same installer. His motor/fan noise is non existent and mine is louder than a bathroom fan at 3-4 sones. They both seam to be working and pumping water, but which one is running improperly? What can I do about the noise? Do I have to go with a by-pass??

Aprilaires' response:

The fan noise from the Model 700 is typically not as loud as the fan in the HVAC system, but it is a fan and fans make noise. If you can't live with the noise a bypass humidifier would be an option.

As a test you could switch the head of your humidifier with your father's humidifier to see his is really quieter. If you find that yours is noticeably louder you could have the contractor who installed the humidifiers replace the motor.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

I am interested in installing a whole house humidifier. Primary reason is to reduce crackin

Our house is 18 months old and has a conventional A/C system with ceiling mounted air vents. At the moment they are closed and covered with magnetic vent covers for the winter.

For heat we have a gas fired boiler providing hot water for an in floor radiant heat system "warm board".

Question: Would an Aprilaire system work in conjunction with this type of heat? I assume system would relay on using A/C ducts with a continuous air flow/fan to distribute moist air.

Aprilaires' response:

Thank you for contacting us regarding your interest in the Aprilaire humidifier product line. We are happy to assist you with questions relating to a humidifier recommendation for your application. Based upon the information provided it appears that your heating application consists of hot water radiant floor heat with no duct work required for that system. This type of heating application would typically require the use of one of our self contained humidifiers such as the 350 and 360 models. However, in your application it appears that you do have an air conditioning application that is currently utilizing duct work. Since you do have an air conditioning application in the home the air handler and duct work from this application could be utilized for the use of an Aprilaire whole home humidifier. When utilizing one of our duct mounted humidifiers on an air handler of an air conditioning application, it would require that the humidifier be utilized with hot water at all times and to work in conjunction with the fan operation of the air handler. This type of installation of the application will still allow the humidifier to provide optimum levels of humidification into the home during the driest time of the year. We have listed several questions below that will assist us in identifying the best humidifier for your application at this time.

1.The square footage of the home?
2.The ceiling height within the home?
3.The age of the home?
4.Any new renovations to the home such as windows, siding, and/or insulation?
5.The number of heating systems?
6.The type of heat? 
7.Is there access to a drain?

We would be glad to further assist you regarding a recommendation for your application. Upon receiving further information regarding your application, we can determine which product would be best for your application. However, the best individual to make the final decision on a product for your application is a Licensed HVAC contractor.  If you could please reply to this email at your earliest convenience, we would be delighted to assist you further.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

 I installed a 600A 2 weeks ago in my house. The unit runs for the entire heat call from my thermostat, but my house is having trouble maintaining even 30% humidity. It did raise the RH from around 15% to 30%, but I believe it is trying to go to around 40%. I think I need to increase runtime to get more humidity. I plumbed it to hot water. The way it is currently wired, the R and C are continuously powered and W/G and Cf are tied to the thermostat connection when the thermostat calls for heat. If I were to wire R, C, W/G, and Cf all to constant 24v and then the H outputs to the C and blower terminal on my thermostat connection on my furnace would this cause the humidistat to turn on the blower when more humidity is required? Would this cause a problem with my furnace?

Aprilaires' response:

The way that you describe the current wiring for your humidistat is correct.  Please do not change it.

What you are describing below not only will disconnect communication to the humidifier itself, but will damage both the furnace and humidistat controller.

The humidifier will only create the amount of humidity selected on the controller.  If you have it set for 30%, then that is the goal it will aim to satisfy.  It will not continue to humidify past the selected level. 

If you would like to achieve more than 30% humidity, simply select a higher setting.  If 30% seems right for your home, you may leave it there.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

What's the difference between a Model 1750 and Model 1750A

Aprilaire's response:

Thank you for contacting us with regards to our Aprilaire Dehumidifiers. The difference between these two models is primarily the type of refrigerant system used. The 1750 uses an R22-bases system, and the 1750A uses an R410A-based system.

Question submitted to Aprilaire:

I have what I was told is an April Air (looks like the 700) that came as part of my high end Carrier central AC/heating system a few years ago.  We had an Aprilair before and like this one, but, it's humidity is tied to the heating /AC and the wood in the house (and one guitar) are suffering from it being too dry in here. Everything is set right (humidity maxed out on the thermostat), I hear it go on all the time, and it works right, but we don't have your digital controls to get it up to about 50%.  How can I upgrade your system to get more humid air?  Luckily Fender fixed my guitar but I was told dry air caused the damage and it has never left this house and a new hygrometer puts the humidity at less then 40%.    If I need a new and better AprilAir fine.  If this one can be upgraded, that is even better.
Thank you


Aprilaires' response:

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Aprilaire product line. We are happy to assist you with questions relating to the operation and performance of your humidifier. Our humidifiers are designed to  provide and control up to 45% relative humidity. Our humidistat controls will only allow the humidifier to provide 45% humidity into the home before it will no longer initiate a call for humidity. If you are trying to maintain more than 45% humidity in the home, we would recommend working through your heating and cooling contractor for a 3rd party control that has a higher limit in regards to humidity control.

In order to get optimum levels of humidification within the home, we would recommend utilizing the humidifier with hot water as the water source, and also to allow the humidifier to operate with the fan operation of the heating system. By utilizing the humidifier with hot water as the water source this will help increase the evaporative capacity for the model 700. You will also get optimum use of the model 700 by wiring this unit to operate in conjunction with the fan for the heating application. What this allows you to do is to humidify the home essentially 24 hours a day. Basically, when putting the fan to the on mode you will be able to provide humidity into the home even though the actual heating system is not actually producing heat at the time. The heat from the water will provide the heat that is needed in the evaporation process. By utilizing the application with hot water and fan operation you will be optimizing the performance of our product and be providing a higher level of comfort within the home.

We would be happy to further assist you with any questions relating to the operation and performance of your humidifier. If there are any further questions regarding your application, please contact us at your earliest convenience.