Humidifier for your carved bass

**Bob Gollihur** · #1 12-08-2002, 11:30 AM

I went out humidifier shopping this past week, as my old ultrasonic one died. My cancer adventure means I require a decent humidity level for comfort.

I discovered one that I think I may purchase for my bass room as well. Most inexpensive wick type units I have seen have little or no adjustments other than possibly motor speed. And decent humidistats can be expensive; I learned the hard way about cheap one's false guidance.

I bought a Holmes Warm Mist Humidifier, Model Number HM 5700, and am thusfar very pleased with it and its features. Unlike others in its price range ($40), it has a digital programmable humidistat, so you can set it and forget it, other than refilling it occasionally. See it at http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...%3A5431%3A5431 - I saw it at KMart, but got mine at BJ's Wholesale Club, where they have a little sticker that entitles you to a $10 rebate.

It seems to be pretty accurate-- it is in my bedroom, and I had it set to 45%, which it achieved easily, and shut itself off. In the morning both the preset and readout levels were 45%; after taking a shower in the attached master bath, I noted that the readout went up to 50%, the present remained at 45%.

Just a heads up-- seems like an inexpensive and less troublesome way to keep your carved bass happy.

Dave Irwin · #2 12-08-2002, 08:45 PM

Bob, how often do you have to refill? The Walmart site said 28 hours but does it last longer using the humidistat?

Thanks,
Dave

**Bob Gollihur** · #3 12-09-2002, 05:59 AM

The refilling cycle will depend on the normal humidity of the room and how large it is since it runs "on demand". The dryer it is, the more often the humidifier will be called to supplement the moisture, and the quicker it will run out of water. The box says it will run for 24 hours on one filling, but I haven't refilled the one in my bedroom for more than two days -- I assume that because the room has the attached bath, from which it draws some moisture, and is sealed off from the rest of the house, it doesn't require much to keep it at 45%. I have a huge humidifier in another area of my home and it is putting out a lot of water just to keep the humidity at 40% or better.

Jeff Bollbach · #4 12-09-2002, 07:57 AM

That's the exact one I use-I love it!

Dave Irwin · #5 12-10-2002, 03:06 AM

Help. I just started using a holmes 3 gal warm mist last night
and while it's output most of the tank already, the hydrostats are not moving above 33%.

I have closet sized cavity in the room about 2.5 ft deep and 5 feet wide.

I have my basses in each corner and the humidifier in the middle about 5 inches from the wall.

I have the analog stat that came with the humidifier and a Radio Shack digital.

Considering the water already used, could the readings be correct?

(the room in total is only about 11X15 but it opens to the foyer on the opposite side from the basses.

Thanks,
Dave

**Bob Gollihur** · #6 12-10-2002, 06:18 AM

33% is pretty low, I'll bet it will take a while to raise the humidity of the area. The humidity won't just hang around, I'll bet that the very dry air in adjacent areas is sucking up the moisture. Depending on how tight the house is, it may not be possible to raise the humidity beyond a certain point. Is there a forced hot air heat vent in the room, pushing the moist air out of the room towards the return?

Dave Irwin · #7 12-10-2002, 10:40 AM

I'm pretty dumb about this stuff. There is a vent on the wall on the side where the basses are in the corners. It doesn't seem to blow air so maybe it's the return. Otherwise there is just a register on the floor on the opposite end of the room.

At this point I have the humidifier between the two basses.

On a possibly unrelated note, the well wrung dampit I placed in the bass still had moisture this morning. A good sign?

Dave

mje · #8 12-10-2002, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave Irwin
I'm pretty dumb about this stuff. There is a vent on the wall on the side where the basses are in the corners. It doesn't seem to blow air so maybe it's the return. Otherwise there is just a register on the floor on the opposite end of the room.

Dave

If it's an older house (pre 70s-80s), a vent on an outside wall is a return. In a newer house, it'll be a source.

I keep the humidity in my house around 45-50%, year round. It's not just good for the bass, it's good for all the wood trim and furniture, too. My furnace humidifier does a pretty good job of this.

Dave Irwin · #9 12-10-2002, 01:19 PM

It's only a 4 year old house. Any idea on how much a furnace humidifier runs?

Thanks,
Dave

mje · #10 12-11-2002, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave Irwin
It's only a 4 year old house. Any idea on how much a furnace humidifier runs?

Thanks,
Dave

Usually they're installed with a new furnace, but they can be added at any time. You can buy a good unit for $150-200 plus installation if you're not comfy with cutting holes in ducts and running plumbing. The better units ($250 and up) are self-flushing and cleaning, which I think is worth it. A friend of mine who does this work says to stay away from the type that spray a mist through a nozzle into the heater plenum. He says they cause heaters to quickly rust out.

I found a calculator at furnace.com that tells me I need capacity of 11 gallons/day to humidify my 1600 square foot house! That's a lot more than you can get from a room humidifier.

Dave Irwin · #11 12-11-2002, 12:52 PM

Thanks for the numbers. I wonder if I have one and don't know it. Any easy way to tell?

Signed,
Mr. not handy

mje · #12 12-11-2002, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave Irwin
Thanks for the numbers. I wonder if I have one and don't know it. Any easy way to tell?

There'll be a box attached to the duct on one side of your forced air furnace, with a copper water supply line going to it. Might just need cleaning or adjustment. Some use a foam belt or disk to carry water that needs to be replaced periodically. Many get jammed up with mineral deposits and stop working.

Mike Goodbar · #13 12-11-2002, 01:37 PM

One brand name for the furnance humidifiers is April-Aire. We had one attached to the furnace in our old house, but we rarely used it. No matter how low the level, we found that if left on all the time, our windows would cover with condensation, which would then either run down onto the window sill or freeze, then melt later and run down onto the window sill causing water stains and so forth.

Particularly in older houses with no moisture barriers, excess moisture can penetrate the walls and cause mold problems.

I'm playing the odds right now. We've moved into a new house, and I have neither a hygrometer nor humidifier.

mje · #14 12-11-2002, 02:31 PM

You probably didn't have double insulated windows- and maybe other problems as well, like no moisture barrier in the insulation. Without a barrier, moisture condenses in the walls and feeds mold, even without a humidifier. It's been 2-20 degrees outside, I've got the house at 50%, the windows aren't fogged, and there's no mold.

Alexi David · #15 01-09-2006, 02:19 AM

Bob G. mentioned in a few threads that the Holmes Warm Mist was discontinued, but apparently it is not - mine is in the mail!

Hapy humidifying holidays everyone! Keep your Bass (and your wallet) happy