truesteam worth it?

i can pick up a truesteam humidifer for about $250 more than a honeywell bypass model. is it really worth the price premium? and can i realistically install this myself? (the wiring looks a little complicated).

 

The reading I have done says that if the TrueSteam works as advertised it will save a lot of water from flowing right down the drain. How this translates into dollars depends on your utility provider. If I had to guess I would say you would recoup the initial price after several years of use, but thats just a guess. I like the true steam because of what I think will be a very effective and efficient method of providing humidification to a home in the dry winters of Minnesota. I have talked to several people that have a bypass humidifier and some of them simply turned them off after a few years because they didn't maintain them properly by cleaning the filters and hoses. Hopefully the TrueSteam will be easy to maintain.

I was really wanted to get one last fall but the product delays have been a major downer. I've managed to get by with a room humidifier that I fill twice a day, but I didn't start in time and my hardwood floor suffered some cracking damage I am going to wait until next fall to see how people think these humidifiers perfomed in their homes.

There is a video on the honeywell website that shows how the installation can be done in 45 minutes. I don't think this accounts for the wiring or cold water line plumbing. If you haven't seen it, let me know and I'll look it up for you.
Good luck on your decision.

 

Started to look at this, but then saw this:
Do not install the humidifier where the ambient temperature is lower than 32°F (0°C) or higher than 104°F (40°C).

Guess can't put that in my attic Basement only.

I did notice it also said inline filter w/ maintenance required for warranty coverage. Is that a good idea for all humidifiers?

 

Years back sold and put in some steam humidifiers. Had to take them all out . just one big mess. Just as bad as spray kind. Now all we sell and put in is the Aprilaire 700. On the plenum.

Also hot water to the humidifier works best.

 

i can only mount the actual humidifer on the air return (before the furnace), and the bypass duct on the supply. will this be a problem?

also, in this setup, should the bypass duct go before or after the a/c coil?

 

The 700 dont have a bypass on it The Aprilaire 400--550 600 have by pass on them. Yes you can put the humidifier on the cold air and the bypass pipe into the plenum.

 

is the 700 significantly better than the bypass models? how does the aprilaire compare to the honeywell versions?

 

Yes it is. ----- I guess about the same but we seem to have less call backs on the Aprilaire. So thats all we sell and put in now for years.

 

I thinke the TrueSTEAM is going to be a great thing out there.. D- hit it on the head.. For the steam you get 1 gallon of humidity with 1 gallons of water.. Where the flow though units like Powred/Bypass unit, you are going to use about 24 to 34 gallons of water to 1 gallon of humidity. That's a lot of water!

So depends on what your utility company chages for water, it may be or may not be worth while.

Our water rates for me and D- is pretty cheap, we are charged 69.2 cents for 1 unit (748 gallons) of water. My water bill went up 2 units, so that is bout $1.39 a month. So for the heating season cost about $7 of water.

So you may want to check your water rates.

I am still plan on doing it for myself maybe next year being that I am trying to go "Green" myself.

I think they are the same.. The powered unit are best on supply, not return.. I am not crazy about putting the unit itself on the supply, rather on the return, so that's where the bypass works out well.

Both Honeywell and Apirlaire are equial, honeywell control are much more simple (Depends on what model), where Apilraire used the digital control... more thing can go wrong on that, along with the powred unit.

 

We went full out with the steam years back Lennox had one out of theis world Ha Ha. it even had a self clean out after ever run on. As I said they dont work. Stop and think about all the stuff in the water .It builds up so fast you can keep them clean . Just think about the lime and calcium you have in the water and all the rest. As I said lennox recalled all of them . Dont that tell you something????

 

Honeywell TrueSTEAM Demo Video

I think this has come a long ways from the old days of Lennox. I think Honeywell has done thier homework on this.

 

Its all in whats in the water. I have the water cut down to the HUM so there is very very little that runs down the drain Jay

 

But then with less water you get less humidification, so it would depend on the size of the house. The larger the house the more benefit you could potentially get from a TrueSteam system. Water prices are definitely not going to go down in the next 5 to 10 years. However, the trueSteam is a new product from what I consider a reputable company. Until I see more customer comments on it, all I have to go with is the information that Honeywell supplies and so far I like what I see. I just wish they would have made it available for sale last fall

 

I agree with him on it.. I closed mine down last year due to this hissing sound it made (High water pressure), and it fell behind and could not keep up with the cold winter. So this year I put on a pressure regulator and open it back up, and works very well..

Ed could get by with it being shut down since his winter temps are not like our.-20 degree temp we are seeing this morning.

Warm enough for ya Derick?? :-)

 

It's funny because I hear so many people complaining this winter. We have been spoiled by the mild winters of the last 10 years or so. This is more like a normal winter. I'm originally from northern MN so even this seems mild to me

 

I don't mind it at all, I like cold weather, wishing to see -30 some day!

Had a customer in the store today, and said damn it's cold! I asked if he was from the area, he said no, he moved up here from MO last fall.