aprilaire 700m

i purchased new home with this humidifier but it doesn’t seem to be working that well. temp has been 20-30F but humidity is not getting above 28% with it running at max thermostat setting (2500 sq ft, 2 story on slab, gas forced air furnace ). this is my 1st whole house humidifier so not sure what to expect. it is mounted below furnace on the return, just below filter (seems like humidifier should be after filter to me but i don’t think that is possible with my setup.

-should i be able to feel much air flow around the humidifier intake vents? i confirmed the fan is running, spinning to stop when i open the cover but i can’t feel any air getting pulled into it

-should the water just be a drip at top of filter panel? i put in new filter/panel, opened water valve and set humidistat to max.

- should water drip all the time, or just when humidifier is called for(seems like you want to keep filter wet)

thanks in advance!

 

If the fan is running then the unit appears to be wired correctly.
Is your unit beige or gray ?

When activated..... the fan comes on and the solenoid opens to let water in. There should be a small flow of water coming out of the drain hose. If there isn't then possibly the filter screen where the water line connects to the solenoid is clogged. It can be cleaned. When the humidifier is off..... not in use.... there should not be any water dripping.

 

I'd say its more beige than gray. Thanks for the info on the filter screen I will research that and see if I can get it cleaned out.

 

finally did some work on this tonight....
-confirmed humidistat setting will start humidifier fan and 24v to the connector from furnace mount to humidifier blower assembly
-confirmed getting water to the solenoid
-i can’t get the filter screen out of solenoid input side
-if i force the solenoid on and off by jumpering 24v across it at the connector, it will increase from one drop every 3 seconds to 1 or 2 drops per second then gradually slow. wish i had a bench power supply with 24vac so i could really see if it is working
-i do hear bit of click when applying 24v to solenoid, sometimes a tiny spark
-i don’t seem to have the blue 4232 orifice i see discussed. my grey plastic water line goes from solenoid up to top of filter panel into a white 90degree elbow/mount. this appears to be molded to the plastic water line

my solenoid says part 10006735 3/64” orifice, is this critical to match up (solenoid opening also 3/64 to match orifice?)or will any 24v solenoid let the water through? i see 4040 model that is $30 compared to $50 for mine. if i knew $50 would fix it i wouldn’t mind but since i am not sure..., hate to blow $50

this would be a lot easier to work on if the solenoid wasn’t 4” off the floor under humidifier, behind drainage pvc which is not movable, and all the wiring is zip tied in a ball right in front of the solenoid too.

advice?

 

found a great video that answered a couple questions......
Aprilaire 4226 Humidifier Feed Tube Assembly » Aprilaire Humidifier & Air Cleaner Parts Direct

-i removed the screen filter with the custom fabricated tool (paper clip) i don’t see any crud or blockage. i removed it for a test run to be sure
-i also located the blue orifice in the end of the plastic feed line (its in the end inserted into solenoid output), when i removed it water freely trickled out so no blockage there
-put it back together and got fast droplets, almost a stream of water on top of the panel but then again it slows to drop every few seconds

 

If the water flow thru the unit is normal..... you should be getting a slow trickle of water out of the drain tube.

It takes about 30 seconds for the water to saturate the pad before it starts coming out the drain tube.

How is that water line connected to the house. One of those crappy saddle valves ? Those can't get plugged up easily.

 

Ya, saddle valve. I wondered about that thing too. When the copper line was removed from the solenoid one time, I gave the saddle a slow twist and quickly got a stream of water so I think its ok. Maybe Ill try that again. Just sucks it's so close to floor and all the wiring.maybe I can run it into a hose/tube or something to get it over to floor drain (this is also 2nd level of house so spills are not desirable). Thank you for the feedback.

 

update - new solenoid fixed my issue. The new one clicks much louder than the broken one. There is a steady stream of water coming from the feed tube when solenoid activated, not just droplets.