Received: from ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU; 6 Jan 88 14:37:30 EST Date: Wednesday, 6 January 1988 14:35:44 EST From: Ellen.Borison@zog.cs.cmu.edu To: bovik@k.gp.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Whole House Humidification Message-ID: <1988.1.6.19.15.38.Ellen.Borison@ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU> Here are the responses to my query about furnace humidifiers and competent installers. In summary: HUMIDIFIERS - both Chuck Weinstock and Jim Moody say that April Aire is the best - Jim Skees is happy with his humidifier from Sears - Currie Colket suggests a fish tank CONTRACTORS - Chuck Weinstock recommends L.J. Comer of Squirrel Hill - Jim Moody was pleased with work done by Triangle AC & Heating and cautions against using Clima-Tech - Lynne Reder recommends Edward L. Kemp of McKeesport - - - - Begin forwarded messages - - - - To: Ellen.Borison@zog.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Whole House Humidification ? Date: Wed, 16 Dec 87 16:11:56 EST From: Chuck Weinstock Ellen, We had all of our heating and cooling needs handled by L. J. Comer in Squirrel Hill. Ask for Lou Comer and tell them I referred you and it might be worth something (or maybe not, who knows if he'll remember me.) A story: Anyway, when we were selling the house, the fellow who was inspecting the house for the buyer said that the furnace should be inspected professionally. The buyer had someone come in who spent 2 seconds and announced that the heat exchanger needed to be replaced. Comer came in (for a second opinion) thoroughly inspected and cleaned the furnace and said that it didn't need to be replaced. A third opinion said that it didn't need to be replaced now, but it would possibly soon. The buyer decided that he wanted to make trouble over it, so we finally agreed to pay for replacing it. Comer came in with the lowest bid (by almost 10%), so that is what we paid for. >From past experience he does good work, is professional, and will not rip you off. In terms of humidifiers, I've heard that the April Air is sort of the tops in the whole house humidifier business. Two of the three guys mentioned above recommended it as a way to prevent (among other things) early rusting of the heat exchanger. Hope this helps. Chuck - - - - - - - - To: Ellen.Borison@ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Whole House Humidification ? Message-Id: <566690357/skees@SKEES.ADM.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Ellen.Borison's bboard message of 16-Dec-87 16:10 Ellen, I installed a Sears humidifier on my forced-air gas furnace three years ago and haven't had any problems with it. I take it you have? Could you give me some information about that? --Jim [I told Jim that our old Sears humidifier died of old age. We were not particularly happy with its capacity and wanted to evaluate other options before replacing it. - eab] - - - - - - - - To: Ellen.Borison@ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Whole House Humidification ? Message-Id: <566747381/moody@IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Ellen.Borison's bboard message of 16-Dec-87 16:02 April Aire seems to have the best line of humidifiers available. Best as in low maintenance, few moving parts, and an effective water transfer mechanism. I had a Lennox furnace put in this summer, all of the dealers I spoke with pushed April Aire vs. any other humidifier (Lennox included) because of fewest service callbacks (zero for some installers). We have been very happy with its performance. I didn't realize it at the time, but the humidifier my parents have on their furnace is an April Aire, and has given them no trouble, although their model requires a little more maintenance than ours. Ours was installed by Triange AC & Heating as part of a whole furnace replacement job. There were less expensive dealers, and more expensive (by far!) dealers, I think I got a good price for a top quality installation. I would NOT recommend Clima-Tech, they are terribly over-priced, and won't put things in writing. Hope this helps. --Jim - - - - - - - - Date: Thursday, 17 Dec 87 13:03:33 EST From: reder (Lynne Reder) @ basil.psy.cmu.edu Subject: re: Whole House Humidification ? To: Ellen.Borison @ ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU I highly recommend Edward L. Kemp of McKeesport. The owner Pete Kemp is the only intelligent man in that field I've met. --L. - - - - - - - - Date: Thursday, 17 December 1987 13:25:29 EST From: Ellen.Borison@zog.cs.cmu.edu To: Jim.Skees@skees.adm.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Whole House Humidification ? Jim, The essential problem with our humidifier is that it is old. It came with the house when we moved in over 6 years ago. I also suspect that it is probably not a top-of-the-line model. We have had two main problems with it over its life. First is the build up of mineral salts: these have periodically completely caked the sponge that disperses the water. Perhaps we haven't maintained the humidifier regularly enough... The second problem is more fundamental: capacity. There had also been some leakage evidenced by some crud on the side of the furnace but that happened before we bought the house. We would like to evaluate newer technologies to see if there is a better alternative to what we have. Otherwise, we may end up doing the same thing you did. I didn't mean to cast aspersions against Sears. Incidently, the 2 people I have heard from who have recommended a brand of furnace humidifier have both said that April Aire is supposed to be the best. - Ellen - - - - - - - - Date: 17 Dec 1987 15:25-EST From: Jim.Skees@SKEES.ADM.CS.CMU.EDU To: Ellen.Borison@zog.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Whole House Humidification ? Ellen, Once a year, usually in the spring, I drain my Sears humidifier, scrape out the mineral deposits, and replace the sponge. This is normal humidifier maintenance which Sears warns you about in their instruction manual. I strongly suspect that, no matter what type and brand of humidifier you buy, you will still have to clean it out periodically. The problem is the hardness of our water in Pittsburgh. Much of Pennsylvania has limestone strata in the bedrock, and this rock readily disolves when exposed to running water. But good luck on your search. --Jim - - - - - - - - Date: Thursday, 17 December 1987 15:56:37 EST From: Currie.Colket@sei.cmu.edu To: Ellen.Borison@zog.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Whole House Humidification Ellen, About 6 years ago, my daughter was having some serious health problems in the winter because of the low humidity. Our doctor prescribed a humidifier for her. We spent several hundred dollars installing a humidifier in our house. One year later, we moved and my daughter had the same problem. Again another doctor prescribed a humidifier for her. We discussed humidifier alternatives with him. His preference on humidifier alternatives was a fish tank. We got a fish tank, and her problems went away. We now have a 30 gallon tank in our family room. It does a nice job for the entire house. Since we got the tank, we have all been healthier. In the winter, we have to replace about 2-3 gallons of water a week. But we do have the benefit of having the enjoyment of the aquarium. At first I stocked it with community tropical fish. Recently I have begun to specialize into Africian Ciclids. I am even thinking about setting up a tank for salt water fish. Currie - - - - End forwarded messages - - - -