Coalpail.com Forum

Hey everyone, Do any of you use a humidifier. Ive noticed the air has been very dry after starting the coal stoker and was thinking of putting a humidifier along the stove down cellar. Just wondering if a lot of you use one .?

Yes, I've used a humidifier for the last 21 years. Used an in-line sears unit on my natural gas furnace. When I had a hand fed coal unit I used a large evaporative unit on the first floor with back ups in the bedrooms. Now that I have another forced air unit I had an in-line unit installed with the coal furnace. Maintains humidity about 40-45%. Too dry and you will have static problems. Too wet and you will have mold. Doc told me 40-50% is best to avoid allergy issues. My wife and daughter both have allergies.

YES. Console type in the living room, Small one in the bedroom.

Do a search, you will see many of us run one in the winter time. There is a thread somewhere on here. I remember talking about this at least once.

Help! Is My House Tooo Dry?

Humidifiers

wlape3 wrote:Yes, I've used a humidifier for the last 21 years. Used an in-line sears unit on my natural gas furnace. When I had a hand fed coal unit I used a large evaporative unit on the first floor with back ups in the bedrooms. Now that I have another forced air unit I had an in-line unit installed with the coal furnace. Maintains humidity about 40-45%. Too dry and you will have static problems. Too wet and you will have mold. Doc told me 40-50% is best to avoid allergy issues. My wife and daughter both have allergies.

If your house has any wood in it, too dry beats it up. Hardwood floors and moldings can shrink and it starts to get ugly. If you have a forced air system, install an automatic humidifier in its plenum. If not, you need a unit or units to maintain some moisture in the air throught the house if needed. I use a big console and it is a pain but a necessary one.

Don't need one in my place!

We have a whole-house humidifier installed on the main Plenum for our forced hot air oil burner. Knowing the oil burner would not be used much, I set up the Humidifier to run the main Distribution fan, so we can humidify and filter air WITHOUT the oil burner kicking on. The Main Distribution Fan is a Variable-speed motor, and it is set to run at 20% speed for the Humidifier. It'll ramp up to 100% speed. At 20% speed, you cannot hear it running, but it moves/distributes the air just fine between floors. when the oil burner kicks in and calls for more distribution air.

coaledsweat wrote: If your house has any wood in it, too dry beats it up. Hardwood floors and moldings can shrink and it starts to get ugly. If you have a forced air system, install an automatic humidifier in its plenum. If not, you need a unit or units to maintain some moisture in the air throught the house if needed. I use a big console and it is a pain but a necessary one.

Yep, that's basically where it is, in the hot air supply to the house. You can take a look at it here... Installation of Hot Air Coal Furnace With Propane Back up

Hey, Smitty, your basement reminds me of mine when the hot water heater gave out a few years back.

When I lived in South Jersey I used to take out 5 gallons of water every day from the dehumidifier in my basement and that was after I sealed it with Dry-Lock. Very useful to water the garden in a drought.

Thanks for the info, I have a 1100 sq ft ranch. Coal stoker is in the basement, do you think I should put humidifier in basement near stove or in first floor living room. (Cellar door is open to allow heat up into living area)

I'd put it in your living room since you live on the first floor.

Another good reason for the humidifier is that it helps the heat transfer better. You'll feel warmer at the same temp if the humidity is up. Hense the phrase, "it's not the heat but the humidity".

Thanks, Lee

Yes !!!!!! Mine is in my duct work.........Makes a very big difference, worth the $240.00

I was thinking of adding a honeywell steam type to my ductwork, but I was told that without the metal ductwork, I have ductboard, this could create a mold problem. Any thoughts ???

Yes, don't do it. Once you get mold in the ducts it gets expensive. Use a console type. More of a pain but you can always clean it.

I have one of those 90 degree dryer exhaust deflectors with a filter on it to blow the hot/humid clothes dryer exhaust into the basement during the winter. Extra heat and moisture, win win.