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July 2013
Posts: 98
Location: Des Moines, Iowa | This may have been discussed previously, but it doesn't appear that it's been very recent OR that it was very specific (I did some searches). Two things have occured that are making a room humidifier a better option for me rather than an in case or sound hole type. One - I've acquired several more guitars recently, so having them all sitting in cases is a waste of beauty and space AND number two - a spare bedroom has become available for a music room in my home (translation - kid finally moved out.. YEA!).
I've been looking thru lots of different models and brands on Amazon and about all I've decided on is that the cool mist type that ionizes the vapor appears to be the best type. Now I can tell you that I live in probably the worst part of the US for weather extremes - smack dab in the middle. We measure our "feels like" temperatures in wind chills and heat indexes, where humidity varies from 10% to near 100%.
So, I thought I'd hit up the group to see if there's any concensus of opinion OR just any good reviews of any particular brands or models that have worked well for any of you Ovation Fans. I've been leaning towards an Air Guardian or Air-O-Swiss brands. I already have a good hygrometer and I'd prefer to have a humidifier that I don't have to service (add water, etc.) more than once a day and preferably maybe every couple two or three days.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated...
Edited by SillyLittleBoy 2014-02-14 1:45 PM
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Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | It all depends.. what are your criteria? Of course, the perfect humidifier would have a bottomless water capacity, be perfectly silent, not leave white powder all over everything, never need cleaning or replacement filters, measure the current room humidity and adjust it's output accordingly. To get all that, you have to spend a lot of money. Otherwise, choose your favorite place to compromise.
I've got a simple Crane cool mist type that does a pretty good job once I found the right spot on the dial. It's quiet, which is important to me. And it's effective. But I have to fill it twice per day and every surface of my office is covered in white powder.
If you are thinking about taking the plunge for a higher end model, consider a whole-house humidifier. |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I have a Bionaire that holds 2 or 3 gallons, with the ability to set the humidity levels and the fan speed. The fan is not very quiet, but I haven't heard many that are better. My space is in the basement, about 15 x15. In the summer, I go weeks without filling it, but in the winter I have to fill it every day to keep it at 46%. Basically, it never gets to 46% when the furnace is running all the time. We are in a desert climate, but it's the forced air heat that dries out the room. The air conditioning effect is minimal because it is usually cool in the basement, even though it might be 100 degrees and 10% humidity outside.
I grew up in the Midwest and 46% humidity is low. Assuming your spare bedroom isn't as big as my room, you will probably do OK with the same size in the winter. Your humidity may be higher than ours, but your furnace will probably run more. In the summer, I bet you won't need it, but it's nice to just leave it on the same setting year round.
Dave in Arizona had a nice set up where he converted a room to a music room and the walk in closet for a guitar hanging room. He had a big stand up humidifier in the closet. I assume it held at least 5 gallons if it wasn't hooked up to a water pipe. Whatever you get, make sure you keep track of the model and type of filters. I can clean mine once and then they fall apart. Of course, I can't find the owner's manual and don't keep track of where we got the last filters, so there's always some searching involved. Keep the model number and part number for the filters handy so you can find them when you need them. |
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July 2013
Posts: 98
Location: Des Moines, Iowa | Well.... I would prefer a humidifier that I don't have to service any more than once a day and preferably maybe once every other day. I also don't want white powder all over the surfaces in the room and most definitely NOT on my guitars.
OH... and I don't have forced air heat. My heat is baseboard hot water/radiator type heat, which I'm thinking might be LESS detrimental to the humidity than a forced air gas/electric furnace.
Oh... and I'm assuming that using distilled water will eliminate any of the "white powder" issues, which is what I plan on doing, since our water here is pretty crappy.
Thanks....
Edited by SillyLittleBoy 2014-02-14 2:59 PM
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Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | I use a cheapo Holms 1Touch with a built hygrometer set to 45. It holds a gallon or so. During the extreme winter, I have to fill it once a day, I will also add an even cheaper unit (similar but no hygrometer) and run it constantly on low during these times to help compensate when it's really bad.
I wouldn't spend extra money on 'ionizing' gimmicks. If you have the $ and space, just get big console type. They're a bit more, but that's what they use in the humidor rooms in the mosaic stores, and sounds like what dave is using too (probably a much better inventory than most guitar shops).
If I had the space for it, I'd be running something like this... http://www.humidifiers.com/essick-air-h12-400hb-whole-house-evapora...
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | 40 some years with Ovations and I've never given a thought to humidity.
I believe that, within reason, Ovations are less susceptible than wood boxes to this type of problem.
Edited by Slipkid 2014-02-14 3:16 PM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I never worried about it when I lived in the Midwest, either, but I only had my 1976 Matrix then. It still looks like new, but I started worrying when I had some money sunk into other guitars and had moved to the desert.
Stick your hygrometer in the middle of the room and check it for a few days this winter. If it stays over 35% or so, you probably don't have anything to worry about. Your summers will be humid enough and the AC doesn't dry the air out as much as the heater. |
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Location: Jet City | Brad Durasa - 2014-02-14 1:15 PM 40 some years with Ovations and I've never given a thought to humidity. I believe that, within reason, Ovations are less susceptible than wood boxes to this type of problem. I disagree with the Kid. I live in a relatively mild climate, but it's very noticable when the humidity takes a tank in the winter. The guitars go out of tune, and the ones that are setup with super-low action start fretting out. I'd much rather humidify than make neck adjustments. We see way too many bad stories come into this forum to take the chance. Besides, some folks have guitars other than Ovations to consider.
Edited by Damon67 2014-02-14 4:01 PM
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Posts: 741
Location: Fort Worth, TX | I don't know what the "best" is, I'm sure many of them you've already been told about fit that bill. I do know the cheapest, and it's highly effective. The table decorations for my daughter's wedding were vases filled with clear "water balls" with a blue LED light at the bottom. You buy them by the bag at hobby stores. They start out pea size and after soaking in water they swell up to around twice the size of a marble. They come in colors, not just clear. If you have a shelf in the room, you could have several vases filled with different color ones. They hold the water like FOREVER. The three vases in my guitar room kept the humidity between 50 - 65%. I had to add water to them maybe once a month. Plus, there is no white powder to contend with, just normal water evaporation. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | warm air
not
cold air
YMMV |
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Posts: 6198
Location: Phoenix AZ | I live in arizona. Average humidify is 12% so over the years I've learned a thing or two about humidifying my guitar room. The bottom line is this - the actual humidifier you buy makes no difference. Just get one that is the most convenient. BUT ... they all have lousy humidistats in them and keeping your room at CONSTANT humidity is key. They all suck at doing this. What you need to do is simply bypass the units humidistat by turning it on FULL BLAST and leaving it there so it runs balls to the wall 24/7. You need to invest in a high quality HUMIDISTAT CONTROL UNIT. It'll cost you about a hundred bucks but measures humidity to about +/- 1%. You plug it into the AC outlet like an extension cord and them you plug your cheapo humidifier that is running full blast into IT. The high precision humidistat turns on/off the power to your humidifier unit as needed to control the humidity to about 1%. You can go elaborate and hook up remote sensors or even hook up two offending units to the contoller - one a humidifier and one a DE humidifier. All depends what you need. But all things considered what I described above is the most cost effective solution to near-perfect humidification. |
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Posts: 98
Location: Des Moines, Iowa | Sweet! Thanks again O-Fans. I like your suggestion StandingO and I do have to disagree with my fellow Midwesterner who suggested NOT doing anything in the winter to bump up the humidity. I know it's dry as hell because I can feel it in my nose and if I don't use conditioner in my hair I'll have electric hair that'll stand on end.
I happened to be at Wal-Mart last night and I just picked up this $25 Pro Care Cool Mist one that has a 1 gallon tank. I bought about five gallons of distilled water, too. I know it's made a difference in the room, because I can feel it AND my hygrometer tells me so. I've got two new babies coming home this week, well... one has been at the Luthiers getting a crack repaired and a new bridge mounted. It's a 1979-year Legend 1617 fixer-upper I picked up from someone locally for $100, so it's been "home" before but not in playable condition. The other one is all new to me... and I'll have to reveal that one in another post of it's own.
Thanks again for all your advise, because now I realize I was really troubling myself over what to get and the real point was just to get SOMETHING. Heck, with the $25 one I got if it lasts me a year I'll be ahead. |
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Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | Humidity in the man cave over the weekend: 95%. And I'm in the middle of renovating (just got new lights, re-painted the walls and now doing the ceiling). Ran the dehumidifier AND the A/C in the next room, got the humidity down to 75%. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | richard.parker - 2014-02-17 8:25 AM Humidity in the man cave over the weekend: 95%. And I'm in the middle of renovating (just got new lights, re-painted the walls and now doing the ceiling). Ran the dehumidifier AND the A/C in the next room, got the humidity down to 75%. I TOLD you the humidity is Sydney is worse than Brisbane. My shed/studio sits between 55-65. We haven't had any significant rainfall since I got my hygrometers, but we sure don't have the same problems with humidity that our American brothers have hey? The exact opposite in fact. I'm due to cook my dessicant bags to re-energise them as they're all pink now. Hygrometer in the case shows 65, which I think is a bit high? |
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Location: SoCal | I have the 11gal Honeywell Quietcare that runs about $100. Two tanks and easy to refill. Honeywell products are now from Kaz. |
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What's a good room humidifier?
