DIY Pad-less Evap. Humidifier (w/"lighted" water-tank) 12-16 hr run 500-1200 sq. ft. no pad/no mold!
Ғылым және технология
DIY Humidifier! Powerful and easy to make! This is a unique (and forgotten) humidifier design from the past. it's neither an 'ultrasonic humidifier' or an 'absorbent pad' humidifier, so there's no issues with 'white residue in the air' (common with ultrasonic models) and no issues with moldy 'wicking' pads. i made it for relieving the 'dry skin itch' that's common in the winter months. the unit is very powerful and covers an average of 1000 sq. ft. (but can be adjusted from 100 to 1500 sq. ft.)
HOW IT WORKS: The screening material 'catches and suspends' much of the falling water and 'water droplets' from the over 100 water streams generated inside of the unit. Fans are then used to blow the room air over, through and around the wet screening which causes the air in the unit to rapidly humidify. once humidified, the air shoots out the vents and back into the room. unit holds 3 gallons (1 covers the pump) the other 2 are useable. and last about 8 hours each.
Unit has an evaporation rate of 1 pint per/hr. (about 0.5 liters per hr.). that's roughly 3 gallons a day, *which covers 1000 sq. ft. (*slower fans for less coverage or faster fans for more coverage) also, note that the unit is an 'evaporative humidifier' so it somewhat self-regulates *meaning that as the humidity levels in the room rise the evaporative rate proportionally decreases so the air in the room never gets overly humid.
Note: the unit can actually be used without the fans if you're only humidifying a smaller space (50-200 sq.ft.) the water streams actually create their own draft or 'air currents' inside the box so the unit will work in smaller areas with no fans at all. (using no fans reduces the evaporation rate by 75% to 80%).
A FEW BENEFITS: Relieves that wintertime 'dry skin itch', reduces static-electricity and static electric shocks, helps with dry eyes and throat, helps ease allergy symptoms, loosens congestion, and can help to ease cold/flu symptoms.
CLEANING THE UNIT: Cleaning the unit is just 3 easy steps... first, remove the screen and shake it out (every 12 hours or so) (outside). just a couple of good shakes and all of the water is removed (the screen will be totally dry in 2 to 5 minutes after that). Secondly, the PVC 'feet' are removable so just pull them off and drain the tubing. Then lastly just wipe down the inside of unit with a paper towel and you're done. just doing those 3 things keeps the unit clean and mold-free. and the whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
One Side Benefit is that it sounds nice. it has very quiet fans and the water sounds like a gently flowing stream or brook. very relaxing sound.
(sounds just as good or better than the indoor waterfalls and "water features" that i've had in the past).
Main Parts
the tote......... 7.5 Gallon Sterilite clear plastic tote with lid
the fans......... 80mm 12v DC 2.5 watt 24 cfm (quiet and smooth), blue-lit
the water pump... 10 watts AC or DC 160 GPH
the total power.. 15 watts, so only pennies a day to run.
The PVC and Misc.
It's all standard (schedule 40) 1/2" PVC Pipe
...Eight 90 Degree PVC elbow joints
...Two PVC 'end caps'
...One PVC 'tee coupler' (with threads in center).
...One 1/2" nylon barbed/threaded adapter.
One foot of 1/2" clear vinyl tubing (ID).
Two small 'worm gear' clamps.
PVC pipe cement (i used the clear kind)
12v dc plug
OF INTEREST: Unit is based on a commercial model that i once owned (but they don't sell anymore). in my opinion it's better than either type of humidifier that they currently sell because it solves both the 'white residue' issue of the ultrasonic models and the moldy pad issue of the absorbent pad humidifiers.
Another plus... since all that evaporates with this unit is pure water the only thing you need to use is plain tap water. there's no benefit to using filtered, purified or distilled water with this design.
**the model I made is both AC and DC but you can switch it to 100% DC (for off grid operation) by simply using a 12v water pump. then you can run the whole unit on a 12v battery or a 12v solar panel.
One last stat., since it's only 15 watts, the cost to run it is very minimal. (at 15 cents per kwh it's 5.4 cents a day or $1.62 a month) (running it 24/7 for 30 days).
Пікірлер: 22
I Thank you for the many hours you have invested into the products you engineer, as well as posting excellent tutorials, that are easy to follow. On behalf of my late husband that was a big fan of your channel year after year, I'll say "Well Done". : ) Warm ((Hugs)) and holiday wishes to you and yours, from a Nor Cali Gal.
@desertsun02
6 ай бұрын
hi there and thank you for the kind words. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you too! (sorry to hear of your loss)🙏🌹
While I don't need a device like this myself, I still very much enjoy all the DIY idea you share with us. Thanx and keep'em coming.
Very interesting, was looking for a way to change an old humidifier from the big fat white wick that has to be bought and replaced. Might try to adapt to this with the screening and water sprinkling and use the built in fan. The pump could be small and just need to pour water on the screen pad. I am so glad you thought of this.
Plenty of humidity in Florida but thankful ever so much for your sand heaters!! I just bought land yesterday.
Great video! Thank you! Excellent description of use.
@desertsun02
6 ай бұрын
hi and thank you! 🙂
Just made one of these bad boys. Ended up using two 80 GPH pumps, one per leg of the PVC (so I used an additional tee + barb). After 6 years of operating a evaporative wick humidifier I've had enough. The wick gets disgusting within a week of buying a new one. The ultrasonic style is a total health disaster unless you use distilled water. Then there are steam console humidifiers but they're expensive and inefficient. Finally, the few non-wick evaporative humidifiers are insanely expensive and complicated (like the Venta Air ones). It's all so ridiculous! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction with this build. Excited to see how it performs. I'm sure I'll do another iteration or two.
@desertsun02
2 ай бұрын
hi there. it's great that you made it! sounds like you've got a great unit. different pump but that should be okay (as long as you get strong water flow). one tip is that i think you can use much stronger fans (to get even more humidity faster) if you want. that would be something to experiment with.
So here's the good part... I built your design for the solar air conditior so this also basically that unit easly converted for either use. !:- )
Good for orchard rooms in Fl. Cool idea.
@desertsun02
5 ай бұрын
hi there. i hadn't thought of that use. now that i think about it there are probably lots of uses for these units. the only thing i was thinking at the time was something to get rid of the winter dry skin itch. btw, thanks for subscribing.🙂👍
@reaznb
5 ай бұрын
Yea here in Florida we get a lot of humidity but extra for a greenhouse especially orchids would be great. Not to mention the sound of the water. Great videos really enjoy then.
@barnabyvonrudal1
5 ай бұрын
I thought evaporative coolers weren't effective in high humidity areas
Another brilliant Vid! Thanks for the info!!!!!
@desertsun02
6 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
What if you used a fan over some of the holes to help draw the humidity out? Maybe a paddle connected to the fan blades so the falling water could turn the fans and save on power costs?
I was curious what you think of an idea to intensify the cooling. 1) Is it needed? 2) Would my idea work? If there were a large enough cavity in the middle to fit frozen half-gallon or gallon bottles, would they impede the functionality? If not, perhaps three pipes on each end with a pipe going down one side connecting the two sections would have a similar amount of surface area for water droplets - just colder. Regarding sound proofing, I'm assuming the bulk of the noise is from the water falling eighteen inches onto other water, so what if its drop was reduced? What if the screen was angled down from the sides, catching water similar to how people try to collect rain water outside. That would reduce the distance any water would fall, but would it impact the operation? In any event, I've watched a few of your videos, so thanks for the wonderful ideas!
@desertsun02
13 күн бұрын
hi. since it's an evap. humidifier there is no need for any ice. ice would cool the air coming out but that won't increase the moisture output. in terms of the sound, you can adjust the screen inside the unit to make it sound pretty much how you want it to sound. (from nearly silent to a 'water trickling' sound). it's all in the way you position it inside of the unit. the unit has a very soothing sound to the ear either way. it's only louder if you don't use any screen material.
hi do you think its possible to sound proof this? i would have to run this all day because i live in northern europe and it gets very very dry here
My shower makes so much steam the fire alarm in the hall goes on.
@desertsun02
6 ай бұрын
i had that same issue with an older alarm. hasn't happened with the new alarm... yet