Decent Humidifier with auto start

I am looking for a decent humidifier to incorporate into a couple rooms I am building. I am having a lot of trouble finding one with auto start...they are all programmable it seems like when you get to a decent size and the ones I have found aren't worth a shit. I need it to autostart because I am using relays to turn on and off automatically. Any suggestions?

I can't find a programmable humidifier that isn't industrial.

Like this place,

https://www.growerssupply.com "greenhouse humidifier", "Humidity Control & Accessories"

Most everything has an environmental controller. Nothing really self contained.

Beehive said:

I can't find a programmable humidifier that isn't industrial.

Like this place,

https://www.growerssupply.com "greenhouse humidifier", "Humidity Control & Accessories"

Most everything has an environmental controller. Nothing really self contained.

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Yeah I was hoping to find one that resumes when it loses and regains power so it is easier for me to control with my environment controllers.

dbz said:

Yeah I was hoping to find one that resumes when it loses and regains power so it is easier for me to control with my environment controllers.

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Back up computer supply battery to the controller.

I have a couple of ink birds for humidity control. They don't lose their settings after power off. I'm using one plugged into the light timer for day humidity levels. Its turned off and on everyday. No reset.

I think Anden and Quest are the industry standards.

Beehive said:

Back up computer supply battery to the controller.

I have a couple of ink birds for humidity control. They don't lose their settings after power off. I'm using one plugged into the light timer for day humidity levels. Its turned off and on everyday. No reset.

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Not the controllers...the humidifier itself. Most on the market, upon losing power require you to physically press a button to turn them back on.

6x12 room so I dont need a 400 dollar one. I did find this one which looks promising since it has analog controls instead of digital

I currently do use inkbirds, although I am almost done with my rasberry pi atmospheric controller and will switch to that in my flowering room. Never had a problem with inkbird products.

dbz said:

Not the controllers...the humidifier itself. Most on the market, upon losing power require you to physically press a button to turn them back on.

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Mr Dbz, I haven't seen a humidifier that wasn't analogue. I'm sure they make programmable but the power for the analogue goes through the controller.

Beehive said:

Mr Dbz, I haven't seen a humidifier that wasn't analogue. I'm sure they make programmable but the power for the analogue goes through the controller.

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Odd 99 percent of the medium cost ones I see have digital controls not analog which generally after a power off (inkbird turning them off for example) means the power button on the humidifier needs to be pressed before it will turn back on even when it is powered back on by the eg inkbird controller.
I think I didn't communicate well, but most of the medium price humidifiers have digital displays and buttons. These dont work with a separate controller like inkbird because you have to physically press the power button on the humidifier to get it to turn back on.
Meanwhile one with analog controls like a potentiometer knob and switch work perfect with controllers or relays like inkbird.

dbz said:

Odd 99 percent of the medium cost ones I see have digital controls not analog which generally after a power off (inkbird turning them off for example) means the power button on the humidifier needs to be pressed before it will turn back on even when it is powered back on by the eg inkbird controller.
I think I didn't communicate well, but most of the medium price humidifiers have digital displays and buttons. These dont work with a separate controller like inkbird because you have to physically press the power button on the humidifier to get it to turn back on.
Meanwhile one with analog controls like a potentiometer knob and switch work perfect with controllers or relays like inkbird.

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I bet its because I'm cheap. I buy the humidifiers from the medical section at the grocery store. I get the ultrasonic Vicks brand. All it has is a dial. A dial that does nothing but control the output.

If I upgraded. It'd be a mini Hydrofogger brand($300). Its analogue too.

Beehive said:

I bet its because I'm cheap. I buy the humidifiers from the medical section at the grocery store. I get the ultrasonic Vicks brand. All it has is a dial. A dial that does nothing but control the output.

If I upgraded. It'd be a mini Hydrofogger brand($300). Its analogue too.

The Hydrofogger humidifier is an effective and economical solution to humidification in the workplace

Humidifiers for Commercial and Industrial use- humidification, hydroponics, printing, concrete, tobacco by Hydrofogger. Applications are for manufacturing, mushroom growing, orchids, laboratories, winery, agriculture, furniture, plastics and vegatable storage.

www.hydrofogger.com

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Yeah the cheap ones are all like that. I am experiencing about 20 percent ambient humidity so they don't up my humidity as much or efficiently as I wanted. Its very hard to find bigger ones that aren't quite at the commercial level with analog controls. Outside of the 300 and up ones like you recommended the one I have posted is all I have found.

dbz said:

Yeah the cheap ones are all like that. I am experiencing about 20 percent ambient humidity so they don't up my humidity as much or efficiently as I wanted. Its very hard to find bigger ones that aren't quite at the commercial level with analog controls. Outside of the 300 and up ones like you recommended the one I have posted is all I have found.

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Buy more then one. I use two in a walk in closet. Both on full blast. Its 44% outside right now. My settings are 57% with 7% difference. I haven't looked in a couple hours but it's probably hanging around 55%.

When the humidity falls below 30%. I need a third one in the bedroom. So one in the room, two in the grow room. The only pain is the water usage. I only use RO water in the humidifiers. It stretches my RO system on dry days.

Beehive said:

Buy more then one. I use two in a walk in closet. Both on full blast. Its 44% outside right now. My settings are 57% with 7% difference.

When the humidity falls below 30%. I need a third one in the bedroom. So one in the room, two in the grow room. The only pain is the water usage. I only use RO water in the humidifiers. It stretches my RO system on dry days.

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You know, i should have thought about using more than one. Albeit id rather use one with a larger tank

dbz said:

You know, i should have thought about using more than one. Albeit id rather use one with a larger tank

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All mine are 1 gallon. Its rare they both run out at the same time overnight. Usually a 1/4 tank left.

I bought Horticat U80 with a direct water line to it. No need to fill a tank all the time. I love it

dbz said:

I am looking for a decent humidifier to incorporate into a couple rooms I am building. I am having a lot of trouble finding one with auto start...they are all programmable it seems like when you get to a decent size and the ones I have found aren't worth a shit. I need it to autostart because I am using relays to turn on and off automatically. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

I run a Noma brand DEhumidifier that I just bought and it will auto start on a timer. I'm sure they make humidifiers too; maybe that might be a place to check.

dbz said:

I am looking for a decent humidifier to incorporate into a couple rooms I am building. I am having a lot of trouble finding one with auto start...they are all programmable it seems like when you get to a decent size and the ones I have found aren't worth a shit. I need it to autostart because I am using relays to turn on and off automatically. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

I think this will work, it has analog controls with digital display. I have a 3 year old version, before they added the display.

dbz: Let me help. I know where you're going with your question. Find just any old/newer evaporative type humidifier. The ones with a wet filter and a fan. Never mind the guts, you're likely gonna rip them out, anyway. Very first thing, check the fan voltage. If it's 110 volts, ......get the picture? Tear all the electronic shit out, put a Home Despot 110-volt dimmer switch ($10), in series with the fan, through the cord, right to your line. Plug it in, turn the switch on, set the speed you want the humidifier fan to run at and you're all set. If you still need humidity control, plug this into your InkBird, NIWA, your fav controller, or a humidistat. Guaranteed to auto-restart every time. You only need to turn the fans on or off with evaporative humidifiers. And for $10, you get a bonus: variable fan speed!.........bet this might just fill the bill for you. If you don't know electricity, have a friend that knows electricity (or an electrician) help you. After reading this, any of those can figure this out in their heads. Don't mean to sound condescending. I don't know your skills. Be safe.....

You can buy wifi smart controllers that are universal or one of these units


I use the Trolmaster Legacy Dehumidifier controllers alongside one of the above units with great success and accuracy within 3 °F and 2% humidity.

His issue was that if there's a power failure, nearly all the humidifiers on the market will not auto-restart, requiring manual pushbutton restart. He has his own controller system. Even with your controller, if there's a power failure it's likely you will have to restart it. The exception being the older type with dial humidistats......

You will struggle to find any electrical item that will auto power on after the power is disconnected.