Aprilaire - Model 600

i would never advise anyone to get a steam humidifier who does not have to. buy an aprialaire 600 bypass with the 65 controller that can run your furnace fan until humidity reaches setpoint. too much discharge water is because the orifice isnt right. they sell orifices. also, dont use piercing valves. they sell 1/4 turn valves. use that. you can control water excess with the 1/4 turn valve and the orifice. steam humidifiers are absolutely ridiculous.

We charge about $1200 for an Aprilaire Model 600. Includes water line, low voltage wiring, 120 connected to transformer, bypass duct, humidistat controller, everything. I thought everyone does Aprilaire. Is your house, huge? Is there some reason you're asking for these 2 specific models? Edit: oh I see that first one is an Aprilaire. It's just a different type of humidifier. Unfortunately I'm not as familiar with them. But again, I'd question why you want that one instead of an Aprilaire Model 600 (by FAR the most common in my experience).

All you need is an Aprilaire Model 600. Easiest most common. Find someone to do it in the 900-1400 range. Depending on pricing in your area. Easy peasy. If you're in MN we will do it for you haha. Just my 2 cents. Been with my company 7.5 years and in sales just over 2 years.

Some clarification on his comment, I also wouldn't recommend a saddle valve (I call it a piercing valve) but the first quote is saying, I believe, "replace the saddle valve with a turn-ball valve". Regardless, it sounds like do not go with that first quote. WAY too high. The condensate pump, don't you already have condensate, for sure for an A/C cooling coil above the furnace, and maybe also for the furnace if it is high efficiency with PVC vent pipes. Shouldn't need a new condensate pump, but I'm not 100% sure you're setup. More just assuming. Otherwise yeah the 2nd quote might be just a bit high. Either use them or get one more quote. Again, I would just do an Aprilaire Model 600. Or a basic similar bypass humidifier. Should be 900-1400 I don't know if you're rural or city.

I feel your pain. We moved to Colorado a few years ago and finally found a solution that works. At first I had a whole home unit (AprilAire 600) hooked up to my furnace but since I have a tankless water heater so it will only run when the heat is on which is not long enough to increase the humidity to a decent level. So here is the unit I found on Amazon and for the last 3 days it has put 18 gallons of water into the air in my home and increased the humidity from low 20's to 40%. Not just one room either, my whole home. Let me know if you have any questions. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGR1N9T6?ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGR1N9T6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) EDIT: Oh yeah, it is an evaporative unit so no white dusk and it is very easy to clean.

Humidifiers make water. I install them on the return side so that if there is a water issue it's into your duct work, not onto your heat exchanger (furnace). The 600m is fine and less technology means fewer points of failure.

600 is a bypass air humidifier. 720 is fan powered. 800 is steam. 720 is 60% more water efficent over 600 model, has an easy to change hydrocore, and is better performing. While having no performance drop on 2 stage and variable speed furnaces. I'd go 720

Ive never heard of a single stage A/C that can't be paired to a two stage or modulating furnace before. Blower speed for the furnace heating will be variable, however for A/C cooling it will be a single constant airflow speed. To be honest with your current configuration the 600 will do just fine. However if you are considering a two stage model, which I will highly recommend, it should be paired to a 720 series.

As long as your return is 10” wide a 600 or 620 should work, good thing to know about the Automatic stat is it really needs a ODT to function the way it’s designed. Still nice to control the humi with the blower though if you can’t do get an ODT to work anywhere

Get the 720a. The 600 and 700 are good units but old designs. They are great and I recommend, install, and sell them all the time. I didn’t know April air came up with a new unit and I looked it up from seeing this post. The 720a looks like it solves A LOT of problems those two older models have. The old units use a ton of water, run a lot, and sometimes leak. The 600 is good if you don’t have a 120v plug nearby. The 700 is good for tight spaces, but you need a plug. If you really want a super high end humidifier you should get the steam model. You can make your 4600 sq ft house the Amazon rain forest with those. But they are expensive, have expensive maintenance, and are sometimes over kill.

A 600 can be 1300. 700 will be the same but in Maryland it has to have its own gfi plug so it ends up being 2300. The 720a should be the same. But honestly, anyone with a pair of tin snips and the ability to read the install manual should be able to do this on their own.

Bypass humidifiers aren't junk. I'm not sure why anyone would say that other than a lack of understanding on how they work. If your house is relatively new or has tight construction and is around 2500 sqft. Put in a model 600Aor 620A. Use the digital humidistat that comes with it, use the blower activation. It's unfortunate that you have a tankless water heater because plumbing to hot water is better. Steam humidifiers have a lot more fault points and a much higher cost of operation and service. They do provide a lot of humidity quickly. I'm the case of humidifiers, if you install a bypass humidifier, start it running in fall as soon as you turn on your heat it will maintain your humidity properly throughout the winter.

You asked them to quote a humidifier they are trying to sell you a Cadillac. Did someone come out to take a look? The only real reason to put in a fan powered humidifier is because the installer can't get to both the supply and return ducts. You should install an Aprilaire model 600 (or 620) if possible. Also... One quote has a new power circuit and drain pump the other doesn't. Do you need those? Saddle valves are not to code but everyone uses them anyway.

Get a 600A unless your thermostat has humidifier control built in. The model 60 that comes with the 600A has blower activation which will sample your air hourly and run as needed to maintain humidity. Knowing the house size is great but knowing where you are generally located is also helpful. Climate, building style and equipment vary by location in the country.

The 720 is a brand new humidifier with unproven failure points. Same with the 620. Plus the water panel assembly is going to be a more expensive change. And my understanding is the 720 is louder than the old 700. I would stand by the 600. Aprilaie made the 620 and 720 save water but are you going to clean out the little orifice every time it plugs? The only way you know it's plugged is a loss of humidity. Then you have to go in with their little needle to hopefully clean it out?!? The OP lives outside Chicago where the mineral content in the water is definitely going to cause that to happen. Get a 600A if you don't use the Ecobee thermostat, a 600M if you do.

Get a 600A unless your thermostat has humidifier control built in. The model 60 that comes with the 600A has blower activation which will sample your air hourly and run as needed to maintain humidity. Knowing the house size is great but knowing where you are generally located is also helpful. Climate, building style and equipment vary by location in the country.

The 720 is a brand new humidifier with unproven failure points. Same with the 620. Plus the water panel assembly is going to be a more expensive change. And my understanding is the 720 is louder than the old 700. I would stand by the 600. Aprilaie made the 620 and 720 save water but are you going to clean out the little orifice every time it plugs? The only way you know it's plugged is a loss of humidity. Then you have to go in with their little needle to hopefully clean it out?!? The OP lives outside Chicago where the mineral content in the water is definitely going to cause that to happen. Get a 600A if you don't use the Ecobee thermostat, a 600M if you do.

Yes. The difference between the M and A is the humidistat so you're getting started to the cheaper option because you're going to throw out the manual humidistat. The Ecobee is going to be your humidifier control. The humidifier will run without heat at times (I assume the Ecobee can do that). There is a slight drop in output for the model 600 (all evaporative humidifiers) when there isn't hot air so it's recommended to plumb to hot water.

go with the 600 tried and true. the 800 is a steam unit and for max humidity you need a 220 volt line. as far as a service standpoint the 600 all day.

An AprilAire 600 would be the closest thing to what you have and fairly simple to install. You might have to cut the hole slightly bigger. You could also elect for the newer 620 model. I would recommend you pipe the humidifier to hot water if it isn't already, and install the digital control that enables blower activation. That will help you get more humidity when the furnace isn't running a lot. Unfortunately, upgrading to significantly higher humidification capacity would require either a second humidifier (if you have another furnace) or going to a steam humidifier which is more expensive, and also requires a new electrical circuit. I see a lot of minerals on the duct, it appears the old unit was leaking extensively. Just a reminder that you have to change the water pad every year (sometimes more often with extremely hard water), or it can crust up with minerals and leak out. Crusted pads do not humidify effectively because the airflow is blocked. Also make sure you have the water flow turned all the way up, the extra water helps flush the minerals and prevents the pad from crusting up so fast.

You can install a Model 600 on a 12" wide duct. The opening is 10" wide so it will just fit. I can't tell from your photos, but is there room to put it on the backside of the furnace plenum above the A/C coil?

No, why bother when that when Aprilaire makes an adapter plate for narrow ducts? You’ll have to switch to the Model 600 instead of the 620 but they’re practically the same. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Aprilaire-5557-APRILAIRE-Humidifier-Adapter-Plate-for-Models-400-400M-600-600M

What type of furnace do you have (gas/heat pump, single/dual/modulating stage)? And how much does it run in the winter? Ecobee should report runtime. If it's less than 30 minutes per hour on cold days, then I would advise going with a fan powered humidifier piped to hot water. More than 30 minutes per hour on cold days you should be okay with bypass.

It's not the coldest part of the winter yet, but that runtime is still bit low. I would advise you install the humidifier piped to hot water and with the digital control (Model 600 not 600M) for blower activation for enhanced humidity output. Someone else mentioned the 720A as another option, they are both comparable in output, quote both if desired.