good cheap humidifier??

[Ray]

With a big-enough air stone and a big-enough air pump, it's VERY effective.

Just be sure to use a tall "tank", as the bursting micro-bubbles will soak the area around it.

[mmmolter]

Could you please define "big enough air stone" and "big enough tank"?

Marilyn

[Connie Star]

I use an ultrasonic humidifier in the living room/greenhouse. I put the water for it thru a Brita filter which removes some of the calcium, I think. I have hard well-water so I still get that white dust on the plants. Every so often I clean the transducer with that indispensable and always available tool, my fingernail.
In the bathroom where I have a few orchids I use an evaporative humidifier. I rarely have to fill it, which says to me that it's not doing much. The humidity comes mostly from showers.
I don't have the ideal solution and mostly I just keep my plants as happy as I can until the warmer (and moister) weather.

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 PM ----------

I forgot to add that I keep the most vulnerable plants in a little plastic tent near the ultrasonic humidifier. Masdies, mainly.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Thanks for the input everyone! Especially mr ray!!

How have you been Connie? I miss talking to you an all the other regulars on chat!

I found one! It's at sears. It's a moistair brand and I ant recall the model and stuff. But its a wick type, which is ideal because of my water. It says that it has a 3 gallon output rate or something like that. An the water tank is 2 gallons and supposedly it runs for 24 hours without needing filled. It has some kind of different settings for humidity levels as well. And the best part, ONLY $30!!!!

My water isn't hard, but I get water spots occasionally. So the wick type should be ideal.

[Call_Me_Bob]

picked it up today its so quiet!

it has 4 different fan speeds. and a humidistat/hygrometer. it tells me what the current RH is and i can set the desired RH and it will run until it reaches that Rh and will maintain it as well

[bballr4567]

I'd grab a digital one regardless and place it at a different location to get a true readout. Mine reads right at the humidifier and of course it's going to be good right by the machine. I found its about 10% off on the generous side.

[Call_Me_Bob]

thats alright, i assumed it would be a little off, but its better tha a total guess

[Ray]

Originally Posted by mmmolter

Could you please define "big enough air stone" and "big enough tank"?

Marilyn

Sorry to take so long to respond....it's been busy here.

It's all a matter of scale - "so much" volume of air through "so much" air stone area results in "X" thousand bubbles per minute. Increasing the size of the air stone and the volume of air gets you a lot more saturated air per unit time.

Increasing the air flow alone results in bigger bubbles with lower surface-to-volume ratios, so they might not get saturated before the erupt and "dump" their contents into the atmosphere. Increasing the air stone alone adds nothing, as you'd be air-volume limited by your pump.

[Freddie]

I wouldn't get an ultrasonic humidifier, especially if you put it in your bedroom. I find they leave water marks on surfaces...

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by Freddie

I wouldn't get an ultrasonic humidifier, especially if you put it in your bedroom. I find they leave water marks on surfaces...

thanks for the input! thats what i had before, and i did get water marks on some things. the one i got is a wick type so hopefully it will be better!