Large Fan Power Humidifier w/ Manual Humidistat

We had an older model of the Aprilaire 700M installed many years ago. We replaced the fan and solenoid over the years - but over quite a few years (around 15 years). We also replaced the evaporative panel every few years, but that's normal maintenance. (The owner's manual says to replace it every year, but in our house, the humidifier only runs about 4 months a year.) The plastic case had gotten brittle, so when the solenoid wouldn't kick open this year, we decided to get another whole unit as we had been happy with the old one. The new one uses nearly the same frame and fits the same opening, so I had it the main unit installed in under an hour. The pictures don't show that the box also includes a saddle valve and 110V-to-24VAC transformer. You may not need the transformer, but in my case, the furnace's circuit board wasn't delivering 24VAC (though it must have at one time for the old unit to work), so I did end up using it. I also replaced the old saddle valve with the new one, since it was as old as the unit. The manual humidistat in the new 700M is smaller than the one in the old one, so that required covering over the old humidistat's opening in the air return and installing the new one near that. If I had any complaint about this unit, it would be that the humidistat knob is very small, and the full rotational travel of it is less than 180°. (That was true of the old one, too.) That makes it hard to get it dialed into the correct level humidity level. Once we get it set where we like it, we tend not to touch it. Our house is not very large (< 2000 sq ft), but it's also not particularly "tight" either. The Aprilaire 700M can keep the humidity in the high 40's - low 50's pretty effortlessly. It would do more, but we get a lot of condensation on the windows/doors if we go much above 45% RH, so we try to stay in the mid 40's. That's enough to keep me from getting shocked on every metal surface in the house.

The box arrived clearly damaged and patched with tape. This would indicate there was damage at some point but SupplyHouse felt it was not damaged enough to send back to manufacturer. Also, the external plastic water line that runs out from beneath the unit and into the copper water line - is very sensitive and prone to leaking. It took a a very tenured HVAC professional 3 hours to get it just right to stop the slow leaking.