Aprilaire - Model 600

We just installed the Aprilaire 600m w/ auto sensor right after installing new hardwood floors. Haven't used it long enough yet to comment on performance other than to say it smells. There is a definite (chemical) smell coming up my bedroom vents, particularly right after the furnace shuts off. It's pretty strong and unpleasant. We already swapped out the filter after 1 month use. New filter stunk immediately. One of the service guys suggested we try a cheaper filter made out of cloth material. I'll give that a shot next. Also, on the times the humidifier kicks on, I hear a loud pipe bang when the furnace/humidifier shuts off. It kept waking me up the 1st couple of nights because it was running every time the furnace kicked on. Now, the humidifier only runs every so often. Maybe after a few months, I won't notice the noise as much? Full disclosure: the furnace is only 15 ft away in the basement. I'm giving some thought to shutting it down and just setting bowls of water on registers in each room thru the winter months since I don't have pets. Could have saved $790 if I knew ahead of time. I have no idea if this is normal or not. I live in a modest 1,150 sq ft ranch home for reference. Yes, the 600 is probably overkill. I wanted the 400, but installer only carried the 600 and wasn't willing to order a 400 for me because he buys 600's in bulk and said it wouldn't matter. So that's been my experience so far. Good luck.

Yes. Our house is 2500sf and an Aprilaire 600 (5.375W x 15.75H x 10.25D) works without warm water but it needs to be inside the house beyond freezing temps. As long as the humidifier is inside your home (protected from freezing temperatures), it should work on return air side. There are humidifiers that don't use water drain. But they do require maintenance every 6 mo or so. You are aware these humidifiers require water drain?

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.

60 percent humidity in the dead of winter is insanely high. You would need a large whole-home steam unit to get to that point and you would have condensation dripping down your windows and, eventually, mold growth issues. In the dead of winter, 30-35/40% is a reasonable target and a whole-home bypass unit can get you there. I have an Aprilaire 600M and it works great. If your water is exceptionally hard, you have to change out the filter a bit more often, but it's a good unit overall. Our water is exceptionally hard and I am changing out the filter every 2-3 months and descaling the water tray once a year--much less work than standalone units and it's easy to do yourself. We put ours on the near max setting and it can sustain around 37-39% humidity even on the driest of days, and our home is a new build with a high-efficiency gas furnace, so it is *extremely* dry without it. (On the max setting, we start to get condensation on the windows, which you do not want.) If you had one before and it leaked, it was not installed properly. Installed correctly, they are reliable, low-upkeep, efficient, and effective. But, again, a reasonable target in the dead of winter is 30-40%. If you want higher than that, you would need something like an Aprilaire 800, but I do not recommend this.

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.

Depends on what brands your getting quoted aprilaire is the king here and most others I've seen tend to junk out after a few years that's a fair price for the work being done

Aprilaire whole home system is the way to go…

Mines worked flawless with basic maintenance for 5 years strong so🤷‍♂️

And no one cut any wires, it was an easy install along with a new blower and heating coil being installed at that same time.

Get a quote from Buric! They did our HVAC replacement a few years ago and we added an AprilAire humidifier at that time. They were great and other family have used them since and also had good things to say.

That system is a piece of shit. Just Google the reviews or look on YouTube. Not only is it a piece of shit but they designed it so if you have it installed they will cut out your wires and you will not be able to replace it with a normal thermostat without getting expensive wires repulled through your walls.

The system uses a proprietary control panel with a touch screen that is not connect with the standard set of wires. They most definitely did cut the wires to interface the control panel at your furnace/air handler. There is no other way to wire it. Google install Aprilaire. They have a YT showing you exactly that.