Fuente Humidifier Bag

I placed an order through Amazon.com for a large Fuente humidifier bag, sold and shipped by Cuenca Cigars, and gave it to my husband as a gift. The package arrived quickly by USPS.

Inside the package (excellent packaging by the way) was a very Large Fuente Humidifier Bag and also a complimentary Cuenca 6x60 "house cigar", which my husband absolutely loved!!!

The Fuente Humidifier is a laminated bag with a resealable zipper and includes Humidipak's patented 2-way humidity control technology to maintain a 70% humidity level. Once the bag is opened, it's good for 6 months with no maintainence! After six months, just throw the bag away. This is perfect for him while he researches Humidors (he is leaning towards Adorini) and also for myself if I decide to purchase some cigars for my husband, I can just place them in this bag until I give it to him for his Birthday, Christmas, etc.

Here are the specifications from Humidipak.com:

Model: Large Bag

Humidipak inside (%RH): 70% RH

Dimensions (WxH): 12" x 16"

Storage Capacity: Up to 2 boxes

Working Life: 6-mos, after opening

Zipper-Type: Side load

My husband then emailed Cuenca Cigars and thanked them for the Cuenca "House Blend" cigar he received and then inquired about ordering a box of them.

Well, much to his surprise, shortly after sending the email, my husband quickly received a response from Mr. Cuenca, thanking him and also providing a link so that he could order a box of these 6x60 House Blend Cigars named "Cuenca Happy"!

I highly recommend Cuenca Cigars for both their outstanding Customer Service, Cigars, and Humidifiers!

I discovered these bags in a cigar shop while on vacation and bought one. Once you open the bag, it is good for about 6 months before you need a new one. This is how it works: Inside the bag is a small packet that looks much those you get for towelettes. When you open the bag, write the expiration date on the little packet with a permanent pen but do not tear or damage the packet in anyway. The expiration date is six months from the time you first opened the bag. You don't have to write the expiration date but it is handy to do so. And then place your cigars in the bag and zip it up. You're done. I like these because I can travel with the them and they are very low maintenance. No if you are a cigar collector and want to age your cigars, go with a humidor with a digital hygrometer. But if you are like me and smoke a few cigars or enjoy bringing them to events or for others at a party, try this bag. You'll like it.

The medium bag will hold as many as 20 cigars without cramming them in.

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HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HAC-504 Replacement Filter Pad

Is there anywhere to buy the old filters without the blue wrapping.

I have used Honeywell Humidifiers for many years and never had the smell / mold problem you do with these filters, they are downright unhealthy.

I tried to rate these zero stars they are that bad but the system would not let me.

Please go back to the old filters

Bought a bunch of these replacement filters (10, I believe) for my Honeywell 2000 series humidifier.

This "enviracaire" blue wrapping was a new thing for me. HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HAC-504 Replacement Filter Pad Never seen it before, but figured what the heck, maybe it's new technology & will improve the filter's capability.

WRONG!!

My experience has been just the opposite. 1) It doesn't last as long, working only 2-4 weeks before it's efficacy diminishes, whereas the 'older' filters with the plastic/wire mesh would easily last 3-4 months, sometimes longer depending on use. 2) Using the old filters, I would often take them out after some heavy use, clean them, and descale them before continuing to use them. Only after months of use & hard build-up would they lose their efffectiveness & need to be changed. With these "enviracaire" filters the build up isn't heavy at all, it maybe something else (see #5 below), they just lose their effectiveness very quickly.

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3) I've been using humidifiers for nearly 9 years. I have a wine cellar & walk-in humidor, and for those of you who partake in those hobbies, you know how important it is to maintain proper storage conditions. So you might say that, yes, I do have experience in the use of humidifiers and environmental control. 4) I bought my last batch of (these) replacement filters from KAZ. When I began using the filters & encountering problems I contacted kaz to complain. Well, the customer service person who contacted me proceeded to tell me how it must be MY HUMIDIFIER that's not working properly as the filters work fine in hers! RIGHT!!!!! Does she use hers as extensively as I use mine?! I've been using the current humidifier(s) for three years with no prior problems to this!!!

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5) Now here's the worse part, IMO. WHAT'S WITH THE FILMY/MOLDY STUFF THAT BUILDS UP?! When I began using these "enviracaire" filters, I began seeing a filmy, moldy build up in my humidifier's water system. Even after I thoroughly clean the filter housing & install a new filter, at about the 2-4 week mark (when the filter's efficacy starts to diminidsh), the unit gets this filmy/moldy build-up in the filter housing compartment and in the water (but it doesn't get into the tank). Whether I use a few drops of a bacteriostatic or descaling in the water tank or not doesn't make a difference. Never seen that before, never seen it with the older filter types!! This filmy stuff may be the reason for the decreased function of the filetr, at least that's what I suspect.

So! Should you buy this filer?

You decide. Personally, I think that the manufacturer needs to know about these problems and take care of them.

As for me, I'm trying desperately to find the older style filters that had a wire-like/plastic outer mesh. Honeywell HAC504 Replacement Humidifier Filter They seemed to work just fine!!

Buy HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HAC-504 Replacement Filter Pad Now

Original Honeywell filter for much less the price in the retail store. Works for me.

Read Best Reviews of HONEYWELL/ENVIRACAIRE HAC-504 Replacement Filter Pad Here

I've noticed a bad smell when I use these filters after only a few days use. The old ones without the blue air purifier didn't smell like this. I will not use these again even if I have to buy a new humidifier when I can't find the old HAC-504 filters.

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This replacement filter suddenly began to emit a really foul odor. I soaked it for ten minutes as per the instructions but when I put it back in, the odor came back and my eyes started to burn. I realized I had to throw the thing out, which means I have no humidifier while the air is now very humid. Meanwhile I had to open the windows, with the temperature about 10 degrees outside, to get rid of the pungent odor and the sensation in my eyes still not gone, several hours later. They need to re-do this filter, it is a Zero.

Holmes HM3656U Cool Mist Console Humidifier w/ Humidistat, 22w x 15d x 18h

After doing a LOT of reading/research on portable humidifiers, i decided on a Holmes unit. Unfortunately, it appears that Holmes is no longer making the large (whole-house) size units any more. There were a few still on Amazon, but one was over $200, not in my budget. This one was more reasonable, but didn't have many reviews, so knew it was a bit of a gamble. But everything else I've read about similar Holmes humidifiers of this size/type were good. The positives and negatives I read on other units seem consistent with this unit.

Positives:

Overall, it seems like a well-built unit, not flimsy. Vapor output is substantial. It does a good job of keeping the first floor of our 2500 sq. ft. home above 50%, and that is with the forced hot air furnace blowing dry, hot air all the time. It holds enough water to run 24 hours non-stop before refilling. Has a built-in humidistat, (not sure of accuracy, but seems close.) Has an indicator light for when it needs re-filled.

Negatives:

Auto-setting is not great. As has been said elsewhere auto mode allows it to cycle on and off when it reaches a desired humidity level. But when it gets there, it cycles on-and-off non-stop. Seems like this would be hard on the motor. But I knew this going into the purchase, and just figured on turning on/off manually (like all our old humidifiers), so this was not a deal-breaker for me. Water tanks are not flat on top, so when you re-fill, you have to help hold them up, or they could fall over and crack. This isn't really that big a deal either, but it could have been more convenient. (Tanks are on the left & right sides of the unit in the photo.)

That's pretty much it. Unit comes with wheels that snap in on the bottom, which seem sturdy. But I've read that people have had these snap off on some units (not on a Holmes, but still made me nervous), so we don't wheel it around.

On other thing to be aware of. The directions say to place this on an interior wall. I believe that's to prevent condensation on a cold exterior wall (or inside the wall?). We didn't have a lot of interior wall space that was free. So, if that's an issue for you, just something to consider.

Overall, despite a couple of minor (for me) issues, I feel like this is a well-made unit that should last for many years. Not a cheap/disposable piece of plastic junk that so many manufacturers are putting out these days. Noise from the unit seems a little louder than on a room-size unit, but we have it a room we don't watch tv in, so that's not an issue for us. On Low, it's not bad at all, but on Medium, it would be distracting, and on High, would really interfere with watching tv. Again, I don't think it's abnormally loud for the size of the unit, just something to be aware of.

We have had this unit for about 6 weeks. It's very easy to operate & move to different locations. It has a great filter indicator which displays when it needs to be changed. The water tanks need to be filled every other day. Cleaning the unit is very easy as well. There is a humidity indicator on the main panel. We do not run the unit during the day so in the morning we can see that the humidity level has risen from the high 40s to well into the 60s. We live in Arizona and it becomes very dry here during the winter season. This QUIET humidifier does the job in keeping sinuses, nasal passages moistened. Our brother-in-law who lives in Denver, Co (very,very dry) had the unit and was very happy with it. Since he is a respiratory therapist we thought that his recommendation and experience was was quite a positive review in our decision to purchase the unit. We were surprised by very negative review. We only use the unit on the constant cycle of 1(lowest cycle) and have not had a problem. We do agree the intermittant cycle would be annoying. We HIGHLY recommended this Holmes unit.

Buy Holmes HM3656U Cool Mist Console Humidifier w/ Humidistat, 22w x 15d x 18h Now

Purchased this model about a year ago. When using it in 'automatic' mode, the entire unit cycles (turns on & off) every 1 to 2 seconds. It's annoying & I can't see it lasting very long cycling so often. Called customer service & they said this is how it's supposed to work. Apparently Holmes doesn't know how to make a unit that has a buffer zone in it where it would turn on at say 30% and off at 35% humidity depending on what it's set at.

Read Best Reviews of Holmes HM3656U Cool Mist Console Humidifier w/ Humidistat, 22w x 15d x 18h Here

3-1/4 Aftermarket Humidifier Replacement Mineral Absorption pads (12 Pack)

These pads were for my father in law. He didn't know where to get them but he knew they were available on Amazon. He was right. They were shipped quickly and were the exact part needed.