Essick Air 4D7 300 Whole-House Console-Style Evaporative Humidifier, Lith Oak

It appears that the first guy to review this humidifier didn't bother to read the directions. He said there is no way to tell if the unit needs to be refilled. That is completely incorrect. The digital readout will indicate the level of humidity in the air but if one of the bottles is empty an "F" displays on the left or right to tell you that the bottle on that side needs to be filled. This unit definitely does the job but it is quite flimsy and it is very noisy. I find it hard to justify the $180 price based on build quality but it does do the job.

This humidifier does an amazing job. It raises the humidity in our entire home(split level)to a comfortable level where the winter skin-crawling sensation stops and the static-electricity in our hair and clothes goes away. Bemis/Essick stands behind their product better than any company I've encountered. Our motor froze-up and they replaced it at no charge even though it was out of warranty. They had no legal obligation to do so, but did it anyway because they had received a bad bunch of motors. They apparently value their customers and reputation.

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We didn't buy this through Amazon, but I need to review it where I can. We have had to replace the power head three times dut to malfunctions, and the third time took about four months and only did we get it after complaining to the BBB!

Overall the unit does provide humidity and it is noisy on the high fan settings, but for this level of humididty to cover this volume what would you expect.

Problems with the third head now are that it doesn't notify when the tanks are out, so we have to just check it daily, but I'm not going to go through the H*** I just went through to get a new head.

The intake filters are a joke as they restrict the air flow so much, a lot goes around the filter as it has no positive seal to the unit (really, it just sits on the side).

Now, the stoppers on the tanks wont seal properly so unless I carry the tanks upright I'll dribble water all over the place (deal with Essick NO!). I'll just have to make sure that if we turn off the unit to pull the tanks.

I seriously wish there was a unit that oculd put out this much humidity and not have the issues...

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I agree with another review that said it is not worth the $180 price tag! This unit is very flimsy. And noisy? Gadz, if it's in the same room with you, and set on the lowest fan speed, the noise from it will drive you up the wall! On the higher speeds...I think standing next to a moving freight train would not be so loud. The old "water wheel" humidifiers were much quiter, and did a much better job of getting humidity into the air. The "clean air" filter on the back of the unit is USELESS! There is a large gap between the filter and the back of the unit.

Just like water, and electricity, moving air will also take THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE. In this case air is sucked more easily through the GAP than through the filter, rendering the filter useless! GREAT ENGINEERING...what were they thinking! I put the filter in the unit, traced it with a Sharpie marker, removed it and added foam weather stripping to the back of the unit to close off that gap.

UPDATE 1/21/2012. I found that the micro switch for the left tank was sticking so when the left bottle was empty the indictor to fill the bottle would not come on. This switch also has to work so that if both tanks go empty the unit will not run.

I called customer servise at Essick-Air, told the woman who answered what the problem was, and asked if they could just send me the switch and I would fix it myself. The way she talked to me was VERY RUDE! She told me I would have to return the entire unit to Amazon, and have them order me a replacement. I guess it is much better to inconvenience the buyer than it would be just to send out a 50 cent switch! Essick-Air is one company that I will never purchase from again, and I would not recomend their products to anyone!!

UPDATE 1/29/2012 Overall this humidifier does NOT do the job! It is used in an area of about 900 sq.ft. and it will NOT bring the humidity up to a comfortable level. It runs constantly. This unit has been in the same spot since I received it, and today I found my carpeting soaking wet!! It emptied the water all over the floor. This thing is a total piece of JUNK! Essick Air is poor engineering, poor quality, poor customer service, and way overpriced for the junk that it is.

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bought this item because of las vegas nv dry weather. the unit is supposed to humidify the whole home. with the blower on full speed to do that you would have to hide the unit in the garage and duct the air in because it is so loud. even at speed 1 (it has 9 speeds)it is louder than the floor stand fan i use to help it circulate the humidity. on occasion one refill bottle will empty and it doen't switch over to the other bottle and completely dries out the wick and the humidity drops dramatically. the caps that release the water from the bottles to the wick have a tendency to leak when you refill them so you have to be quick when putting them back into the unit or you will get water dripping on anything in their path which includes the control panel. when working properly it does a good job, but boy the manufacture does need better quality control.

Whynter 5 in 1 Evaporative Air Cooler (HAC-100S)

I bought this based on the other 2 user reviews, and now I'm convinced these were created by the manufacturer.

There's nothing positive I can say about this product, but as for the negatives...

It has barely any effect on the room temperature when set to air-cooling mode.

It's extremely loud and obnoxious. Seriously, it sounds just like an idling lawn mower.

Emits a nasty, exhaust-like smell.

Save yourself the time and money, you really don't want this product at any price.

EDIT (6/10/11): My suspicions about the other 2 reviewers (Ken Manning, Dave Martin) at the time of my purchase can be confirmed by their reviewing and tagging history. Look for yourselfBoth have only reviewed this product (with a raving positive review of course), and have tagged every Whynter product with an assortment of positive/descriptive adjectives. Ken Manning even went so far as to tag several competing products as "defective" and "not cold". Well, I know what brand NOT to trust now.

I bought this,and it really does suck, it broke after 4 months and did not work that well in the first place, and it was really loud. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY

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After reading the other reviews, my story is hardly unique here. The product worked (marginally, I might add) for about 3 weeks before beginning one night to emit a deafening, grinding noise. I disassembled the whole thing to see if I could figure out the problem. Didn't help. I emailed Whynter customer service and after several back and forth exchanges with basically useless ideas to fix it, I got a return authorization to send it back. I heard absolutely NOTHING from them for over six weeks until I basically hounded them about the whereabouts of my unit. After TWO MONTHS of waiting, it finally arrived again. I plugged it in and was greeted by...THE SAME HORRIBLE NOISE! After over two months, they fixed absolutely nothing. It sucks. They suck. Do yourself a favor and DON'T BUY THIS GARBAGE!

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Whynter Air Cooler/Heater/Humidifier

Timeframe: 2 months

My usage conditions: 51F to 78F, Humidity 60% to 80%

Functions used: Heater, evaporative air cooler, humidifier.

Design:

I selected this primarily for the design and color scheme. I did not want another white/beige appliance or some psychedelic blue or pink candy painted device. Conventionally shaped and subtle in overall appearance. Top marks.

Functionality: The Whynter air cooler is a misnomer, while it does a solid job cooling a 150square foot space, it does a whole lot more than cool. The heat was nice to have when the temperature dipped and the humidity control is very useful when dealing with dry air resulting from heater use. Intuitive and easy to control. The water tank at the base take a bit of jiggering to slide in and out but otherwise I do not have any issues with it. The filters built into the unit do provide some degree of purification. My room air purifier lasted about 30% longer before the indicator light came on. It is light weight and portable, but be careful when you move it with the water tank filled.

Quality:

Well built with softtouch controls. The remote control was responsive and fit nicely into the attached holster on the unit. Material is were primarily plastic. Easy to clean and maintain. Pre-filter is easily removed and cleaned. No fuss device.

Price:

Quite reasonable for all that it does. I would take this over 3 or 4 separate devices any day.

Overall:

One of my better purchases this year. top scores across the board.

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Whynter Eco-Friendly 5 in 1 Evaporative Air Cooler (HAC-100S)

Never quite experienced an air cooler before, it is decidedly a good product that does well for the price. This unit does a good job cooling at a fraction of the cost of an air conditioner and without the power consumption or setup needed. Don't expect the room to cool down significantly, air coolers don't work that way. This provides superior comfort in a 15ft radius.

In fact, I prefer to have this on compared to an air conditioner on dryer days.

I'm not an uber technical person but from my understanding, what it does is to use water to and the cooling effect of an evaporative process. This is especially useful for sensitive or dry skin. Currently used in the bedroom but am adding an additional unit in the den.

Not real setup is required, just fill the unit with water and set it on, it makes an odd noise when the water bucket is empty but just fill it up again and you'll be fine. The louvers are a little flimsy but can be popped back into place quite easily. It's easy to move around and small enough to put in most spaces. Oh, and it comes with handy heater mode too.

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Soleus Air PE2-08R-62 Evaporative Portable Air Conditioner, Dehumidifier and Fan, 8,000 BTUs

I cannot get a window unit due to my window size, and this unit came with a window kit that fit my windows. It worked absolutely perfect for 2 months. Then, on a particularly hot day, the bucket filled up with water and the unit shut off. I drained all the water, which is an absolute pain in the rear to do due to the drain being less than half an inch off the floor. The unit leaks water like a faucet ever since, all over the floor. There is really no effective way to use it anymore. I ordered a different brand that doesn't have water leakage issues. I should have listened to all the reviews I read. I practically paid several hundred dollars for a few months use. What a waste. The unit cools great, but what good is that with water all over your carpet? Stay away from this product.

UPDATE: The unit only leaks when moved. If the water reservoir fills up, and must be drained, the unit must be moved to do so because the drain plug is literally right on the floor and there is no pan or container you can get under it. The reservoir will fill eventually, the unit will have to be drained, will have to be moved, will leak. Once all the water leaks out that is going to leak the unit works great until its time to drain again. Like I said, it took 2 months before I had to drain, but this process was a major PIA. I would avoid this unit, but I still gave in another star because it does not leak except during the drainage process.

The best air conditioners are large central units that connect to a whole building HVAC. Since you're reading this review, it's likely that a central unit isn't a possibility for you like it wasn't for me. If you can put in a window unit, that is your next best bet but if that is not practical, you've got to go portable. You could get a nice fan or an air cooler but that's like taking the bus instead of driving. It's really not the same.

I have two portable air conditioners and both are made by Soleus. This is one of them and the other one is a 14,000 BTU unit. This one cools a 166 sq ft room that only needs to be cooled ten to fifteen degrees and it's more than powerful enough for that. It can bring the temperature down in fifteen minutes or so.

Portable air conditioners, until fans, need to have an unsightly and awkward tube connected to the window. These tubes are inevitable flimsy and don't fit well. They seem unacceptable unless the only alternate solution is to suffer in the heat and then suddenly they don't seem bad.

Soleus is perhaps the best portable air conditioner manufacturer. I haven't ever had a non-Soleus unit but I've heard horror stories about others. I've heard bad things about these too but I haven't had anything bad happen.

This is probably the smallest and cheapest good unit on the market so if 8000 BTU is enough for you, this is an excellent bet.

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. . . if you're mindful of one limitation: it condenses lots of moisture into a limited capacity container, and will need to be emptied or drained. It's built low to the ground, so I put it up on a little platform and attached the short included plastic hose to the drain port and put a container under it to catch the "drip" (which when it is very hot and humid is really a "stream"!). Recognizing that limitation (discussed in previous reviews), I've avoided any problems and have been quite pleased with the product. It cools well and in my limited basement space where it is used, it does fine.

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This works well for the particular conditions in which we're using it. We're happy with it. We live in northern California, where hot weather is usually also dry, and evenings are cooler. We put this in a bedroom that gets very hot during the day and doesn't cool down quickly enough at night. Instead of trying to fit the "window kit" into our old-fashioned window, we just leave the window slightly open with the end of the vent hose sticking out while the unit is running. We run it at bedtime and it cools the room down nicely. I gave it only four stars instead of five because of a couple of design flaws: (1) Though I don't expect that we'll have to deal with emptying the condensation tank much, if at all, it's true that the opening is awfully close to the floor, and I can see that in a more humid environment, where it would need emptying more often, it would be pretty awkward. I don't see why the designers couldn't have put the hole a little higher up so that you could actually get a pan or bowl under it. (2) The instructions said to keep the vent hose as straight as possible, but they put the vent hole at the bottom of the unit too. Most people don't have their windows at floor level, and putting this thing on a table or something would also be awkward, since it's so big and heavy (90 pounds, I think). That said, it works just fine for us sitting on the floor with a 90-degree bend in the hose, so I guess that's not such a big deal.

UPDATE: We've had it for almost a year now and are still satisfied with it. It gets the room nice and cool very quickly, and we have never yet had to empty the condensation tank. So that's not a big problem in a dry climate.

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This was described new in box with a warranty. In fact, item died after two short months. Contacted Amazon and told too late for return and referred to manufacturer. Manufacturer is in California. I called the 800 number and upon supplying the serial number, I was told the unit it was actually refurbished three years ago. Even though it looked unused in box , it was refurbished in 2008 ! No Warranty exists on my purchase! upon close inspection, it had been well cleaned, but there are signs that this unit was really used and simply cleaned up to make it look new. I got two estimates for repair..$ 180.00 , and $ 220.00 . Diagnoses charge $ 90.00 ... last appliance I ever buy from Amazon !

Bravo Glass Top Humidor

Very well made and at $79 with free shipping great deal. Holds RH great. Analog hygrometer is off 8%( as expected ) but with $$$ saved with shipping just buy a digital hygrometer. You will be happy with this mid size humidor

Decided on this after a ton of research...cuban crafters makes high quality products at a mid range price level. Looks great on my desk, has a good seal, and didn't break the bank.

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Cigars maintain very well in this beautiful humidor. Solidly built and quality craftsmanship. I recommend adding the seasoning packets to help maintain consistent humidity levels.

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Really a nice, classy looking humidor. Lots of compliments. However, as far as doing the job of keeping my cigars moist, it is less than average. I don't know enough as to the "why", but the cheap acrylic jars work much better. For dinner parties, I move the ones from the acrylic jars to this prior to serving --folks don't know the difference.

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DC-51 ReliOn Humidifier Replacement Demineralization Cartridge

Love the humidifier. Need the demineralization cartridge and our local wal-mart no longer carries this.

This cartridge stopped immediately the build up of minerals around the water deposit on my humidifier, it even seems to be taking off some of the build up that was already there.

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Our humidifier requires a cartridge like this. Unfortunately you can't find it in stores so have to rely on ording on line. That being the case I ordered 2. One came in perfect shape & is working like a charm. The 2nd one not so good: some of the material inside the cartridge (carbon?) has leaked out & there are itsy bitsy little black balls the size of a pencil tip all over the place. Unfortunatly you won't find this out until you have already opened the product. Clearly the manufacturor has a quality control issue. So if you plan to buy this product, my advice...buy 2...that way you'll get at least one that isn't leaking material all over the place.

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Could not find this filter anywhere locally. Thanks to Amazon my wife's humidifier is now working again.I ordered two just to be safe the next time i need one. Works perfectly-restful sleep for my wife . Thanks

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So happy to have found this replacement. Works perfectly in my humidifier! Better than expected! Will continue to order this cartridge.