Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Graco Humidifier Replacement filter for 1.5 Gallon

Graco Humidifier Replacement filter for 1.5 GallonI purchased this filter for my Graco home humidifier. I regularly performed operational maintenance on my humidifier, including washing the filter. Despite the maintenance the filter slowly became discolored from the natural pollutants and minerals contained in my water. This Graco Filter helped solve my problem.

I carefully care for the filter. To avoid frequently replacing the filter, I use a procedure that can extend the life of the filter. When the filter forms a crust, I soak it for awhile in vinegar water (usually 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water). After soaking I carefully rinse the filter several times in fresh water.

The Graco humidifier that I use is an evaporation style machine. To work properly, the "filter" must be free of pollutants, as the machine adds moisture to the air by having a fan blow air through the sponge type filter (exactly like the "swamp coolers" so popular in arid climates). Clogs decrease effectiveness and add pollutants to the air in the room being used. Accordingly, in addition to carefully maintaining the filter, I add KAZ Humidifier Bacteriostatic Treatment to the reservoir to prevent the growth of bacterial agents. (KAZ Humidifier Bacteriostatic Treatment

When properly maintained, the Graco Humidifier Replacement filter is an excellent product. I recommend this filter for evaporation humidifiers.

Not a huge fan of this humidifier and filter. It gets mildewy so fast and is expensive to replace regularly. It is also only available online. When we bought the humidifier it was carried at BRUS but not anymore. Overall, it works 100% fine and does it's job. I should've just gotten one of those ones with a built-in filter.

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I wish this filter was permanent. My last one got mildewy and shredded up when I went to wash it. Kind of a hassle to always have to buy refills.

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These were great replacement filters for the Graco humidifier I have for my daughter. I would definitely order them again.

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It performs as the packaging claims it will. I just wish that they could find a way to make the material last a little longer, it stiffens pretty quickly even with reverse osmosis filtered water and rotating every refill. The price is reasonable.

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Vicks 1.5 Gallon Vaporizer with Night-Light

Vicks 1.5 Gallon Vaporizer with Night-LightI got a good chuckle out of reading some of the negative reviews on this unit. I own an industrial water treatment contracting company and it always strikes me as funny how uneducated people are with water, something they use every day. I figured I would take a minute and clarify a couple of things for people that use or are planning on purchasing one of these humidifiers, (Oh and yes I actually own one)

Humidifiers have been a part of our family for around fifteen years after I read a study on how they can reduce the usual winter ailments, colds and flu's.

First how these units work.

If you take the humidifying unit apart, you will find two probes. I believe they make them out of Carbon and other materials. They are round and about ½" thick, and approximately four inches long. These probes are then connected the electrical cord. When you plug it in and the probes are immersed in water, they create an electrical current between the two probes. This creates water that boils, and thus creates steam.

Some key facts about water. Pure water will not conduct an electrical current. This is why the instructions recommend adding a pinch of salt if your unit does not produce steam. The salt when disolved increases the TDS, (more on that in a minute) thus creating a conductive in the water.

Water is considered the Universal Solvent. In other word's water pretty much will absorb and dissolve anything that we submerge or add to it. Sometimes instantly. Sometimes over time. Two key things are in water that effect these humidifiers. One is the hardness of the water. Hardness is measured by checking how much Calcium and Magnesium is in the water. The other effect is Totally Dissolved Solids, or TDS. (all the other minerals that actually dissolve into water)

When you boil water, (essentially what these units do), the vapor that they produce is considered pure water or close too pure. So in essence as the water vapor escapes the unit what is left behind are the residual minerals, (tds) and the hardness, (magnesium and Calcium). Generally the Hardness cakes on the probes and creates a cement like residual. TDS usually fall out of suspension as clumps. Gray/black sand/rock formations.

So when you read comments in these reviews about residual inside the tank, or that the unit stopped producing steam, what these people are referring to is the residual left over after the water is boiled off. Depending on the water quality of their tap, the residual can be a lot or very little.

Ok, before you purchase one of these units, just remember. It's $15.00. (Wal Mart has them for a few bucks less) Your not buying an ultra fancy $200.00 BrookStone humidifier/vaporizier. These are generally one season, low maintenance, throw them away when you're done. (depending how many days out of the year you fire them up) So keep that in mind.

If you want to make one last, you can get some plain white vinegar. Find a jar or container that the Humidifying unit will fit into. That means something that the bottom portion that sets in the water not the top part where the cord goes in. (Edited this to better explain it) and fill it with 3/4 vinegar and the rest water, creating a mild acid solution. Set the probe portion in it and let it soak for a day. Repeat as necessary until the unit operates to your liking. Note the probes inside the unit do wear out, and hard water deposits do cake up pretty thick on the probes which increase that Wear and Tear effect. (I've taken enough of them apart to know)

Bottom line If you want a cheap way of creating warm humidified air these are the unit for you. Don't expect anything more then what they price them at, and if you don't plan on maintaining them, ie using vinegar to keep the probes semi-clean of hardness deposits, then expect no more then one to two years of use.

Very simple and easy to use. About the black particles that develop in the water after use, I found the following explanation to be helpful:

"A Vaporizer produces moisture by heating small amounts of the minerals in the water using tiny electrodes in the shaft of the unit. The minerals then heat the water to a boil and release steam into the air. The minerals will then settle to the bottom of the tank, possibly becoming small black flakes. These flakes are normal and should be rinsed out when you refill the tank. Any bacteria or mold in the water will be killed by the temperature of the water."

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This is the best value for money can buy. It just requires a bit of patience when cleaning it. The more often you clean it, the faster the deposits dissolve.

Cleaning TIP: I took a bottle of water ( evian, aberfoyle ) and cut off the top part of the bottle leaving just enough so that the heating part can be fully immerged sort of making a container to hold the vinegar and salt. Pour the vinegar and a little bit of salt just enough so that the entire heating element is soaked. Leave it there for a few minutes and voila.

The steam is hot when in use, so be careful if you have kids around that would be the only drawback, but then again, that's why it is called a vapourizer vapours is supposd to be hot.

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After my daughter was born, we purchased this for her room. I'm surprised to read all the complaints about this humidifier, because it's a cheap, low maintanance item! I must admit, that after 5 years of use (used anytime the furnace is on) and with little or no cleaning, it's doing just fine! We have hard water and we do have a softener, so no salt is needed. As soon as we fill it up and plug it in, the thing starts boiling away, QUIETLY. The directions say it lasts 18-24 hours, but in reality, it doesn't with our water. The more minerals and salt in the water, the faster it boils out of the tank. No smells, no white residue, just easy to use and no parts to replace. In the morning, we take it to the sink, dump out the black specks of minerals (THIS IS NORMAL) and refill it for the next night.

I like the idea of the boiling water killing germs. We don't have any slime or gunk filling up the tank like our other evaporative humidifier. I love the cup on the top for medicine placement. I buy a huge bottle of essential oil of eucalyptus, and pour some in the cup when someone in the family is sick. Works like a charm!

When it's time to replace this one, I would not hesitate to buy another. It's a very basic humidifier that raises the humidity quickly. I would buy the largest model of this type. Considering the horrible reviews on the other models, it doesn't seem to be worth buying anything else. Even if something goes wrong with it, it really isn't that much of a problem considering the cost of the unit.

UPDATE: Shortly after I wrote the review, my unit stoppped working. It had a great run! Of course we replaced it with the same unit. It is currently sitting on my kitchen counter and we keep it running all night, every night and all day on the weekends. My favorite design was the old one. The new larger models have large, flat bases which are harder to drain, clean and fill. Even though it says it has larger capacity, the steamer does not use all the water up. It stops steaming after using one gallon of water, leaving extra in the base which is fine with me. Each day I pour in another gallon, and plug it in.

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I bought a Vicks V150 1.5 gallon vaporizer not too long ago and it has performed very well for me. The model has apparently been slightly redesigned to include a larger night light and different look to the removable head as compared to the picture shown here. I like this vaporizer because it was very inexpensive and it has been reliable. I usually don't run it more than about 12 hours at a time, but according to the box it is supposed to be good for 18-24 hour runs (also different from the product description above which says 15 hours). The box also claims it will shut off automatically when water gets too low, but my style of pulling the plug after 10-12 hours hasn't allowed me to test out that feature yet. Cleaning is fairly easy, and there are no filters to buy and replace. The steam is hot, which may be a concern if you have young children, but for me this is not an issue. It does a nice job of humidifying a pretty large-sized living room, and I don't have any need for the features found on more expensive models.

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Safety 1st Ultrasonic 360 Degree Humidifier

Safety 1st Soothing Mist Ultrasonic HumidifierI have been looking for a filterless humidifier for the past couple years. I had a humidifier that I liked but it used these strange accordion paper filters. It only took a couple of months for the filter to get moldy or have lots of water deposits. It was pretty disgusting and I kept having to buy refills. That added up quickly. A friend at work brought her humidifier in and said she loved it. So I decided to invest in this one. I am really impressed. I took it out of the box and filled up the reservoir very quickly and had it on the machine running in less than 2 minutes. The other bonus is that the unit is ultra quiet.It makes a little bit of noise which is nice for the white noise but it isn't obnoxious or distracting. I love that you have a lot of options for the mist output. It isn't just 2 or 3 levels. There is a lot of variation. My favorite unique feature is that it has two mist outlets so you can have the air go in two directions (I am not really sure how important this is but it is a nifty feature). When you open the box the two misters are stacked but you can move them whatever direction you want. Finally, and most importantly I like that it is filterless. This saves a lot of money for me and I am just tired of gross filters. I am a big fan of this humidifier and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good humidifier. It is marketed as a baby room humidifier but I would just buy it the blue one and use it in every room of your house.

Update: For some reason the motor has started being loud when I turn it on. If it tap it, the noise goes down. I will keep you updated. 2/24 the noise is no longer an issue. Still working great. Love how quiet it is and the quality of the mist. My little girl is sick right now and it is helping a LOT. We must have got a faulty one. Motor stopped working BUT they are sending me a new base out in 10 days. Make sure to keep your receipt in case of a faulty product. Very impressed with the company.

I've owned this humidifier for a little over a year now, and it's never let me down. The product description is a little lackluster though. I wouldn't use this in a room that's over 500 sq ft. It worked great in my bedroom last winter, but I have an open floor studio apartment now (around 7-750 sq ft) and it's just not enough. Even with refilling it twice a day and having it run 24/7 the humidity level in the air has never been above 40% (and that was on a warm, rainy day).

Very quiet operation, when turned up all the way the most you will hear is a slight "trickling" noise from the ultrasonic waves splashing the water around.

Make sure the surface you put it on is level. Even a slight bit off can cause it to leak water.

In the past I've needed to buy on average a new humidifier each winter because they're always cheap and crap out, not so with this one. Overall the merits of this humidifier vastly out weigh my complaints.

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I enjoy the absence of the whirring sound that my old humidifier had and the lack of a filter to get moldy is great. The first two nights I had issues with the area on the table and floor underneath and around the humifier getting completely soaked with water and thought I would have to return it until I realized that the directional nozzle that fits on the top of the tank had fallen on the floor when I opened it. I decided to try it one more time with the nozzle on the top and that resolved the soaking issue. If I run it at full blast it doesn't last the whole night but it works just fine at about 60% output. You can't refill it at a typical bathroom sink because of the height of the tank but I keep a water bottle handy and it does the trick. No real complaints. Its not fabulous but suits my needs and is offered at a good price.

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I bought this to replace a larger whole-house style humidifier and ultimately it was disappointing.

Pros:

Quiet enough not to disturb baby

Ability to aim mist from top (it turns to direct mist)

Tank is not heavy and could be filled in bathroom sink

Bottom base, easy to clean (not easy to clean water tank)

Tight seal on bottom of tank

No filters to replace (though does require those useless protect cartridges)

Cons:

If you don't leave some water in the base (walk it carefully back to your room), when you load the water tank onto the clean, empty base about 1/3 of the water in the tank is immediately "lost" so you have to refill the tank again to make it through the night

Impossible to clean water tank (despite soaking with bleach and vinegar) we had nasty pink stuff growing and it couldn't be reached soaking in vinegar didn't work, neither did the bleach

Plastic was flimsy tank cracked in the middle of the second winter (though I was washing this thing every single day and did my best to be gentle and not bang it on the sink while attempting to reach the mold inside)

For the $25 I paid, it got me through a winter and I learned a valuable lesson about "cool mist" humidifiers AVOID. I actually ended up writing a review today because I was researching safety of these types of units and as it turns out, cool mist humidifiers have the potential to cause some real harm by spreading microbes and minerals from the water into the air. My next purchase will be a "warm mist" humidifier, with a UV light.

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I bought one of these at the start of last winter. Worked like a champ all winter. Light cleaning each week, using only filtered water and so far so good. Currently in use for the second winter and love having it!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Office Air Purifier

Office Air PurifierI have this beside my monitor for some time now and I noticed that I can stay longer in front of the computer and the back of my neck doesn't seem to hurt as much as before even if I work late hours. I really like this product, it's small and compact, just sits on my table beside the monitor and just there to clean the air around me and make me feel better. I use this together with IonLite® Air Purifier Plug-In with Nightlight Perfect Choice for your Baby's Room, Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen & More and with other Ionlite product in the whole house.

Recommended! I Lovet it!

Convenient size for desk placement. Not sure though if it's doing the job filtering. Hard to tell if on any given day my sinuses are better off for having it run. But for the price it seems worth the possibility it provides some good filtration.

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pureguardian H4600 144-Hour Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier

pureguardian H4600 144-Hour Ultrasonic Digital HumidifierI rarely write reviews, but since this item didn't have any and we bought it recently as a new-baby humidifier, I thought I'd get the ball rolling with this one. We will use our humidifiers strictly for the baby, and although we've only been using this one for a week, I may update this review for a final verdict. After reading numerous other reviews (I'm aiming to pick up another one soon), I feel slightly more educated about the features that consumers might find more desirable in a humidifier.

What I like:

* It works. I wouldn't normally add this seemingly obvious comment as a plus, but after reading other reviews, it seemed worth mentioning. If it fails in the near future, I will update this comment.

* No filters or wicks necessary. I find this feature highly desirable no added costs.

* Ultrasonic technology makes this unit run silently. And I mean silently! It makes no significant noise. Perhaps with other technologies, the mist volume could be heavier and thus noisier, but the quiet nature of this unit is pleasant. Also, thanks to the ultrasonic tech, the vapor stream is virtually instantaneous when switched on, both on warm or cold. Granted, a minor point, but nice. Which brings me to another pleasant feature....

* Emits both warm or cold mist. And does so effortlessly. One of its 4 face buttons allows a quick and easy switch from warm to cold and back, and as mentioned above, the change is immediate.

* The H4600 has 3 variable spray options. Low spray is perhaps too low, but the option is there if you want it to run all day and night. There is also a dual headed mist nozzle which allows greater choice at aiming the mist, but I don't find this feature particularly useful since the mist spray isn't all that strong to begin with, but it's a nice addition, nonetheless.

* Silver Clean technology claims to fight mold and mildew in the water tank, allowing for healthier vapors and less cleaning. Too soon to judge this feature, but even if it works a little, it'll be helpful and it's better than not having it.

* Easy interface. The front panel has a simple 4 button operation with a lit display. I found this to be a welcome feature. One button is simply On or Off. Another is variable spray volume (low, medium, high) kind of like a fan speed. The third is to switch from cold mist or warm mist. And the last button is for the night light. That blue circle on the face of the unit is the night light. It's fairly bright, but blue, so it's not as bright as it might be otherwise. Since we use this for the baby's room, we like this feature. The lit display shows the volume of spray (in a too elaborate display of LEDs), the chosen hot or cold mist option, and an indicator for low water in the tank. (The humidifier turns off when tank is too empty)

What I don't like:

* It's a bottom filled tank, meaning you need to lift out the tank, unscrew the underside cap to fill it with water. Thankfully, there are little handles on both the top and underside of the tank, but I don't understand why humidifiers don't regularly feature a top filling portal. It would be nice to be able to add water with a pitcher poured in the top rather than removing the entire tank, filling it and replacing it. The tank is fairly generous at 2.4 gallons, but that makes the full tank over 16 lbs. when full. Okay for me, but not the wife. Also, and perhaps more egregious is that the output nozzles on top (where the mist comes out) are rounded and interfere with the tank laying flat on its back when being filled. You cannot lay this tank flat on its back to fill it so it must be held, or at least braced (unless I didn't realize that the output nozzles can be removed?)

* Cost. This is one of the most expensive room humidifiers I've seen. It does have a nice feature set, and so far, operates as advertised, so I think it's worth it, but the price may discourage potential buyers. My wife bought this one because it was expensive. She figured it HAD to be the best one. I'm not sure she was wrong about that.

NOTE: For some reason, the amazon page that displays this item lists the following as one of its features, "Digital display and clock with programmable run features". I believe this was a mistake taken from some other model that isn't being shown, although I've yet to see a humidifier with a digital clock on it. The picture amazon shows is the one we have. Well, I saw no such display or feature. There is no clock or digital display here, let alone programmable features. None that I saw, and I went through the manual. Perhaps this amazon model is one notch higher in this series of humidifiers and explains why it costs $20+ more than ours.

Conclusion: At first, I was disappointed with the design of the bottom-fill tank, and the poor placement of the output mist nozzles that I thought this was a deal breaker and planned on returning it. But then I came onto to Amazon to research and buy another model, and after rooting around the reviews, I realize that this model is actually pretty good. I don't think the tank lasts 120 hours (5 days!), but it lasts fairly long. So, aside from the tank filling procedure, everything else about this humidifier is quite nice. Recommended.

** UPDATE **

The rounded silver-colored output nozzle on the top of the unit can, indeed, be removed while refilling with water. That's helpful. It's still not perfect, as the tank doesn't lay flat on its back for refilling, but it helps. Also, the price of this unit has since gone up from when I wrote my review. We paid somewhere between $160-$180. Unfortunately, I don't recall for certain, but if you're thinking of buying this item, make sure you get the model with "Digital display and clock with programmable run features" as it states in the description. Ours didn't come with that feature, and it's the only thing that explains the price difference from what we paid. I can't say if the extra cost is worth it, but I hope that helps.

** Update II **

It's now January 2013 around 2+ years after purchase. The H4600 Ultrasonic Humidifier is still kicking, rather nicely, thank you. We use it primarily for the winter months. The internal basin of the base needs an occasional cleaning, but otherwise, all is well!

I have an electric PTAC heater/AC unit. It provides amazing heat in the winter and dries the room out like you wouldn't believe making it so I have to wake up in the middle of the night to turn the heater off, or open a window to get moisture in the room. My last humidifier was OK, but it just didn't do enough to combat the heater. I put this on last night for the first time (and last night was snowing weather). The setting was on low, warm mist. Wow I slept so well. I didn't wake up to turn the heater off, I didn't wake up in the middle of the night to drink from my bottle of water (I go through 16-24 ounces a night). I HIGHLY recommend this product for people with dry rooms. The fact that it has a 120 hour refill cycle is awesome! It's also quiet!

Obviously since it's new I can't comment on cleaning procedures

My only negative feedback is the lights on this thing cannot be turned off. It's in my bedroom and I have the LED lights hitting my wall. Considering they have a night-light button that turns some extra lights on they could have just made that button turn all the lights OFF. I will end up taping a piece of cloth to the front to block the light.

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I've owned two other humidifiers that were

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Saturday, March 8, 2014

Minuteman International T-39 Dragon Steamer 2.2-Quart

Minuteman International T-39 Dragon Steamer 2.2-QuartThis is a fun item. And it really cute when it works. It just takes a pretty hot fire to get him steaming , otherwise he just has a drippy nose. In the two weeks I have had it on my wood stove I have only got it hot enough to produce steam a couple of time.

I was more than pleased when I received my hand painted ceramic/metal steamer. It is awesome. It has an excellent paint job.It works well and steam really does come out of the dragon's nostrils. What a hoot!

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This product was a gift for my parents who have a fun sense of humor and also enjoy "dragons". They were very pleased with the item. It arrived in good shape, works well and most importantly makes them laugh. Very pleased.

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This item is cute to look at but does not perform the "steaming nostrils" function at all.

We tried several locations on our very hot woodstove but no results.

We have been in touch with the seller (3rd party) and she was very nice about return/ refund/ exchange.

Also was urprised that the top piece is only made of China glass, not cast iron like the bottom.

Could break on the first fall if you weren't very careful.

JS.

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Cute piece to look at but the benefit was for the steam. Found this steamer does not emit enough steam with the cover on. With the cover off it produces plenty of steam.

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Soleus Air MT1-19-32, Humidibreeze Portable Misting System

Soleus Air MT1-19-32, Humidibreeze Portable Misting SystemGot this product for use on the patio when it is 90 degrees and over. Works well. It has a novel concept of pumping water onto a spinning disk and then a fan blows it outwards, making you feel cooler. It has a setting for the water. On high, you will get wet if you are close by but that can be fun. It is very directional, so it is only good when blowing on 1 or 2 people. The fan does not have any speed settings so I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. Makes an Arizona patio usable in the heat.

This fan is far more convenient and effective than our standard misting fan with nozzles. I was somewhat hesitant because you have to fill it up rather than connect it to a hose like our other one. It turns out that was an advantage. Under normal conditions there is no water buildup in front of the fan and the cool air that reaches you isn't wet. As soon as I tried it, I bought a second one as a present for my son who is in the middle of the Texas drought and I will probably buy another for myself.

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Pretty good product. Only negative is it is not oscillating but every review on oscillating fans are negative. this unit cools one area right in front so it's a one person fan. For me, that's fine and until they make a unit that's affordable with good reviews that oscillates, this one is what you should purchase. If you put it on high, you get wet and that's all there is to that. But at half speed, it's good, Even the dog enjoys it. At half speed the water tank lasts about 2 hours. Not having used the other fans, I have no comparison but I cannot give it any negatives.

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We used the Solus mister on a 98 degree day and it did a good job of cooling the area under our tent. Water consumption was 2 gallons for the whole day.

I recommend this product and this seller who shipped promptly. The unit arrived in perfect condition.

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My patio faces the west and to make things worse it is an apartment with stucco walls protruding outward to make it like an oven on hot Texas summer afternoons. Before I purchased the Soleus Air MT1-19-32 Misting Fan, my patio would get up to about 120 degrees fahrenheit and now it is a tolerable 97 degrees. So the fan does what it is advertised to do and then some. The only thing I don't like (which is not the fans fault)is when it is turned up to the maximum mist setting, you have to fill up the tank about once an hour. Since I have no water facet on an apartment patio I certainly cannot complain about that and I highly recommend the Soleus Air MT1-19-32 Misting Fan.

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