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Water for humidifier

ok so for my greenhouse i am about done with, I was going to put a fan type humdifier to keep teh humidity up. the water for it doesnt need to be purified does it? nothing will evaporate besides water and hurt the plants will it?

Thanks

Brad
 
minerals won't evaporate.

when the vapor condenses on the foliage, mineral deposites will be left behind interfering with photosynthesis.
 
so i dont need to use purified water?

Thanks


Brad
 
well that's not what i said lol.
 
If it is an evaporating humidifier, the minerals will not leave the water, but will be left behind after the water evaporates. Your filter may require more frequent changings/cleanings. But other than that, the humdified air will do nothing to your plants.

If you had an Ultrasonic humidfier, then you would absolutely NEED to use RO/distilled water.
 
Mineral deposits are not left behind from condensed water.  Water coming from the air, condensing on a leaf, is the same process that is distillation - there is simply no collection chamber...but the principle is the same.  Evaporated water has no minerals in it to leave mineral deposits.

The need for R/O or distilled water in an ultrasonic humidifier stems from problems with mineral deposits on the vibrating disc causing it to not function properly.
 
but with an US humidifier it doesn't evaporate. it is more.. vaporized i guess. so there are minerals in the gas//fog and will be deposited on the foliage.
 
Yes Pat, but I'm saying he should use low mineral water in any humidifier period, it saves alot of hassle with the buildup in the filters (if ppm of minerals specifically salts is v. high).
 
well i planned on using a humidifier that we use in our house. its just a simple fan type. we never had problems with mineral deposites with our rural water before, or currently. i just wondered if anything would evapeorate with the water in my fan type humidifer. and from what i know and have been told so far rural water shouldnt hurt my plants by being humidified.

thanks guys

Brad
 
  • #10
We need to know what you mean by "fan type humidifier" if it is one that has misters in front of the fan or a ultrasonic or any other style that makes a fog by disturbing the water.... You must use pure water. Water will not evaporate so you can use water in swamp cooler style humidifiers. But in all these other kinds of humidifiers, the minerals are in the water and are distributed with the water...
Hope that's clear.
Andrew
 
  • #11
sry i didnt say what a "fan type" was talking about. it has a 2 1/2 gal tank which sits on a base which holds water. on the one side on the base there is a filter type deal that sucks up water. on top of this a fan which pulls air through/around the filter thus making water evaporate.

heres a small pic of one like mine

http://www.holmesproducts.com/support_files/humidifiers.aspx

its the small round pic with "cool mist" by it


i believe unpurified water is safe

thanks

Brad
 
  • #12
Okay, that is a evaporative wick style. You can use normal water there. First let me warn you... In this style of humidifier... If you use normal water you will go through these "wick" filters quickly. all they do is sit in the water, and the water wicks up from the bottom. And I don't think they work that good anyway - but once a little bit of calcium and such starts to build up in there, they really don't work. So, yes. tap water okay. Pure water better. Be prepaired to buy wick filters pretty often. So make sure they are available locally. (I have that exact same humidifier that I no longer use... )

On the other hand. If you have a Sam's club arround there... I recently picked up a new humidifier for my indoor growing area that is awesome. It is evaporative style... But has a pump that pumps the water up to the top of the pad, just like a swamp cooler. The bennifit of this is that with the water running over the pad - calcium doesn't seem to build up as quickly. Mine is like THIS except it was made just for Sam's club and has digital controls... I think it was like 65 bucks. And i've been through alot of humidifiers... Wick style like the one you're looking at, ultrasonic, and one by Hunter that had the pump system... but it SUCKED! I hope I helped.
smile.gif

Andrew
 
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