Which Humidifier wokrs best in ALt darkroom

Jim Noel · Nov 27, 2006

I know this has been mentioned in some alternative photography threads but a search does not turn up the answer.

Some workers seem to have a favorite tower humidifier to keep the darkroom at 50% RH when coating and printing alt processes. I am interested in purchasing one, and would like suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Jim

donbga · Nov 27, 2006

Jim Noel said:
I know this has been mentioned in some alternative photography threads but a search does not turn up the answer.

Some workers seem to have a favorite tower humidifier to keep the darkroom at 50% RH when coating and printing alt processes. I am interested in purchasing one, and would like suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Funny you should mention this. I just replaced my Honeywell floor console model with a Holmes HM6005HD tower unit. It seems to work very well, and is fairly quite. This unit has an illuminated RH indicator with 3 auto fan settings. My darkroom is about 640 cu. ft.

Now the odd thing is that I have 3 RH meters. The one that is contained in the new humidifier, an old Radio Shack Wall unit, and a wet/dry bulb thermometer. They all read differently, though occasionally the Radio Shack and the tower unit are only 5 points apart.

I've had my new unit less than a week but I can definitly tell the difference just by feeling my paper that has been left in my darkroom.

Anyway I got my unit for $55 on sale at Home Depot.

Hope this helps,

Jim Noel · Nov 27, 2006

Thanks Don.
Even the price seems right. I wil check with my local Home Depot tomorrow.
Jim

davido · Apr 25, 2007

I just replaced my Honeywell floor console model with a Holmes HM6005HD tower unit. It seems to work very well, and is fairly quite

I'm looking to get a decent humidifier. It seems that the Holmes model mentioned above is cool mist humidifier but there are also warm mist ones. Wouldn't a warm mist humidifier humidify a room quicker? Are there advantages to one type over the other?
It would be so great to have an RH indicator as well as automatic RH control for my paper coating area.
thanks for any advice
david

donbga · Apr 25, 2007

davido said:
I'm looking to get a decent humidifier. It seems that the Holmes model mentioned above is cool mist humidifier but there are also warm mist ones. Wouldn't a warm mist humidifier humidify a room quicker? Are there advantages to one type over the other?
It would be so great to have an RH indicator as well as automatic RH control for my paper coating area.
thanks for any advice
david

There is no mist produced at all with this humidifier. I do have another small cool mist humidifier and it does indeed produce a cool mist, more than is really useful.

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 25, 2007

It's not cheap, but after years of messing with inadequate humidifiers just to keep the musical instruments from cracking, we've finally settled on a Venta Air-Washer. These keep the humidity in the 40-50% range usually through our dry New York winters (occasionally it can get lower), and they don't create dust (in fact they reduce dust), and don't require pads, though they do need to be cleaned every couple of weeks.

wilsonneal · Apr 26, 2007

In my experience, the cold mist humidifiers create some dust, but they have the benefit of lower maintenance. The warm mist humidifiers require regular cleaning/maintenance, as calcium deposits build up on their heater coils. In my darkroom I have a ten year old Bionaire with a one gallon tank. It's very small. It brings the 7x7x8 foot room from 30% RH to about 50-60% RH in about half an hour.

Allen Friday · Apr 26, 2007

I have a small cool mist humidifier that I use to humidify paper just before coating. It is too small to bring the humidity in the room up. In winter, the RH in my alt dark room is often around 20 to 25%. I found the fastest way to get the humidity up to 50% is to just boil water for about 10 minutes. I have a hot plate for heating the developer anyway. Once I get the RH up to 50%, I don't have any problem keeping it there because I have the wash water running.

bobherbst · Apr 26, 2007

Relative Humidity Indicator

Davido,

How do you know you need a humidifier if you don't currently have a relative humidity indicator? I know it depends on your heating system, but if you have a forced air system, you would be far better off with a whole house humidifier on your furnace. It will also be better for your health as well. We installed one 21 years ago and it only requires annual replacement of the media at about $15. The only electricity it uses is to activate a solenoid valve to turn the water on and off. The solenoid is linked to a humidistat sensor inserted into the plenum of the furnace. In the summer in Ohio, there is never a need for humidification in the basement where I have my printing facilities. We run a de-humidifier. All paper and materials stay at a constant range of 50-70% year round.

davido said:
I'm looking to get a decent humidifier. It seems that the Holmes model mentioned above is cool mist humidifier but there are also warm mist ones. Wouldn't a warm mist humidifier humidify a room quicker? Are there advantages to one type over the other?
It would be so great to have an RH indicator as well as automatic RH control for my paper coating area.
thanks for any advice
david

davido · Apr 26, 2007

How do you know you need a humidifier if you don't currently have a relative humidity indicator? I know it depends on your heating system, but if you have a forced air system, you would be far better off with a whole house humidifier on your furnace.

bob, I do have an RH meter, what I was referring to was a humidifier which you could set to a specific humidity. we do have a really old cold humidifier which you can't set and probably isn't very efficient.
I would love to eventually get a system for our house but for the time being I just need something for the coating area in our basement (to go from about 35% RH to 60%. the old cool humifier seems to take forever to do anything and I plug in a vaporizer which is much better but a pain to monitor.
Recently, I have been coating prints at the co-op darkroom, where I belong, in the film loading room. it only about 4x4 feet, so i'm guessing that a cold humidifier would work fairly quickly going from about 35% RH to 60% in a room that small?
I tried just using a kettle but, while trying to do too much at once, I forgot about the boiling kettle. I came back to the room to find water dripping from the walls and my poor little RH meter off the scale!

thanks everyone,
david

nze · Apr 26, 2007

ultrasonic are the best

donbga · Apr 27, 2007

davido said:
bob, I do have an RH meter, what I was referring to was a humidifier which you could set to a specific humidity.

david

The Holmes unit mentioned earlier allows the RH to be set and the unit will turn on and off automatically.

sarahwelson · Nov 29, 2018

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guangong · Nov 29, 2018

Humidity that is too high can cause havoc with equipment,, chemicals, etc, but I don’t see a possible problem except possibly with an extreme low humidity. Where we live in NW NJ the problem is high humidity but winte we heat with hot air, we still have dehumidifiers going year round where cameras are stored (always too humid in room) and in basement where darkroom and cinema stuff is located. Ddehumidifiers and humidifiers working according to season in room where string instruments are kept, because nothing worse than expansion and contraction of wood.
Both humidifiers and dehumidifiers made by Holmes.

Rick A · Nov 29, 2018

sarahwelson said:
Hi, Regardless of the sort of atmosphere you live in, dry indoor air can cause dried out, got dried out skin. Be that as it may, the uplifting news is, utilizing a standout amongst other humidifiers for dry skin can add dampness to the air in your home and reestablish the stickiness level, leaving your skin feeling hydrated and solid.

Beside re-hydrating your skin and lips, as well as can be expected additionally mitigate dry sinuses, decrease sensitivities and upper respiratory side effects, and even limit your odds of coming down with an airborne infection more info of best house humidifier visit this site homevew(dot)com.

Are you here to join in the conversation about photography, or merely to hawk your wares.

Bob Carnie · Nov 29, 2018

Jim Noel said:
I know this has been mentioned in some alternative photography threads but a search does not turn up the answer.

Some workers seem to have a favorite tower humidifier to keep the darkroom at 50% RH when coating and printing alt processes. I am interested in purchasing one, and would like suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Jim

Home Depot floor stand... the wick needs replacing about 3 times in the dry season up here which is a PIA as the wicks are not cheap, but they really work well in my Room.

Which Humidifier wokrs best in ALt darkroom

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