The need for a comprehensive Aprilaire 800 reviews arises as a result of the confusion among the Aprilaire models as well as the urgent call for the best steam whole house humidifiers as the summer is approaching.
In this summer season of the year, most individuals begin to go in search of suitable options that would effectively help the regular struggles of having to deal with breathing dry air.
Dry air is responsible for many allergies, and adverse health conditions like difficult breathing during cold seasons, coupled with the fact that they really support the spread of flu around the environment, so if the negative impact on your health doesn’t catch up, then the flu probably will.
All in all, it is best you protect yourself and family by all means, which underlines the importance of having the best humidifier installed in your home.
Aprilaire 800 is one of the eldest child of the Aprilaire humidifier family which boast of a very high performance. This humidifier, although expensive but it is one of the best whole house humidifier you will find in the market.
If we would recommend one of the best, then we most certainly would bend towards the direction of the Aprilaire 800, and this isn’t based on sentiments but the test and trusted performance.
Read our Aprilaire 800 reviews below to clarify all doubts.
NOTE: At TheOzoneHole, we promise you the best and truthful review of any product. Henceforth, we do not exergerate or underrate any product in a bid to manipulate you to click our links.
Aprilaire 800 vs 700 vs 865: Aprilaire model Comparisons
The Aprilaire series of humidifier production features these three similar models ( 800, 700 and 865) but with some slight differences, and if you have ever looked up any of these, you must have come across one or the others, and might make a mistake in drawing a line, which is why we have comprehensively stated their differences in this article.
The Aprilaire 800 and 865 stands out from the 700 due to one primary function which is as a result of the area of coverage, having capacity properly serve up to 6,200sqft, while the 700 can serve only about 4,200sqft.
The Aprilaire 800 and 865 also employs the electrode technology which makes maintenance and installation very much more comfortable, as you would just have to replace the canister in which the electrodes are contained at the end of the winter season.
The 700 makes use of the conventional water trays and draws hot air from the furnace to evaporate its water before releasing the humid air.
Due to the presence of electrodes, filters are also not needed in the 800 and 865 because they need impurities in the water to promote the transfer of electricity, and they also can put out as much as 11.5 to 34.6 gallons of moisture into the atmosphere per day.
What differentiates the 800 and 865 however, is the fact that the 865 is a ductless type of humidifier, while the 800 require ducts to operate.
In a way to further differentiate the Aprilaire 800 from Aprilaire 865, let us dive into the Aprilaire 800 reviews in depth.
Aprilaire 800 awesome pros
- Area of coverage:
This unit is designed to serve rooms of tremendous capacity, and in reality, it does just that. It has been tested do effectively raise the humidity level or rooms also and not only maintain it, in 6 hours, but this unit can also increase the humidity of 4% as high as 30% in rooms of about 3000sqft. This is also dependent on the value of voltage and current you choose to run the device with, for larger sized rooms, ensure you run at high voltage and current.
- Maximises water:
Aprilaire 800 during a performance has been tested to use an estimated water quantity of about 20-25 gallons per day, which is equivalent to about 12- 17 as steam. This water usage rate is more efficient than the bypass models that make use of evaporation panel style, wasting about 80% of the water in the process.
- Can make use of soft or hard water:
Many humidifiers require soft/ distilled water to function if you intend getting a good life span of effective operation from the device. Hard water mostly causes moulds and minerals to build up, thereby contamination your water and in turn your environment as a whole, therefore most people have to either purchase or get a separate supply of distilled water to the unit order than their installed water system.
For the Aprilaire, hard water is not a problem, as it even thrives with hard water rather than using soft water. Therefore you just need to run your humidifier, connecting it to the regular water supply system at home which saves you the extra cost of distilled water.
- Humidistat:
The humidistat comes in handy when using a unit as powerful as this, effectively regulating the temperature to a set level, with the digital models indicating the current humidity of the atmosphere at all times. This humidistat is also in charge of the auto mode, where the unit runs according to your preference and shuts off as soon as it gets to the desired level.
Aprilaire 800 busted cons
- Mounting position in the home:
According to standard recommendation, the minimum clearance distance from the top of the discharge vent to the bottom should be at least 14 inches, while the minimum distance between the main unit and discharge vent should be 17 inches below the vent.
This places a difficult to deal with the restriction on where the unit can be placed in the home, although the humidifier itself is not large, because many homes don’t have such spaces laying around.
- Poor humidistat ability:
The humidistat that comes with the package finds it difficult to pick up the proper atmospheric humidity reading at all times properly and has been tested to be defaulting by more than 10% below values given by a regular working humidistat. Sometimes it just remains ridiculously high, which would restrict the unit from starting up although the humidity level is low.
- Expensive buy/ installation:
it is costly to both purchase the product and its installation costs; you should be looking at over a thousand dollars for this unit.
In running the device, the canisters would also need to be replaced every year, further adding to the operating cost, while it shoots your electric bill higher than usual, depending on the voltage in use.
- Poor customer service and warranty option:
Complains about several defective products and how the company responded to it are well documents. The unit service providers are most times slack/ exhibit delay in attending to a warranty covering requests, as they mostly refer you back to the store you originally purchased it from.
Also, unless your unit is installed by registered HVAC company personnel, you are not entitled to the 5-year manufacturer warranty.
Features you will find in this whole House Steam Humidifier
This is an averaged sized unit with dimensions of 7.1 x 10.1 x 20.9, making it not the biggest guy around, and can be easily accommodated in an average sized home. With a weight of about 24.5 pounds too, it’s just as heavy as a conventional portable electric humidifier.
Some may reason that it doesn’t add natural beauty to the home, but you should know that its design and specific uses don’t require or allow it take up a fancy look, as it would be installed in the home not merely placed around a corner.
The Aprilaire 800 is an evaporative type of humidifier that makes use of electrode technology in performing its function.
Electrode technology makes use of electric current flowing through two electrodes that are submerged in water, and the resistance between the current flowing in the electrodes and the water itself causes the water to heat up.
This device may or may not be used with a furnace because it doesn’t depend on the heat of the furnace to heat up its water before dispersing, and it is recommended you don’t make use of a filter.
This is so because the effectiveness of the electrode technology is tied to the presence of an impurity in the water, so using a totally clean distilled water would be a bad idea, as there would be a poor transfer of electricity.
Not using filter would also help in reducing investment costs and installation complexity, while saving you a lot of stress off maintenance alongside a low operating cost.
Specifications to look out for in Aprilaire 800 whole House Humidifier
With a service capacity of about 6,200sqft, it can almost serve basically any home size you might want to place it in, which is really useful instead of having to purchase sever portable humidifiers and strategically placing around the home.
So far so good, this is the best humidifier for desert climate. If your home is situated in or close to the arid/ desert region, then this for you, as it is specially built to serve the droughty nature of the desert, effectively making of for the lack of humidity in the air by putting out as much as 11.5 to 34.6 gallons of moisture in the air per day depending on your settings and voltage level.
The unit also comes with an automatic digital humidistat controller that is to be installed on an inflow duct, where it can effectively measure the humidity level of the environment. It could be connected with the already installed furnace and synchronised to run only when the furnace runs or work independently depending on your preference.
The humidistat helps you monitor the level of humidity in the atmosphere, helping you ensure you remain in the safe zone, and controls your blower, turning it on when humidity is called for which is a nice feature as you shouldn’t generate all that steam into a static duct.
There is an outstanding steam generator that works with either hard or soft water, which you can’t say for most humidifiers out there, producing a high amount of dry steam that can always be delivered across your home through the HVAC duct work.
The specific running voltage can also be set, choose from 115V, 208V or 230V and current limit determined by the conductivity of your house water (11 or 16 amp), these two parameters would determine the amount of steam released into your home.
Also Read: Best Humidifier for Asthma and allergy
Ease of Installation
Just as said earlier, due to the presence of no filters, the installation procedures become less stressful and complex, although it still involves six major phases.
Do make sure you have your drills, screws, clamps, a locking wrench screwdrivers, fish tape, metal cutting drill bit, soldering iron and other necessary equipment around.
These phases would be discussed briefly below.
- Mounting:
You have to mount the humidifier, which involves making use of screws and a good strength material in making sturdy support on the wall which should be near the furnace in the home.
- 1st Connection:
Then what follows is connecting the unit to the HVAC ductwork supply which is why we advised it be placed close to the furnace in the first place, as if it is far away, you might need to purchase additional parts in addition to the one that came with the package for a successful installation.
- Running Tubing:
After properly fixing up those two stages, shift to the water supply next, which involves running copper tubing like the one in your refrigerator across the right channels to enable water flow into the unit.
This copper tubes feature a compression style fitting, meaning you wouldn’t have to flare the end of the copper tube. After this connect the drain line by placing the 1” diameter PVC pipe drain tube and connectors for taking water away.
- 2nd Connection:
The second to the last stage involves connecting the electrical section, which involves the breaker module, electrical wire, outlet box, 2-pole switch, switch plate and twist on wire connectors.
NOTE: A comprehensive instruction on how to properly connect the various parts are stated in the manual and could be easily followed. However, we do advice our readers to seek a professional expertise (HVAC company) when installing your unit so as not to violate the warranty service.
- 3rd connection:
Finally connect the humidistat control, which you would require a fair amount of wires, as you would need to connect it to the controller of the furnace and an outdoor temperature gauge controller.
Also Read: Best Humidifier for Hard Water
Aprilaire 800 parts and replacements
Source: Appliance Factory
- In line strainer
- Membrane Switch
- Transformer
- Power Relay
- Electrode wire
- Ground Lug
- Input power Terminal Plug
- Internal Control Circuit Board
- Current sensing circuit board
- Drain Valve
- Inlet fill valve and water feed system
- Drain Cup Assembly
- Front Panel and screw
- Electrical Access panel and screws
- Safety Inlock Switch
- Fill cup and Hoses
- Fill cup cap
- Steam Dispersion tube
The Aprilaire 800 comes with all the necessary parts required to install and run the unit to an optimal functioning level but should incase there is a breakdown or damage of a part; there are always replacements available for purchase at really fair prices.
Some of those parts include the saddle valve that goes for around $5, the inline strainer water filter for $6, but those are the cheap parts, like some more expensive replacement like the steam canister and manual/ digital humidistat that goes for around $69 and $85/ $32.
After purchasing this equipment, you can rest assured that you wouldn’t be in isolation and left with a broken piece of junk due to lack of replacements on the market.
All you need to do is look up a good online store, and all your needs would be met. Apart from damages, you would need to carry out seasonal maintenance, which involves changing the canister every humidity season as it scales high with a mineral deposit from your water. These canisters cost is on the high side around $69 but is well worth the money and alternative of having to loosen up and completely clean the unit every month.
Our final Verdict: Aprilaire 800 review
Aside all the qualities this unit possess and the features it is designed with as stated by the manufacturer; this product has been tested to function to optimal capacity, boasting of being able to work every single quality it possesses.
It is effective raising significantly or maintaining your humidity level as you desire, and although it comes at a substantial cost, in the end, it is worth it.
Important Reads: