Humidifiers?

[Some Guy]

I bought a small Crane room humidifier to help with printer clogging issues as even my dye-ink printers clog at times.  Holds about 1.5-2 gallons.

I also have a wall-mounted hygrometer maybe 4 feet off the floor near the three printers I have.  I put the humidifier under it on the floor and it has been running overnight.

Before reading was 38%.  Still showing maybe 36% this AM.  Actually went down a bit (drier?), but furnace kicked on the in the AM too.

I did the initial calibration of the hygrometer in a Zip-Lock bag along with a tablespoon of salt and a little water in a cup to make a paste.  Supposedly it becomes 75% in a few hours - and it did and showed that number.  Pretty neat trick.

My guess is the hygrometer is correct and working, but the humidifier isn't having much of an effect even with the mist blowing up the wall towards it?  Could be the mist is going down onto the ground but I don't know as it doesn't feel damp.  I'm not getting a lot of faith in the unit to provide that much humidity (becoming less too?) even though it is spitting out better than a gallon of water overnight.

I'm going to get a second one and see if it makes any difference, but I somehow don't think it will.  Might have to turn the place into a sauna (20 gallons+ a day?) to make the hygrometer even move off where it seems parked now (<39%).  The printers being plugged in and always on (standby) may be adding their own internal heat too and not helping.

SG

[dgberg]

Is it sized to the room? Room square footage?
Also very important,is that room sealed off from others?

[Wayne Fox]

I bought a small Crane room humidifier to help with printer clogging issues as even my dye-ink printers clog at times.  Holds about 1.5-2 gallons.

Sounds like the kind that you use at night next to your bed when trying to sleep. Be sure it's not one of the "cool mist" (ultrasonic) humidifiers, they'll coat everything with a fine powder unless you only use distilled water, and that will kill your printer.

I'm guessing my humidifier goes through 2-4 gallons of water a day, and sometimes more.  Best is a room humidifier, and the refillable bottles on those hold between 3 and 5 gallons, some come with two bottles more. 

I have this one , but I bought it from this company so it's modified with a float and attached directly to the water supply.  Cost a little more but easy to keep running.  I keep the fan on the lowest setting because it's a little loud otherwise, and it runs at least 12 hours a day.  (300 square foot room that is open to a 4 foot wide hall). 

[Mike Guilbault]

Wayne is correct about the Ultrasonic humidifiers... stay away from them.  This is the one I got from Sears.  Haven't had a clog with either my 4900 or 9900 since then... and I'm in Ontario where the humidity is normally below 30% at this time of year.  I have it set at 45% and it's about 3 feet from my 9900, 10 feet from the 4900.  Fired up the 4900 yesterday after about a week and a half of inactivity and it printed a perfect nozzle check and the prints were perfect as well.

[hugowolf]

I think you need a 'whole house' humidifier, not because you are humidifying a house, but because you need it running all the time. I bought a five gallon evaporative one, with two tanks. If I fill it on Friday at close, it still is running and has water in it on Monday. I have it set for 45% relative humidity. My print shop studio is 15' x 15' x 12'.

Although it has only been a few weeks, and it is too soon to tell. I haven't had a single line drop out in the time it has been running. Every nozzle check print at the start of day used to be a fear and loathing experience till now.

Brian A

[Some Guy]

I think the printer room is too large for even a whole house humidifier at this point.  Area is 24x24 feet and 10 foot ceiling.  The thing I got won't even budge the hygrometer with it blowing the mist right at it.  The gas furnace is another matter.  Seems the rooms of the entire place are at the mercy of the outside humidity which is dry at 38%.  Lots of hallways too.

However, after the calibration thing with hygrometer mentioned which got it up to 75%, I was wondering if a vinyl tarp over each of the printers along with one of those glass vertical tube bird feeders under it would help?   Plain water instead of the salt & water mix that was used in the Zip-Lock bag for calibration of the hygrometer.  Maybe a sponge in the bird's beak part to keep it from splashing?  I thought about a damp sponge in a saucer but it might dry out too soon.

Something like this:

Making a vinyl cover should be easy with vinyl glue and a yard of vinyl out of a fabric store.  Clear vinyl sheet is only about $5 per yard or so.

SG

[JayWPage]

I have bought a clear plastic tub that fits over my Epson 3880 to create a higher humidity environment for the printer when it is not in use. I will use a sponge in a tray to provide moisture and I have a humidity gauge that will fit on top of the printer and I can read through the clear plastic tub.

I am still setting up my photography/printer room so I haven't actually tried it out yet, but I don't see any problems at this point...

Although, I have wondered if having high humidity could promote the growth of mold or mildew? Maybe a drop or 2 of bleach to the water might help.

[hugowolf]

24' x 24' x 10' is not too large a space for a 5 gal humidifier, if it opens to a hallway without a door between, just hang a shower curtain over the opening. You can split the curtain in two so passage between is easy.

Brian A

[cybis]

The issue with many humidifiers is the internal sensor is too close to the wick and is affected by the high humidity inside the humidifier. I modified my unit by extending the cable connecting the sensor to the board. With the sensor now a few feet away from the humidifier, the RH in the room is kept within very tight tolerance.

[benchdog]

I live in Upstate NY low humidity, hot water heat but supplement with a woodstove. My wife likes the house about 80 in the winter time. Anyways I have a 4900 my office space is an open balcony area and I am a low volume printer. I print a print check pattern then a rainbow pattern maybe once a week and I average 2 prints a week. I have had my printer 11 months with minimal issues with clogging but realized things would change during the winter so after a lot of reading I develop my action plan. Very low budget, I took an electric blanket (quit working so I was allowed to have) a shallow baking pan (I don't think the wife has missed it yet) and a sponge. I need to add water about once a week. The last time any clog nozzles showed up was Jan 10th but I think it was air because they showed up after switching from matt to photo black and before that was mid Dec. For some reason it always seems to be an issue when switching from matt to photo black. 

Since I have kept my printer covered and a tray of water under the cover I have almost eliminated any clogging issues. I did purchase the extended 2 year warranty for back up, not completely insane. I believe keeping it covered is just as important as keeping the print head at a high humidity level. Dust will be attracted to the print head and dry out the ink in the nozzles the best I can tell. I also don't believe if you keep it covered a humidifier would give the desired results.

This information and 5 bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks

Love the printer, happy with the performance, and this forum has been a great tool.

[alifatemi]

And what is the best humidity degree for printer do you friends suggest? %50?

[Wayne Fox]

I’ve heard between 45 and 55%.  I keep my room at 45%.

[hugowolf]

And what is the best humidity degree for printer do you friends suggest? %50?

I have mine set at 45%. The room varies between 42-46%. I have as yet had no clogging at this range, so I may try lowering it to 40% and seeing how that works.

Paper is better at 40% rel hum.

Brian A