Adding humidity

[Matthew63]

I was warned by a local Epson Dealer about how awful the climate in Colorado is for Epsons...
I have mine in a cool basement and its very very dry.. I was thinking of a passive wet towel system... where I place towels on a rack and let them suck moisture from a bucket or bin, allowing a non applaince simple solution.

If others have solutions Im all ears... Room is large though for creating a room of moist air.. maybe 60 by 18ft

[faberryman]

Do you know what the relative humidity is in the basement?

[Wayne Fox]

I don’t think a “passive” wet towels near the printer system will affect the humidity much, since it can’t evaporate enough water to make a difference even a few feet a way.  I have a room humidifier in my bedroom, and it take 4 to 7 gallons of water a day to keep the room at 40% humidity.

With my 9900 I kept this humidifier in the printer room and I did feel it helped quite a bit.  However, I haven’t had much issue without the humidifier with my p9000 and my p5000.  I’m in Utah, so similar climate/humidity ... mostly depends on how much the furnace and air conditioner runs.

[Matthew63]

how do I test relative H ?

[faberryman]

how do I test relative H ?

I have a humidity meter like this one.

[Matthew63]

ok
order cheap unit.. online hum levels in my area.. no furnace running .. is low 20's
so

now I say thank you all!!!

[Garnick]

I would lay down good money that if you were to buy 10 Hygrometers for measuring RH you would have 10 different readings, with quite a range between the high and low readings.  The Hygrometers I use for my acoustic guitars are actually quite accurate, and with very little difference from one to another.  They have to be so, since the proper RH range is rather critical for a musical instrument.  For a good instrument hygrometer you'd probably pay between $40 to $60 or more.  I don't run a full home humidifier and my P7000 is in the basement rec-room.  I have an instrument hygrometer inside the printer at the left end and it usually shows 40-42%.  The P7000, since it isn't used as often as I would prefer, has been a good printer with few issues.

Gary       

[Mark D Segal]

However you decide to humidify the room, if you keep it above 35% the printer will clog much less.

[Matthew63]

Thank you Marc
Is there a sweet spot?

[Mark D Segal]

I haven't tested for one. I just notice that over periods of time when my room is in the 35%~45% range there is much less printer cleaning than when it goes down into the low 20s - like now during the winter months. Epson's manual recommends a humidity range of 20% to 80%, but when I've consulted with their technical people they advise considerably higher than the 20s at the low end.

[Matthew63]

Humidifier purchased !!!
fyi while I like the idea of a passive system, I think MAYBE I was "cheaping out" on the actual need .....


save a penny spend a dollar at some point is not wise!!!

funny, I kept getting a source mismatch error, thinking it was the printer not defaulting to the software....
NO, the sofware had defaulted to roll, oops.. I love the improved speeds, and eventually will put an expensive roll on and test large...
Already replacing the initial small starter inks....
Again to Mark and all
a big big thank you

[dgberg]

For us it is a combination of controlled relative humidity and lower heat.
We set the heat in the workshop to 52 at night and then a maximum of 60 during the day.
You may think 60 is low but we worked in this same shop for 25 years in the cabinetry days mostly with the heat set to about 56 degrees.
When you are constantly working it is more then enough. When sitting at the computer for hours on end it gets a little chilly.
Our canvas wraps in the studio showroom stay fairly taut when the temps are between 50 and 60. What the wraps do not like are constant temps in the winter over 70. That is when they start to get sloppy loose. Spring summer and fall they are tight as a drum.
Since we start using the humidifier about 5 years ago I would estimate our clogs on the Epson's have gone done about 75%. Yes humidity control is a huge factor.

[Matthew63]

 
thanks Dan
I have a multi gallon humidifier on order as I type and a small space heater, as during winter our basement gets a little chilly .. maybe as low as 50.. glad that colder is ok...

The printer is such a different experience from a desktop...
Next up is setting up a monitor and doing a calibration......
and moving the p800 out of the family room.... I ran a remote usb hub upstairs to my smart tv fam room and set up the small printers there... tv is HORRID for accurate gamut brightness as a office monitor.. by hockey and movies look great :O

[Matthew63]

After adding the vornado small house unit.. the reading on my small temp and humidity meter has risen from upper twenties to mid 40s and the air definitely feels "thicker ".. also the feeder water  tanks are not emptying too fast... one whole tank in about 22 hours  in a two tank system...

I am pleased... no clogss either but maybe the initial system errors where due to being just that, the initial charge with introduction of bubbles... I am slowly emptying the starter carts, does anyone want some free empties ?