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Temp and humidity setup

Hey all. I am currently working on a good sized enclosure for highland neps, tropical drosera, etc. I plan on using an ultrasonic humidfier but need a way to control it. I have heard of humidistats that can be used to conrol the humidifier. That is, the humidistat turns the humidifier on when the humidity gets too low. Does anyone know where I can get the necessary devices for this? Thanks.

-D. Lybrand
 
I've yet to find any affordable premade units. Companies like Honeywell make wall-mounting humidistats that run for about $60. These are like light switches - you wire them between the power source and the humidifier and they come on when the humidity drops beyond a certain point. You can find them from electrician's suppliers.
Enclosed units that have plugs for your humidifier built in are much more expensive, from what I've found, as they're marketed to the recreational greenhouse cliques. If you get a wall humidistat rated for 120 or 240 volt lines, you can just buy some electrical outlets at the hardware store and make your own enclosed humidistat. On Time Mall here has all sorts of heating and cooling components, including humidistats. You can also find them at many hardware stores, but you'll find the cheapest deal if you go to some sort of parts supplier rather than a retailer.
~Joe
 
hmmm... i dont even use a humidistat! the room humidifier's output is piped into a bulkhead into the back wall of the tank.  the dual is turned on halfway to keep the humidity above 80% is winter and above 90% is summer. the humidifier goes off when the lights do and then the humidity drops to about 70% but then rises to 100% within an hour then the temps drop from 90F to 80F in summer and 80F to 70F in winter, all values approximate.
 
Greetings,

  I use an ultrasonic humidifier hooked up to a humidistat and it works like a charm.  It takes the guess work out of humidity regulation.  The output from the ultrasonic humidifier is fine enough that it creates high humidity without forming condensation on the leaves, which greatly reduces fungal infection.

  The really good humidstats designed for greenhouse use and are pretty pricey ($60-$80), but worth it in my opinion.  You want a solid state humidistat, with a "piggy back" plug, and is designed for greenhouse use.  Some of the cheaper humistats aren't very accurate, and loose accuracy in time.  Here's where I got my humidistat (scroll down on link):  http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/controls2.shtml

  I'm currently building a large highland chamber using a circulation system and humidifer.  Hopefully I can post some photos in week or so.  

Brian
 
Hey thanks for the link Brian, that's much cheaper than the ones I've been able to find. Which model do you have? Where is the sensor located? Do you have to put the dial itself into the sample area to get a correct reading?
~Joe
 
Thanks guys. The particular setup I had in mind was using a mini fogger and a humidistat. Does anybody know how effective thouse little foggers are for increasing humidity? Or are they just for show?

-D. Lybrand
 
They're sold for use in reptile terrariums, so I think they should at least be able to push a 40 gallon tank to the 60% rh that some lizards and frogs need. I was planning on doing something like that myself. The Koi Lagoon has the little teakettle-looking humidifiers for $25, much cheaper than other places I've found them.
~Joe
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ] Do you have to put the dial itself into the sample area to get a correct reading?

I have two different brands of humidistats, both work similar. You can do a search on google and get dozens of links to various greenhouse supplies and shop around.  You might find a similar model even cheaper, but most are usually more expensive.

The humidistat needs to be placed in the terrarium where it can sample the air.  The greenhouse humidistats can easily handle a high humidity environment, opposed to the cheaper hardware store humidistats.  Also, look for a "piggy back" plug.  These have a waterproof cord that plugs into a wall outlet, and then the humidifier plugs directly into it.  This insures that the plug in is located out of the terrarium away from high humidity.



[b said:
Quote[/b] ]. Does anybody know how effective thouse little foggers are for increasing humidity?

I don't like the foggers.  They splash water around, and the discs need to be replaced.  For about $10 extra you can buy an ultrasonic humidifer.  I've had mine for over 10 years and it still works perfectly.  The brand I have is by honeywell.  Another benifit of an ultrasonic humidifier is it has a fan built in, and everytime it comes on, it introduces fresh air into the terrarium.  I use various plastic piping to vent the humidified air into my terrarium.  I have ventilation along the top and bottom sides, which allows the stagnant air to be flushed out.

Brian
 
  • #10
The little foggers say they are also ultrasonic. Can you give me a link to the specific model you have or give a model name? I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. Thanks.

-D. Lybrand
 
  • #11
Dlybrand,

   An ultrasonic humidifier works by the same principle as a fogger.  Both have metal discs that break water into a very fine mist.  Ultrasonic humidifiers just have a fan built in to force the mist into the air.  The foggers will work for a small terrarium, but they are not as effective in a larger area.  Because the foggers have to work longer in order to bring the humidity up, the metal discs wear out and have to be replaced. As I mentioned previously,I've had my ultrasonic humidifier for 10 years and haven't had to replace anything. Ultrasonic humidifiers can be found at drug stores, hardware stores, etc.  I see that Amazon.com also has honeywell "visible mist" ultrasonic humidifiers for a good price(note "cool mist" is not the same type of humdifer, they depend an evaporation wick).

For a 60 gallon terrarium I've used a humidifer/humidistat combo and it works good.  If the terrarium has good ventilation, the stagnant air is flushed out on a regular basis.  The large chamber I'm building now uses a 4" CPU fan hooked up to aluminum dryer vent hose.  The fan is positioned outside the chamber, pulling in fresh air, and the vent hose is directed inside the chamber.  The output of the humidifier is directed into the vent house to insure that the air is humidified.  This creates great air flow, and also allows the humidifier to work more effectively.  I had the system set up with just the humidifer and it took about 10 minutes for the humidity to raise up to 80%.  With the 4" fan it only took 2 minutes.  I've found that it even though the humidity is high, no condensation forms on any surface (sides, bottom, leaves, etc). In hydroponic circles this is referred to as "dry humidity". When the humidstat is on, I can literally dial in whatever humidity level I desire. I'm hoping it will create an environment suitable for highland neps....we'll see.

Some excellent info can be found at Josh's site (he gave me advice for the ventilation system):

www.nepenthesgarden.com

check out the highland cultivation section.  It's not quite complete, but Josh is happy to answer email questions.

Enjoy,
Brian
 
  • #12
Thanks! I have several CPU fans from various old machines that I sometimes use. However, they require 12v and I can only hook them up to 9v. It works but eats up batteries quite quickly. How have you rigged your fans?

-D. Lybrand
 
  • #13
BTW, do you know where Mr. Cook is located? I can't find it anywhere on the site.

-D. Lybrand
 
  • #14
I bought my fan from Radio Shack.  The fan is rated for normal household current.  It had two bare wires, and I wired it to a two prong cord.  It works good.  

I'm not sure where Josh is from.  Here's what he had to say in an email:

"Put the fan in the window to pull in fresh air day and night. When it gets too hot in summer, put the fan in front of an Air conditioner. When it's too cold in winter just shut the window but keep the fan against it, this way it will still pull cool air but not -40*F January air, just enough to make the highlanders happy! "

He lives someplace that gets very cold in the winter!  I think his setup is perfect for those of us who live in termperate climates.

Brian
 
  • #15
Yeah, a while back I saw that segment and was thinking about using a big duct attached to the window. He also suggested using a window-mounted AC so changing the setup in summer wouldn't take long.

-D. Lybrand
 
  • #16
Cheapest most effective solution to your problem is a sonic humidifier from wallmart ($25), and a humidistat from farmtek ($45). humidifier plugs right in to the humidistat, which plugs into the wall.More fog than you will ever need. Set it, and forget it.
Robin:)
 
  • #17
I've got one of those Ultrasonic humidifiers in one of my terrariums. Its sitting in a cup of distilled water and makes this horror move like creeping fog, it looks absolutly awsome. When it's on humidity stays up in the 90's. So far, it has worked fine, no problem.

-Rail
 
  • #18
How exactly can I go about wiring the humidistat myself? Is there a grounded plug on it that I can use an extension cord with? Or is it just contacts that need to be soldered? Thanks a bunch.

-D. Lybrand
 
  • #20
The humidistat from the farmtek website is a good model.  I used to use a timer to regulate my humidifier, but the humidistat works much better.  

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Yeah, a while back I saw that segment and was thinking about using a big duct attached to the window. He also suggested using a window-mounted AC so changing the setup in summer wouldn't take long.

I set up my new chamber this morning using the same technique.  So far it works great.  The humidity is maintained at 80% with no condensation forming anywhere. The air flow is nice.  I just piped my humidifier into the intake duct so the incoming air is humidified.  I'm going to let it run for awhile before introducing any plants.

Brian
 
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