Essick Humidifier

This is a review of the Essick 821 0006  (6 gallon) humidifier, made, I think, by Bemis.

REASONS FOR PURCHASE
I live in a climate in which the winters are extremely dry, so I bought this humidifier for three reasons:
1. To address the problem of wooden furniture cracking, and to prevent this (cracks had begun to appear in various pieces of wooden furniture which I own)
2. To prevent the dryness from damaging several of my (wooden) musical instruments in ways similar to the way that the furniture was affected
3. To keep humidity in the air so that my skin was hydrated and I wasn't scratching myself all the time

I first noticed this humidifier in a musical instrument store, and found out the name of the local dealer from the assistant in the store. The assistant also told me that he had found the Essick to be reliable and easy to maintain.

IN USE
In use, I have found the Essick 821 0006 to have various characteristics which recommend it, and others which are disadvantageous. However, its effectiveness far outweighs its disadvantages for me.

I have not had problems with the Essick suffering the kinds of vibration problems which the other reviewer describes, although I can see how the construction of the Essick could lead to this in units which are not manufactured properly. I have been using my Essick every winter evening and night for the last three or four years and have not had any of these problems.

By the way, because of the large volume of water needed to fill the Essick's 6 gallon capacity, I have found the ideal vessel to help with this task to be a large Dutch pot. If, for some reason, one is near a tap or a hose, this would be even more convenient for filling the Essick.

ADVANTAGES
I have found the humidifier to be HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, in meeting the goals which I had for it (see 'Reasons for Purchase', above) when used on the 'High' setting.

None of my furniture has cracked, my musical instruments are in good condition, and I have not been scratching myself to death, as I had been doing every winter before I got the Essick.

DISADVANTAGES
1. In order for any meaningful/effective amount of humidity to be put out by the humidifier, I have to use it on the 'High' setting (it has both 'High' and 'Low' settings).

2. Unfortunately, as the other reviewer noted, using the humidifier on 'High', means that it is very noisy. The Essick is positioned just off the living room in my apartment, and it is impossible to hear the television if the humidifier is on 'High'. So, I set the control on 'Low' while I am in the living room, and put it on 'High' at night after I have gone to bed.

I don't mind the noise at night because I am a fitful sleeper, and the constant noise of the humidifier prevents most other noises from awakening me (my bedroom is about 20 feet away from the Essick, so I can hear it).

3. There is a hard, moulded plastic 'twist-tie'-like device, which holds the vertical float in place: when the water level has evaporated past a certain point, the float sinks and shuts off the motor. This is a good idea.

Unfortunately, the 'twist tie' broke recently (after two winters' previous use). For me, it was a simple case of taking a 20 minute journey to the store where I had bought the Essick in order to buy a replacement 'twist tie' (very cheap), but for others who have to order such a part, the inconvenience of ordering and the cost of packaging and posting might be annoying and/or upsetting.

One can still use the unit without the twist tie, but in that case one would have to remember to check the water level in order to know when to either shut the unit off manually or to refill the unit.

UPDATE, Although I initially found that the float system worked less consistently after I replaced the broken plastic 'twist-tie', making it necessary for me to check the water level myself more often, I am happy to say that this problem disappeared after a few days' use.

4. I have noticed that the plastic frame which houses the wick seems to be getting fragile, just as the 'twist-tie' did. A non-essential piece of it snapped off the frame recently. Perhaps the fact that both the 'twist-tie' and the plastic frame are submerged in water a good deal of the time contributes to an aging process which weakens the plastic and makes it brittle.

WICK
The humidifier needs a replaceable 'wick' - a kind of concertina-like filter. This wick costs about $25 U.S. (if you buy the Bemis wick), and I have found that I can get through a whole winter using one wick.

N.B. It is possible to buy cheaper, third-party wicks, i.e. not made by Bemis, which are very effective. However, the plastic frame which the wick has to sit in is NOT supplied with the third party wick which I have bought, and, if memory serves, I think that the frame is supplied with the Bemis wicks. This might be an issue if the plastic frame needs to be replaced at some point (see above).

RELIABILITY/DURABILITY
Apart from the problems mentioned under 'Disadvantages' above (concerning the fragility of the plastic 'twist-tie' and of the wick frame), I have found the Essick to be ultra reliable. And to be fair, I would expect this kind of wear-and-tear from parts which are constantly being used. 

There have been no problems with excessive vibration, with the motor, or with the electronic readout (for humidity and high/low settings).

The motor/fan part of the unit has been sturdy enough, and has been put together well enough for vibration to not be an issue.

While the plastic on the main 'body/bin' of the Essick is very thin, and the plastic of the motor/fan unit is thicker, there is no part of the unit that I would describe as flimsy, as was the experience of the other reviewer of this unit.

For me, flimsiness is only relevant if it could lead to a malfunction or if it could impede the functioning of the unit. While I would not be certain that the Essick could survive being rammed hard into a projection of some sort (e.g. corner of a chair), I cannot see a situation in which this would happen.

I would like to note that I am not disputing the experience of the other reviewer - it sounds like the units which that person has owned have each been faulty in their construction.

MAINTENANCE
The Essick needs the minimum of maintenance. I clean the unit twice a year; once when I initially start to use it at the beginning of the winter, and again when I stop using it at the end of the winter.

This cleaning involves scrubbing the main 'bin' part of the unit with a cleaning solution, and then again with bleach. I also use Q-tips to clean the dust from recessed parts in the main 'bin', and also from between the angled 'blades' of the motor/fan unit.

This cleaning task takes about 30 minutes each time, and I think that I have previously only had to spend so long on the first of these two cleanings because I have not previously covered the unit to prevent dust getting in when it is not in use. So, at the end of this winter, I will be sure to cover the Essick properly.

OVERALL
I have found the Essick to be a highly effective device, which has met my needs completely.

The disadvantages listed above do not get in the way of the Essick peforming the tasks for which I bought it, and are not significant enough for me to look for something else. However, I can see that the noise might be a problem for some people.

I had previously owned and used a warm-heat (if that is the right term) humidifier of a lower water capacity and had found it unusable, primarily because of the amount of scale which accumulated on the elements, and the amount of cleaning I had to do to try to prevent this scale increasing. Regardless of the amount of cleaning I did, the scale thickened, and I was unable to use the unit in the end. In addition to the constant cleaning the unit needed, the high frequency of refilling it was too inconvenient for me. I threw out the unit.

I far prefer this wick-based humidifier, which has no heating elements of any sort, and which has much larger water capacity (and which only needs the minimum of maintenance).

Having said that, I also own the Essick Air B23810 3 1/2 gallon humidifier which I bought for use in my bedroom, and which takes a smaller wick than the 821 0006. I have found this smaller unit to be almost totally ineffective, and I no longer use it. It just seems to not be able to put out enough water to keep even one room humidified, and it requires almost constant refilling.

Given that the Essick does not quite cover the whole of the 600 sq. feet of my apartment, and that it is noisy when used on the 'high' setting, I am considering buying another Essick 6 gallon to complement the unit I already have. I would run each of the two units on the 'low' setting. This would minimize the noise, and, I hope, would ensure that the entire apartment was humidified.

Based on my needs and experience, I highly recommend this unit.