( 17 reviews )
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Mar 2 2008
First off, this unit does not have a 3.5 gallon capacity. Its really just shy of a 2 gallon capacity (perhaps 2 full gallons if you removed the filter cartridge that sticks into the water tank). This unit puts out a good volume of mist at a high rate and does it quietly. It's about twice as fast as my other (older) unit and quieter to boot. The nozzle can spray in two directions, which I find helps distribute the mist into the air better. I don't use this with hard water -- if you plan on using hard water I just wouldn't use an ultrasonic humidifier, get one of the wicking humidifiers. The water reservoir has a sturdy handle that is nice for carrying when its full. However, a couple negatives for me are that the tapering of the reservoir make it look unstable when you're filling it (haven't had it fall over though). Also, I keep this up on a dresser, and its hard to put the full reservoir (which is heavy) back onto the unit. That would be less of an issue if kept on a table or floor. Overall, I'm happy with this unit and its been running almost continuously this winter.
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 19 2008
First of all, I must validate my argument by stating that I own an Air-O-Swiss 7135 as well. That unit has been flawless. It is quiet, humidifies well, and has been hassle free. I recently moved my 7135 to my daughter's room and decided to give the "upgraded" 7142 a try in my own room. The thing sounds horrible! It sounds like a low pitched cow mooing on and off every few seconds. The sound is very disturbing. Not even my dog would sleep in the room with the horrendous cow sound. It just droned on and off all night long and kept me awake. I tried shaking it and kicking it, but it didn't get rid of the horrendous bovine that is now living in my room. I think I'm going to just throw it out my window so I can put it out of its misery.
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( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 5 2008
A very good humidifier, but with a couple of flaws. Very quiet, pumps out lots of warm mist at close to the 3.5 gal/day quoted rate. As such, the tank needs to be filled 2x daily if used full bore in a larger room. As with any ultrasonic humidifier that I've used, filling the tank can be cumbersome and, as some have pointed out, this tank has no flat surface to rest it on, making it unstable. But ignore comments about leaking, placement, etc. because they have NOTHING to do with the model, but more the style of humidifier (ultrasonic). Flaws: more white dust than usual with hard water because the filter has a design flaw. The washer seal on the tank plunger is supposed to double as a filter "anti-bypass" seal, but allows water to bypass the filter (it's undersized). Also, the humidity controller "hunts" on and off when the setpoint is reached, rapidly turning the mist on and off - very annoying in the middle of the night. (For you engineers, there is no "hysteresis" in the control loop.) To avoid this, you need to raise the humidity setpoint higher than desired and lower the fan speed to keep the room level fairly constant, essentially turning the humidifier into a manual control model. (So why spend $200 for the fancy controls?) All in all, it pumps out humidity, it's easy to clean, it's very quiet, it's relatively easy to fill, the humidity is nice and warm (and doesn't freeze out the room), my throat no longer croaks in the morning, and my eyes aren't fused shut. BTW, we live in bone dry Colorado with forced hot air, and the unit is in a ~600 sq. ft BR with a 15' ceiling and adjoining master bath. It does the job nicely if run constantly. I would imagine that the reports about hard water being a big problem are right on. Still, for us: 4 stars.
