Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - Desert Spring Experiences

I am looking for any experiences with the Desert Spring reservoir disk humidifier. I don't like the water consumption of flow through pad based humidifiers nor the mineral accumulation in drum pad reservoir products. Seems the DS product have some interesting technology. I saw one post that commented on their price, but other than that, any experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks
Wilton

I've heard these things don't work like they say they do.. and lots of maints to them.

I not seen them around here.. just the Aprilair or Honeywell one.

Thanks Jay,
Any speculation as to why they have maintenance issues. From the design they look simpler than the AprilAir?
Thanks

I don't recall where I've read it. but the "Disk" still filled up with lime or what not.. and they are a pain to clean if that comes to a point that needs to be done.

ALso with these, they don't put out alot of moister to run..

What is going out put off more humidty? Water on a plastic surface or a spong pad that holds water?

The pads on honeywell/apri air are not hard to change out. As for the water flow, is not that much as you think might be doing down the drain.. Also, with the flow, you always got fresh water going on the pad, then water sitting in a pan in a warm enviroement where germs can grow.

Unlike Jay, I actually own a Desert Spring and am delighted with it.

Maintenance has been a breeze. I cleaned the discs and water tray earlier this year when I closed the damper, emptied the tray, and shut it off for the off-season. What little scale there was cleaned up easily with a shop rag and some Simple Green. Your mileage may vary in direct proportion to the quality of the water serving your house... use an inline filter if you're worried (and that'd go for any system, Desert Spring or other).

Opening things back up for this winter was equally effortless. With the damper open and the water turned back on the DS was right back to work. To help things along, I cranked open the humidistat and set the fan on constant while I watched the humidity in the house climb back up to a nice 35%. It took about a day after which I turned down the humidistat to just below where it would trigger the drum to roll.

I do not recommend the optional Auto Flush device from Desert Spring. The intervals are too short (12, 24, and 48 hours) and produced a nasty ice-slick outside the back of the house last winter. With the float system keeping the water level constant and the efficiency of the discs at adding moisture to my home, I'd rather flush the tray once or twice a week... or maybe even less often. The water doesn't get a chance to lay still long enough for anything to grow unlike sponges/pads that wind up soaked and drying when their systems stop.

I am confused about the Desert Spring unit installation. It appears it should be installed on the cold are return but I don't have room. I am replacing a Aprilaire 440 13 years old. Iis it OK to put the unit on the plenum supply?

I looked at the install manual, and says you can put it on the supply duct.

Just keep an eye on the float so it won't overflow on you if the float get filled up with lime... Otherwise, if it overflows, then you are at risk of water damage on the heat exchanger, and controls in the blower area.