Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - Aprilaire 700 trouble

I have an Aprilaire 700 humidifier that is 2 years old. At the beginning of winter, water started pouring through the bottom of the unit. Everything else still seems to be working fine, but the water starts leaking about an hour after operation begins. Would replacing the water panel solve this situation? If so, how difficult is this to complete? If it involves buying more than just a water panel, what else needs to be purchased?

Thanks!

Is the water leaking or draining? In other words, if you have water coming out the drain at the bottom of the humidifier, going into a plastic hose to the floor drain, then it may be that everything is OK. "Flow-through" humidifiers send the water which doesn't "stick" to the media pad out the drain, in an effort to keep the unit clean. In fact, most of the water coming into the humidifier ends up going down the drain.

Thanks for the reply. It's definitely leaking. For the first two years it flowed through the bottom of the unit down the pipe and into the drain. Now it pours out the bottom of the unit all the way across. The water leaks out and little, if any, water goes through the pipe and water sprays all over the floor near the furnace.

I have an Aprilaire 550. It is leaking too, but the problem (I think) is condensation buildup on the inside of the cover. Eventually there is enough of it to leak out the crack where the cover meets the housing of the Aprilaire. I think the problem is the water access used to be installed on a horizontal cold water pipe. This got clogged. A plumber then tapped into the water on a vertical hot water pipe. Now the water going into the system is hot and it condenses on the inside of the housing cover. My question is, would you expect this to happen under these install conditions and do I need to try and tap into a vertical cold water pipe instead?

Addendum. I read an aprilaire manual that said hot water is recommended for drain units to increase capacity and for heat pump applications (which we have). I also read on another site to always use cold water. Call me confused. :eek:

There's too much air movement to have any condesation on the unit.. If you are having that. is it shutting off when the furnace shuts off?

Did you check to make sure the pad is in the frame all the way? When did you change the pad last time? Clean the 'feeding tray"?

I have an Aprilaire 760, about 3 years old, and it started leaking recently. Water leaks out of the bottom of the unit were it latches on. I can see water draining out of the the bottom thru the tube, and the unit cycles off and on with the furnace properly. I pulled the fan cover off to look in; no condensation, filter looks to be properly mounted(replaced in Oct 2005 by heating contractor). I checked for buildup, clogged distribution pan, ect. I couldn't really see a problem that was obvious. Can The filter clog and slow down water movement making it overflow? I truly don't know. Any ideas?

The 550 drains fine. Also, the water buildup and leaking seems intermitent (the unit is on and there is no water on the inside of the cover at all). I just replaced the filter and will see what happens. Is using the hot water OK? :thinker:

Addendum: I think I found the main problem. The black plastic tube that feeds the water to the pad is crimped in the lower right back of the unit where the pad holder pushes it against the housing. I think the crimp created a small hole in the tube. I suppose all I need to do is replace the tube. I am severely retarded when it comes to plumbing. Is it all one tube all the way from the solonoid? I lose it when it goes thrue the housing. If I unscrew the tube at the solonoid and put another one in, is that all there is too it, or can I expect some unforseen problem. For me there always seems to be unforeseen problems. :rolleyes:

I think the orfice hole is to big. Does it sound like its running more water. Try turning the the shut off valve down. The orfice is in the black tube at the silinoid. Is your water on the hot line? Its best for humidifing but I think it woddles out the holes.