Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - HE360A wiring with Totaline P286-1400

I am trying to install the Honeywell HE360A powered humidifier with a Totaline P286-1400 thermostat/humidistat.

The people that sold me the Totaline said if I plug in the HE360A to a wall outlet and touch the yellow wires together it will complete the circuit and the unit will turn on (spin fan and soleniod clicks open).

That doesn't happen. Touching those wires had no effect at all with the unit right out of the box.

I did find if I connect the yellow wires to the H and C terminals on the thermostat, the HE360A's soleniod clicks when the thermostat calls for humidity. But the humidifier's fan doesn't spin.

When I reduce the humidity on the Totaline to cause it to stop calling for humidity, I don't hear a click indicating the solenoid has closed, so I'm wondering if the original click is a fast open and close.

Does anyone know how to get this setup to work?

I haven't installed the humidifier yet because I don't want to start cut the plenum and set up the water supply until I know the unit will work. Could there be a water sensor that shuts off the humidifier when no water is present?

Thanks.

I am trying to install the Honeywell HE360A powered humidifier with a Totaline P286-1400 thermostat/humidistat.

Hope you are putting a relay on this set up? The t-stat will NOT work with this humidifer.. H is providing power.

The people that sold me the Totaline said if I plug in the HE360A to a wall outlet and touch the yellow wires together it will complete the circuit and the unit will turn on (spin fan and soleniod clicks open).

That doesn't happen. Touching those wires had no effect at all with the unit right out of the box.

It should, it has it's own transformer. Do you have a meter to check for power on the two yellow wires? Should read 24 volts. If not, then you may have a defective unit.. There is no safety on this if there is no water.. Just make sure the cover is in place.

I did find if I connect the yellow wires to the H and C terminals on the thermostat, the HE360A's soleniod clicks when the thermostat calls for humidity. But the humidifier's fan doesn't spin.

I hope the furnace isn't tied to this t-stat yet??

Thanks for the reply Jay11J.

The vendor who sold me the thermostat said it would work with any powered, whole-house humidifier and that the connection was a simple matter of hooking the main humidifier wires to H and Rh on the Totaline.

I'm not sure what kind of relay you mean. Would you have a link to a page that shows one?

I'll check the humidifiers wires for current tonight.

Thanks again.

Jay11J: Is this the relay you're referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/Aprilaire-24V-Sensing-Relay-50/dp/B000K1BDIC

Thanks for the reply Jay11J.

The vendor who sold me the thermostat said it would work with any powered, whole-house humidifier and that the connection was a simple matter of hooking the main humidifier wires to H and Rh on the Totaline.

Are you using this t-stat ONLY for the humidifier, not heating and cooling??? if you are, then wow.. spent a lot of money on a t-stat to only control the humidifier.

I'm not sure what kind of relay you mean. Would you have a link to a page that shows one?

The Honeywell R8222B relay is what you want.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3272/relaymq1.jpg

Thanks again.

BTW, I am controlling a furnace/AC unit already with the thermostat and it is working well for that...but I bought it so I could run a humidifer from the same stat.

Finally getting around to doing this install.

Ok, if you are going to use the 360, and the t-stat, then you MUST use a relay.

The 360 has it's own transformer, and the t-stat is getting power from the furnace's transformer... You DO NOT use two power source, or you are going to burn out one of the transformer... Did you hook the humidifier to the t-stat earlier? Sounds like you did in the earlier post... may be of damaged it.

If you have gotten the bypass models like HE220/260, then you would be able to get by with out the relay.

Jay,
My utility closet is cramped so I didn't have room for the bypass model.

I picked up another HE360A and when I plugged it in and crossed the yellow wires the fan came on and soleniod opened.

My first one never did that, so it was defective out of the box.

I did connect the original to the t-stat when I knew humidification was off and then raised the humidification level until it came on. That made the soleniod click, but the fan never came on. Since that humidifier was defective anyway, I guess it wasn't broken any worse (fortunately the t-stat wasn't harmed).

I ordered the relay and won't hook up the working humidifer until I get it.

Thanks for the help...the vendor of the t-stat told me the connection was very easy and didn't say anything about a relay so I appreciate the help.

Ok, great when you do get the relay, Take the wire that is on H at t-stat. and put it on one of the coil side post (With the zig zag drawn on it). On the other post on the coil, take that to C on the furnace.

Take one of the yellow wire from humidifier to post on the relay #1. other yellow wire on post #3.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/7842/relayhumbh6.jpg

Thanks again...I found the instructions for that relay and they weren't very clear about what connects where. That diagram should cover it.

For positioning the relay, do you know if temperature is an issue for them?

Should I mount it on the wall away from the furnace and get some extra wire to reach it?

You can mount it inside the furnace anywhere that you may have space for it.

Jay,

Thanks for the tips on setting up this configuration. I have everything installed and working.

I do have one more question about the relay wiring though.

When the heater raises the air temp, it lowers the humidity percentage, so the humidifier tends to run after the heater.

It would be more efficient to ensure that they run together, but I'd also like the t-stat to be able to run the humidifier alone if it wants to.

Is it safe to connect both H and W2 to one of the coil posts on the relay? That should turn on the humidifer when either wire is energized.

But it's possible that both wires could be energized simultaneously and I don't know if that could damage the relay.

Also since both wires would be on the same port, if one is energized and its touching the other could that damage the t-stat?

Thanks.

Jay,

Thanks for the tips on setting up this configuration. I have everything installed and working.
Glad to hear it's working.



When the heater raises the air temp, it lowers the humidity percentage, so the humidifier tends to run after the heater.
The humidifer still runs after heat? Sounds like this t-stat does not shut off when heat shuts off.. So, we may have to add a A50 relay in line.


Is it safe to connect both H and W2 to one of the coil posts on the relay? That should turn on the humidifer when either wire is energized.


Also since both wires would be on the same port, if one is energized and its touching the other could that damage the t-stat.
No, I would not advise doing this.. When there is call for humidity, 2nd stage will start off.

Going to have to add a A50 relay.

The humidifer still runs after heat? Sounds like this t-stat does not shut off when heat shuts off.. So, we may have to add a A50 relay in line.


The Totaline 1400 is smart enough to control the humidifier and furnace independently...and it always runs the main HVAC fan whenever the humidifer is on (there is a setting for that). So my problem is not that the humidifier is running without the main fan.

What's happening is the furnace runs on its own to heat up the house, then shuts off. The t-stat detects that the humidity level has dropped and then turns on the humidifier. Since that is evaporative, it cools the air and means the furnace will come on sooner.

So one system or the other always seems to be running.

If I can ensure that the humidifier always runs when the furnace is on, that should keep the furnace from drying out the house.

But if the air is very dry, the t-stat might decide it needs to run the humidifier longer than the furnace, and I'd like it to be able to do that.

So I'm trying to come up with a way to create an OR circuit that will switch on the humidifier anytime either W2 or H is energized.

From your post, I need to keep H and W2 from coming into contact with each other.

Maybe I need 2 relays...with H -> C across the coil posts on one and W2 - C on the coils of the other.

Then connect the humidifier's yellow wires to 1 -> 3 on both relays?

The Totaline 1400 is smart enough to control the humidifier and furnace independently...and it always runs the main HVAC fan whenever the humidifer is on (there is a setting for that). So my problem is not that the humidifier is running without the main fan.

If you look at the install manual on page 6?, says set Humidification fan OFF.