Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier
by Air-O-Swiss
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Air-O-Swiss AOS 7144 Ultrasonic Humidifier
Customer Review: Worth the money and more!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my 2nd purchase of this same unit...we needed another one for the living room. I have not had a single issue with either of them. One has been running for ~8 straight months with no need for cleaning (because there's nothing to clean off it). My newest one is only 2 weeks old. They both work flawlessly.
You need to realize that this humidifier is ultrasonic, which has many advantages over "swamp cooler" style humidifiers, but they have a few things to keep in mind. If you didn't know, an ultrasonic humidifier uses a piezoelectric transducer element that vibrates at ultrasonic speeds. This causes water molecules to break off from the rest of the pool and it becomes vapor. In doing so, it also rips the mineral deposits apart from the water. This is that "white dust" you hear about. It's bad. It will accumulate pretty much everywhere in, on, and around the humidifier...including the ultrasonic element. Minerals are abrasive...and they *could* essentially "sand" away the finish on the element over time. That's bad, but it's not the manufacturer's fault by any means...it's *your* fault for using hard water.
Now, with that elementary stuff out of the way, RO water good enough for daily use with the demineralization cartridge. The "white dust" may be non-existent to your eyes, but there are still trace minerals in RO water and the cartridge in the tank can't remove everything, so they'll build up over time. That's why you have to clean it every few months. I removed the cartridge and use a mix of distilled water (from the store) and free de-ionized water from my work. I get the best performance this way. If I ever get my reverse osmosis system fixed, I might us a mix of RO water and DI water to save some $$$.
So how about some features to consider:
1. Mist control - There are 3 levels: "barely any", "a good amount", and "old faithful." I keep both units set at 50% humidity and on the highest vapor setting. This is able to keep my living room and master bedroom at an optimal humidity. The tank will last 1.5 to 2 days depending on usage and relative humidity.
2. Near silent - When it's on, the little fan (that you don't have access to) is always on. It's only there to help the vapor get up and out of the unit. It's about the same volume as a single low-speed computer fan. You can only hear it if it's dead silent in the room. When the unit is producing vapor, you can hear the hum of the ultrasonic element doing its thing, and there's the occasional "blurp" sound of air bubbles in the tank. Total noise level is less than 25% of a typical house fan on the "low" setting. In fact, when my fan is on, you cannot hear the unit at all.
3. Pre-Heating - It has a pre-heat function that *warms* the vapor. By the time the vapor leaves the unit, it's slightly above body temperature. It adds the same energy usage as a light bulb, so don't be scared off by it...it's by no means a steam humidifier. If you put your hand 3" away from the nozzle, the vapor will be cool already. Speaking of nozzles...
4. Dual adjustable output nozzles - Great for putting the vapor where you want it. If you line up the thumb tabs, the nozzle comes out for cleaning...snazzy.
5. Buttons/Display - The buttons have a nice feel to them, and the display is big and bright...it's slightly brighter than my alarm clock's display. If it's too bright for you, leave the protective film on the display and color it in with a sharpie marker. You'll still be able to see the display...just a little darker.
Now for the drawbacks...
1. No rubber feet. I like things to stay where I put them. Because it has plastic feet it will move if you bump it.
2. It does drip a bit when you remove the tank. Now understand me: this is impossible to avoid. Warm vapor + cool water tank = condensation in the vapor tube. Also, the bottom of the case comes in contact with the water that's about to be pre-heated/vaporized. Pick the tank up, let it drip for 2 seconds, tip it at a slight angle, let it drip for another 2 seconds...no spilled water. Or you can be quick and flip the tank upside down in one swift motion like I do. The tank itself does not leak.
3. The only way to fill it is to flip the tank over and unscrew the cap. I've thought about drilling/tapping a 1" hole in the top that's big enough for a funnel...but I've never got around to it. Having to flip the tank over to fill it isn't worth the effort/time.
So that's it. The 3 "cons" are so minor they don't even matter, but I thought I'd still bring them up.
Customer Review: Nice machine but.....
Summary: 3 Stars
After some extensive online research, we've decided to surplus on a good humidifier to combat the dry air during northeast winter season. We know from several relatives living in the area(north NJ) that "regular" humidifier will generate white dusts with tap water so a deminerailzation filter is the most important feature we look for. Secondary feature we look for is noise. AOS, as good as the reviews have been, did not meet all these expectations.
First of all, as stated in many other reviews, the humidstat (hygrometer) did not work accurately. In our ~250sq ft bed room, it constantly stays under 40. When left on auto with 50% humiditiy as target, the unit never reached above 40, leaving it running on high speed at all time. We will have to refill the tank in the morning. The only time it hit 50% is when I close the door to our bedroom. Our entire apt is not more than 700 sq ft. Certainly does not humidifiy as advertised (650sq ft)
Second, I don't understand why people say this is silent or ultra quiet. Perhaps I am more sensitive to noise and maybe because this is my first humidifier. We put this unit on a stand(3ft high) as suggested. The fan obviously draws air from the bottom. You can certainly hear this noise while sleeping. If you leave the TV on or playing some kind of music, the noise gets drown out. Those who said this unit is silent probably left it sitting on carpet or across the room, tucked away. I was so surprised at the noise I almost thought I had a defective unit. I concluded this unit maybe "more quiet compared to other humidifier" but certainly not silent.
After running a for few days, we looked for white dusts on furnitures and didnt' find any. It wasn't until we brought home a new printer and found very fine layer of dusts all over it the next day. Then we started to look at all electronics. (computers monitors, tv... which are more sensitive to dusts). To prove it wasn't just regular dusts (it was pretty obvious since its all over the printer, inside and out, not just top layer) we cleaned the printer and stopped using the unit for one day. no white dusts. It can be sodium (which the filter will not remove) or lime or calcium and we are using 2 staged filtered water (not RO or distilled.) We do not have RO system nor want to spend the money to buy distill water. It fails the white dusts for us. To think that we can be actually breathing this stuff into our lungs, its scary. And, yes, we followed instructions and soaked the fitler for 24hrs. Conclusion: It probably removes ALOT of minerals but not all. We did not see this over our furnitures, only sensitive materials like plastics, shiney surface. Either way, I am not comfortable breathing in this stuff.
Warm mist feature. What warm mist? They might as well not have this and save some production costs. The fine mists is cooled immediately by surround air (mind you its heated room) The only time you will feel any warmth is if you put your hands directly above the outlet.
I really wanted this to work well for us. The heat is cranked up high in our apartment, we really needed one that works well in all aspect. The unit is built well, constructed well. Swiss designed and made in Korea, not China.
Some of the claimed feature of this unit is over hyped. I can live with the noise (gotten used to it now) and even tolerate the inaccuracy of the hygrostat but not the white dusts, no matter how little. If using RO water is the solution, then I will just go get a cheaper unit without the demineralization filter. Next solution would be a steamer type or air washer.
conclusion: It receives a three star because I think some of the features are grossly exaggerated. Its not ultra quiet nor near silent (in fact, the fan dba is rated around 25, the fans in my computer generate less, 20dba) If you think your water is hard and has softener (sodium), I would just stay away from ultrasonic machines all together. AOS was suppose to be one of the best to elimiate white dusts and it proves too weak for NJ waters.
Customer Review: Great idea, but seriously flawed execution
Summary: 2 Stars
I want to keep my piano in tune through the tough Minnesota winter. I bought one of these this fall, and have used it for several months now.
In principle, this should be a great product. Ultrasonic humidifiers are energy-efficient, quiet, and germ-resistant -- but they create white dust from minerals in the water, and give an unpleasantly cold and clammy output. This humidifier tackles those problems with an integrated water filter to get rid of the white dust, and an integrated water heater. Brilliant! Right?
Wrong. The filter doesn't completely work, and after a few month's usage, there's a sticky white dust over everything in the room. I run an air purifier in the same room, and its filter is utterly gummed up. Our water is not unusually hard; the humidifier just doesn't work as advertised.
Furthermore, the tank is too small. Forget about these "room size" and "runs for *up to* XX hours" stats that humidifier makes try to foist on you. There are two numbers to pay attention to: the maximum output rate (volume per time), and the tank size. This humidifier does pretty well on the output rate, but the tank is way to small. The result: even keeping the room at not even 40% humidity, I have to refill the thing twice a day or more. People just running it overnight while they sleep may not be bothered, but I'm trying to keep the room with the piano up to a good level 24/7, and this thing doesn't cut the mustard.
But wait, there's more! The controls are idiotic. They use a cryptic set of little icons that are not easy to figure out. The desired humidity only goes in 5% increments, and doesn't go lower than 40%. I want it at 35% for the winter. Tough luck! Worse still, it doesn't have up/down buttons for the desired humidity level, so you have to cycle aaaallll the way around to get to the one you want, like resetting an alarm clock.
That might be acceptable if it remembered the settings, but every time it's powered off -- not unplugged, mind you, but powered off -- it forgets all the settings and you have to redo them. If the power goes off, even for 30 seconds, the unit stays off. I've already had to do an extra piano tuning because of an outage.
Even if the power doesn't go off, it's still a big problem: the only way not to get ridiculous amounts of white powder is to empty the bottom of the unit regularly; otherwise minerals build up in the base. Every time you unplug it, you have to redo the settings. However, you can't adjust any settings until the bottom tank refills. So my current refill cycle is as follows: carry entire unit (tank+base) to sink. Empty base while filling tank. Carry back and plug it in. WAIT TWO MINUTES for it to glug glug glug into the base until it realizes it's refilled. Then redo all the settings the way I want. TWICE A DAY.
But wait, there's even more! The humidity sensor is wildly inaccurate, because the unit throws itself off. The mist doesn't disperse all that well, and the the thing bathes itself in humidity. That puts it into a thrash cycle where it turns on because it thinks the air is dry, then turns off when it's covered in its own mist, then turns back on again.... The only upside of this is that the coarse 5% humidity increments don't really matter, because the sensor is always wrong anyway (and not by a consistent amount).
One more thing: the manual says it needs to be at least four feet off the floor, or the mist won't have time to evaporate as it falls. That's a low estimate. I have mine five feet off the ground, and it still leaves the floor near it sticky with minerals and slightly damp.
For the price, this ought to be a really excellent humidifier. It isn't. I really miss the $50 warm mist one it replaced.
Customer Review: High Co$t, High Maintenance But WORTH IT !
Summary: 5 Stars
When my third "Big Noise Box" fan-driven humidifier from Menard's died, I researched humidifiers and this brand sounded good, so I picked up a couple from Overstock (same price as here) two years ago. I LOVE that the unit is so quiet you barely hear it running, compared to the box-fan type racket the Menard's models made. And, the fact that you can see a measurement of the humidity in the air on the unit's digital screen, as well as feel it as it billows out of the top of the unit.
Cost: I spent about $400 on two units, but then I was about to spend another $100 for my FOURTH junk brand unit from Menard's in a time span of about six years.
Maintenance: Consumables can be pricey with this unit. About every two weeks in the heating season (around November through March up North) you'll need to use a packet of EZ-CAL to clean each unit, and about once a month you will need to replace the demineralization cartridge, unless you buy distilled water to run it. Considering I fill the reservoir every morning and night every day of the heating season, using the cartridges works better for me. AND you can save some money by buying bags of replacement granules for the demineralization cartridge instead of buying a whole new cartridge every month. The downside is you must buy their brand, no substitutes or the warranty is void.
Service: I also experienced the dreaded "gold membrane" breakdown. After the first season, the gold membrane on both units peeled off. Originally I thought it was because I left water in the units toward the end of the heating season, but apparently it was not my fault. I returned both units and received two refurbished ones, which worked great until one of the developed the same problem. Again I returned the one unit and received a brand new unit in a box. I found no fault with their customer service. In two weeks I was up and running again with a brand new unit. Hope it holds up as well as the other replacement which is going on its second year of the three year warranty period.
As long as I place the unit high enough off the floor and position the top vents properly I do not experience any water in unwanted places. And I am very happy that I do not have to deal with changing any waterlogged, dirty "lab experiment" paper filters that the old big fan box humidifiers use. Just do your bi-monthly EZ-CAL routine, new demineralization cartridge or granules monthly, a little brushing with the yellow brush (and only the provided yellow brush or you'll void the warranty) for INSIDE the unit base where the GOLD MEMBRANE IS, and for the unit's removeable water tank, a little bottle brush scrubbing to get any slime off the tube inside the water tank (this tube rests above the gold membrane when the water tank is placed on top of the unit base; the water vapor travels up it and shoots out of the top through the vents). Cleaning the tube eliminates the little white specks of film I would notice floating in the water in the base of the unit when I removed the tank to clean it every two weeks (probably due to our rock-hard Wisconsin water). It's easy remove any of this film from the reservoir tube while you are waiting the half hour for the EZ-CAL to work, I discovered. Other than that, runs clean and well for me!
Customer Review: The Engineer in me had a fight with the Consumer in me over this one. Read the review to find out who won.
Summary: 3 Stars
I searched long and hard to find a humidifier that would meet my needs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one, so this is what I ended up with. Kind of harsh to start out with, I know, but I'm just being honest. I wanted a humidifer, first and foremost that was quiet, so I started looking at Ultrasonic Humidifiers. Ultrasonic humidifers are notorious for emitting a white dust as they work which is actually dissolved minerals in the water. I did not see this as an issue as I will be using RO (Reverse Osmosis) water to fill it. Next, a Humidistat. Suprisingly few humidifers actually come with humidistats, even among the higher priced units. A unit with a humidistat will control the the humidity level of a room by constantly measuring the humidity and turning the unit on or off based upon the preset user selectable setting, much like a thermostat does for heating and cooling. Many units simply have Low Medium and High settings, or some variation thereof which makes it difficlult to control the humidity level with any precision.
I chose the 7144 for a few reasons, the Primary of which were the features talked about above combined with the minimal footprint and elegant modern look. The unit is fairly quiet, although even when not working the fan runs. A fan is used to propel the mist into the room making for a more efficient introduction of moisture to the environment, however when the unit is at rest and not calling for humidity, I see no reason this fan needs to be running. This is both a waste issue as it is using energy and a noise issue as, although the unit is fairly quiet, the fan can still be heard when it is running.
The Water tank is undersized for the the unit. This humidifer is capable of outputting a generous amount of moisture, however if left to run at maximum output at constant interval the tank will need to be refilled about every 8 hours. The tank is also awkward to handle and difficult to refill. While the tank conforms nicely to the asthetics of the unit, once removed, it has an odd shape to it which makes it difficult to refill. One can't simply place it under the sink and leave it to fill, it requires some kind of shim, or assistance to keep it from tilting over, or even to keep the opening close enough to the edge of the sink in order to reach the faucet. I have overcome this issue by refilling it in the Kitchen sink and using a funnel to reach the faucet.
The last issue I have with the water tank is that it is a bit messy to remove. It is impossible to remove this tank without dripping water all over the floor. When installed in the unit, the base of the tank actually sits in a pool of water making it wet. Once removed, the wet tank drips everywhere unless it is wiped down immediatly, or some such.
I've given the unit 3 stars for its' elegant look, attractive fine mist, humidistat, and quiet operation, and dropped the 2 stars for its wasteful fan and numerous water tank issues.