Honeywell HCM-6011i QuietCare 11-Gallon Console Humidifier with Air Washing Technology
by Honeywell
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Honeywell HCM-6011i QuietCare 11-Gallon Console Humidifier with Air Washing Technology
Customer Review: Pretty good, not perfect.. Grade A-
Summary: 4 Stars
We've owned a number of humidifiers over the years. We live in Arizona where it's hot and dry so we often run them 24/7 for 10 months out of the year. We've used warm and cool mist humidifiers and prefer the cool mist units do to lower power consumption and obviously anything that helps keep the house cooler rather than warmer makes sense in AZ.
This unit does a great job of keeping our 1700 square foot house humidified. In fact it barely breaks a sweat so I imagine it could do the job even for a 2500 foot house or larger. The sound levels are basically what you'd expect from a fan in a plastic housing. Any claims that it is "silent" are ridiculous, but it's easy to sleep with it in the same room when set on low. My wife prefers the white noise anyway.
I'll address some of the complains that people have left here about the unit.
First, that it's hard to get the parts to align properly when you put it together. Either these people have an older model, or they shouldn't be trusted with anything mechanical. There are guides, grooves, and posts all over the base to ensure that you get everything fitted properly. I can't even imagine screwing it up.
The tanks are indeed hard to open and Kaz should take a lesson from the tank on our last humidifier, the Graco 4 Gallon Cool Mist Humidifier. It sealed positively without being hard to take off. I'm a 36 year old male who works out and I still occasionally have to strain to get these open. NOT recommended for people with arthritis.
Some folks have noted that the various parts tend to vibrate against each other causing the unit to hum or buzz. This has only happened to me once and a nudge was all it took to resolve it. If it proved to be chronic then a few rubber stick-on feet from a hardware store would resolve it permanently.
The tanks do not inspire confidence in their contruction quality. Thin and the seams look like they're held together with crazy glue. I imagine these will be the first thing to fail.
One thing I am surprised about is how quickly and sudennly the filter turned a sour smell. After just 2-3 months of use it started smelling. Having owned several other humidifiers over the years I have to say that I expected better. In part I suspect that the filter is simply too large for the area we intend to humidify, and so it has the time to sit and stagnate more than it should. Still a quick trip to bleach-ville solves it for another few months.
One addition would make this perfect, that being a pump to circulate water over the filter. It makes for higher humidity output, prevents the filter from turning sour or stale as quickly, and prevent mineral build-up on the filter since it is constantly being rinsed. If this unit dies today I will replace it with Lasko 1128 9-Gallon Evaporative Recirculating Humidifier instead which has this feature.
A+ for moisture output
B for construction/design
C for features
Overall = A- since it gets the job done well.
Customer Review: Too Many Defects for Me
Summary: 1 Stars
I returned the Honeywell 6011i humidifier because the product had 2 defects and the product was very poorly designed.
The 6011i humidifier had 2 defects right out of the box. The first was that the 6011i humidifier would not run on the High speed setting but did run on the low and medium speed settings. The second defect was that the cap for one water container had no rubber o-ring seal and the water bottle leaked when upright in its normal operating position. The fact that this 6011i humidifier had 2 defects says that the quality control for this product must be very low and implies this product suffers from an above average failure rate.
The 6011i humidifier has major design defects that make it difficult to operate and maintain the 6011i humidifier. The design defects are so
major that the person(s) that designed and approved the design of the
6011i humidifier should be shot or at least fired! The first major design defect is that the water bottles will not stand up by themselves in my sink. Because of this I must hold the water containers vertically with my hand and still cannot completely fill the water container to the top.
The screw-on caps for the water containers are so large they are difficult for my wife with small hands to screw on while holding the water container vertically upright.
The next design defect is that one cannot at a glance check the water level in the water containers but must pick up the water containers and turn them over to check the water level in the container. One can see if the water container is empty or nearly empty at a glance, but this is of no use if one wants to quickly see if there is enough water in the water containers to last until one returns home from work or will last through the night.
The last design defect of the 6011i humidifier is that the water containers and humidifier fan housing do not just "drop into place" on the base. One must use one hand as a guide for the water container and then still fiddle with the position/angle of the water container to get it to seat properly. This is even more difficult if both water containers are removed for filling at the same time.
I bought this 6011i humidifier to replace a Honeywell humidifier that finally failed after many years of faithful service. I also selected the 6011i Humidifier because of its many desirable features. However the positive product features were significantly outweighed by the poor quality control and the poor design of the 6011i Humidifier. I believe that a humidifier should be designed for usability first and esthetics second, not the other way around as is the case with the 6011i humidifier. Thus I returned the 6011i humidifier.
Customer Review: This unit is the best I've ever used!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read all of the reviews offered on this web site, and I am amazed at all of the negative feed back. I have used many units over the years, and Consumer Reports said this unit was the best, so I bought it, and indeed it is!
As to the unit not working out of the box according to some (happened to me as well), try making sure that the floating shut off mechanism for when the water runs out is positioned properly - My mistake, and fixed instantly!
I have used "console" units costing MUCH more and could never get my house above 44% humidity, but this beast of a humidifier keeps my house at 50-54% no problem. My forced air heat eats moisture like bug juice, but this is the equalizer, and now I have never been happier!
People, do NOT believe all of the negative hype about hard to refill, and the filter getting moldy after three weeks, I get at least 2.5 months of no mold or funky smell, after that things will indeed get a bit rank in regards to the filter...however, I do not use the cleaning cartridges either!
As for refilling, I just lean the tanks against my sink, and I do not have to even touch them to hold them upright. Just a bunch of whiners out there that have no common sense!
Because this unit so amazingly and efficiently dumps water in the air, it is true that you will have to refill it three times a day on the high setting, but I love that! I love the fact that this monster dumps 11 gallons of water into my air in a 24 hour period, which is just as fast as my forced air heater gobbles it up, what's the problem? What a bunch of whiners out there trashing this unit, you should be ashamed of yourself! You just want to pull something out of the box and have it magically do all of the work for you - it is so pathetic to bear false witness against this unit like you are doing!
Other than the fact that I did not make sure that the floating shut off mechanism was not lined up properly (again MY fault), I have had ZERO problems with this unit, only blessings for my family - and No vibrating noises as some have claimed, NOTHING!
The best! If this unit does not work for you, you have bad water in your area, and you do not have any common sense with regards to how to put things together, and how to read instructions!
Customer Review: Shame on honeywell. This thing stinks.
Summary: 3 Stars
This humidifier is a disappointment on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.
The cheap plastic construction assembles poorly. If it is not assembled exactly right (with much adjusting) it refuses to run.
Forget using the high fan setting unless you find the sound of a 747 soothing. The high fan speed is too loud to use while sleeping even if the unit is out in the hallway.
The water tanks will NOT stand up with the opening facing up. This make filling them difficult. It also makes placing the lid on full (heavy, wet) tank nearly impossible.
On my unit only one tank works. The other does not seat far enough to open the valve. Not that it matters since the unit sometimes stops working for no apparent reason 1/2 way through the tank that does work.
So I decided to call Honeywell. Guess what! Not only is this piece of junk not made by Honeywell, they don't even support it. The phone number goes to some 3rd rate outfit with a phone system designed to waste your time without actually letting you speak to a human. I never got a human and will have to try again tomorrow.
I am hoping they can fix it since draining it, packing it back up, and returning it (at my expense) will be a real pain. I will probably end up returning it and making it the seller's problem.
DO NOT BUY THIS.
Honeywell, why would you put your name on this junk?
(I would lower my initial 3 star rating but Amazon won't let me.)
UPDATE: I contacted the maker (KAZ, not honeywell as advertised). After being on hold for a long time (and dodging the many dead ends on the phone system) I got a service rep who basically said "Try wiggling the tanks." Apparently my choices are "wiggle" and "return". Very nice.
Wiggling the tanks does not fix the problem. I am an engineer and no matter how carefully I install the tanks, sometimes one does not drain at all.
Customer Review: Big Table-Top Unit
Summary: 3 Stars
This humidifier is a reasonable product, but let me clarify some issues for potential buyers:
1. It is listed as a "console" humidifier, but it is better described as a "large table top humidifier on wheels." If you like the features of a traditional console, or if you dislike table-top humidifiers, this will disappoint you.
2. It is rated at 11 gallons a day, and it probably can go through that much water, but the two tanks hold only 2 gallons each, so you would have to refill it 3 times a day to reach the full output capacity.
3. It is said to run "up to 24 hours" on a single fill, which is true only if you run it on the lowest setting. The highest setting will drain the tanks in 8 hours. I fill mine twice every day.
4. Some have pointed out that filling it will often drip water on the floor. This is true, but only a few drops and manageable unless you have a very sensitive floor.
5. Some have pointed out that the parts don't fit together well. This is true--it is often unclear if the main housing or bottles are seated properly, but there is no vibration or rattling so it isn't a big problem.
6. The tanks are of a odd shape, making them awkward to refill. The tank tops (which are the bottoms when inverted for filling) are curved and don't sit well, forcing you to steady the tank for the duration of the fill. Some edges of the tank are sharp angles, making it tricky to handle when turning over a full tank.
7. The tanks on my unit do not always drain properly. Sometimes I find the unit has turned off due to lack of water, but one tank is still completely full. Vendor is sending replacement tank caps. I've resolved short-term by adding a small washer to plunger on each tank to make sure it opens fully when tank is seated.
Overall, it is keeping my house at 40% RH, and I'm generally happy with it, but I do miss my old "console" unit.