Google Ultrasonic humidifier hazards and you will find something very interesting.........

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m087...n50/ai_7650971/

Ultrasonic Humidifiers May Be a Health Hazard

BOISE: Ultrasonic humidifiers that aerosolize water pose a health hazard if tap water is used in them, since minerals and other materials dissolved in the water may be released as particles small enough to be inhaled deep into the lungs.

That is the conclusion of researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. V. Ross Highsmith and Charles E. Rodes from the agency's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Richard J. Hardy of Morrison-Knudsen Engineers in Boise, Idaho studied the impact on indoor air quality in Boise homes when public tap water was used with several types of humidifiers -- ultrasonic, cool-mist, and steam.

Humidifiers are frequently used in winter to alleviate symptoms caused by dry, heated air -- such as chapped lips and irritated throats and noses. Ultrasonic units use electronic transducers to propel water into the air in fine spray; "cool mist" humidifiers use a spinning rotor to drive water through a ring of staggered screens, forcing it into droplets; steam units heat water, causing it to evaporate into the air.

The researchers found that an ultrasonic humidifier run in a kitchen for only six to eight hours raised the particles concentration of the air to four times the 24-hour outdoor particle level allowable by the EPA (which has no particle standards for indoor air quality). When the ultrasonic humidifier was operated in a closed bedroom, the resulting particle concentration in the air was nearly 50 times the EPA's outdoor standard.

Compared with the ultrasonic humidifiers, the cool-mist units generated less than one-third the respirable particle concentration, and a steam unit generated no measureable increase in aerosolized fine particles. The researchers emphasized the potential for ultrasonic humidifiers (and to a lesser extent cool-mist humidifiers) to disperse into the air such harmful waterborne impurities as aluminum, asbestos, and lead.

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http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/22/us/healt...nal-health.html

HEALTH; Personal Health
By Jane E. Brody
Published: December 22, 1988


Millions of buyers of ultrasonic humidifiers who thought they had finally found a safe and effective way to add moisture to the home in the winter heating season have something new to worry about.

Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency have discovered that the ultrasonic machines can fill household air with tiny particles of minerals and pieces of microorganisms that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, where they may cause allergies or illness.

The potential hazard of ultrasonic humidifiers may come as a bit of a shock to those who bought the machines in the last five years because they are whisper quiet, energy-efficient, effective moisturizers that, unlike cool-mist humidifiers, did not breed harmful microorganisms and spew them into the air.

The new finding explains a number of complaints from consumers who have reported that the use of an ultrasonic humidifier produced a chronic cough or allergic symptoms in one or more household members.

The problem is especially severe when consumers use ordinary mineral-laden tap water to fill their humidifiers and when the machines are not cleaned each day to keep bacteria and molds from accumulating. Particle levels in a closed bedroom could exceed the Federal standard for particles in outdoor air by nearly 50 times, the study showed.

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The mist is so fine that it can be inhaled deep into the lungs.......takutlah because the mist includes very fine impurities. What is the long term effect on humans? Better be safe than sorry? Would switching it off a few hours before we enter the BH helps? Bear in mind that the fine particles get suspended in the air for a considerable length of time.

Ask yourself if you want to breathe in air that has 50 times more particles concentration than outdoor air? This is JEREBU that cannot be seen but is omnipresent in Ultrasonic Humidified BHs. Don't be fooled by our eyes.

The ultrasonic humidifiers were popular in the US in the 80's and 90's but not anymore. Should we be adopting it for our BHs?

Sorry folks, I have doubts and questions but no answers. I KNOW WE SHOULDN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING FOUND ON THE INTERNET.

This post has been edited by coolandy: Dec 30 2010, 01:23 PM

Not sure if filtered water is adequate because filters cannot remove the dissolved minerals. The recommended one is DISTILLED water or demineralized water.

A demineralization cartridge must be used because using distilled water is impractical & almost impossible for BHs.

This post has been edited by coolandy: Dec 30 2010, 02:20 PM

The wearing of mask is also thought to be inadequate because the particle sizes are of 1 micron or less. It is so small that we don't feel it at all, only the effects that manifest itself after prolong exposure.


Just my 2 sen.

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Added on December 31, 2010, 12:24 amStill on the subject of pheromones, insects are known to emit pheromones.

How does AF locate the insects to feed on? We know that they use sight to catch the insects but how do they locate them in the first place? Any chance that they are sensitive to the insect's odor and get attracted to the place before s feeding frenzy?

Would distilling insects to obtain their oils help? They might go crazy thinking there is food but stomach will be empty.

Just my crazy idea. Something to ponder about :-)

This post has been edited by coolandy: Dec 31 2010, 12:24 AM

WW,

In many control devices, there are terminals designated Normally ON and Normally OFF. I believe that is what you meant to fully utilized the full potential of the controller.

Good post tuckfook.

Some say large planks result in nest with less feathers and even illustrate the "postures" of the bird in large and small planks.

In my BH, I experimented from 2" to 5" planks. From my observations, there is no correlation between plank width and feathers in EBN. I have ebns adjacent to each other, one very clean and the other more feathers. I could be wrong and need to experiment more.

There are very clean ebns on all the sizes and feathery ones too but more often than not, a lot more clean ones than heavily-feathered ones. Having said that, a few buyers mentioned that my ebns are much cleaner than the one in the market from the same area.

Hmm, still trying to figure out why and has been bugging me for a long time to come up with a scientific explanation. Hope some sifus can shed some light on this matter.

This post has been edited by coolandy: Jan 3 2011, 11:07 PM

It is true that BH with poor temps & %RH will result in poor nest (deformed, brittle, lightweight, yellowish etc) compared to those from 5* BH.

What I don't understand is adjacent nests on the same nesting plank in 5* BH, one has less feather than the other though the shape, size & color remains are the same. Maybe just poor workmanship?

Tweeter, thanks for the links.

This post has been edited by coolandy: Jan 4 2011, 10:43 AM

I think one needs to truly understand the power of 2 associated with ebn growth so as not to erroneously associate increase in ebns to burglary and forced harvest.

Just my 2 sen

IMHO, using himidifiers to warm up BH is not a practical way because the latent heat of evaporation (breaking up water droplets into fine mist has a similar effect) will cool down the water significantly.

In fact when warm water is humidified, the resultant temperature of the whole system decreases, the actual amount can be determined from steam tables. Any chemical engineer wants to contribute?

Just my 2 sen.

Pineapple juice is a mild acid and will neutralize the alkaline cement to a certain extend. Many fish farmers rinse their new ponds using pineapple before putting in new fish.

As for scent, creating the right ambience and masking unwanted odours seems logical. Unlike dogs which have a super-sensitive nose, birds are not known for that. Some species of vultures do detect their food through smell.

How I wish Afs can be positively attracted to a certain smell. So far to the best of my knowledge, all are guesswork.

Just my 2 sen.

Another good post from Tuckfook. He is definitely right to say that we don't know if the birds like cement smell or not. Only if he birds could talk to us but then, the price of ebn would drop like a rock.

As for me, I only use BS soaked in water.

Welcome to the swiftlet club.

For a cheap and effective bird call unit, you can use a type of amp that runs on Power Supply 230VAC and 12VDC costing anywhere from RM220 -350, two pieces of cheap tweeters costing RM3-20 and wires to suit you needs and the whole system can be hooked up to your car battery. It is affordable. I use the same amp for my BH.

Cergau, thanks for the link

This post has been edited by coolandy: Jan 15 2011, 09:38 PM

See Seng's setup is absolutely correct. It is almost foolproof because when one is ON, the other is OFF and vice-vesa. I once visited a BH where a consultant used the cheaper alternative with no battery backup and after sometime, the time was off a little but enough to upset the on-off timings resulting in both amps shorted!

I also tried digital timers before and the unit I used was used for lighting but unfortunately, sometimes the fluorescent light blinks too long and the timer was reset.

Now all my timers are Hager but willing to try Maxguard if I can find it. Thanks aeiou228.

Yes folks, go for quality.

During the monsoon season, the interior of the BH can reach 98%RH or more. Nesting planks can become moldy as a result.

I don't know of any feasible and economical way to to dehumidify the BH during this period except to close off all the vents.

Your original planks look good to me but after installation, excessive humidity may have contributed to the mold problem. If it is not too serious, just wipe it off with a slightly damp towel. You would need many clean towels to begin with.

What do you use to control your humidifier?

This post has been edited by coolandy: Jan 22 2011, 09:40 PM

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all.
May our swiftlets breed like rabbits.

The AFs are not static. Their foraging area covers hundreds of kilometres. Your observation is normal. Good place to build.

You are right WW. Very risky to breed swiftlets together with other birds (chickens are birds too, right?).

Poultry kena bird flu, swiftlets become victims and BH ranchers see bankruptcy signs all over the place.

Swiftlets are wild birds and should be kept that way. Veterinary Department should be fully aware of this. I hope their boss knows about this.

One person plays with fire, the whole industry got burned. I have no doubt it will happen, just a matter of time. Somebody go to put a stop to this.

The wild swiftlets have been subjected to thousands of tests for diseases but none are positive to date. So far so good.

Will man be the final saviour or destroyer of the swiftlets by the introduction of captive breeding?

My friend once did some measurements: The Rotor Stalled Ampere (RSA) for the humidifier was about 2.3Amps and once running, current drawn was about 0.5Amps.

What it means is that during the initial startup, current drawn is momentarily at more than 2 Amps. If your timer or controller can support 5Amps, then it can be damaged due to overload if more than 2 humidifiers is connected to it.

You can actually write to the manufacturer and request for more data.

Just my 2 sen. Our in-house electronics expert most welcome to chip in and correct me if I am wrong.

This post has been edited by coolandy: Mar 1 2011, 11:15 PM

On many of these devices, the product specifications could be inaccurate.

Max Load of 13A could mean only 2A or less. Even the GOOD OLD Hager TImer is rated a lot less.