Vintage Cellars Wine Guardian Humidifier Manual - Manual (Page 4)

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General Description
The Wine Guardian Humidifier is a self-contained unit designed specifically for wine cellars. It
has been designed for easy installation and operation, either as a freestanding unit or mounted on
a Wine Guardian cooling unit. Wine Guardian uses a humidistat to sense and control the amount
of moisture needed to be added to the cellar. Humidifiers are not intended to remove moisture,
only add moisture. All components are of a high quality, standard commercial grade. The
humidifier operates with 24-volt power only and therefore does not require UL or CSA approval.
All wiring complies with NEC. The freestanding humidifier also comes with a sealed, plug-in
transformer and lead cord to allow the unit to operate independently of a Wine Guardian cooling
unit.
Wine Guardian Humidifiers are the evaporative drip pad-type. Air from the cellar is drawn over
a distribution pad that is saturated with water from a distribution tray. As the air passes through
the pad, it absorbs moisture through evaporation of the water. This raises the humidity of the
leaving air that returns to the cellar. Hot water is recommended for use with the humidifier,
however the system will work using cold water. Hot water increases the capacity of the
humidifier to evaporate the water as it passes through the pad. The hot water also leaves fewer
solids on the surfaces of the pad and flushes contaminants out of the pad. Excess water is
collected in the bottom trough and exits through the drain.
To avoid build-up of mineral deposits on the pad and potentially causing blockage of the air
flow, it is recommended that hard water be treated (filtered and softened). Install a 5- or 10-
micron in-line water filter ahead of the humidifier to keep dirt from fouling the inlet screen and
the evaporation pad inside. If the water has a high mineral content, a softener may be needed to
prevent excessive scale from building up too rapidly on the pad.
Additionally, to insure adequate wetted surfaces and to help flush away excess minerals, the
water flow is set to always have a flow of water to the drain. When operating, the humidifier will
use approximately 1 to 2 gallons of water per hour depending on the water pressure in the
building. About 60% of that will pass through and go out the drain. There is a strainer and an
orifice in the line to restrict the flow of water but a throttling valve may be needed to keep too
much water from going to the pad. All that is needed is a steady dripping of water out of the
drain to ensure adequate wetting and flushing of the pad media. Excess water does not negatively
impact the humidifier’s operation but neither does it contribute to more humidification. The drain
volume is too much for just a bucket. A gravity drain line should be piped to an open floor or
sink drain, or a condensate pump may be used where a gravity drain is impractical. This excess
drain water can be discharged directly onto the ground. The discharge of the drain can be
combined into the condensate drain from the cooling unit.
The humidistat, located in the cellar, will automatically turn on the humidifier whenever the
cellar humidity is below the set point and turns it off when the cellar humidity reaches set point.
The recommended setpoint is 55% for wine cellars. This humidity level is high enough to
prevent corks from drying out and low enough to prevent mold from forming. When the unit
turns on, the water solenoid valve opens and the fan turns on. When mounted and connected to a
Wine Guardian cooling unit, the humidistat also controls the main fan to circulate air to and from
the cellar.