Hunter 34357 3-1/2-Gallon CareFree Plus Humidifier with PermaWick Filter
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hunter 34357 3-1/2-Gallon CareFree Plus Humidifier with PermaWick Filter
Customer Review: Great Warranty Service
Summary: 5 Stars
We live in northeast Florida - where we have some cold winter days (many more this year than I would have liked). When we moved here from Miami 15 years ago - the first winter it was pretty cold and dry - and we bought 2 Hunter humidifiers - one for the kitchen/dining/living area - another for the master bedroom. They usually lasted 2-4 years - then had various failures (although never any leaks) - and I had always treated them as "necessary disposables" like one of the posters below.
I bought my father one of these a couple of years ago when he moved here - and also bought a new one for us. Now my father is 92 - and the fan on his went nuts this year - so loud I couldn't hear him talking on the phone. Having a lot of time on his hands - he called Hunter - and it replaced his still on-warranty unit for him free of charge. Then the fan on ours went nuts a few weeks later. Had to turn up the TV in the kitchen full blast to hear it while the humidifier fan was running on "low". Called Hunter a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't get through immediately because the place was closed for a day or two during the recent southern snow storm. But when it opened - and I got through and described the problem - it offered to send me a free replacement. It didn't have this exact model in stock (guess this has been a great winter to sell humidifiers) - and it gave me the choice of waiting for when this one would be available (early April) - or getting the cheaper model that doesn't have a digital humidistat. Since we don't need humidifiers in April in Florida - I opted to get the cheaper model as a replacement. Was sent by Fedex Ground - and arrived in 2 days. And the new one is quiet as a mouse.
Note that my experience dealing with the company was extremely pleasant. And that when you get a warranty replacement for a fan problem - you have to send back the power cord from the fan unit and the product ID tag (to keep you honest). But you can save all the other parts and reuse them in similar/identical units. Anyway - I can't say these humidifiers have been as reliable as my Hunter fans (in use for about 15 years - still working perfectly without any maintenance except for cleaning blades) - but the company's attitude about its warranty merits 5 stars.
FWIW - I'm not sure these units would work as "whole house" units in a 3000 sf house like ours in colder winter climates. But they're fine where we live. Even when our nightly temps fell below 30 for 6 nights in a row (kind of unusual for us - we had to go out every morning with pots of boiling water to defrost out bird baths!). One is certainly plenty for a large master bedroom space (place most people will probably use it). And for those of you up north who complain about the degree of humidification - you have to remember that the hotter air is - the more humidity it can absorb. If you keep your thermostat at 65 - you'll get a lot less humidity than you will if the temp is 72 (our winter temp). To avoid spending a fortune on heating - I recommend a zoned HVAC system (we have 4 zones in our house). That way - you can have comfortable bedrooms at night - and not waste a ton of money heating areas you don't use when you're asleep.
Customer Review: Great humidifier, now that Hunter's fixed it
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought one of these Hunter humidifiers a few years ago. I liked the big tank, low-maintenance and no consumables (no wicks or filters to buy). The only problem was, as others have mentioned, that often when it switched off, a gallon or more of water would promptly dump onto my floor. I finally called Hunter to complain about it, and I have to say I'm incredibly impressed with their customer service, and with the simple fix (new design for the tray) which appears to fix the problem completely. This is now a very competent humidifier, and we're really happy with it. You won't see a cool plume of water vapor spewing from this unit, but it does work really well, and it's very easy to keep clean (just throw parts of it in the dishwasher, and use vinegar and water to de-calcify the other parts).
For those who are shopping for a humidifier, you first have to decide what's important to you. For me, the ultrasonic ones are a no-go because they spew white powder all over my room (mineral dust from our hard water). The hot steam ones are a no-go because they get all nasty from bacteria, fungi, etc. I don't want to breathe that stuff in. And while the fan is far from silent, we actually like it at night, it's a nice gentle drone that helps lull us to sleep.
Nice job, Hunter, on fixing the original design flaw, and on supporting the product so well.
Customer Review: Hit or miss is what this humidifer is
Summary: 3 Stars
1st one lasted over 2 years and I gave it away. The 2nd one last only one winter season. The 3rd lasted 3 months. I am not happy. From what I have been told by people that sell humidifiers the Hunter is the best and none of them should be considered lifelong units. If they last a year or 2 be happy. If they don't then they don't. I have bought a 4th one now and hopefully it will be as good as my 1st one. If it was not a necessity I would not put my money on a humidifier at all but without one I have problems. In summary it is what it is and don't expect miracles.Customer Review: Humidistat fails, makes unit worthless within 3 weeks
Summary: 1 Stars
Review title says it all. Unit worked for about a week, then humidistat went on the fritz, turning the unit on and off erratically, without any observable pattern. Resetting the unit, adjusting the desired RH, moving it to a different room... none of it helped. In a very dry house, the built-in barometer would say that RH was above 80% and so the unit would not turn on. Suddenly it would say the RH in the room dropped below 20% and the unit would turn on, usually for 3-5 minutes, but sometimes for hours, it was unpredictable. When it cut off, it said the room was back to above 80%. Needless to say, the barometer/humidistat was faulty, otherwise we would have had a major weather system in our living room with those kinds of instantaneous changes in humidity.
Not a big deal, but when I called customer service and sat on hold for almost 45 minutes, they had NO interest in helping me solve the problem, provide a replacement part - the representative actually claimed the unit did not have any parts, or do anything at all. I was just told to send it back to Amazon and a get another one. Amazon, as always, was great about the return.
I just noticed the price of this unit has increased by about $30 since I bought it a month ago. I won't be getting another one of these.
Customer Review: Humidistat malfunction
Summary: 2 Stars
I read lots of reviews and settled on this model. I like white noise at night so those complaints didn't bother me. When it came, I plugged it in and everything worked well. When I unplugged it to refill the resevoir, the humidistat switched from reading the actual humidity to registering either 'HI' or 'LO'. The unit won't run if it says 'HI'. I emailed Hunter and they said this couldn't be fixed and to return the unit. So I did. The replacement came and, after 30 minutes, the humidistat switched to 'HI' and the unit no longer runs. The first time, I thought it was just a bad unit. The second time, it looks like a manufacturing defect. I called the service desk and they advised me to try a third one. I'm thinking no...