With winter rapidly approaching, I decided that it was time to replace our old standalone humidifier with an in furnace unit. And while the standalone unit worked well, the prospect of hauling water all winter long no longer appealed to me. So, a whole house unit, with a water line connection, became my quest.

After reviewing several units on line, I found a model that met my needs. And, after reviewing the online installation manual, I determined that it was a straight forward project. In fact, the manual led me to believe that, with the exception of tools, every thing that I needed was included with the unit.

Well, when I got to Home Depot, I found out that every thing was included but only if you purchased the optional installation kit. No problem, the installation kit was right next to the humidifiers. And for $7.49, I thought it to be a worth while investment. But wait, it wasn’t $7.49, it was $74.95. Ouch!

Now, having to spend $75 to install a $140 humidifier really bothered me. So, I looked at what was included with the humidifier.

The humidifier unit, of course, was included but no mounting screws. No problem, I have sheet metal screws at home. Next, there was the hardware to connect to the cold water line but no plastic tubing to connect to the unit. No problem, I already had the tubing from the old furnace humidifier that I removed several years ago. A humidistat and power supply came with the unit but no wire. Well, I purchased 50 feet of wire for $10. And finally, I needed a piece of 6 inch flexible duct which I purchased for another $15.

So, for $25, I had everything that I needed to install the humidifier. Of course, the installation kit included an installation video, but I don’t think that it would be worth the additional $50.

Besides, those installation videos are a little on the hokey side. They usually show a husband and wife team with hard hats, goggles and perfect teeth. The perfect teeth, of course, goes with their perfect, problem free installation. I don’t know what planet they are from but it certainly isn’t the one that I know.

All and all, it took me about 3 hours to install the unit. According to the manufacturer, it should only take an hour so I think I came out OK. And, I only cut myself once so I guess I can’t complain. As soon as the weather turns cold, I will turn that baby on.