An ultrasonic humidifier has a fairly simple principle of operation, but a complex design, which, like any technique, can become unusable.
But there are some types of "problems" that can be solved on their own without resorting to the help of expensive specialists. And you can go the simpler way - not to buy a humidifier, but to make it from available tools.
The power board generates a certain voltage that goes to the generator. From the generator, the pulses are fed to the amplifier, which is necessary to generate ultrasonic vibrations of the emitter. In general, nothing complicated, except for the electronic circuit of the power supply, amplifier and radiation generator. But these components break in three cases:
How to properly clean and leave the humidifier in working order, read the article: How to clean a humidifier yourself without calling a specialist.
Voltage drops in the mains.
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If steam is not coming out of the humidifier, there may be several reasons. The diaphragm of the emitter is damaged, the generator is out of order, or the turbine of the device does not work.
Emitter. The efficiency of the emitter can be determined by its characteristic “gurgling”. If it is not, then you should look for the cause in the power board and the generator itself.
Example of a filter for a humidifier
It is enough to clean and disinfect the device, and the unpleasant smell will disappear immediately. In order for the device to work “like a clock”, it is necessary to completely replace the water in the device every day, to clean it every week, and at least once a month to disinfect it.
If an unpleasant mold smell spreads from your humidifier, then know that your climatic device is not ultrasonic, since ultrasound disinfects, killing fungi and mold. Most pool cleaners are built on this principle.
My humidifier also recently broke down, without which I can’t exist normally anymore. The problem was in the air intake filter, it was clogged. I decided to buy a new filter, since it is very cheap, I installed it in a humidifier. Imagine my surprise when everything worked again. Frankly, I fully believed that the problem was a malfunction of the emitter, but after I read the article, I immediately found the cause of the breakdown.
I have a humidifier in my nursery. It recently broke down. At first I wanted to take it to the repair, but then I decided to figure out what was the matter myself. The emitter was working, there was a characteristic “gurgling”, the generator felt it, it was warm. Also checked the piezoelectric element. It also functioned normally. But for some reason the couple was not there. This is where I got confused because the humidifier fan was working properly and the air intake filter was clogged. I ordered a new filter. Replaced, now everything works.
My humidifier hasn’t broken yet, but if something happens, I’ll try to repair it myself, too. I think it will work.
I have been using my humidifier for about a year, but since I regularly clean it, and also change the water in it, so far, thank God, there have been no problems with it.
In the office in winter we are heated by fan heaters, and they "dry" all the air, so we constantly use a humidifier. It works all day long and therefore breaks down over time. After expensive repairs, I decided to try to repair it myself. After a long disassembly and checking the performance of all parts, it became clear that the breakdown was in the piezoelectric element. I ordered it on the Internet and replaced it. I did everything myself, but it took a lot of time. Therefore, next time I would rather give it to the workshop, it will turn out more expensive but much faster. Although, if someone has a lot of free time, then you can do it yourself.
In my humidifier, vaporization at first slightly weakened, I did not attach any importance to this, after a couple of days the steam stopped going completely. The generator thought, checked how it was written on the heating of the radiator, thank God it worked out .. As a result, I determined that it was a piezoelectric element, opened the device, photographed the wires and wrote down their location. Now, in fact, the most difficult thing is to find a replacement part ... Radio stores are not a frequent occurrence in our city, I did not find it on the iron market, I probably will have to really look in online stores, although I don't want to wait at all, we use the device every day.
And I completely dismantled my ultrasonic air humidifier to the cog. I checked every detail in the same order as I disassembled. Believe it or not, I did everything except checking the voltage on the turbine windings (((. I took it to the service center, they did it for me in one day. Recently, my wife began to complain about the smell of rot from the humidifier. I bought a new one, the old one lay until today until I came across this article. As the saying goes: "All ingenious is simple." Now we have two ultrasonic humidifiers, we will be healthier :)
but my humidifier works intermittently, then weakly gurgles, then strongly. that with it xs it is necessary to measure the voltage on the element.
Tell me, I have a Rainbow humidifier, in my opinion it is not ultrasonic. Everything is working, the turbine is spinning, but the steam is not coming. What is the reason?
A humidifier is not a useless thing, even if it is customary to think otherwise. By setting the case correctly, you can significantly reduce the incidence of diseases in your household. The main thing is to fit the indicators of relative humidity in the necessary framework, doctors recommend a value of 45 - 60 percent. Although 65 will not cause lethal consequences. The problem is limited to the purchase of a hygrometer, although not everyone can assemble a piezoelectric steam generator. What will someone who started repairing a humidifier face with their own hands? We plan to discuss it today.
With a decrease in humidity, the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract dry out. The epithelium is seeded by bacteria, which find favorable conditions for reproduction. The mucus ceases to protect the surface of the cells, the microflora destroys the membranes without hindrance, causing infectious diseases. A competent engineer will name three designs, from strength, one differs little from an electric kettle:
A container supplemented by a fan is capable of raising the relative humidity if the appliance is kept on for a long time. The process is carried out by forced blowing of the surface, accelerating evaporation.
If the liquid is heated, the atmosphere becomes saturated with moisture much faster. Difference from an electric kettle in a lower temperature. It is quite possible to get burned, according to our estimates, the ceiling tiles may fall off.
The most advanced is the method used by fireplaces that simulate orange flames. A quartz plate (piezoelectric crystal) is exposed to a current of frequency exceeding the hearing threshold, oscillations are created in time with the voltage. As a result of contact of the element with water, the liquid begins to evaporate before our eyes. The vapor is visible to the naked eye, at room temperature. Reduces the aggressiveness of the environment in relation to wallpaper, tile glue.
In fireplaces, the stream of water molecules is illuminated by a lamp, so a real imitation of a flame is obtained that there is a fear of getting burned. Cold stream of evaporated liquid. In order for the element to work, the device is equipped with a special mechanical strapping. There is no other word for the sight of miracles. The tank contains a recess with a radiator, a float is located on the side. In order not to make holes in the bottom, the sensor is magnetic. When the water in the humidifier runs out, the float goes down, the field is captured by the sensitive element of the electronic board. As a result, the device stops working.
In Chinese models, you can find a turbine that pumps air through a small rise in the bottom. Let's try to describe the design so that buyers avoid mistakes:
A teapot-like bowl sits on top of a housing containing the electronics.
In the center of the tank there is a vertical vent located above the radiator.
There is a recess on the side, complemented by a float.
The container is filled from below, the lid has a valve through which water is gradually etched.
The tank is in the form of a cylinder with a vent-like cutout; liquid seeps into the working chamber slowly.
For the fastest distribution of steam to the piezoelectric element of the air humidifier, a turbine hole comes out. Builds up excess pressure, steam rushes out. Air is sucked in from under the base, through the cracks.
Please note that if water is poured into the vent, liquid will flow through the turbine hole to the electronic circuits, causing a temporary or permanent malfunction. The devices are not grounded, making them extremely life-threatening.
The humidifier device includes power boards, generating ultrasonic frequency. At the same time, fungi and microbes are killed inside. Readers are familiar with the reviews of the VashTechnik portal concerning water purifiers. Whole pools are disinfected with ultrasonic emitters, there is no place for microbes inside the generators. The difference is in power, for a small tank you don't need much.
The power board generates the supply voltage of the active elements of the amplifier with positive feedback. The cascade generates oscillations. The transistor is mounted on a radiator to remove excess heat. The turbine engine is powered by rectified voltage, we do not exclude the presence of models using 230 volts.
First of all, we look at the nature of the malfunction. A working piezoelectric element can be easily identified by bubbling water. If steam does not escape, the turbine motor is probably to blame. We call the windings, if in order, we measure the supply voltage. The tests performed will help determine the cause. In the absence of movement of the piezoelectric element, the first suspicion of a generator, a quartz crystal is quite durable. You should start with a power transistor, here a remote thermometer comes in handy. The generator generates heat during operation. Avoid sticking your hand while the humidifier is energized; you can point the remote meter to the desired point. As a last resort, remove the plug from the socket, feel the surface of the radiator with your finger. If completely cold, chances are that the generator has broken.
Initially, we check the supply voltage, if ok, the transistor rings. If bipolar, each junction behaves like a diode, giving low DC resistance in one direction. In the field, it all depends on the type, you will have to look through the directory. Sometimes the oscillations are controlled by a triac, the likelihood of such a situation seems unlikely. This is not a power unit taking a drastic approach. If this is the case, check the control pulse generator for operability.
Capacitors are ringing, checked for swelling. Resistors should not be black (although most will continue to work). The board tracks are checked for integrity. What else can break in the humidifier? Power board!
Usually, modern devices use a switching power supply with stabilization of the voltage rectified by Schottky diodes. At the input, after the power cord, there is a block (or a pair of terminals), from which the process of converting 230 volts into the desired rating, frequency, begins. If an outdated power supply operates on a transformer that outputs 50 Hz, in our case everything is different.
One or more filters are installed at the inlet of the humidifier. This includes capacitors, chokes, resistors. Each item is tested for validity. Separately, the voltage of a high-frequency pulse generator is formed on the zener diode, controlled by the electrode of a thyristor, transistor, triac or other key element. You can find out the key by the radiator, a lot of heat is dissipated here.
Separately, there is protection by varistors. Variable resistances that depend strongly on the applied voltage. If the voltage skyrockets, the varistor closes the circuit to ground, fuses. Protection is activated, the device is turned off. The varistor is at the generator input, there is no separate power supply unit for the element, of course, it cannot consume 230 volts.
The fuses of the switching power supplies are replaced with low-resistance resistors. It will burn out from overload, at the same time it will limit the current, protecting the elements of the humidifier circuit from burning. A feature of switching power supplies is that in a normal state, the current does not flow through the fuses. Therefore, they use the folk method of localizing the breakdown. A lamp turns on in the fuse circuit, if it is on, the troubleshooting continues.
The diode bridge rectifies the voltage, after the key transistor, arriving at the transformer with high-frequency pulses. It is possible to reduce the weight of the windings without losing power. The transformer turns out to be compact, losses are reduced. At the output of the cascade, there are Schottky diodes that smooth out the ripple filters.
VIDEO If 230 volts is used to power the device, the high voltage lines run separately from the DC forming path. The turbine can be switched on by a relay, the voltage for which is formed by a transistor switch, a zener diode. Viewed according to the scheme.
The story about repairing a humidifier with your own hands is coming to an end. There are differences among the models, but all devices are built according to the same principle. The best ones are equipped with humidity sensors located at the inlet of the air intake path. Allows the device to turn off when the indicator reaches the set value. There is necessarily a relay that interrupts the power supply of the keys in the power supply. As seen above, the causes of breakdowns in air humidifiers are often rooted in incorrect operation. That is why we recommend reading the instructions. By the way, the models from Germany are not at all simpler in this respect than the Chinese ones. Use the device correctly, and you will not have a headache, how to fix the humidifier yourself.
And here's another thing! It is not recommended to fill the humidifier from the tap in areas with hard water. Although boiling does not occur as such, salts remain on the surface of the piezoelectric element, the bottom of the working chamber, forcing the device to be cleaned periodically. Better to use bottled water, filtered or distilled.
A humidifier is not as useless as people think. If you put it right, you can significantly reduce the incidence of domestic diseases. The main thing is to fit the indicators into the necessary framework, and doctors recommend a value from 45 to 60 percent. Although 65 will not lead to lethal consequences. The whole problem actually lies in the hygrometer, although not everyone can assemble a piezoelectric steam generator. What will someone who started repairing a humidifier face with their own hands? We are planning to talk about this today.
Today there are three designs, one of which is not much different from an electric kettle:
A container with a fan can raise the relative humidity if the appliance is kept on long enough. The process is carried out due to the forced blowing of the surface, which accelerates the evaporation.
If the liquid is heated, then the atmosphere is saturated with moisture much faster. Difference from an electric kettle in a slightly lower temperature. In this case, it is quite possible to get burned, and according to our estimates, the ceiling tiles may also fall off.
The most perfect is the method that is actively used in fireplaces to simulate a flame. The quartz plate is exposed to a current of frequency exceeding the audible threshold, due to which oscillations are created in time with the voltage. As a result of contact of the element with water, the latter begins to actively evaporate. The vapor is visible to the naked eye, but is at room temperature.
In fireplaces, the stream of water molecules is illuminated by a lamp, resulting in such a real imitation of a flame that it gives the impression of being burned. But in reality, this is just a cold stream of evaporated liquid. In order for the element to work, there is a whole special mechanical setting. There is no other word for these miracles. The tank contains a recess with a radiator, on the side of which a float is located. In order not to make holes in the bottom, the sensor is magnetic. That is, when the water in the humidifier runs out, the float goes down, its field is captured by the sensitive element of the electronic board. As a result, the device stops working.
The bowl, like a kettle, is placed on a body that contains all the electronics.
In the center of the tank there is a vertical vent located strictly above the radiator.
A recess with a float is located slightly on the side.
The container is filled from below, and the lid has a valve through which water is gradually etched.
In fact, the tank is in the form of a cylinder with a vent-like cutout, and the liquid seeps into the working chamber very slowly.
For the fastest distribution of steam to the piezoelectric element of the air humidifier, a turbine hole comes out. This creates an overpressure, due to which the steam rushes out. Air is sucked in from under the base, through the cracks.
Note that if water is poured into the vent, it will flow through the turbine orifice to the electronics, causing a temporary or permanent malfunction. In addition, such devices may lack grounding, which makes them extremely dangerous to life.
The humidifier device includes power supply and ultrasonic frequency generation boards. At the same time, fungi and microbes are killed inside. Our readers, of course, read the reviews on the site about water purifiers. Whole pools are disinfected with ultrasonic emitters, it is clear that there is no place for microbes inside such generators. The difference is in power, but for a small tank, you don't need much.
The power board generates voltages to power the active elements of the amplifier with positive feedback. Due to this, the cascade begins to generate oscillations. The transistor is mounted on a radiator to remove excess heat. The impeller motor is also powered by rectified voltage, although we do not exclude that there are models that use 220 V.
What can you say from what you saw? First of all, we look at the nature of the malfunction. A working piezoelectric element can be easily identified by the bubbling water. If in this case the steam does not want to escape, the turbine motor is probably to blame. We call the windings, if everything is in order, we measure the supply voltage. One of these studies will help determine the cause. In the absence of movement of the piezoelectric element, the first suspicion of a generator, because the quartz crystal is quite durable. Start with the power transistor, and this is where a remote thermometer comes in handy. The generator generates a lot of heat during operation. We would not stick our hand in there while the humidifier is energized, but you can point the meter at the desired point. As a last resort, remove the plug from the socket, feel the surface of the radiator with your finger. If it is completely cold, then there is every chance that the generator has broken.
First of all, the supply voltage is checked, and if everything is in order, then the transistor rings. If it is bipolar, then each of its transitions behaves like a diode, that is, it gives a low resistance to direct current in only one direction. In the field, it all depends on the type, you will have to look through the directory. There is a chance that the triac controls the oscillations at all, but the likelihood of such a situation seems unlikely to us. It's still not a power unit to take such a drastic approach. If, nevertheless, this turned out to be exactly the case, at the same time check the control pulse generator for operability.
All capacitors are ringing, checked for swelling.The resistors should not be black (although most of them still work then). The board tracks are checked for integrity. What else can break in the humidifier? Power board!
Usually, modern devices use a switching power supply with stabilization of the voltage rectified by Schottky diodes. At the input, after the power cord, there is a block (or a pair of terminals), from which the process of converting 220 V to the desired rating and frequency begins. If a conventional power supply unit operates on a transformer from which the same 50 Hz comes out, then in our case everything is completely different.
One or more filters are immediately installed at the inlet of the humidifier. This includes capacitors, chokes, resistors. Each item is tested for validity. Separately, a voltage is generated on the zener diode for a high-frequency pulse generator, which controls the electrode of a thyristor, transistor, triac or other key element. You can usually find out the key by the radiator, a lot of heat is dissipated here.
Separately, there is usually protection on varistors. These are variable resistances that depend very strongly on the applied voltage. If the voltage skyrockets, then the varistor closes the circuit to ground or fuses. In any case, the protection is triggered and the device is turned off. Such a varistor is usually installed at the generator input, because there is no separate power supply for this element, and, naturally, it cannot consume 220 V.
In switching power supplies, fuses are often replaced with low-resistance resistors. This will not only burn out from overload, but at the same time limit the current, saving other elements of the humidifier circuit from burning. A feature of switching power supplies is that in a normal state, there is almost no current through the fuses. Therefore, you can use the folk method to localize the breakdown. A light comes on in the fuse circuit, and if it is on, then the troubleshooting should continue.
The diode bridge rectifies the voltage, which, after the key transistor, enters the transformer in the form of high-frequency pulses. Due to this, it is possible to reduce the weight of the windings without losing power. The transformer is compact and losses are reduced. At the output of the stage there are Schottky diodes for smoothing ripple and filters.
VIDEO If 220 V is also used to power the device, then the high-voltage lines pass separately from the DC formation path. For example, a turbine can be switched on through a relay, the voltage for which is formed here by a transistor switch and a zener diode. All this can be seen according to the scheme.
Our story about DIY air humidifier repair is coming to an end. There are differences among the models, but they are all built on the same principle. The best ones are equipped with humidity sensors located at the inlet of the air intake path. This allows the device to turn off when the indicator reaches the set value. In this case, there is necessarily a relay that interrupts the power supply of the keys in the power supply. As we saw above, the reasons for the breakdown of air humidifiers are often rooted in incorrect operation. This is why we strongly recommend that you read the instructions. By the way, the models from Germany are not at all simpler in this respect than the Chinese ones. Use the device correctly, and you will not have a headache, how to fix the humidifier yourself.
Video (click to play).
And here's another thing! It is not recommended to fill the humidifier from the tap in areas with hard water. Although boiling does not occur as such, salts still remain on the surface of the piezoelectric element and the bottom of the working chamber, which leads to the need to clean the device. It is best to use bottled water or distilled water.
