Using a pot of boiling water is a quick and easy way to naturally humidify or increase the level of moisture in the air of a room! That said, if you do need to maintain a constant level of moisture in the air, using a humidifying machine is the way to go.
There are two basic types of humidifiers in the market: fan driven (evaporative) humidifiers and ultrasonic humidifiers such as the Proscenic 808C, which can generate both cool mist and warm mist by using vibrations of frequencies to evaporate water into a fine mist.
The Proscenic 808C humidifier disassembles into three main parts: top lid, water tank and body, which contains the piezoelectric transducer needed to vaporize the water into mist.
The top lid, which is made of plastic, sits on top of the water tank and it is designed to channel the mist uniformly up the rotatable nozzle on top of the lid. The top lid cover is not required for the operation of the humidifier, although it does help controlling the mist upwards, which would otherwise disperse unevenly down the bottom of the humidifier.
Lifting the top lid cover reveals the water mist outlet and a convenient plastic handle to easily remove the water tank from the body of the humidifier.
The plastic water tank has a semi-translucent smoke finish, weighs 117 grams and can store 5.3 litres of water. The base of the water tank reservoir has an 80mm diameter threaded water inlet, which is sealed with a screw-on lid.
This water inlet lid integrates a ceramic water filter on top and a spring-loaded pin mechanism at the bottom that lets water pass through into the transducer metal plate and electrode metal plate which boils the water.
The ceramic water filter screws on to the water inlet lid and it is designed to remove impurities from the water, in a similar fashion to a water filter jug.
Water filter replacements are available to buy, although being a ceramic filter you will only have to change it every 6 months or every 500 hours, whichever is soonest.
Alongside the transducer and heater electrode, there is also a blue led bulb designed to indicate the device is powered on. The blue led can be turned off and it's designed to double as a night light.
The water storage capacity of the 808C humidifier is plenty to keep the humidifier running for 30 hours, thanks to the extra fine water mist produced by the high-frequency transducer, which literary vaporizes the water. Depending on the type of water you use (distilled or tap water), the mist will be almost invisible or look like theatrical smoke and fog, which is typically caused by hard tap water.
The 808C humidifier does not require a full water tank to operate so, you can fill up as much as a glass of water at a time, which is good if you don't use the humidifier too often. It is a good idea though, to empty and replace long standing water since bacteria, limescale and mould can build up inside and spread when humidifying a room.
Spreading bacteria can be a concern with cool mist but, it's not an issue with warm mist, which the 808C humidifier is also capable, thanks to a heating mode which boils the water. You won't have to worry about spreading bacterial build-up since boiling water kills bacteria. The cool mist and warm mist mode are whisper quiet with noise less than 38 decibels (dB). The evaporation flow rate is 350 millilitres per hour (mL/h), which is roughly one and half cups of water each hour.
There are no line marking measurements on the water tank though, so you have to guess the water capacity. That said, the 808C humidifier does come with a small water jug with 100ml water capacity. The water jug has two line marking measurements: 100ml and 50ml. The water tank (including the water filter) weighs 962 grams.
The Proscenic 808C humidifier is 33cm tall and has a beveled design so, the bottom section is slightly wider (22cm wide) than the top section (21cm wide). If you plan to keep the humidifier in a cabinet, bear in mind the depth of the humidifier, which is also beveled, measuring 19.5cm at the top and 21.5cm at the bottom); hence the back of the humidifier is not square but slanted.
The body of the Proscenic 808C humidifier is bulky in shape but light in weight (1.7 kg without the water tank), thanks to its hollow outer shell plastic construction. The plastic outer shell has a high gloss finish, including the front side which integrates a touch sensitive control panel and LCD display.
There a total of six touch control buttons, all of which make a beep sound when activated. One of those buttons is the anion generator button, which is a function that negatively ionizes (or electrically charge) the air molecules, killing and removing bacteria and dust particles in the air in the process.
The other buttons include an on/off button, Mode button, Heating, Humidity and Timer button, which you can use to turn off the humidifier at a particular time. You can also schedule when the 808C humidifier turns on and off.
The Heating button boils the water so, instead of a cool mist you get a warm mist (not hot). The boiling of the water takes 14 minutes and can be disabled very easily but pressing the Heating button again. The Humidity button lets you display the current humidity on the screen, as well as adjust humidity level.
The Mode button lets you activate three presets: Baby mode, Auto mode and Sleep mode, which turns off the LCD display lighting while keeping the humidifier running. Baby mode maintains humidity at 55%, as well as the mist output speed and activates warm mist and the anion generator.
The Timer function lets you time the automatic shut down of the humidifier between 1 hour and 12 hours. You can adjust the timer in increments of 1 hour.
There is a safety feature built in so, the Proscenic 808C humidifier will stop working when water becomes too low. If water is not refilled within 15 minutes, the humidifier shuts off automatically. Even if you try operating the humidifier without water, it will not work unless enough water is poured inside the water tank.
The 7-speed slider below the buttons is also touch sensitive and designed to increase and decrease settings, including the speed of the mist output. The speed of the output cannot be adjusted in Baby mode.
During cool mist mode, the Proscenic 808C consumes just 30 watts of power. During warm mist mode, it consumes 80 watts more of power; hence a total of 110 watts, which is still efficient; hence the Energy Class A+++ rating. Each + sign equates to an energy efficiency of 10% , so A+ rating equals 10%, A++ rating equals 20% and A+++ equals 30% more efficiency.
The Proscenic 808C humidifier already integrates a HEPA filter so, having a anion generator function makes it a safe device for asthma sufferers worried about humidifiers triggering an asthma attack.The HEPA fine mesh filter is located in the rear air inlet of the humidifier so, it will trap harmful tiny particles such as pollen, skin flecks and dust.
The HEPA filter is not required for the operation of the Proscenic 808C humidifier but it's great to have if you are asthmatic or have allergies. The HEPA filter should be changed every 12 to 18 months. The HEPA filter measures 8.5cm long, 5.5cm wide, 2cm thick and weighs 30 grams.
Other than the HEPA and ceramic water filter, the Proscenic 808C does not use a wicking filter like an evaporative humidifier does; hence less maintenance and running cost since wicking filters do have to be replaced regularly because of bacteria/limescale build up.
On the right side of the Proscenic 808C humidifier, there is the "aroma" compartment, which has a cotton pad designed for essential oils, turning the 808C humidifier into an aroma essential oil diffuser. It is advised not to put essential oils inside the water tank. There doesn't seem to be aroma replacement refills available to buy, although you could probably use regular cotton pads instead.
On the base of the humidifier, there are four circular foam feet attached to hard plastic legs, which raise the humidifier 1.5cm high off the ground.
The Proscenic 808C Humidifier can be operated three ways: via the touch control panel, infrared remote and Proscenic mobile app. The 808C humidifier creates its own Wifi hotspot access point so, it can connect to a router.
Being a mobile app, it needs Wifi connection via a 2.4Ghz band router. If your dual band router is set to broadcast on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, you will need to switch to 2.4Ghz only in order to use the app.
The Proscenic mobile app has a nice interface but it's a little buggy. There are issues when creating and log in to the account, requiring multiple attempts. There is also an issue after adding the humidifier to the app that requires you to re-add the humidifier as a device. Aside from those issues, the app works well.
Ultimately, which type of humidifier you buy depends on your needs. Evaporative humidifiers use a fan blade and a wicking filter that absorbs water from the water reservoir. As the wicking filter absorbs water, the fan blade blows through the wicking filter, evaporating the water into the air.
The advantage of evaporative humidifiers is that they self-regulate according to the humidity in the room. This means, as humidity increases in the room, the output of evaporated water also decreases. Ultrasonic humidifiers, in the other hand, can output water vapor regardless of humidity, which is great if you want a constant increase of humidity. That said, it's worth knowing, that an overly humidified room can lead to mould build up in the room due to dampness.
Some ultrasonic humidifiers come with a humidistat sensor designed to shut off the device automatically to prevent over humidifying. The Proscenic 808C has a thermo-hygrostat sensor, which measures both humidity (from 25% to 65%) and temperature (from 18C to 39C) in the air. The 808C humidifier can read Celsius (C) as well as Fahrenheit (F).
The hygrostat sensor is located externally inside a small black storage box attached to a short 28AWG cable, which is built-in above the non-removable mains power cord. The power cord measures 2 feet 3 inches long (68 cm). The hygrostat sensor storage box integrates three retainers on the back side to attach the hygrostat sensor to the mains power cord so, the hygrostat sensor doesn't dangle in mid-air.
You can buy the Proscenic 808C humidifier from amazon or from the Proscenic website and get 10% off, using discount code GE808C (valid from July 3, 2020 to July 31, 2021). Check out the review of the Proscenic A8 Air Purifier.