Sunday, January 22, 2012

Repairing a Vicks Warm Mist V745A humidifier

Room humidifiers are not difficult. They hum or hiss and water vapor comes out. They glug occasionally as the tank empties.

But not our new one. No glug, no hiss.
Before returning it, let's see it it's easily fixable.

The lack of glug is the key clue - the valve isn't letting water into the heating chamber.

Here's the valve. It's inside the tank-fill-cap.

Valve doesn't work Correct

Looks like it was assembled improperly - the stem fills the rubber hole, not allowing water through...but looks are deceiving. I suspect the rubber seal isn't supposed to be inside the hole at all, but a sealing cap on top of the hole.

Use the stem to gently poke the rubber seal out of the hole, and suddenly the seal's size and shape make more
sense. And it even seats on the stem properly.

Best of all, now it even works.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I get the "glug" mine however stops working shortly after it warms up. Goes to the "reset" position like the tank is empty, but it is not. Any suggestions? BTW, the scale has been cleaned from the element.

Ian said...

Check the float switch.
Is it floating? Is it switching?

Jeff B said...

I have the same problem as previous commenter. Where is the float switch and how do I check if it is floating and switching?

Ian said...

Leave the tank off.
Fill the bottom with water.
The float switch is the ring-shaped...float...that floats...and switches.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to thank you! I've used my humidifier for several years without a problem, but took it out this year and the water wouldn't flow. I was about to purchase a replacement cap when I came across this post. 30 seconds later and we're back in working order!

Iqra Bashir said...

The water bath type vaporizer is a device used to convert liquid gases into gaseous form for use in various applications. It's fascinating to see how this simple yet effective technology can turn a liquid into a gas, and it's amazing to think about all the ways in which it helps make our lives easier and more comfortable.