Dehumidifiers in the Shop
#21
I used a dehumidifier this past summer. It made quite a difference no light rust on my machines.
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#22
I appreciate reading about your opinions and experiences with dehumidifiers. I failed to mention that I live in middle Tennessee. Both times I was gone for extended periods of time we received a large amount of rain. A couple of weeks ago we got around 10 inches of rain over an 8 day period. It's the first time I remember our schools being closed due to floods.

I ordered a 70 pint capacity dehumidifier for my 24 x 24 shop. Because I don't have a floor drain - only a work sink - I wanted one with a pump. That should make it easier to empty the dehumidifier when I'm gone.

Will let you know how it works.
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#23
This topic comes up a lot here, and it seems like people are divided between waxing the tables, and dehumidifying the shop.

I like a dehumidifier, and an air conditioner when it's hot, because it helps keep the wood moisture content stable. Right now, the wood in the rack, and the benches, have a moisture content of 6% to 8%. I should be adding moisture right now. Other reasons to dehumidify are to keep the insides of machines from rusting and  to cut down on mold.
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#24
The fact you're getting that much humidity inside your shop tells me its not sealed up well.

So tell us what you're shop set up is. When my shop was in my barn, I had constant serious issues with rust.

Since I converted it to an enclosed, sealed space (not climate controlled) I don't have issues at all. I keep an overhead fan running and of course, I use my machines practically every day, which also helps alot.

But I have gone 2 or 3 weeks with out using them and not had an issue.

And I'm in FL a few miles from the Okefenokee Swamp.

If any of this is the case, I seriously doubt its going to help unless its an awful big unit!!
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#25
(03-05-2019, 09:59 PM)dg152 Wrote: I appreciate reading about your opinions and experiences with dehumidifiers. I failed to mention that I live in middle Tennessee. Both times I was gone for extended periods of time we received a large amount of rain. A couple of weeks ago we got around 10 inches of rain over an 8 day period. It's the first time I remember our schools being closed due to floods.

I ordered a 70 pint capacity dehumidifier for my 24 x 24 shop. Because I don't have a floor drain - only a work sink - I wanted one with a pump. That should make it easier to empty the dehumidifier when I'm gone.

Will let you know how it works.

As part of my job as an energy manager for our school district I was tasked with mitigating mold potential over the summer shutdown months in the most energy efficient manner. Dehumidifiers were cheaper than air conditioning.

If the rooms/areas were well sealed, any size dehumidifier was adequate.
It would pull the maximum the first couple of days, then start to plateau.

We ran the condensate via gravity to sinks, toilets, drinking fountains, or the condensate pans of the room's unit ventilators if they had one.

In those areas without a drain option we placed a piece of 1/2" ply on top of a 65 or 95 gallon wheeled recycle cart from our local municipality, placed the dehumidifier on that, and ran the discharge into it.
In a 900 squre foot classroom we would empty it about every 3-4 weeks, about 30-40 gallons or so. At 8 pounds per gallon that was about the max our custodians could handle. They would wheel it outside and tip it over. With the ones we had on second floors we supplied the custodians with small pumps and the recycling containers were rolled to a drain.

A couple of things we learned...
The piece of ply was cut longer than the length of container's opening and narrower than the width.
The 1/2" ply would bow under the weight of the dehumidifier. This was good because 1. if there was a problem with the discharge tube any condensate spilling over would run downhill to the bottom of the bow, then off the sides into the container, and 2. the bow would keep the dehumidifier centered on the board, as we learned the hard way on a 3/4" board that the vibration of cycling on and off could cause the dehumidifier to "walk" off the board and end up on the floor.

Make sure the containers are water tight. The recycling containers with molded plastic grab handles were, the ones with metal handles were not.
Some custodians used their own wheeled 55 gallon trash containers (4wheels vs 2 wheels). We insured the integrity by lining it with a heavy duty plastic trash bag.

If your shop is relatively well sealed, it is not the humid days of July/August, or your absence is not longer than a few weeks you can extend the reservoir capacity considerably with an auxillary container.
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#26
I tried a dehumidifier in the summer.  It removed moisture but added unwanted heat.  

My only the front half of my basement is under ground.  So mine might not be representative of your situation.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#27
(03-06-2019, 12:53 PM)Cooler Wrote: I tried a dehumidifier in the summer.  It removed moisture but added unwanted heat.  

My only the front half of my basement is under ground.  So mine might not be representative of your situation.

That's definitely true for an above ground space.  I'd chose an AC unit over a dehumidifier in a garage, etc.   But in a basement space a dehumidifier usually makes more sense.  I think too much added heat only happens if the unit is too small for the job and never shuts off and/or the space is so poorly sealed that no unit can handle all the moisture.  

John
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#28
I have used his portable one for 5 years now and I have the heat and water going outside the window.

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-coo...420&ipos=3

It was half that price when I got mine.  Still works great and it takes out about 100 gallons a year.
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification.  Thank You Everyone.

It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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#29
(03-07-2019, 03:35 PM)Arlin Eastman Wrote: I have used his portable one for 5 years now and I have the heat and water going outside the window.

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-coo...420&ipos=3

It was half that price when I got mine.  Still works great and it takes out about 100 gallons a year.

Arlin, how does it duct the heat outside?  


John
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#30
I had one in my old shop. I got the biggest cheap model they had on amazon at the time and ran it for 5 years without problem. I build a stand for it and kept it by the air handler for HVAC and let it drain into the condensate pump for the AC. Worked fine. person that bought my house insisted he wanted it so I sold it to him for more than I paid for it to begin with.
-Marc

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