Dehumidifiers

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SteveG4TRA

SteveG4TRA

Active Member
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203
I am considering fitting an automatic dehumidifier to my 63 square meter garage/workshop and wondered if any one out there had any experience or recommendations.
The building is a new build with double glazed windows, three Horman insulated roller shutter doors and a Horman insulated side door. The construction is blocks, 150mm insulated cavity and inner Thermolites under a tiled insulated roof. The humidity in the garage usually tracks the house here within +10%, getting no higher than 50 to 60%, but lately in this warm wet weather I notice that it has been up to 70%.
I would prefer something that automatically kicks in at a pre-set humidity level and has an external drain.
What do you think?
Steve
 
Stevehh said:
I am considering fitting an automatic dehumidifier to my 63 square meter garage/workshop and wondered if any one out there had any experience or recommendations.
The building is a new build with double glazed windows, three Horman insulated roller shutter doors and a Horman insulated side door. The construction is blocks, 150mm insulated cavity and inner Thermolites under a tiled insulated roof. The humidity in the garage usually tracks the house here within +10%, getting no higher than 50 to 60%, but lately in this warm wet weather I notice that it has been up to 70%.
I would prefer something that automatically kicks in at a pre-set humidity level and has an external drain.
What do you think?
Steve
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go for it.
 
Meaco seem to be well-regarded. I have to 10L that I used to run constantly in my last workshop puling up top a litre every couple of days. Very handy source of distilled water.

Mine was the condenser type, which is said not to work at low temperatures - mine always had water in the tank after the coldest nights, so seemed to be fine. The 'desiccant' type apparently get round that problem, so probably bets to go for one of those. I didn't know about them when I bought mine. (Desiccant doesn't mean those cheap things which you stick in the oven to dry out, but does use a similar principle.

Definitely worth doing. Tools will love you, and it feels massively warmer.
 
ps. Read your first post more carefully. You'll need a much bigger one than mine! (Although it's still making a big difference in current place (about 40m but not very high).
 
That looks like it'll do a good job. Workshops/garages with imperfect doors are always going to breathe in what's outside, so we'll never get them completely dry. Thing is that the improvement that these things make is staggering, or it was in my last place with a metal roof that used to taunt me by either dripping on me or my favourite tools.. Obviously once you've got a few gallons of distilled water (fab for washing windows or anything else where you can't be arsed to dry to get rid of water marks) you can arrange the drain pipe to go outside somewhere.

Thinks maybe I should bottle it and sell it as special deepest Surrey stuff. £5 a bottle.
 
boguing said:
Meaco seem to be well-regarded. I have to 10L that I used to run constantly in my last workshop puling up top a litre every couple of days. Very handy source of distilled water.

Mine was the condenser type, which is said not to work at low temperatures - mine always had water in the tank after the coldest nights, so seemed to be fine. The 'desiccant' type apparently get round that problem, so probably bets to go for one of those. I didn't know about them when I bought mine. (Desiccant doesn't mean those cheap things which you stick in the oven to dry out, but does use a similar principle.

Definitely worth doing. Tools will love you, and it feels massively warmer.
Click to expand...
Thanks Boguing for the info, Yes Meaco do seems to be well regarded and get good reviews at the dealers. A desiccant version works well at the lower garage temperatures we experience in this country and it also puts out an element of warm air raising the garage temperature a bit so I am told. Yes, I spent a long time removing rust from my hand tools when I bought the new tool box this month and I don't really want to have to do it again.
 
kevstar said:
That one is for domestic use but it will still do the job as intended but it will only pull max 3lts a day
& by the way you described your fancy unit I thought you would want a top notch one ;)
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Yes I appreciate that. I will have to look for a second hand one then.....
 
Nah, you'll be fine with that one as long as you keep the doors shut.

With a generous roof let's say that you've got 200 cubic metres. At 100% humidity you've got 4.4 litres of water in the air, so to bring it down from 70 to 50% you only need to remove one litre, which would give you four complete changes of air before you reach the machine's capacity.
 
boguing said:
Nah, you'll be fine with that one as long as you keep the doors shut.

With a generous roof let's say that you've got 200 cubic metres. At 100% humidity you've got 4.4 litres of water in the air, so to bring it down from 70 to 50% you only need to remove one litre, which would give you four complete changes of air before you reach the machine's capacity.
Click to expand...
I guess a question we need to understand is what is an acceptable humidity level for a workshop/garage containing vehicles and tools? Too high, bare metal rusts, too low and certain materials (such as leather) dry out and decompose.
I think 60% would be a figure to aim for, but what do I know?
 
Bobsticle said:
I found it much less stressful to move my tools into the house and fit a bunk in the garage for the wife. The moist air will no doubt help her complexion and she keeps the spiders company. Everyone wins.
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Jezz, I'll never get away with that, even the dog won't stop with me in the garage. I'll mention it to her though...…….
 
I bought a Meaco Zambezi DD8L in the end. Completely automatic, drains to sink and does the job. But watch your electricity bill, these things dont do anything for free. Keeps the garage at a constant 55% humidity for me and all my tools are rust free.
 
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