Shops and dehumidifiers

[gjohn]

I have a metal shop, 30x40x16. It had gotten oppressive inside. It was more comfortable to be out in the Texas sun. My yellow pine bench started getting moldy. It only seemed to be pieces of yellow pine that had mold. 

I bought a dehumidifier for a little over $200. It has a 1.5 gal bin and shuts off when full. I dump it twice a day. It is absolutely amazing how much cooler and more comfortable it feels in there. 

If your shop is hot and muggy, you might try a dehumidifier. I found it to be an incredible bargain.

[Duane N]

I run a dehumidifier inside my home to reduce the work load of my HVAC system.  There's a big comfort difference between a 75 degree area at 65% relative humidity and 75 degree area at 45%-50% relative humidity.

[fredhargis]

I don't face near the extremes you do, but Ive had one on my shop for many years (actually several....they die after a few years and I have to replace it). But here it is more about just keeping the rust off the tools though it does make it much more comfortable.

[WaterlooMarc]

I had one in my last basement shop. Oddly at this house which is still a walkout basement only 5 miles from the last house I don’t need one.

Anyway, I ran a hose from the dehumidifier into the condensate pump for the house air handler and didn’t have to worry about the dehumidifier cutting off or emptying the bucket. Might be a thought.

[gjohn]

I had one in my last basement shop. Oddly at this house which is still a walkout basement only 5 miles from the last house I don’t need one.

Anyway, I ran a hose from the dehumidifier into the condensate pump for the house air handler and didn’t have to worry about the dehumidifier cutting off or emptying the bucket. Might be a thought.

The longer plan is to run a hose from the dehumidifier to the chicken coop and have it automatically water the chickens. Not sure when that will get to the top of the list though.

[srv52761]

....... It has a 1.5 gal bin and shuts off when full. I dump it twice a day. It is absolutely amazing how much cooler and more comfortable it feels in there. 

The longer plan is to run a hose from the dehumidifier to the chicken coop and have it automatically water the chickens. Not sure when that will get to the top of the list though.

Until then, consider an auxiliary container.  In our school district we use dehumidifiers to ward off mold during the humid summer months when the classrooms are unoccupied.  If they do not have a convenient place to discharge we place a piece of 1/2” ply over a plastic 65 gallon recycling container , place the dehumidifier on the ply and let it discharge into the container.  Then, we make the rounds about every 3-4 weeks to empty them.

[jteneyck]

It is absolutely amazing how much cooler and more comfortable it feels in there. 

More comfortable to be sure, but dehumidifiers dump their hot air into the room so the actual temperature will increase.  I use a dehumdiifier in my basement shop but for an above ground building an AC unit would be my preferred solution during the Summer months.  A dehumidifier might be a better choice in Spring and Fall when the added heat is beneficial.  

John

[srv52761]

More comfortable to be sure, but dehumidifiers dump their hot air into the room so the actual temperature will increase.  I use a dehumdiifier in my basement shop but for an above ground building an AC unit would be my preferred solution during the Summer months.  A dehumidifier might be a better choice in Spring and Fall when the added heat is beneficial.  

John

For comfort, yes, the a/c is the way to go.  But I would suggest for a hobby shop having both available.
The nice thing about a/c is it cools everything down.  The bad thing about a/c is it cools everything down.  It takes some time for iron to cool down, and it takes time for it to warm up again.

He is pulling about 3 gallons a day.  That suggests moist outside air is getting in at a pretty consistent rate.  Unless he is going to a/c continuously, even when he is not there, he runs a serious risk of allowing moist air to come into contact with any iron/steel tools while they are still cool.

He may want to put a dehumidifier on a timer to run for an hour or so  after the a/c goes off and then again at night/early morning when the outside temps drop below the dew point.

Or, maybe just set the a/c temp just low enough to take the bite out of the temp, but not enough to drop below the dew point.

[kdouglaslee]

I have the same problem here in Mississippi, but I never thought about getting a dehumidifier, it's a great idea and now it's on my list.

[MstrCarpenter]

I have a window A.C. unit that has FAN, COOL, and DRY settings. When set to DRY; humidity, not the temperature is controlling the unit.