| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
OK, so my garage is built like a bank barn, and the part where I park bikes and cars is basically a basement. Very humid. I just put in a programmable dehumidifier and ran a drain outside so I don't have to mess with a bucket, but I was wondering...I don't want to run this thing on "Constant", do I? I can program as low as 35% humidity on the keypad...what's the best for fighting rust and mildew, without mummifying the vehicles' tires and gaskets? | ||
| Kenm123t |
50% rh is good Look up Therm A Stor Dehumidifers Some smaller units they make are sold by Honeywell . They are the best small self contained units on the market. I have sold hundreds of them | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Being in So Cal, you tend to forget about that stuff. Sometimes it's in the single digits, here. Hope you find the right unit. I was in Florida a while back - State flower is mold, State mineral - iron oxide. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I've got the unit, its a 70 pint(liter?)/hour programmable. Just trying to figure out what to set it for. Currently, after less than 24 hrs, it's dropped from 85 to 60% on the "current level" display  | ||
| Hughlysses |
If it's dropped it that much in 24 hours, it should be amply sized for what you're using it for. 50% RH is ideally where you want to maintain the inside of your house; you'll be OK at 50-60% for your garage. | ||
| Bads1 |
Rat, In the Winter months my garage can sweat when it gets warmer and humid on the muggy days in the Summer. I put a isolating fan by my car blowing up at it. Moving the air does wonders. I just run it on low.... works great | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Good topic. My damn garage gets so humid there was mildew on my charcoal when I went to use it today. I wonder if a couple cheap box fans in the rafters would do the trick? | ||
| Ratbuell |
I put the dehumidifier in the lower level yesterday (again, think "bank barn" - I park in the "basement") and as noted, it's putting out a TON of water. I ran CPVC from the hose output, through the exterior wall, and I can literally sit on my patio and watch water flat *run* out of the pipe. I put an attic exhaust fan in the roof today. The upper level is, in effect, an unfinished 2 bedroom apartment. Studded in, floors, lights...and that's it. So, I built a workbench and work on motorcycles up there  But since its open to the rafters, it gets H-O-T-HOT. When I was installing the fan (brilliant me, on a roof cutting a 14.5" circle through it) it was showing 110 degrees inside on the workbench. Yes...it was HOTTER up on the roof. But, within an hour of installing the fan it had dropped to 95-ish at the workbench. We'll see how it does tomorrow, after it has a chance to work the heat before it builds up like an oven. Upstairs was nice and dry - kinda like a kiln - but downstairs being below-grade, was wet. We'll see how things go after a few days of equalization. And, we'll see how the electric bill looks next month  | ||
| Kenm123t |
Rat look up the EEBA.org site and look up the building guide for your area. You may find the attic fan brings in more h2o. Your in a tough climate range In so Fla its a swamp all the time. we blow up the house We pressurize the building with a Dehumidifier or a DOAS. By doing this we prevent water from entering the building We assume the building leaks air. So we make it leak the to the outside . In humid climates buildings are cool and dry inside and warm and wet outside. In your area i suspect you have both conditions swicthing spring and fall. Check out " Joes Top ten dumb things to do in the South" And Top ten dumb things to do in the North" You may have both issues Pulte Homes failed to learn the complete reversal of vapor pressure with the seasons and Ended up repurchasing a entire development in NC | ||
| Ratbuell |
I'll have to check that out. Good news is, it's an "unfinished" building. I'm not concerned about drywall or furniture. Yet. But, I don't want to compromise the structure either. Thanks for the tip. Next step is installing more soffit vents, so the attic fan pulls air from under the eaves instead of through the garage. Building already had passive roof-peak vents; I just added the fan for more active cooling. The good news is, I'm at 1500' elevation and there's a pretty steady breeze. Atmospheric humidity is pretty low. Ground moisture is what's killing the downstairs. | ||
| Fast1075 |
60% RH is the threshold for biologicals, but the lower, the better. Some of the molds are far more than a nuisance. Wet buildings can be a tough nut to crack, read "expensive". | ||
| Ducbsa |
The garage of my first house in a Chicago suburb had no moisture barrier under the slab and it was very humid in the Spring. One winter my BMW's clutch disc rusted to the flywheel and I had to push off in neutral, bang it into gear, then rev it up with the clutch pulled in to break the rust bond. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Yeah, I already have a set of brake calipers on one of my cars that's locked up. From prior storage - unheated, uncontrolled building with a dirt floor, and the car sat there for the better part of 8 years - but I just want to keep things from getting worse. One of my projects is a '72 Plymouth - old Mopars can grow rust in Death Valley, so I've got my hands full there!! |
