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De-humidifier a good idea?


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Mike,

That's called "air conditioning". But for an industrial sized room.

The kit would fill a small, loo-sized room and cost ... I can only think of the cost of a window mounted air con unit and multiply it by the size of a garage.

Carcoons are barely bigger than the car, and they cost a lot. If you want to aircon the whole garage you'll need deep pockets.

 

Of course, you could let the wind and weather do it for you ...

See above.

 

John

Edited by john.r.davies
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Hi All

 

Just about to get my repainted Tr6 back in the next week or two, if they finish on time!!

 

Its a rolling chassis complete with suspension, engine gearbox etc, but a completly bare body, so still lots of work to do.

 

The only place for it to go is my mom's 60's built garage.

 

Its not really bad but it does get slightly damp as it has a slab floor (i assume on soil) not solid concrete.

 

When i've left bare metal in the before it does eventually rust but things don't end up wet.

 

So is a de-humidifier a good idea or am i wasting my time and money.

 

Does anyone have any experience using on and what sort of capacity is needed.

 

Cheers

 

Keith

 

 

Hi Keith,

You may be interested in the attached from a Sunday paper supplement. It is exactly the same as I have and it works brilliantly it has a pipe to empty it so no need to do it manually. I have this on a timer and the good thing about this machine is that it remembers its setting when switched off and resumes when power is restored. I keep mine at 40% and on Medium setting it also has an ion setting which I leave on as well. It is cheap to run as its a dessicant not a compressor. Forget Carcoon its too expensive and restricting. This will keep all your garage and tools rust free as well.

Charles

post-12736-0-44676500-1447933059_thumb.jpg

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Here is an interesting article from the Carcoon people:

carcoon.com.au

 

It describes using dehumidifiers as "expensive and futile" - i suppose they would, wouldn't they - but also confirms the above that the device does not heat or dry the air passed through but that it relies purely on ventilation.

 

It is nice to have one's opinion so authoritatively confirmed.

John

Edited by john.r.davies
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Hi All

 

thanks for the many replies.

 

Couple of issues i have which may preclude some of the options.

 

My 6 will be painted and on a chassis witrh running gear and the engine GB in place but little else so lots of work to do, so a Carcoon may be restrictive and the use it option may be a little ambitious at present.

 

Its not my Garage so doing (much) work on it and lining it with insulation probably is a no go.

 

So i think i'm going to give a de-humidifier a go, after sealing as many gaps and holes as i can and see how it goes.

 

Thanks

 

Keith

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My link didn't work. I think this does:

 

https://www.carcoon.com.au/how-carcoon-works/

 

 

I post this not to promote Carcoons, or even as a buyer of one, because I don't need one - my garage is well ventilated!

 

John

Edited by john.r.davies
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Following on from Don's arrangement (a single fan on the floor), has anybody tried to convert their whole garage into a "carcoon" type set up? I wonder if fixing a fan* (in the wall??) so it blows air into the garage, and the exhaust is either via the various leaks or a flap valve would work?

 

It should maintain a slight +ive pressure and presumably have the same effect as a bespoke air chamber.

 

Mike

 

* the fan would need to be sheltered from the weather in a small box

This is what you mean

 

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/positive-pressure-ventilation-system-flat-apartment?gclid=CK3H9YPrnskCFVW7Gwod8r0CeQ

 

or this

 

http://www.envirovent.com/home-ventilation/products/condensation-and-mould-solutions/mr-venty-eco-sub-2-sub-wall/

 

There was a company called 'Garage Dri' who sold the same type of units and I bought one. When mine failed they had already gone into liquidation.

The theory seems good to me, not air conditioning but positive ventilation to keep the air moving. When I had mine the garage was so leaky that it was ineffective but now that I have better fitting doors and a rainproof roof I am thinking of trying again.

 

There was a distributor of solar ventilation systems in Staffordshire who also appear to have gone, but they were distributors of 'solarventi' products which provided warm ventilation by solar power, but when I last looked the costs put me off.

 

I would also be interested to learn if anyone has achieved a 'whole garage carcoon'

 

(edit.. just read Andrew's link which indicates why they think that it wouldn't work, but as they sell dehumidifiers.........)

Edited by Malcolm T
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Mike, that looks very similar to the one inside my old Garage Dri unit although it had a heating element which operated automatically if the outside temperature dropped below ? (can't remember maybe 5C). The rest of the cost must have been the box and control stuff.....

 

Malcolm

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This is my dehumidifier which works really well. The garage has some natural ventilation and in my experience and accoring to the two seperate sensors I have at the front and back of the garage it keeps it at 44/47% at the back where the machine is and the door isn't and 57% at the door end. I have no rust on my tools since I started using it for 10 hours in a 24 hour cycle, just saying :rolleyes:

 

Out of interest, which 10 hours of the 24 hour day do you have it timed to run for and what settings on the Neostar Dehum 3 - http://www.dry-it-out.com/Neostar-Dehum3-White-desiccant-dehumidifier (a guess from the photo) do you have it set to ?

 

Paul

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Hi Paul,

I bought a digital timer and set it now for 4 times a day . 07.30-10.00, 16.00-18.00, 10.30-1.00am, and 2.30-5.30. Not at home just now but from memnory I leave set with the ioniseer on and continuous.

Charles

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My garage dehumidifier collects 2 gallons of water each day in the Fall & Winter; 3 gallons daily in the Spring & Summer.

It runs a total of 8 hours out of 24 in my large, attached 2 car garage- on the ground level, beneath the bedrooms.

It makes it very pleasant to work on the cars there.

Once you start using a dehumidifier in your garage, you will never want to live without it.

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I've got an e-Bac made in UK, fully automatic,did not seem to make much difference.

A pal asked me if I was trying to dry out Norfolk.!

They are OK in an insulated building. :)

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Here is an interesting article from the Carcoon people:

carcoon.com.au

 

It describes using dehumidifiers as "expensive and futile" - i suppose they would, wouldn't they - but also confirms the above that the device does not heat or dry the air passed through but that it relies purely on ventilation.

 

It is nice to have one's opinion so authoritatively confirmed.

John

Err not quite true as the dehumidifier I use (pic shown earlier) does indeed send out warmish air and has a swing motion that wafts it about a bit. My garage which is partly underground is now always dry and not freezing so making it nice to work in, I also use a fan heater to bring it up to circa 12C when I am in there. I keep old copies of the TR Action in the garage and over winter they would smell damp and wrinkle up but the newer editions after the dehumidifier was installed are dry and normal. The machine pulls many litres of water out of the air so the car never smells damp and I can get at it without any bother, I dont know how much it costs to run, it does say its efficient and cheap, but whatever it is its worth it to keep off the damp.

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When I got my Grinnall I had money left in the budget so I bought a Mitsubishi dehumidifier 16 litres/day capacity £330, on the basis that if it holds off major rust repairs for even a year or two it is good value.

 

It's a double garage shared with the daily driver Honda FR-V. So when the Honda comes in on a wet day it brings warmth and moisture.

 

Since I got it, my woodworking tools no longer need any attention to deal with the rust. If I'm out and about in the Honda in wet weather, the dehumidifier 4 litre tank needs emptying every other day. It keeps it about 50-60%RH, less in warm dry weather. I don't worry about it being less effective in cold weather, because corrosion rates are much less at lower temperatures. The aim isn't to totally defeat the rot on unprotected metal, for which a car cocoon may well be the thing, but just to bring it down to a much less worrying level that presents less of a challenge to the cars' rust protection.

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Err...I think the "above" referred to in Johns post is in fact the Carcoon which correctly is described as having neither a heating or drying function of the air but relies upon ventilation to control the temperature swings and changes in humidity, hence why John pats himself upon the back (correctly) for his opinion that ventilation is the key.

If you read the Carcoon description of how their equipment works to contest the constant change in temperatures and relative humidity it defines precisely how the humidity and damp can be controlled in two ways. Either add more heat to the chosen area or more ventilation, the heat allows the air to retain more moisture instead of dropping it on colder surfaces or condensing into surfaces OR ventilating the area and controlling the temperature variation between the upper and lower limits and preventing any moisture content being extracted from the air and passed onto various surfaces in the chosen area.

If you use a dehumidifier you'll be increasing your power bills by anything between 250w or 700w per kilowatt hr (with power say @ 0.15 pence per kw hour) depending upon dehumidifier size, against a Carcoon where the computer sized fans use only milliamps and probably allow condensation control (not to forget protection from dust and in garage contaminants) for about £20 a year. As a pure storage medium the Carcoon takes some beating, wheras if a workable and drier garage is what's required a dehumidifier offers something different.

 

Mick Richards

Edited by Motorsport Mickey
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Agreed, as they say 'you pays your money and takes your choice' .....

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Here is an interesting article from the Carcoon people:

carcoon.com.au

 

It describes using dehumidifiers as "expensive and futile" - i suppose they would, wouldn't they - but also confirms the above that the device does not heat or dry the air passed through but that it relies purely on ventilation.

 

John

Yes they would, just as the dehumidifier sales people say that ventilation systems aren't the answer but dehumidifiers are!

 

http://www.dry-it-out.com/car-storage-faq

 

(Andrew's link)

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The outside air for several months of the year in the UK has high humidity so constantly changing damp air for damp air by ventilating would ensure that all metal surfaces and interiors had a good chance to get good and damp! A dehunidifier ensures that the air in the garage is dried and maintained at a constantly lower humidity level, well that's what happens in my garage anyway, too much ventilation and you may as well have a lean to! A Dehumidifier pulls several litres of of water out of your 'ventilated' outside air so its must be doing something useful as all that water isn't on my car and tools. The ioniser also cleans the dust from the air, whats not to like. <_<

Edited by cotswold
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3 months on recovering from a broken back, I went into my garage for the first time since August to put the Soft Top up for the winter, also started the engine and warmed it up to full tempreture...Checking the Dehumidifier I noticed that the Humidity reading was 79% today...even though it was a mild, dry day today! Nuff said on thesubject then!

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