Garage dehumidifier

[bertie]

I've got a couple of stand alone dehumidifiers in my garage but I really need to get something sorted properly.

The volume is approx. 350 cubic meters and since it is domestic it needs to be single not 3 phase.

Anyone go any advice for dehumidifiers for larger garages or pointers on who to talk to?

[stuntmaneddie]

You are probably going to want to look more at proper ventilation, rather than standalone dehumidifiers. You should be able to get a suitable
single phase fan to change the air in that space 6 times / hr easily enough. These days with EC motors they are very cheap to run constantly, and
can be set to boost airflow based on a simple humidistat.

[bertie]

stuntmaneddie said:

You are probably going to want to look more at proper ventilation, rather than standalone dehumidifiers. You should be able to get a suitable
single phase fan to change the air in that space 6 times / hr easily enough. These days with EC motors they are very cheap to run constantly, and
can be set to boost airflow based on a simple humidistat.

That would be much easier to achieve obviously, but would it be as effective at maintaining the cars condition?

[anonymous-user]

If you can fit one in there I would be inclined to buy a indoor Carcoon rather than spend money on dehumidifiers.

[taz turbo]

Iv'e been there!

Problem with ventilation is that your RH will be the same as outdoors, you want to keep the RH in the garage below 40-45% as apparently rust can't form or continue at RH below this. All the carcoon does is circulate garage air around your car/bike etc, so when the RH goes high it's not the best storage conditions.

We see RH well above 45% here in the UK, summer gone I saw high 80's%! However in my garage with a Ebac DD200 installed it was never above 45% (it's set at 40%)

Quite expensive to buy and not cheap to run, but worth it IMO. Also be aware that compressor dehumidifiers don't work (efficiently) at temperatures much below 15 degrees.




Chris.

[Larry5.2]

Check this out,

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

The right type of dehumidifier will work at lower temps.

I use a DD3 Classic in a single car garage. Works really well.

[Behemoth]

taz turbo said:

Iv'e been there!
you want to keep the RH in the garage below 40-45% as apparently rust can't form or continue at RH below this.
Chris.

That'll dry up any leather interiors. If you choose to go down to 40-45 then you'd need to be putting elbow grease into very regular leather conditioning. I think 45-50% is the sweet spot. Even on a 40 year old 308 with no rust proofing & untreated iron stuff like exposed nails in the garage, I've seen zero rust appear over many years at this RH level.

[bertie]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Given my space is quite large, I have 6 cars in there, maybe I need to spread the dehumidification.

So maybe a couple of units rather than one large one?

I am aware I need to go for desiccant types rather than compressor.

[Behemoth]

bertie said:

Given my space is quite large, I have 6 cars in there, maybe I need to spread the dehumidification.

So maybe a couple of units rather than one large one?

I'd call Dry it Out (linked upthread). I got mine from there & they know their stuff.

[bertie]

Behemoth said:

That'll dry up any leather interiors. If you choose to go down to 40-45 then you'd need to be putting elbow grease into very regular leather conditioning. I think 45-50% is the sweet spot. Even on a 40 year old 308 with no rust proofing & untreated iron stuff like exposed nails in the garage, I've seen zero rust appear over many years at this RH level.

A 308 you say...sounds familiar....

Spoken with Dry it Out.....reckon my couple of stand alone desiccants are as good as it gets, nothing wall mountable / permanent install available?

[Behemoth]

bertie said:

A 308 you say...sounds familiar....

Spoken with Dry it Out.....reckon my couple of stand alone desiccants are as good as it gets, nothing wall mountable / permanent install available?

Mine's a carb GTS, black. And my garage is not nearly as tidy

Install HVAC powered to suit the m3 you have. You just need a system with good humidity controls rather than the usual temperature one. One look at the remote & you'll see if it's capable.

[bertie]

Behemoth said:

Mine's a carb GTS, black. And my garage is not nearly as tidy

Install HVAC powered to suit the m3 you have. You just need a system with good humidity controls rather than the usual temperature one. One look at the remote & you'll see if it's capable.

You mean air con?

Doesn't that have the usual compressor system issue of not working at lower temps?

I thought desiccant was essential?

[Behemoth]

bertie said:

You mean air con?

Doesn't that have the usual compressor system issue of not working at lower temps?

I thought desiccant was essential?

A decent HVAC system provides heat if needed. Yes, it's aircon but I'd search for a proper HVAC expert in your area & get them round for a quote. A good outfit will be dealing with all kinds of humidity/heat/cooling/volume requirements for commercial purposes from eg cooling server farms to slaughterhouses.

[Double gauche]

Larry5.2 said:

Check this out,

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

The right type of dehumidifier will work at lower temps.

I use a DD3 Classic in a single car garage. Works really well.

+1 for dry it out - really helpful and informative

[bertie]

Double gauche said:

Larry5.2 said:

Check this out,

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

The right type of dehumidifier will work at lower temps.

I use a DD3 Classic in a single car garage. Works really well.

+1 for dry it out - really helpful and informative

As I said a couple of posts up, spoken to them and they reckon there’s nothing available that’s better than the couple of Eco air DD3 I have standing around

[Behemoth]

bertie said:

As I said a couple of posts up, spoken to them and they reckon there’s nothing available that’s better than the couple of Eco air DD3 I have standing around

If they are doing their job, what's the problem? My unit (I forget the model) has been running for years virtually non-stop plumbed in. Do you have a hygrometer in there to double check the humidity?

[bertie]

Behemoth said:

bertie said:

As I said a couple of posts up, spoken to them and they reckon there’s nothing available that’s better than the couple of Eco air DD3 I have standing around

If they are doing their job, what's the problem? My unit (I forget the model) has been running for years virtually non-stop plumbed in. Do you have a hygrometer in there to double check the humidity?

Maybe nothing, they just seem a bit puny and I wanted something more robust.

Perhaps I just get a third one and plumb them in?

[stuntmaneddie]

The perfect solution for this would be a custom ventilation system, with cooling, heating, and humdifier included. You need to be changing the air in the
space, not just recirculating it and monitoring the humidity levels. Would get expensive though, i would estimate 10-15k for that size space, equipment and
installation. It's not a lot of air, but the controls are the expensive part.
Nice collection of cars by the way :-)

[bertie]

stuntmaneddie said:

The perfect solution for this would be a custom ventilation system, with cooling, heating, and humdifier included. You need to be changing the air in the
space, not just recirculating it and monitoring the humidity levels. Would get expensive though, i would estimate 10-15k for that size space, equipment and
installation. It's not a lot of air, but the controls are the expensive part.
Nice collection of cars by the way :-)

I was hoping for something like a larger desiccant wall mounted dehumidifier.

A half way between the little ones I have and a full air handling unit!

[bertie]

Interestingly, I have been told.... "Condensing dehumidifiers have improved greatly over the last few years, so whilst you are correct in thinking that previously they were not particularly efficient once temperatures dropped into the teens, this is no longer the case. Our units work extremely efficiently down to around 5 degrees, with efficiency dropping off after that as you approach zero degrees. However, the air at that temperature is much drier as cold air holds less moisture than warm air, so humidity is less of an issue. We also use high pressure fans and have wide spacing between the fins to prevent frosting in lower temperatures."

Any views?