Thinking about buying a Dehumidifier

[Bazza 907 1,063]

My garage is a bit damp so I was thinking about buying a dehumidifier for it to keep the cars in tip top condition. Does anybody have any experience of them?

It looks like I can get one for c£150 but I'm not sure which one and whether or not they really work.

[mdw 273]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaco-DD122FW-MK4-dehumidifier/dp/B001FCMHU8/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1322511980&sr=1-9

Ive got one of these and when the garage was drying out after being built a few years ago it would pull 1-2 litres of water out of the air every night. It also works at low temps which the old type of dehumidifiers dont. The only down side is it fills a tank rather than having a drain hose.

[dodgy 26]

I have one running in my garage continuously, it works great at removing the damp in the Walls, it has a drain hose on it now so I do not have to empty it

[B1 RMA 2]

I currently run two a dessicant which is cheaper to buy but dearer to run and a standard small Delonghi one which was only £120 but is cheaper to run. If you are using it in an uninsulated garage it would pay to at least attempt to try to insulate it in some way. I completely covered mine including the doors and ceiling with 12mm foil faced rigid Celotex board it easy to cut and fit and weighs nothing and as it helps prevent moisture being drawn through single skin walls etc it makes the place drier and cheaper to keep at a constant 50-60% humidity. I also have an outdoor carcoon with the small Delonghi dehumidifier inside and that despite the fans drawing in damp air keeps the car at a constant 50-60% humidity all the time. I am a bit of an amatuer weather buff so have equipment that tracks these sort of figures over the long term so I know a bit of insulation to the garage makes a big difference in running costs as well.

[Bazza 907 1,063]

So I'm probably looking to get one with a drain hose and as I'd like to keep it running constantly one that has low running costs.

David - the garage is uninsulated but lining it sounds like a big job. I'd like to measure the humidity before and after though - can you get things that measure humidity?

[B1 RMA 2]

Bazza there are small units available on e-bay for about £10 which are accurate. Most dehumidifiers have a drainage tube, like I said if you have single glazed doors and windows and a double garage door that is also single skin this combined with single skin walls and roof will make the unit work harder. If you look on e-bay you can buy both dessicant and 'fridge' type standard de-humidifiers for about £120 -£200 The dessicant seem to consume about 400-800 watts and the fridge type 100-300 watts. Some advice for installation, if you can avoid placing it too close to an outside wall that will prevent the unit drawing out moisture from that wall, if you can seal as many gaps that will help too. Before I went over the top and boarded out my garage (its quite big more than a double) my de-humidifier ran at 100% to achieve 60-70% RH since the work I did it runs at 20% to achieve 50-60% RH so I'm probably saving a lot of money running the unit from October-May

Edited November 29, 2011 by B1 RMA

[MPx 267]

I've got one of these in the barn Bazza. http://www.dry-it-out.com/X-Dry-White

Its fully auto, works off a timer and needs no maint. Not sure of the results in terms of measurements, but first year here the Elan started to suffer internal mould growth on the steering wheel etc. Since I've had the Xdry - no problems. The barn is not really a sensible place to try to keep dehumidified (too big/drafty) - I sometimes feel I'm trying to dry out most of Somerset up to the troposphere, but apart from a bit of leccy (300w) its not really too bad. Only cost me £185 so they've gone up a bit. I had to empty it twice a day (about 10 litres) when I started so it wasn't long before I fixed up the discharge tube. Just leave it now and its fine. Worth a punt I'd say.

[Loose Cannon 582]

Next time you change your carpets the garage floor makes a good home, really stops that penetrating cold and damp. Makes working on the car inside a treat too!

[Bazza 907 1,063]

Thanks for all your comments. Mike, that does sound like the one to go for.

Just found a guage at Maplin on special offer for £6 so I'll pick one later and see how bad the humidity is now.

Cheers

Bazza

[robington 142]

Looks great - I think I will look into that myself. I wonder how well it will cope with my cooling fuid loss though?

[hopo 154]

I would kill for a garage! under a cover outside it is for me.... and theres only a cover for one!

[skiing 107]

Which one gets the cover? - mine is also outside - one day I will have a de-humidified double garage with a hydraulic lift...

[Kimbers 1,781]

We have internal damp problems so we have 2, one for the Conservatory and one for the main bathroom. Both rooms are so much drier and the damp that was always on the inside of the wondows has disappeared after 3 days of use.

[oneshot 153]

I changed our garage doors (integral double garage) from the normal up and over to electric roller doors. These have rubber strips on the bottom so now the garage is effectively sealed. No gaps top or bottom.

Here is some info for the last week:

As you can see although the outside temp went down to 2 - the garage never went below 17. You can even see when my wife puts her car away as the temp rises.

[Guest surferphil]

I built a poly cube about 7m x 7m and stuck a Wickes dehumidifier in and it made a big difference, no condensation and after a month all the cardboard boxes had gone from soft to crisp, must have removed 4 Litres a week which is a lot from a sealed space that wasn't really damp to begin with.

The only problem is the tank needs emptying but the water is good as it's clean and ideal for windscreen washers.

I use fire rated expanding foam to seal the gaps in the brick work, really easy to use and a brilliant draught excluder insulator and water proof.

[gghc87 70]

Bought one from b&q 6 years ago for about £100 with a hose feed attachment and has been running 24/7 ever since . The water feeds to the outside. Do make sure it has a anti freeze cut out protection as on really cold nights it needs to shut down automatically to protect it, it then defrosts itself and gets going again

[Guest surferphil]

You may also consider a concrete sealant to brush on the floor and an exterior sealant for the outside walls of the garage.

I got mine from the [email protected] building supplies section but any builders merchant should supply this (liquid in a tin). It will prvent the outside surface from absorbing moisture and protect the brick/cement. Its a really cheap and easy solution.

[B1 RMA 2]

I changed our garage doors (integral double garage) from the normal up and over to electric roller doors. These have rubber strips on the bottom so now the garage is effectively sealed. No gaps top or bottom.

Here is some info for the last week:

As you can see although the outside temp went down to 2 - the garage never went below 17. You can even see when my wife puts her car away as the temp rises.

Do you have your central heating boiler in the garage?

[oneshot 153]

Nope. Boiler is in the utility room.

Only source of heating in the garage are the cars and the tumble drier.

Floor is sealed with heavy duty floor paint.

[B1 RMA 2]

Nope. Boiler is in the utility room.

Only source of heating in the garage are the cars and the tumble drier.

Floor is sealed with heavy duty floor paint.

Thats a good average ambient temperature, mine which is detached averages only about 12 despite it being 55%RH

[Bazza 907 1,063]

Just checked the humidity in the garage - its 89%.

Dehumidifier ordered from Amazon. I hope it turns up quickly !!

[red vtec 184]

If you want a cheap solution.

Use the damp traps that just use crystals to soak up the water, no need to plug in. Only about a fiver from Aldi for the big size does up to about 25sqm We use them in the unit, it's 125sqm so have several of them. We do also have A/C dehumidifier units but they cost money to run etc

I have a little damp trap that i usually stick in the car over the winter.

[Bazza 907 1,063]

Bought one and it seems to be working well.

Thanks for your useful comments

[GavinT 109]

I use this product:-

http://www.damprid.com/

Works well and is cheap. Not sure if it's available in the UK.

[Bibs 11,146]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaco-DD122FW-MK4-dehumidifier/dp/B001FCMHU8/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1322511980&sr=1-9

Ive got one of these and when the garage was drying out after being built a few years ago it would pull 1-2 litres of water out of the air every night. It also works at low temps which the old type of dehumidifiers dont. The only down side is it fills a tank rather than having a drain hose.

 

Thanks to the loan of a dehumidifier from Ian we found out they work a treat and based on this post and some research bought one of these, although it's now the Mk5. Making a huge difference in our house, I can't believe how much water it's pulling out of the air!