View Full Version : Storage area dehumidifier
Originally being from Ohio myself, I have what up north is called a "fruit cellar" or a "root cellar". It is basically a concrete room underneath your front porch. I guess maybe 18' long x 6' wide by 7' high. Several years ago I had a steel security door and frame installed in it's doorway with ~ 400lbs of concrete poured in around the setup. The door has the "fire resistant" sealer thing on the bottom. It isn't "sealed off" per se, but it doesn't have much ventilation. In the winter it gets cool in there (not cold) and in the summer it gets warm and stuffy in there (not hot).
I am looking to at least adequately dehumidify the thing. For ~ 5 days a week this thing is locked up. I go down on the weekends to "play" with stuff but the vast majority of the time it is closed up, and this includes vacations obviously. I would rather not have to put a traditional dehumidifier in there and drill a hole through the wall, run drainage tubing, etc., or have to go unlock everything each day to empty the bucket.
Is there a "Grande Goldenrod" or such? Would several of the largest Goldenrods (I think they are 36" long) work?
Maybe an electric space heater
Maybe an electric space heater
But will it work in the summer with higher heat and humidity?
Take a look at this idea>> https://energyhandyman.com/services/sealed-crawl-spaces/ BTW the 36" goldenrod is supposed to take care of 500 S/F. You would need 2 of them. Goldenrods cannot work in a sealed space. Think about it.
Take a look at this idea>> https://energyhandyman.com/services/sealed-crawl-spaces/ BTW the 36" goldenrod is supposed to take care of 500 S/F. You would need 2 of them. Goldenrods cannot work in a sealed space. Think about it.
It's gonna have to be a solution I do myself, as I don't really want anyone seeing the contents. In this day and age I am not trusting of any vendor, be it for thieves or narcs (who might remember that room when they get themselves in trouble for something and try to make a "deal" or for some future reward to rat people out).
The best thing to do would be to run a duct from my HVAC into the space, but I'm not a "handyman" type and neatly cutting through concrete block to do it I can see ending up as a disaster!
Plan B might be to buy the best dehumidifier possible. I can probably run the drainage tubing under the door (where I have a power cord running now) but it is a long way from the utility sink in the basement. Not sure if any dehumidifier has the "oomph" to pump that far.
I can probably run the drainage tubing under the door (where I have a power cord running now) but it is a long way from the utility sink in the basement. Not sure if any dehumidifier has the "oomph" to pump that far.
As long as the drainage tube is running slightly downhill, distance shouldn't be a problem. My dehumidifier has a 50ft hose on it that snakes through the basement to the floor drain.
Now if you mean running the hose into an elevated sink rather than a floor drain, then yea, youre not gonna be able to pump it.
One, if it were me I would put a small electric sub panel in there instead of an extension cord, or at least run circuits. This is a bit safer and would not compromise security at all. I'm not sure if that is beyond you or not as you say you aren't "handy".
There are plenty of small dehumidifiers available, and you can get them with or without condensate pumps built in. Drilling a small hole to route a drain tube is an easy feat with a (rentable) hammer drill. There is also the option of cutting out a small section of floor and building a stand alone sump. That option is harder and requires knowledge of soil conditions etc.
Can't really offer up much more not seeing it. I'm in heavy construction so it's really easy for me to say "that's easy". After all, it ain't like it's respiratory therapy or anything. ;)
This; “There are plenty of small dehumidifiers available, and you can get them with or without condensate pumps built in. Drilling a small hole to route a drain tube is an easy feat with a (rentable) hammer drill. There is also the option of cutting out a small section of floor and building a stand alone sump. That option is harder and requires knowledge of soil conditions etc.”
I run similar in a scenario similar to yours Ab.
It’s foolproof.
If you use HVAC Duct you’ll need a return in addition to the supply duct for it to work properly.
The humidifier and drain line will be easier to install and more efficient.
It's gonna have to be a solution I do myself, as I don't really want anyone seeing the contents. In this day and age I am not trusting of any vendor, be it for thieves or narcs (who might remember that room when they get themselves in trouble for something and try to make a "deal" or for some future reward to rat people out).
The best thing to do would be to run a duct from my HVAC into the space, but I'm not a "handyman" type and neatly cutting through concrete block to do it I can see ending up as a disaster!
Plan B might be to buy the best dehumidifier possible. I can probably run the drainage tubing under the door (where I have a power cord running now) but it is a long way from the utility sink in the basement. Not sure if any dehumidifier has the "oomph" to pump that far.
You can get stand alone pump & float valve combo's to push the water out. Use the semi rigid fiber reinforced tubing to prevent it from completely collapsing under the door. Alternatively You can heat up and flatten a section of thin wall PVC pipe (similar to whats used for washer drain kits) to fit under the door (if the gap's that big) and hose clamp your drain tube on both sides of it.
I doubt if a 110 sq ft room will fill the tank on a dehumidifier more than once a week unless you are on the gulf coast or similar. It may take a week or two to stabilize the room at first of course.
If the tank fills up, it will just shut off anyway.
Andy
Goldenrods cannot work in a sealed space. Think about it.
Isn’t that what most safes, use?
Isn’t that what most safes, use?
Yeah but most safes have a "vent" hole on top.
I doubt if a 110 sq ft room will fill the tank on a dehumidifier more than once a week unless you are on the gulf coast or similar. It may take a week or two to stabilize the room at first of course.
If the tank fills up, it will just shut off anyway.
I think this is the route I will go. I just need to find the dehumidifier with the largest capacity tub. If it was big enough I could even skip the drain tubing.
I've been watching a lot of fishing / boating videos lately.......
Would this work for you? A solar panel setup... Seems like a pretty easy thing to cure but it would cost a few hundred dollars to be care free. There are other vids that deal with solar, radio, Inet transfer etc of data back to you during the times you are not there.
It can be done. How much you want to spend is another matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ErUYGGBH4
Isn’t that what most safes, use?
Goldenrods basically work by increasing the internal temperature of the safe to lower the relative humidity. They really help with temperature swings but basically need the box to be reasonably well sealed or at least have minimal air exchange.
You can emulate the effect in a small room with a heat lamp/high wattage light bulb, but I think paying for the electric would get old.
Andy
Run a true dehumidifier that is drained out of the room.
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