Dehumidifiers????

E

edgerat

New member
I have my gun-cleaning area in our daylight garage. We did not know until after we built that there is a seasonal spring under the slab on my side of the garage. So, we get a fair amount of moisture coming through the concrete and into the air in the garage causing rust and other issues. We have been using Dri-z-air things but, we are up to around 6 for my side of the garage alone. I have been re-searching dehumidfiers as a possible solution. I would like to convert my side of the garage to gun storage and cleaning and leave my rifles in the garage. Does anyone have any experience with the electric dehumidifiers, and, would you recommend one??? Looking at the Edgestar 40-pint unit for 199 shipped right now.

Thanks!
Isaac
 
I use one I bought at Sears. I keep all my guns in the basement and have a shower that is used at least twice
a day down there with the bathroom door open. I have never had a rust problem and try to wipe my guns down
at least once a year.
When the humidity is high here, almost never, l have to empty the 40 pint resevoir every two days. It you are above ground
level you can attach a permanent drain hose.
 
They all work the same, and do a good job. BUT, if you can, check how easy it is to remove the tank, empty, the whole user part of it. We have 2, one I have set up elevated so it gravity drains. The other is a Maytag, and the tank is the most contrary thing to take off, there is no easy way to dump it without water spilling everywhere. For a brand with that reputation, somebody sure was out to lunch when they designed that.
 
I have used several, no brand preference they all work great... but for ME the single biggest factor is that they have a hose attachment. Most of the larger tanks like the 40qt one mentioned have got a threaded hole/nib/bung or knockout near the bottom. Get one that takes a garden hose. Buy or fabricate a short length of hose, screen the end and run it out of the room. Even if you're a slab-on-grade it's easy, just rotohammer a hole of the correct size and insert the closely fitting hose. Caulk around the hole if need be.

enjoy a DRY room.

al
 
Great! Thanks all for the info. The wife bought a Frigidaire 50qt unit from Wally world and it is down there now humming away!
 
edgerat said:
Great! Thanks all for the info. The wife bought a Frigidaire 50qt unit from Wally world and it is down there now humming away!
Click to expand...

Good purchase, whether by accident or design.

the 35 and 50 qt Frigidaire models are highly rated. I have a 35 cause they were out of the 50s. Works well, easy to empty and has a hose connector if you don't want to bother to empty the bucket. It is for passive drainage(does not have a pump) but if you can find an opening to an outside area that can take the water it will work well. Does not have a hygrometer built in but you can find them cheaply if you look around. It took an 11x15 gunroom from about 78% humidity to under 50%, where i tend to keep it. Good luck.\

Mike
 
Rig a little pump like the ones used in Hvac condensation pans below grade. It's exactly the same situation.
 
We have a pump connected to our A/C unit that pumps the condesation water above the foundation and out of the garage. I imagine I would be pushing it if I tried to add to that pumps duties by scabbing the DH to it. It doesn't look like a very expensive unit on the A/C. So, I bet I could find another one to rig up the same way. I am just excited that my floors are now dry!!!!! :) Haven't had to dump it yet but, it has only been running about 18hrs now.
Isaac
 
How far does the spring come up from an outside wall? I've fixed that problem for as much as 20.00 depending where it's at. A dehumidifier is always nice to have around in a garage, even if you drain the water, concrete will still suck some up through it.

Hovis
 
I have thought about sealing the slab and the walls with the Enduro-seal products. The moisture is the worst after a real heavy rain when the water table is way up. It got so bad the first winter that we had 3" of water sitting on the slab, we figured out how to vent the pressure (punched a hole out on the far corner of the slab) and the water receeded in a hurry. We now have a drain system in place that will hopefully keep that from happening again. The enduro-seal was intriguing because it sinks into the slab and keeps as much moisture down as possible, or so it is advertised. I have just always been warned from putting anything on concrete because concrete is damn near a mammal, it needs to breathe and plugging up the pores sounds like a recipe for a bigger mess later. I am open to anything that will remove the problem though :)
 
edgerat said:
I have thought about sealing the slab and the walls with the Enduro-seal products. The moisture is the worst after a real heavy rain when the water table is way up. It got so bad the first winter that we had 3" of water sitting on the slab, we figured out how to vent the pressure (punched a hole out on the far corner of the slab) and the water receeded in a hurry. We now have a drain system in place that will hopefully keep that from happening again. The enduro-seal was intriguing because it sinks into the slab and keeps as much moisture down as possible, or so it is advertised. I have just always been warned from putting anything on concrete because concrete is damn near a mammal, it needs to breathe and plugging up the pores sounds like a recipe for a bigger mess later. I am open to anything that will remove the problem though :)
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more.

BTW one of my foremen worked for a company called "XXX Sealants" (name disguised to protect the guilty) for 6yrs before coming to me. His job was to "waterproof" basements and "fix" water leaks like yours.

The correct fix is evacuation, redirection or mopping it up as you're doing. You ain't gonna' keep it out.


opionsby



al





www.sierraconcretefoundations.com
 
Thanks Al, a good friend of the family owns a concrete company that does everything from structural to stamps and stains (kinda like what you are doing :) ) He general'd our house and when we had the problem the first Winter he was right there telling us what to do. Relieve the pressure and install a drain is what he recommended, it has worked thus far and it seems like the dehumidifier is really pulling the moisture out of the air. I don't see a sealer doing anything but, causing me more issues later.
 
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