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Has anyone tried a desiccant dehumidifier for their shop yet?
I was today years old the first time I heard about one.


Here's a link to one.
https://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-4000H-Desiccant-Dehumidifier-Basements/dp/B09VLDJ1C6/ref=sr_1_25?hvadid=616990815251&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9019484&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9643470855419666918&hvtargid=kwd-330389490&hydadcr=24632_13611814&keywords=desiccant+dehumidifier&qid=1696877439&sr=8-25

If you're not up to speed (as I'm not) on these, what do you do to dehumidify when it starts to get cold? Mine all freeze up below about 70 degrees. And it's in the 50's here in MN.

It's been about three years since I've been on here (and built guitars), and I'm happy to be back at it. But the shop is anything but climate controlled these days and I want to get it back to where it needs to be FAST.

tia

dave

I climate control a closet and use a dehumidifier in the warmer months, and have a humidistat rigged up to turn on a heater in the colder months and drop the RH by regulating the temperature.

I do what Clay does and let the temperature drop during the colder months. But I’m in a more temperate area.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

My shop is in my basement and here in Michigan when it gets cold out the heat comes on. So I run my dehumidifier all spring and summer and by November it's put away, cleaned-up and made ready for next season.

My basement stays about 45 RH all winter and my furnace has a $900 commercial humidifier that keeps everywhere here about 45%. No more water schlepping for ole Hesh here.

Looking at the specs of this one Dave two liters is not a lot of horsepower especially for 4,000 feet. They always lie about these things too.

I tried a Meaco desiccant dehumidifier, which is a well regarded UK brand. It failed within the first 30 days and was able to get a refund. I considered an Ecor Pro for my large, finished basement because desiccant dehumidifiers are much quieter than compressor ones. This was going to be about a $1500 unit IIRC. I had a couple questions so I called the home office for technical help. No live person ever picked up the phone and voicemail was "mailbox full". Not a huge confidence booster.
So my conclusion is the theory of desiccant dehumidifiers is sound but the implementation of the theory into a reliable, reasonably priced machine is iffy at best.

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Brad


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I have been using a Meaco unit for a few years and unlike. Tom it has worked fine. It is a domestic unit and in my relatively small shop does a good job. Fairly quiet. Can't speak for the larger machines.

I am in the the UK and the RH is pretty horrendous in the summer months _ like around 80 percent. Good job I'm not glueing braces just now!

Cheers Dave

Hi Dave m2,
How does a desiccant dehumidifier work? Does it have some type of drying cycle to periodically dry out the desiccant material? I found this article that talks about industrial units that continuously dry the desiccant and doesn't recommend them for domestic use: https://www.ebac.com/dehumidifiers/desi ... re%20again.
One thing it mentioned is that they will still work at 3 degrees Celsius which could be a plus for use in shops that are not continuously heated. How good are they for keeping the humidity at a set level?

Not quite -
https://www.sunbeltsales.co.uk/news-2/a-guide-to-compressor-and-desiccant-dehumidifiers-2#:~:text=Desiccant%20dehumidifiers%20use%20a%20desiccant,desiccant%20and%20dries%20the%20air.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks Colin. That's more than I knew about the process!
Dave

I have a 7 x 3 meter airconditioned room inset into my garage that i use for timber storage, gluing and fine work (and hiding from Australian summers). The airconditioning, and prevailing climate, tend to keep humitity between 40 - 50 per cent, but if it gets higher than this I have a dessicant humidifier (Ausclimate Cool-seasons Premium 10L Desiccant Dehumidifier AU1910DD) that is very capable of bringing the humidity down quickly and reliably - i bought it at https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/174974068493

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Bob Holbert
Lyndoch, South Australia