Dehumidifier

[88v8]

Hopefully as a temporary measure, but perhaps not in the case of the cellar where the rh is permanently in the 70s.

On other forums, have been pointed to the Ebac 2650e, which is also a Which best buy.
edit... link
http://www.ebacdirect.com/product.php?productid=27

Have two concerns:
1 - hate gadgets
2 - there are no doors inside the house, so any noise in the cellar will be audible.

Anyone have experience of them in operation?

Is there a better make? Cost, as they say, is not a great issue, as I can raid the Classic Car fund which is in surplus after two years of not driving the car.

Ivor

 

[LadyArowana]

I used to run one in the ( non air conditioned ) laundry room in HK, it wasn't overly loud at all. I did hook it up to a hose though rather than use the internal water reservoir as emptying that all the time was a huge pain.

 

[tobydog]

We have an EcoAir dessicant type that get's used regularly at this time of year. Its use should ease off as the air gets colder and drier.

I tend to run ours at maximum 40-45% RH because it gets the job done quicker but it is noisy. You also wouldn't want it that dry in the house so I do it in short burst. I can run it at 55-60% RH which is much quieter but you can still hear it in the background. I think it's called "silent" mode :? . I do feel a bit like King Canute but it definitely helps.

 

[angrybird]

I have an Amcor,its not noisy in the slightest ,I have it running in the sun room because i'm not living in the house yet so no heating on and I hate wet windows.

 

[skier-hughes]

We borrowed one from a friend of ours, same make not dissimilar model. We left it running overnight in the bathroom not far from the bedroom and we couldn't really here it through two doors. It did vibrate a bit on the floor so it got on Jos nerves while she was working below!

 

[Ebenezer]

We run one all night in the bedroom. Makes the sound of a small fan which cuts out once the target humidity is reached. Not a problem sleeping with it running in the same room. If it was in a different room you probably would barely hear it.

 

[Lime]

I've been running 3 continuously (on auto) for the last 3 years.
The house took about 18 months to settled down and humidity throughout has reached equilibrium of <40% come rain come shine.
I do not notice the noise of the fan/s but appreciate the complete silence when they switch off.
I empty them once a day. Useful for the steam iron, watering hydrangea, house plants etc.
All furniture remains highly polished without any tendency for mould growth.
At 40% humidity I have not suffered any damage to woodwork or furniture and feel no discomfort.
Windows are all dry instead of pouring onto the floor in very cold days.

 

[GRADE_II_MONEYPIT]

Have two concerns:

2 - there are no doors inside the house, so any noise in the cellar will be audible.

I think the performance of the dehumidifier will be greatly reduced with no doors

Im sure instructions on my hire unit used in my cellar for a couple of weeks said close all windows and doors

 

[Lime]

I think that advice applies only to outside doors and windows.

 

[88v8]

Thankyou. Some more options.

Lime, Ebenezer, what make/model are you using?

Ivor

 

[worms]

I got shot down in flames the last time this came up, so I'm keeping out of it ... except to say that I am still happy with my dehumidifier and would opt for a desiccant wheel again if the unit was to fail.

 

[Ebenezer]

Mine is a Meaco. It drops the humidity pretty quickly upstairs but the downstairs humidity barely drops. It says it does a 4 bed house but I reckon I need one per floor for my 2 bed cottage.

 

[Lime]

This is the type I have:-

http://reviews.diy.com/2191-en_gb/10627517/reviews.htm

Although it says they are no longer available there are still some on sale in our local B&Q.

 

[88v8]

This is the type I have:-

http://reviews.diy.com/2191-en_gb/10627517/reviews.htm

'A little miracle worker' it says... rather like this forum.

Thankyou. I shall now do what seems to be my purchasing default nowadays, start rummaging on eBay. I imagine prices would be lower in the summer; forward planning, that's what I need... one day.

Ivor

 

[Zebra]

Not that I'm looking to purchase a dehumidifier, but reading the customer reviews of that B&Q dehumidifier, I am amazed at how much water people say they are removing from their houses - litres every day. In the midst of my problems with damp walls, I hired a commercial dehumidifier, but it collected no more than a cupful in a week! I guess the reason is that my house was actually quite well ventilated, there were large holes in the walls then, so although the walls were damp, the atmosphere indoors wasn't.

 

[Lime]

Not that I'm looking to purchase a dehumidifier, but reading the customer reviews of that B&Q dehumidifier, I am amazed at how much water people say they are removing from their houses - litres every day. In the midst of my problems with damp walls, I hired a commercial dehumidifier, but it collected no more than a cupful in a week! I guess the reason is that my house was actually quite well ventilated, there were large holes in the walls then, so although the walls were damp, the atmosphere indoors wasn't.

I suggest the dehumidifier was not working properly.
Outside air is usually 50% plus.

When I first installed the 3 dehumidifiers that I use 24/7 the removal rate was far greater, 12-15 litres per day.
Since then the dampness in the walls and floors has reached an equilibrium.
Now I empty out about 3-4 litres of water per day on average.
................ and before, my house was in no way damp as most other older houses I have seen. No great damp patches, nothing, just a general high moisture content in tiled floors and lime plastered walls.

 

[Feltwell]

I agree, Zebra I doubt your unit was working properly.

I put a dehumidifier in the (small) cellar here when I first moved in, it was filling up with 3-4 ltrs per day, and this was just a B&Q cheapie.

I rapidly realised it was utterly futile, the damp in the cellar walls was always just going to soak through again from the surrounding soil of course! :roll: It's survived over 100 years being damp, and apart from rotting the bottom section of the cellar steps (now replaced with some "it'll definitely never rot" breeze blocks for the bottom 2 steps) it does no harm down there. Just limits what you can store in the cellar - the freezer we've got down there is unaffected.

 

[worms]

This is the type I have:-

http://reviews.diy.com/2191-en_gb/10627517/reviews.htm

'A little miracle worker' it says... rather like this forum.

Thankyou. I shall now do what seems to be my purchasing default nowadays, start rummaging on eBay. I imagine prices would be lower in the summer; forward planning, that's what I need... one day.

Ivor

I see one of the reviewers was a "Penner"... For a moment, I wondered...but there are a number of grammatical clues that suggest that this was not our resident Mr P...edant!

 

[skier-hughes]

I think that advice applies only to outside doors and windows.

Depends on whether you want to dry one particular room or the whole house?

 

[CliffordPope]

To eliminate vibration noise through the floor make up a square wooden board sitting on a 2" compression spring at each corner, and stand the machine on that. Cut out 4 shallow depressions for the castors to sit in so that it can't wobble off.