Dehumidifiers

Bifferwine

Bifferwine

I am a girl
The paint in the room where my sump, fuge and skimmer are kept is actually coming off the wall in powder form. Some of the paint is discolored and some areas of the walls are getting soft... And all the ceiling fan in the room has rusted. NDB is mad at me because he says my tank is ruining that room.

Do any of you use a dehumidifier in your homes? I am thinking of getting one just for the room where my tank equipment is located. Any units/brands that you can recommend?
 
I run a dehumidifier in my basement where my sump is. It pulls about 2 gals/day out of the basement air. I don't know the brand or rating because I've had it like 20 yrs.
 
No clue, but I think it will be a losing battle.

The air is dry in arizona so it evaporates the water in the tank and then you add a dehumidifier to the room to dry the air out and it will end up evaporating more water out of your tank.

No scientific evidence of that, but it would IMO be like putting a heater and an AC unit on in the same room.
 
Since your house is airconditioned, and you probably cant open a window, you definitely need one. Mold is going to take hold soon. Look for little black dots in the corners of the ceiling. I'd roll over to Walmart/Target ASAP.
 
Last edited:
Just like ccCapt, I run a dehumidifier in my garage where my sump is as well. I also have an A/C in there to keep the room cool. I set the humidity to 55% and the water bucket gets fill up every day. Any lower and it'll get fill up in just a few hours. I have a floater to auto fill the tank water so evaporation is not a problem.

I have the same dehumidifier for my basement for a few years now. Works very well.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Soleus-Air-DP1-70-03-Portable-Dehumidifier/dp/B001D1FF32/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1281367069&sr=8-4]Amazon.com: Soleus Air DP1-70-03, 70 Pint Portable Energy Star…[/ame]
 
Chris_150G said:
Since your house is airconditioned, and you probably cant open a window, you definitely need one. Mold is going to take hold soon. Look for little black dots in the corners of the ceiling. I'd roll over to Walmart/Target ASAP.
Click to expand...

Sorry, my house is NOT air conditioned. :cry:. I know. It SUCKS.

I have swamp coolers only, so the windows are already cracked all the time. Even with the office window cracked (where the equipment is), it's still super humid in there. Enough to peel the paint off the walls!
 
bjohanson1234 said:
No clue, but I think it will be a losing battle.

The air is dry in arizona so it evaporates the water in the tank and then you add a dehumidifier to the room to dry the air out and it will end up evaporating more water out of your tank.

No scientific evidence of that, but it would IMO be like putting a heater and an AC unit on in the same room.
Click to expand...

I was thinking this too. I already lose about 5 to 10 gallons a day to evaporation. If I have to add even more top off water to save the walls in that room, so be it. NDB is really getting mad about it! I need him to shut up!
 
Wes888 said:
Just like ccCapt, I run a dehumidifier in my garage where my sump is as well. I also have an A/C in there to keep the room cool. I set the humidity to 55% and the water bucket gets fill up every day. Any lower and it'll get fill up in just a few hours. I have a floater to auto fill the tank water so evaporation is not a problem.

I have the same dehumidifier for my basement for a few years now. Works very well.

Amazon.com: Soleus Air DP1-70-03, 70 Pint Portable Energy Star…
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, Wes. Can I get away with something smaller? The room is very small -- it's only about 8 ft. by 10 ft.
 
repaint the wall with enamel paint it is mainly used in bathrooms and kitchens is does alot better with rooms that have high hudimity
 
Bifferwine said:
Thanks for the link, Wes. Can I get away with something smaller? The room is very small -- it's only about 8 ft. by 10 ft.
Click to expand...

We had a smaller one but seems like they generate quite a bit of heat and just as noisy as the bigger one. For a tank room, I think it'll be on non-stop 24x7 because of all the evaporating water. The smaller motor/compressor may get burn out in just a year.
 
Bifferwine said:
I was thinking this too. I already lose about 5 to 10 gallons a day to evaporation. If I have to add even more top off water to save the walls in that room, so be it. NDB is really getting mad about it! I need him to shut up!
Click to expand...
I really don't know if you would have to top off more. Running the dehumidifier will pull moisture out of the air. I don't know if that means with less humidity you will have more evaporation. The fan is blowing the air across the water pretty fast and it picks up the moisture as it passes. Does the amount of moisture in the air passing over the water determine how much water that air can absorb? We're not talking about 100% humidity either...unless it rains in your house. ;) If the humidity in your house is 40%, will that air passing over the water grab more moisture than if the humidity was 70%?

Either way tho, a humidifier should definitely help. Good luck. :)
 
with the dehumidifier off, my sump room humidity is around 85-90%.

Since i have my RO/DI unit directly hook up to the top off floater, i can't tell if it uses more when the dehumidifier is on, but I think it would.
 
Last edited:
ccCapt said:
Does the amount of moisture in the air passing over the water determine how much water that air can absorb? We're not talking about 100% humidity either...unless it rains in your house. ;) If the humidity in your house is 40%, will that air passing over the water grab more moisture than if the humidity was 70%?
Click to expand...

Good questions. NDB has complained that at times, he goes in there first thing in the morning, and there are puddles on the floor beneath the window from the condensation. So I'd bet that the humidity is closer to 80% or 90% in that room. I put a hardwood floor in that room too, so that's another aspect he's concerned about, besides the paint coming off the walls and the ceiling fan rusting!

I think I need to give one a shot though. Topping off more water if need be is something I can live with.
 
EDIT: nvm. my Math was wrong. Was trying to figure out how much water got extracted...
 
Last edited:
LOL. I asked about it here before, but the consensus is that the water may not be clean enough. Now you've mentioned it, I wonder if I could just let it run through another set of non-RO, but at least the basic carbon and DI filter and reuse it.
 
Well I went to FOUR STORES today, and none of them had dehumidifiers -- Walmart, Target, Lowe's and Home Depot. The lady at Lowe's told me "People don't usually have a problem with the air being too moist in Tucson..." Hahahaha.

So I guess I'll order one online...
 

Similar threads

Sashimi
75 gallon LPS 2.0 suggestions
Replies
0
Views
2K
Sashimi
Sashimi
Washburn82
Upgrading to 90 where my 60 currently sits.
Replies
2
Views
2K
SantaMonica
SantaMonica
J
Protein Skimmer Overflowed
Replies
1
Views
788
Smitty
Smitty
Lesely
Peninsular Build
2
Replies
29
Views
4K
Lesely
Lesely
phastroh
RO/Di Gravity Fed/Float Valve Questions/Ideas!!!
Replies
19
Views
7K
Bifferwine
Bifferwine
Back
Top