Dehumidifier for the basement questions

[rfuerst911sc]

Hey guys I am working on getting our basement cleaned up and organized . It's aprox 1600 s.f. with concrete walls on 3 sides and 2x6 wall on the 4th wall . Only the studded wall is insulated . Entry/exit is via a 36 " steel door and a 8 ' overhead garage door . Floor is concrete . Knock on wood no rain water leaks .

I want to add a dehumidifier as it is quite humid here in Georgia . I have a great spot on the studded back wall that I can run tubing/hose by drilling a hole to outside to drain . I am not interested in having to empty a bucket every few days . Just want it to drain outside . Any recommendations on brand and size ? I see they are rated by pints of water removed per day . Some are 50 pints some are 70 and up .

Is it better to get bigger than needed ? Or smaller ? I am thinking it will run in spring and summer but not the fall and winter . Is that what you guys do ? And do you go to big box store to purchase ? Online ? Other ? Any advice is appreciated . I have two gun safes in the basement that I currently use desiccant to keep them dry . So far so good but it would be better with the space being drier .

[Chocaholic]

I have a portable dehumidifier in my garage that drains outside. I keep it set at 65% humidity here in South Alabama where it’s crazy humid. GA isn’t as humid so you could probably go with 50 or 55 especially in a basement. I believe ours is 70 ppd. I’d go with at least 70. You won’t regret it.

Note that they will blow warm air into the room when running.

[rwest]

After going through several of those cheap wood grain roll around dehumidifiers. I bought a fairly expensive at the time for me an Aprilaire whole house unit.

I can’t even remember when I bought it; had to be at least 15 years ago and it hasn’t had any problems except I had to replace the on/off switch last year.

I don’t have it ducted in to my furnace, I just have it hung from the basement jousts with Uni strut and threaded rod.

Here’s their website https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/dehumidifiers

My house is super tiny <400 sqft one floor; unfinished basement a little smaller and I can pull out close to 5 gallons in a day during the summer- if I’m not careful, I will get nose bleeds- turning me into jerky, I guess!

[schwarz633]

I bought this one on Amazon 3 months ago, and it's working quite well. But then again, they all do for a year or two. It's in my basement and I have it draining into a Little Giant condensate pump, which pumps it into my workshop utility sink. I needed to put it in the finished part of my basement which doesn't have good access to my floor drain. I had inadvertently left the plug in the sink drain a few days ago and today I noticed it was half full, probably 10 gallons or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PV67TF9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

[LJ851]

The ones you can get at the big box stores will not cut it or last for long.

I’m about an hour south of you in Milton,Georgia. My shop is under my house and is mostly underground on three sides (poured concrete walls) with the exposed end wood framed with a window, man door and a single garage door.

When I was moving in here 10 years ago my tools started rusting after 3 days !

I tried the biggest unit from Lowe’s and it kinda worked but still pretty humid down there. I have about 1100 sq ft and ended buying a “real” dehumidifier about 7-8 years ago and I will never go back. Here is the specs on mine.





It’s pretty wet out right now and my shop is 48% humidity inside. At that level of humidity the unit does not run a lot . This unit is rated for a larger space than I have but I didn’t want one that ran all the time like the one from Lowe’s.

[rwest]

Out of curiosity, I checked out the Aprilaire units and they are made in the US and are Energy Star rated.

Keep in mind they are basically AC type units and use a fair amount of power.

I actually manually operate mine by running it full overnight and then turn it off in the morning rather than set the humidity level as I feel like it probably is more efficient if it doesn’t turn on and off.

I also run mine into a bucket even though I could run it in a drain because I like to know how much moisture I’m removing. I just pour the bucket into the washing machine!

[yellowline]

I run one of these in my basement from June to October: https://www.sylvane.com/santa-fe-dehumidifier.html

It does not struggle to keep a 2000sf basement at 50% rh, but it does consume 100+ kWh/month.

Sadly, they doubled in price in the last three years.

[Por_sha911]

I used a small roll around one for a 400 sq foot basement den. The block walls were sealed, insulated and sheet-rocked. The room was connected to the central air system but we didn't a lot of flow down there. It worked fine. I put it away when we moved 18 years ago but then needed it to dry out an area from a water leak a couple years ago and it still worked fine! As I recall (it was years ago) I had to empty it every 2-3 days.

In my unqualified opinion, for a room like yours I would say you need something substantial in size and quality. Worst case scenario it won't run as much.

[rfuerst911sc]

I have come to the decision that a heavy duty 70 pint removal per day is the least I should go with . Possibly larger . I see some " commercial " units drain via a garden hose vs smaller units use tubing . I will see what I can find . Thanks for the advice gentleman .

[dad911]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

......
I want to add a dehumidifier as it is quite humid here in Georgia . I have a great spot on the studded back wall that I can run tubing/hose by drilling a hole to outside to drain . I am not interested in having to empty a bucket every few days . Just want it to drain outside . ......

If you have a sink or condensate pump in the basement I would run the drain to that.

[stevej37]

I have two 40 pint dehumidifiers....one in the basement and the other in the garage.

In the spring thaw, the garage one is full every day. The basement one will be full every day for most of the summer.
I empty each of them...just part of my daily chores.

[flatbutt]

I run a 50 pint Frigidaire in my 400 sf basement from May to October. Most of the basement is below grade. In the midst of summer I must empty it every day. I too repurpose the water.

[zakthor]

Rh isn’t so useful unless you include temperature. With both you’ll know how much water is in the air and how much you want to remove or heat to add to avoid dew point condensation.

https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/13-6-humidity-evaporation-and-boiling

Why are you concerned about humidity in the basement? Could you instead seal it off from rest of the structure? Are you storing stuff in there? As others have mentioned it can take a lot of energy to heat and dry out the earth.

If you open that garage door you have hot humid air reaching the cold concrete and the water in the air will condense making everything wet.

[jcommin]

Timely post. My son and I have been discussing basement dehumanizers for his home in Virginia. He just finished a massive cleanup of his basement. It is a row home built in 1910 with a dirt floor. He is in the process of putting a new vapor barrier on the floor, insulating ductwork, replacing the basement entrance door and modifying the floor drain. He is looking at a 1500 sf unit that will drain into his floor drain. I'm interested in those have them, what brands are suggested. Anything to watch out for?

[rfuerst911sc]

I am concerned about humidity because of what we store in the basement . I have two gun cases , many stationary tools and tons of hand tools . Add to that a fair amount of household items .

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I am concerned about humidity because of what we store in the basement . I have two gun cases , many stationary tools and tons of hand tools . Add to that a fair amount of household items .

It’s not ‘humidity’ that kills stuff, it’s.condensation which is usually caused by changing temperature.

Cold air can’t hold much water, warm air holds lots, but relative humidity is the same. When warm air enters a cold place and cools the extra water falls out.

Installing a humifier in an unsealed area will create a flow of water into the room because the dehumidified air has lower vapor pressure than the air outside., you’ll run humidifier forever. It’s like trying to run a pump to drain half of a lake.

Alternative is seal the space, then condition it. Humidifier will have little work if that warm outside air can be kept out.

[rfuerst911sc]

^^^ Interesting comments . The space is tight except for the uninsulated overhead garage door . I have been thinking about insulating the door and replacing the aging weatherstripping .

There is a steel entry door that's fairly weather tight . Two windows which are standard builder grade double pane glass . Everything else is 2x6 studded walls with insulation or poured concrete walls .

I have thought maybe a mini split unit would be a good choice for that space . Something for me to think about .

[rwest]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

^^^ Interesting comments . The space is tight except for the uninsulated overhead garage door . I have been thinking about insulating the door and replacing the aging weatherstripping .

There is a steel entry door that's fairly weather tight . Two windows which are standard builder grade double pane glass . Everything else is 2x6 studded walls with insulation or poured concrete walls .

I have thought maybe a mini split unit would be a good choice for that space . Something for me to think about .

Check out this system from Thermotracks I put them in my garage a couple years ago, it comes with the lower metal tracks which have notches that keeps the door away from their special gasket and when the door hits the bottom it forces it snuggly up against the gasket to get a much better seal than the rubber flap type.

https://thermotraks.com/

[Rawknees'Turbo]

I have one of these big biitches that I use in my home here in Fort Worth TexASS (extermely humid year round, except for rare occasions when a dry front comes in for a day or two) and it really kicks ass.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9PBRQB7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[KFC911]

I put one of the $160-200 big box units in my parents' basement .... filled up 1-2 times per day (my dad kept it emptied) during the summer. Worked fine ... I replaced it with one that (gravity) drains via a garden hose out the corner of the big basement/garage door. Haven't found anyone that can use the old one ... it works fine ... FREE !

I might drive down to Baz's and put it on the curb

Or just go get one with a hose drain ...

Both made/make all the difference my parents's basement needed.... it's certainly not airtight either ... big uninsullated garage door, etc.