Dry Room 'Complete'

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers to Paul for his input on the construction process!

I'm now in the market for a dehumidifier so if anyone has any suggestions for a reliable unit to run in this small space it would be much appreciated.

Cost Breakdown -
50 mm freezer panel with a door - 2nd hand $300 (2.5m x 2.4m x 2.4m) - You could get this much cheaper if you knew someone behind the scenes

Aluminium for project - $300 - U channel for floor, 90 degree interior 40mm x 40mm, and door jamb

I cut costs by using pvc flashing from bunnings on the outside corner joins. It makes it look less professional but saved me about $200 in Aluminium. I put plywood flooring down on top of the concrete so it was less of a heat sink (will see in time if that was a good choice)

Tips:
-If you can keep the sheets in multiples of 800 then less cutting, less cost.
-The interior colour is generally an off white so if you are not fussed having mis matched exterior panel colours you can save some $$$. Especially if it is going to be against a wall or roof.

Stu

[simso]

Nicely done

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers Steve just need to season my timber for a few weeks after getting my dehum and should start getting into nicely!

Stu

[DarwinStrings]

That should do you. My only tip is Delonghi as mine goes well just get the one that suits you volume.

[J.F. Custom]

Nice work Stu!

Good to see you getting set up so nicely.

As to dehumidifiers, for that room, you'd only need a basic small home unit. Delonghi's do have a good reputation, but they are only made in China like most others so how much is only in the name (for the money) remains to be seen. That would be what I'd buy next time round when needed though.

One important thing to bare in mind - the models vary in their "auto % humidity range" and from memory, the smallest and cheapest models could not be set below like 55 or 60%. There were models that would allow you to set down to 40% though, so check specifications first. That said, they often have other settings like "low; high; laundry; low temp etc" that you may find work for the space size by luck anyway, or you could pick up an external humidistat regulator. Another consideration is the drain. Most small home units have a built in reservoir to catch the moisture pulled from the air. This obviously needs emptying and it shuts down the unit when full, so if you forget, you may find your 'controlled' environment has bounced as a result. The alternative is that many units have a direct drain option via a hose - drill some holes for the hose and run it outside or somewhere that can take the flow. That way it can run continuously, or at least for the entire time you need the area controlled.

I've got a Mitsubishi as my primary unit (made in Japan), but they don't carry them in Australia any more as they were too expensive to produce and sell. I think its about 40L/per day. When mine finally died, I thought I'd be clever and get it repaired instead as it's a good one - it cost me more to repair than I could have bought a new Delonghi for! Go figure... Anyway, they are popular in NZ so you could potentially get one off "trademe" over there if you were really keen. Bit over the top to do that imo though. I've got another unit as a backup now for if this one goes down again. Can't recall the brand (perhaps Kelvinator?), but it is a more generic branded basic unit, 2nd hand off eBay. In all honesty, it did just as good a job for the period of a few months that the other was being repaired. Can't comment on it's longevity.

You can pick up barely used second hand ones from the usual places, for far less than retail so that would be the way I'd go. No warranty of course...

Anyway, hope it helps. Good luck.

Jeremy.

[Bob Connor]

Stu

I've just replace a DeLonghi with another Delonghi.

The first one ran 24/7 for five years

Regards

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers for the suggestions. Paul (ozwood) suggested the delonghi dehums as well. Cheers Jeremy that's some good info... it's taken about 5 years but I'm slowly getting there...

Have you modified yours to have a drain hose bob? could I trouble you for the model of your new one Bob?

Stu

[Allen]

I replaced my first Delonghi with a second. First ran 5 years and the second is on it's 3rd year. I run them 24/7 and have them plumbed into the storm sewer. Otherwise I'd be emptying the reservoir more often than building.

[hooked]

I have a Delonghi second hand off Ebay. I then made a digital humidity contoller based on one of these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/2816406 ... 107&chn=ps

Set the controller to desired % and it switches the dehumidifier off/on as required.

Cheers

Daryl

[Bob Connor]

De'Longhi 25L Dehumidifier DDS25.

Don't have it plumbed but I intend to in the near future.

Regards

[Mark McLean]

Mine is a DeLonghi too, bought off EBay and it has run constantly for about 4 years with no problems. I agree that it is a big advantage to run a bit of hose out to a drain, or in the case of my outside shed it just runs out into the garden and waters the tomatos.

[demonx]

I really need to read up on this, I've been thinking for a while I need a drying box of some description.

Looks like you've got yourself a handy room. Nicely done.

[needsmorecowbel]

It's a worthwhile project Allan, Paul (Ozwood) said it took him an afternoon to construct his. I did the main walls and ceiling in about 8 hours with my dad (but we had a few walls that had to be inverted as the plans were wrong).

The corners are all butt joints and the center wall joins are tongue and groove so once you have got the aluminium U channel down everything slots together. We just used 2 pieces of 2400 x 1200 ply to make sure everything was square then double checked the diagonals.

Keep in mind when you are buying hinges that you have to rivet the hinges to the door jamb.

Stu

[demonx]

It's a worthwhile project Allan, Paul (Ozwood) said it took him an afternoon to construct his. I did the main walls and ceiling in about 8 hours with my dad (but we had a few walls that had to be inverted as the plans were wrong).

Stu

I do have a 6m x 3m room in my workshop that has insulated walls (earth wool) which I keep all my thinner stock in, like fingerboards, body caps and now that I'm collecting back/side sets they are starting to gather in there also, but I don't have any dehumidifier's or heating or anything, it's just an insulated room.

It does make a BIG difference in temp from the rest of the workshop. It's generally 6 deg celcius warmer or cooler depending on the outside weather. Doesn't sound like much, but it's enough that fingerboards stay straight and timber air dried in there faster than in the larger timber storage area.

[anders]

Looks good Stu.

Do you have to seal the joins with this panel method or is it pretty air tight by the way the panels interlock?
Is there anywhere on the web that shows how to make a room like you have made?
Do you have an idea of the dehumidifier running costs? I'd imagine they would be fairly low if there is minimal air gaps.

Cheers,
Anders














l

[rocket]

Looks really good Stu well done

Rod.