Shop dehumidifier

justjeepin86

justjeepin86

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Location
Winston-Salem, NC
I need a dehum in my shop. I'm running ac now, but not keeping it cool enough to get rid of as much humidity as I want. What have you guys had good luck with? It's 600 sf.
 
A dehumidifier in the space is basically a little space heater. It'll remove the water in the air, but the heat it generates in the compressor, fan, etc, just gets rejected into the room. If you're looking to cool things off, that won't do. If you're just looking to remove water from the air, I'd still go with an AC unit.
 
shawn said:
A dehumidifier in the space is basically a little space heater. It'll remove the water in the air, but the heat it generates in the compressor, fan, etc, just gets rejected into the room. If you're looking to cool things off, that won't do. If you're just looking to remove water from the air, I'd still go with an AC unit.
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I don't need it cool, but I need the humidity down. That's the only reason I'm running the ac. I thought i could keep it at 76 and keep the humidity down, but it's not that case. It's just a window unit, btw.
 
Tom@Hilltop_Machine said:
I have two home owner grade ones in my shop. I have them set at 60% and on 24/7. My shop is 2400 square feet.
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A necessary evil even though they produce heat with a machine shop.
 
Figure out how to pipe a dehu into the shop so the coil doesn’t contribute negatively towards your AC?? I don’t know the math but I understand the problem.
 
I got on marketplace and found a moisture remediation unit, it keeps my non climate controlled 35x22 shop at 40% humidity and has a built in pump to remove the water. It’s a Dri Eaz LGR7000XLI, got it for $500 a few years ago.
 
skyhighZJ said:
Figure out how to pipe a dehu into the shop so the coil doesn’t contribute negatively towards your AC?? I don’t know the math but I understand the problem.
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Then it's an AC unit. A dehumidifier is just an AC unit that has both the hot side and the cold side in the same space. Put the hot side outdoors, and now it's an AC.
 
shawn said:
Then it's an AC unit. A dehumidifier is just an AC unit that has both the hot side and the cold side in the same space. Put the hot side outdoors, and now it's an AC.
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Yeah, not sure why he's against using ac. They are doing literally the same thing and using the same electricity, one just has the added benefit of cooling the space too. Just run the ac more.
 
braxton357 said:
Yeah, not sure why he's against using ac. They are doing literally the same thing and using the same electricity, one just has the added benefit of cooling the space too. Just run the ac more.
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This right here.

The solution is to figure out why the AC isn't doing the job or get a better AC unit. The money you're talking about for the dehumidifier would just go to upgrading that.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Is your shop insulated?
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Yes, it's stick built and fully insulated. Minus the garage door.
shawn said:
Probably more importantly, is it leaky? Any little hole is letting water in.
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Well, it has a garage door. So sure, it is leaky there.

braxton357 said:
Yeah, not sure why he's against using ac. They are doing literally the same thing and using the same electricity, one just has the added benefit of cooling the space too. Just run the ac more.
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I get that, sortof. I thought there would be benefit to running both.
 
justjeepin86 said:
Yes, it's stick built and fully insulated. Minus the garage door.

Well, it has a garage door. So sure, it is leaky there.



I get that, sortof. I thought there would be benefit to running both.
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What kind of AC are you currently running?

Assuming its a metal door, it’s worth insulating the garage door, even if it’s just to get rid of the cheap rattle-y sound when it opens and closes. But if you’re wanting to actually condition the space, having 70-80% of one wall uninsulated certainly isn’t helping. Also, if it’s a metal door, it will sweat due to the temperature difference from inside to outside. If it’s a wood door it’s not nearly as bad. If by chance it’s a roll up style door like at a storage unit, then you probably have to repla$e the whole door.
 
jeepinmatt said:
What kind of AC are you currently running?

Assuming its a metal door, it’s worth insulating the garage door, even if it’s just to get rid of the cheap rattle-y sound when it opens and closes. But if you’re wanting to actually condition the space, having 70-80% of one wall uninsulated certainly isn’t helping. Also, if it’s a metal door, it will sweat due to the temperature difference from inside to outside. If it’s a wood door it’s not nearly as bad. If by chance it’s a roll up style door like at a storage unit, then you probably have to repla$e the whole door.
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I have a 220 window unit that's permanently mounted thru the wall.

It's a small door, so 40% of the wall. But yes, it could stand to be insulated. It's just a regular garage door. I also know the seals need to be replaced.
 
jeepinmatt said:
What kind of AC are you currently running?

Assuming its a metal door, it’s worth insulating the garage door, even if it’s just to get rid of the cheap rattle-y sound when it opens and closes. But if you’re wanting to actually condition the space, having 70-80% of one wall uninsulated certainly isn’t helping. Also, if it’s a metal door, it will sweat due to the temperature difference from inside to outside. If it’s a wood door it’s not nearly as bad. If by chance it’s a roll up style door like at a storage unit, then you probably have to repla$e the whole door.
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Exactly why I have regrets for going with the supplies package door on my building. Granted they are 14 by 14 and the eave is at 17 foot.
Caster just sort of laughed when I mentioned I'd love to condition the space!
 
justjeepin86 said:
I get that, sortof. I thought there would be benefit to running both.
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No benefit. Mechanically it's the exact same set of components. The only difference is that the dehumidifier has everything inside so the heat from the compressor is added to your interior space.

I guess technically I just lied. Yes there is a benefit in that you WILL have additional moisture removal by adding the dehumidifier unit. But you also add heat which makes more work for the AC unit.

So if you just want it dryer and don't care that it is adding heat and is a pretty inefficient way to achieve the goal (e.g. you have both units already and are not really concerned about energy costs then yeah, run it

But if you're looking at buying a dehumidifier, just buy another window AC instead. Or a mini split
 
You would be miles ahead to buy a cheap Amazon mini split.

For 600 sqft you can get a cheap Chinese precharged for def less than $600 bucks maybe less than $500 and install in a day. Replace the window unit with the mini. You will get better cooling and all the dehumidifier you want. Many of them even have a dehumidifier mode that doesn’t cool.

My buddies shop has a 1200 sqft wood shop and the mini will keep it high 60s even during the recent heat wave and 44% rh
 
Agree 100% w Ron.
Mini splits are WAY more efficient than a window unit AND you get the added bonus of heat.
Normally the hangup is needing 220 (for a reasonable size unit) but you already have that.
 
RatLabGuy said:
No benefit. Mechanically it's the exact same set of components. The only difference is that the dehumidifier has everything inside so the heat from the compressor is added to your interior space.

I guess technically I just lied. Yes there is a benefit in that you WILL have additional moisture removal by adding the dehumidifier unit. But you also add heat which makes more work for the AC unit.

So if you just want it dryer and don't care that it is adding heat and is a pretty inefficient way to achieve the goal (e.g. you have both units already and are not really concerned about energy costs then yeah, run it

But if you're looking at buying a dehumidifier, just buy another window AC instead. Or a mini split
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It keeps it plenty cool, so i don't need another unit. I just didn't want to have to keep it so cool to keep the humidity down.

I still don't understand how the humidity is controlled the same. When the dehumidifier is physically dumping water outside thru a tube.

But, you and @Ron make sense. I'll pull the trigger on a mini when the time is right. For now, I'll just keep it cooler in there to reduce the humidity. If that's a thing. I hope to build on, so I don't want to add something new right now.
 
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