School me on Dehumidifiers...

bigfelipe

bigfelipe

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I need to dehumidify my tiny house. Haven't been keeping it heated during construction and it's super tight construction. With the temps and humidity my drywall mud isn't curing well. I was finishing the bedding today and the windows were coated with condensation from my breath in just a few hours. I need to dry it out.

I don't have room for a big 70pint standard unit, but have read bad things about the mini/non-compressor type chi-com ones all over the web. Does anyone make a small 10-15pint true compressor model? Or are there other options I'm missing?
 
You may need to use a portable heater to warm the room that you are working in up so the mud cures.
 
Button Pusher said:
You may need to use a portable heater to warm the room that you are working in up so the mud cures.
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I use one while I'm there. It doesn't solve the root problem though. It gets hot in there fast, but the moisture in the air is substantial. I need a solution while living there too. It's primarily going to be a winter issue. The AC will act as a dehumidifier in the summer months.
 
I need to add humidity during winter. Are you sure the high humidity isn't being caused by the mud itself?
 
Jeppo said:
I need to add humidity during winter. Are you sure the high humidity isn't being caused by the mud itself?
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I'm sure that's some of it. My breath is also some of it. It's an issue in small spaces. RVs have major moisture issues since they are poorly insulated on top of being a small space. You'd exhale 6-7 ounces of water vapor each night while you sleep. In a small space that affects humidity. Now my Tiny house is better insulated, so condensation or sweating of the walls and such shouldn't be as much an issue, the windows still fog up easily. Dryer air is more comfortable as well. So, I'd like an option for humidity control. I have exhaust options for the bathroom and kitchen, but need something for the living spaces...
 
Budget?

The cheap units use a lot of power, and in my experience don’t last very long. I have a couple from Dri-eze (F413 I think) and they work well and have for several years, knock on wood. You might be able to rent one, I did that several times before I bought.

For a tiny house you could just crank the heat for 30 min and then the a/c to get the moisture out, it is inefficient but who cares for a tiny space.

If you’re using an unvented propane heater while you’re working,that adds moisture to the air, electric would be better given your issue.
 
JimB said:
Budget?

The cheap units use a lot of power, and in my experience don’t last very long. I have a couple from Dri-eze (F413 I think) and they work well and have for several years, knock on wood. You might be able to rent one, I did that several times before I bought.

For a tiny house you could just crank the heat for 30 min and then the a/c to get the moisture out, it is inefficient but who cares for a tiny space.

If you’re using an unvented propane heater while you’re working,that adds moisture to the air, electric would be better given your issue.
Click to expand...

I would like to stay under $200. Not sure about running the AC in winter. To be effective it would have to run for a long period, I would think. I am currently using a little electric heater. It's plenty of heat. The house will be heated with a mini split heat pump and a tiny wood stove. No gas heat.
 
I would turn up the electric heater or fire up the wood stove and turn on the ac. It isn’t efficient, but it reasonably replicates what a dehumidifier does. Wouldn’t suggest it as a long term solution, just to dry the place out while you work on the best solution.
 
Will you be using a window type unit? some of them have a dehumidifier option and are heat pumps as well.
Cant help on your question about the small compressor-less ones but to me the refrigerators that are made like that are a joke.
 
JimB said:
I would turn up the electric heater or fire up the wood stove and turn on the ac. It isn’t efficient, but it reasonably replicates what a dehumidifier does. Wouldn’t suggest it as a long term solution, just to dry the place out while you work on the best solution.
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Don't have the HVAC installed yet, or the wood stove. Working on the sheetrock... And I may have smoked the electric heater with sheetrock dust today, lol...
 
Well, thanks for all the random ideas... I'm borrowing a 35pint unit from the in-laws to keep the humidity down while we finish the build. I'll keep looking for a small one for living use...
 
Your wood stove would work if your close to installing it. Mine drops humidity quickly in my house but it may get to hot for you to want to work in there and not be as easy to regulate as a true dehumidifier.
 
I only have anecdotal evidence to offer.

I had a very large basement in my last house. The largest American name brand unit I could buy at Lowes worked great for about 8 years, then crapped out. The largest, most expensive unit I could buy at Lowes 3-4 years ago was clearly a Chi-com brand unit, and was very unsatisfactory.

I'm not much help here.
 
With the wet drywall and whatnot, any method you use has to be able to remove the water from the structure- just heating or vaporizing the water wont work as it will condense out of the air as soon as it cools unless you get it out of there. I use a 70 pint dehumidifier in my crawlspace that has a tank with a drain that is routed to a sump pump with a float switch. Pay attention to the energy efficiency ratings of these things as they are very power hungry, mine runs mostly in the summer and $$$ shows up on the electric bill. The older ones are more robust but really suck the electricity, the newer ones are more efficient but less robust- I look for them at estate sales and garage sales- look also at Habitat ReStores and the like.
 
Dehumidifiers draw moisture out through the evap coil before the air that’s drawn in hits the condenser coil. The condenser will reheat the air. When air goes through a evap coil it actually can carry about 90% humidity. As it goes through the condenser coil the air is heated lowering the humidity level considerably.
It will add heat to the space if you have a dehumidifier.
 
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