How to Keep Basement Dry - A/C Unit or Dehumidifier?

[bulletpruf]

Fellas -

I work in an old building in Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea -- was built by the Japanese sometime between WWI and WWII. Nothing special; one story brick construction with basement. The basement has two adjacent rooms; both roughly 12' x 12' with 10' ceilings. One room has the plumbing and the other is used for storage (e.g., filled with ****).

Room with plumbing stays wet/damp because of constant leaking (drip, drip, not gushing water). Cleaned the **** out of the other room and built some gear cages so folks can keep their field gear in there. I'm worried about stuff getting damp and moldy. Gear won't be on the ground, but it's still really damp in the room.

Local handyman (same guy who built the gear cages) wants to install an A/C unit in there to keep the humidity down. Price is $1,900. Not quite sure how he is going to mount it because there are no windows, walls are brick, and I can't imagine him mounting an A/C unit in the metal door. Also don't know how you can rig an A/C unit to kick on based on humidity instead of temp.

My thought is to put a few dehumidifiers in there and maybe drill holes in the wall for the drain hose. Although I'm not sure if dehumidifier drains are pressurized or gravity fed. If it's gravity, we do have a problem; will need to travel 10' or so up before we can run it into a drain or at least the lawn.

Curious to hear thoughts on this. I can turn a wrench, but do VERY little construction type stuff.

Thanks!

Scott

 

[CNGsaves]

You can purchase dehumidifiers that have built-in pumps to expel water upward approximately 15 ft.

What is average temperature year-round as using dehumidifiers will create heat as byproduct of extracting water from the air??

I'm guessing that vendor is quoting A/C as it will cool the space, PLUS dehumidify space at same time while expelling the heat outdoors.

 

[METALMOVER]

Scott, first off can you fix the leak?Id go there first and as far as I know dehumidifiers are gravity drain, you can buy them with a 3 gallon reservoir and empty it every day, or you could mount it up high, bypass the reservoir, have it drain into a 50 gallon barrel with a sump pump hooked to it routed to the outside which will kick on when the barrel gets full enough with water. Good luck METALMOVER

 

[bulletpruf]

You can purchase dehumidifiers that have built-in pumps to expel water upward approximately 15 ft.

What is average temperature year-round as using dehumidifiers will create heat as byproduct of extracting water from the air??

I'm guessing that vendor is quoting A/C as it will cool the space, PLUS dehumidify space at same time while expelling the heat outdoors.

Good to hear that some dehumidifiers can push water uphill.

We're about the same latitude as Washington D.C.

Not too concerned about cooling the space. Just used for storage.

Thanks

Scott

 

[bulletpruf]

Scott, first off can you fix the leak?Id go there first and as far as I know dehumidifiers are gravity drain, you can buy them with a 3 gallon reservoir and empty it every day, or you could mount it up high, bypass the reservoir, have it drain into a 50 gallon barrel with a sump pump hooked to it routed to the outside which will kick on when the barrel gets full enough with water. Good luck METALMOVER

Fixing the leak would require a lot more work than I think we're willing to sign up for. Will see about calling in a plumber to cut down on the leaks, but will probably be band aid fixes.

Emptying every day would be a pain; we're only in there once a week at the most.

Good idea on the barrel and sump pump. That wouldn't be too difficult to rig up.

Thanks

Scott

 

[BobRae]

A dehumidifier is the way to go but I doubt it will be able to take water out of the air as quickly as leaking pipes can introduce more. Unless the pipes are large size, complicated layouts, a roll of PEX, some fittings and a crimp tool can do wonders to renew old leaky plumbing. That is where I would start. PEX is a DIYARBAKIR project.

 

[bulletpruf]

A dehumidifier is the way to go but I doubt it will be able to take water out of the air as quickly as leaking pipes can introduce more. Unless the pipes are large size, complicated layouts, a roll of PEX, some fittings and a crimp tool can do wonders to renew old leaky plumbing. That is where I would start. PEX is a DIYARBAKIR project.

Yeah, I think you're right. BTW, what is DIYARBAKIR mean?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[HoosierMark]

Any chance of putting a small bathroom type fan in there and venting it to the outside, along with allowing dryer air in. Won't solve all the problems, but it would at least pull some damp air out. Could put it on a timer if you do not want it to run 24/7.

 

[Strouty]

I use a dehumidifier at my shop, it will throw out a lot of heat. It is essentially an air conditioner that doesn't vent outside. I hate it in the summer and next year I will be installing an A/C unit, but this time of year it is nice, I get dry air and some heat for the same price.

As far as an A/C unit in the basement, I don't know how they would be able to do it, unless it is a exterior mounted system that ducts the air in and out, but $1,900 seems cheap. I guess I do not know what labor and materials is worth in Seoul though.

 

[Strouty]

Any chance of putting a small bathroom type fan in there and venting it to the outside, along with allowing dryer air in. Won't solve all the problems, but it would at least pull some damp air out. Could put it on a timer if you do not want it to run 24/7.

Just circulating the air will help some.