What dehumidifiers do you use?

[sedouglas72]

I've been struggling with condensation in my 25x45 metal garage in North Texas in the last month or so. Spray foam on ceiling, but nothing on walls. Very air leaky, but no circulation efforts as of yet. thinking of adding some window fans to help that, but also have been reading a lot of old threads where people have had luck with dehumidifiers. Anybody have brands they recommend that have a pump and drain line? I'm guessing I'll end up going with a window AC unit or mini-split, but thought I would go more affordable if possible. TIA!

 

[cjarvis]

Here in central OK, I have a Toshiba 50 pint dehumidifier in my 24x30 shop that has done a very good job for me. I installed a gravity drain line and ran it out of the shop underground, to a tree I have that needs a lot of watering. My shop has spray foam on the roof, and R11 in the walls, but there's no way for me to make it air tight because of the 16x8 garage door at the front.

If you have to pump the water somewhere, there may be units with built in pumps, otherwise, you could install a condensate drain pump, such as this one: Little Giant VCMX-20ULS-C

 

[sedouglas72]

I just need it to run outside. Some I was looking at seemed to only have a drain bucket. I want to be able to run it outside the garage. It being metal, I can drill a hole anywhere to run it outside.

I guess I could just modify any of them to have a gravity drain now that I think about it.

 

[mike93lx]

I have an aprilaire in my crawlspace that works great, but is about $1400. In the garage and my 3rd floor guest room, I use midea units. Larger one in the garage. They're both around 3-4 years old and work great.

If you need high volume, an aprilaire or Santa fe would be great, but they're expensive. I'd have no qualms about buying another midea unit though .

The 3000 sq ft model is the larger of the two I have
Midea 3,000 Sq. Ft. Energy Star Certified Dehumidifier With Reusable Air Filter 35 Pint 2019 DOE (Previously 50 Pint) - Ideal For Basements, Large & Medium Sized Rooms, And Bathrooms (White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NRC42PJ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ZRX61]

Just the climate here in the Mojave Desert, it's drier than a popcorn fart.

 

[cjarvis]

Many, if not most, will have a continuous drain hose attachment.

Mine is a Toshiba TDDP7011ES2

 

[sedouglas72]

I have an aprilaire in my crawlspace that works great, but is about $1400. In the garage and my 3rd floor guest room, I use midea units. Larger one in the garage. They're both around 3-4 years old and work great.

If you need high volume, an aprilaire or Santa fe would be great, but they're expensive. I'd have no qualms about buying another midea unit though .

The 3000 sq ft model is the larger of the two I have
Midea 3,000 Sq. Ft. Energy Star Certified Dehumidifier With Reusable Air Filter 35 Pint 2019 DOE (Previously 50 Pint) - Ideal For Basements, Large & Medium Sized Rooms, And Bathrooms (White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NRC42PJ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Someone has that Midea for sale locally, lightly used, for $60. That might be worth a shot. I have an aprilaire in my attic (why in Texas, I'm not exactly sure) and not wanting to go that expensive, unless I absolutely have to.

 

[mike93lx]

Someone has that Midea for sale locally, lightly used, for $60. That might be worth a shot. I have an aprilaire in my attic (why in Texas, I'm not exactly sure) and not wanting to go that expensive, unless I absolutely have to.

I'd grab the midea. Not much to lose there

 

[leadfoot415]

Costco is a good source because of the return policy. Haven't had a newer dehumidifier last more than a few years before some sort of issue.

 

[sedouglas72]

Just following up in case anyone searches for this same issue. I was able to pick up a slightly used Midea that is linked above and it works like a champ. I used a box fan and open doors to initially dry the floor but no condensation has come back. It pulled about 5 gallons of water out of the air in the first 24 hours before I got the drain line hooked up.

 

[HotRod68Camaro]

What's the best way to size these things? Buy one rated over but as close as possible to the actual sqft/volume your trying to dehumidify? or buy as large as you can afford because it's not a well sealed space?

 

[sedouglas72]

I would suggest oversized, but not over the top. The commercial ones will likely last a lot longer, but I can't imagine mine running very often outside of when it is rainy and cold, but I haven't had my garage for a full year yet and will know more later. If you are near a bigger city you can likely find one for a pretty good deal on Facebook Marketplace like I did.

 

[American Locomotive]

If you live in a hot climate, like Texas, there is literally no point in getting a dehumidifier. They will consume just as much power as a window air conditioner while actually making the space hotter.

You'd be better off just running a window air conditioner. At least they way you get some cold air out of the deal along with the dehumidification.

 

[sedouglas72]

If you live in a hot climate, like Texas, there is literally no point in getting a dehumidifier. They will consume just as much power as a window air conditioner while actually making the space hotter.

You'd be better off just running a window air conditioner. At least they way you get some cold air out of the deal along with the dehumidification.

Except that the dehumidifier turns on and off at a set humidity and a window unit won't. That's why I tossed that idea out. It should consume much less electricity than a window unit. When it is really humid and likely to condense on the floor, the little extra heat won't hurt at all.

 

[American Locomotive]

I think you will find anything short of an industrial sized dehumidifier will run just about continuously in a 25x45 garage with unsealed leaky walls.

Just IMO of course.

 

[mike93lx]

I think you will find anything short of an industrial sized dehumidifier will run just about continuously in a 25x45 garage with unsealed leaky walls.

Just IMO of course.

As long as it can control humidity, that's OK for me. I've never had a problem controlling humidity in a garage with a simple home unit. 25x45 is about double the size, so two units feels reasonable to me

 

[sedouglas72]

I think you will find anything short of an industrial sized dehumidifier will run just about continuously in a 25x45 garage with unsealed leaky walls.

Just IMO of course.

It doesn't appear to so far, when it was super humid over the weekend, this home unit got mine down pretty quick. I was surprised it worked so well. It hasn't had to kick on in the last day or so. I may get proven wrong, as I am frequently, usually by my wife.

 

[mrhemi426]

My shop is 25x48, located in SW Ontario. It gets hot and humid in the summer to the point I had to install a mini-split A/C only unit (Mitsubishi) to be able to work out there. A nice feature of the unit is a dehumidifier mode, which is what I leave it on all the time. It controls the humidity very well protecting my tools and equipment while still providing a coolish working environment.

 

[chompino]

I have a homelabs dehumidifier in my 30x30 shop, and it does a great job! I can't remember what I have it set to, but it only kicks on every once in a while. Unless it's rainy or more humid than usual. However, my shop has blown insulation and is fairly well sealed, aside from the perimeter of the garage door.