Gallery, Projects and General > How do I??

Safe from condensation

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ieezitin:
Hi guys. Its been a while since I have posted. Anyways my question is this. With the fall and winter months approaching here in the northern hemisphere, the weather is going to run amuck with damp and wet conditions which will inevitably will creep around the shop like the grim reaper.
 
I know the fundamentals on keeping your machine and tooling safe from condensation and such but I would like to know some tricks you have to stop this fiend?.

My shop is un-heated as yet but a wood stove is planned in the next month. So this is what I have to work with
Thanaks  Anthony.

jim:
i had massive problems in the past :(

i tried a heater on a timer switch (to keep the cost down), but this made it worse (as the shop cooled, it pulled in the damp air).

last winter i ran an electric radiator, constant temp ( as near as i can afford) seemed much better.

the ideal is a dehumidifer (however its spelt).

tinkerer:
Anthony,
I have the same situation. Damp Georgia weather can get to the tools quickly. I just have a schedule for preventative measures. It works as long as you stick to it. A heater will make a difference if the temp stays constant.

Maninshed:
Hi here in th UK we get damp weather all the time it did'nt seem to stop raining all summer. I use a dehumidifier in my workshop which I have found to be successful, however my shop isn't that big 14ft by 8ft. You guys seem to have bigger shops in garages or under the house, initially I had problems with condensation due I think to the concrete floor, one important thing is insulation in the shop, I have found that the due point (when condensation starts to form) is around 50 deg C, so if you can keep things around that temp it helps (yes I know your winters are alot more severe than ours). The dehumidifier I have keeps the humidity at about 60% (some dehumidifiers are adjustable). I tend to put it on when its damp or raining to keep the cost down as power ain't cheap here either. Humidifiers have optimum operating temperatures so the colder it is in the shop the less moisture it will draw off.
Another more awkward method of  keeping moisture at bay is to sheet up your machines and put a 60watt tube heater under the sheet on a timer to keep things warm locally so to speak. I use tube heaters on thermostates to keep things about 50 deg C, hope this may be of some help.

bogstandard:
After many years of all sorts of heating systems tried, last winter I seem to have found the ideal one for me. Remember, for ME, maybe not someone else.

It is a small electric oil filled radiator with a thermostatic control (20 squid from Wilko's), and very soon I will be turning it on, and it won't get switched off until March or April next year.

It takes 3 to 4 days to raise the ambient temperature of my 16x9 insulated shop and all machinery up to around 55 to 60 degs.F.

To me that is a nice winter working temperature and as long as the door isn't left open too long it stays that way.

Once the mass of the machines gets up to temperature, the radiator only comes on for a minute or so each hour, and I noticed that my electricity bill was slightly lower than if I was using a radiant or blower heater, and they would only give local heat for the time you were in the shop, and it was freezing cold when you first went in there. I can now wear t-shirts in the middle of winter, plus I have the feel of nice warm machinery, rather than freezing cold lumps of iron..

One thing you must try to avoid are fuel run heaters, like paraffin (kerosene), as they can sometimes produce large amounts of water vapour when run.


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