Poor Man's Dry Room

[nnickusa]

All up, $150....

Now to see what happens overnight...

I got this idea from a thread in which a dry box is shown....

I have 1. limited space, and 2. limited funds for this hobby at the moment 3. an AC that only seems to make my little work room MORE humid when run on dehumidify...

So, I extrapolated from the dry box I saw, and made myself a mini dry room, which also incorporates a go-bar press, and ample storage for my small stash....

I'm running it overnight to see if it's adequate to drop the RH to acceptable levels.

2 sheets of 12mm ply, one length of 25mm dowel, and od bits left over from my building days. also a hygrometer....

the three dowels act as a brace for the top of the go-bar deck when the shelf is underneath. There is room to store two or three made bodies on top. the shelf pulls forward to allow for storage of side materials, etc. I created a box at the base to hold the lights and brace the shelf there for the go-bar press. I drilled series of holes in the top and botom, and made plugs out of left over dowel to try and control heat and humidity levels, etc. I'll have to experiment with it, I guess, as the initial result is RH that went from 75% to 90%....Mayber more plugs for he bottom, which has 4 holes to allow air to enter. Theory being that hot, dry air will rise, filling the box.....

Report tomorrow morning after 16 hrs of lamp time....Oh, lamps are two 40watt clip on bed lights....may not be strong enough, but we'll see...

Here's some pix...

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[charangohabsburg]

Hi Nick, that looks great, but... I'd probably do at least the test run while being around (and awake), or couple the light bulbs with a smoke detector...

[jeffhigh]

You will actually need to get rid of all or most of the ventilation holes for this to work.There is a certain amount of moisture in the air in your shop, heating will not change that,or dry the air, but at elevated temperatures the air can hold more water so it becomes relatively less saturated ie lower RH.
You will probably need to raise the temperature in the box about 10-15 degrees C above ambient to get the required RH change and you will have trouble doing this if you are drawing fresh air through all the time.

[nnickusa]

I was thinking that, too.

I'll make a few more stoppers for the holes in the bottom, and see what happens then. RH only went down to around 85% this morning.

With all the holes closed off, a convection current can occur within the confines of the box, allowing the air to pass over the "heating element" repeatedly. I think there is quite a bit of moisture beeing drawn out of the timbers, as the room smells quite strongly of plywood....

I might also put a stronger light in to provide an initial "blast" in an effort to reduce the RH. Doesn't make sense to spend weeks waiting everytime I open it up. I was just concerned regarding the temperature as well, but I can't find the thread referring to a dry box, as dry and box are used frequently here....

The one I saw has a 100w globe in the base, and a computer fan to ventilate. lacking a computer fan, I thought the holes might allow a release of hot air from the top to help in that regard....

The experiment continues,,,

[68matts]

Hi Nick, I think the thread you are thinking of was started by ozwood. I dont know how to link to a thread from here but if you check his profile it's under his most posted thread.
Cheers

[nnickusa]

Thanks matt,

It was ozziebluesman, up in Townsville. I re-read the thread, went out and bought a couple Dry-Rid pots to stick in it, and see what happens. I'll cover the lower vents with gaffa to cut down the air-flow, and see what another night does for us....

No fires yet, Markus....

[jeffhigh]

Try closing the top holes too, You need to keep the heat in.
What sort of bulbs are you using? they should be incandescent not compact fluoros

[nnickusa]

Hey Jeff,
Yeah, incandescent bulbs, and the dowel-plugs I made are for the top vents. It's now all closed, bar a small bit around where the light wires come out, and the damp-rid is inside. reads 76% now. Will report in the morning....

[charangohabsburg]

No fires yet, Markus....

Great!

It's now all closed,

The expanding air will find its way to escape while your piece of furniture is not completely airtight - otherwise you would blow it up!

[Tod Gilding]

Hi Nick, You could also try a bag of Calcium Chloride or even Rock Salt in your box ,this removes moisture from the Atmosphere

[nnickusa]

Thanks Tod...

It's been sitting around 54% for past 3-4 days. It's been absolutely pissing down. I've checked and we seem to be in for a bit of dry weather this week. Also added another 40w light. That was about an hour ago. I'll see how it goes overnight.

Might be strike two in the RH war, but I've hung the box in a corner of my little work space, so at least I have more horizontal surfaces....

OI!

[ozwood]

Hi Gents ,

Link to My thread


viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3768&p=46938&hilit=dry+room#p46938

Cheers,

[nnickusa]

Stuffed if I know what to do now...

Lights not getting the RH below 54%, I bought a small dehumidifier and stuck it in the box....

After 12 hrs, RH is at 50%....WTF!

Maybe I'm just not meant to be doing this stuff

Ah well, I'll see whre it's at tomorrow morning...buggered if I know....

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Nick,

I spent days experimenting with my dry box. I ended up closing the inlet and exhaust holes all together. The box itself wasn't air tight so there was enough air flow for it to work using a 40watt globe. I think the best idea is to line the inside of the box with insulation and make the box air tight then use a low wattage globe. Some trial and error will identify what size inlet and exhaust hole you will need. I have read and old fridge or freezer make a good dry box.

Good luck

Cheers

Alan

[Tod Gilding]

Nick, I think your box is removing a lot of moisture from the air when you consider that the RH in your area has been around 97% - 98% for weeks now and you have it at 50% in your box see here http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN60801 ... 4599.shtml

[Tod Gilding]

I forgot to mention that your not on your own here Nick, I have plates thicknessed laminates for falcate braces cut and thicknessed, everything done just waiting for the RH to play the game so that I can bring out the Glues

Join the club mate Shouldn't be long now winter is coming

[Tod Gilding]

I also just realised that my earlier post sould have said Potassium carbonate ( If You can find it ) this will maintain a RH of around 45% in a closed and sealed box

[nnickusa]

Thanks Alan, and Tod....

I agree it must be doing something....Probably the best I can expectg given the weather up here this year. It's now at 48%....

I'll keep an eye on it and turn the dehumidifier on and off until Sunday, when I'd like to dish the back and maybe the top, if it works out. Then I can start closing the box, which will relieve alot of tension...

Been sitting on this one for weeks now, without much progress.....

I have been working on bits and pieces for this and the next couple during this time, tho....

Also, bought a bandsaw--how did I ever live without one of these?--and have almost finished making a thickness sander--just waiting on the motor....

Patience, grasshopper....

[jeffhigh]

Are you sure your gauge is correct.......
You need to have a thermometer inside and outside too
To get the sort or drop in RH you need,by heating, you would have to have the inside temperature around 10-15 degrees Celesius higher than outside the box.

[nnickusa]

I did check it when I got it, using the dam cloth technique the manufacturer specified... IE: Place the hygrometere on a wrung out dish rag and it should read 95% after around half an hour, so that seem s OK..

RH tonight is 45%...Hallelueah...

Jeff, that's why I put a dehumidifier into the box, to see if it would help, and, tho slow, it's done the job, seemingly..

I'll turn of the dehumidifier tonight, and cycle it ion and off to see how much time it actually needs to be on, once acceptable Rh is achieved....

[nnickusa]

OK, so, a day with the dehumidifier off, and the lights on resulted in 48% RH... Gonna try tonight with the lights off, and the dehumidifier on....

Total cost, including the dehumidifier, $310...I'm happy with that....

[Gavin1393]

Just a thought...

Would a towel warmer make a difference if used in place of the globes?

Thinking of building myself one of these boxes and was thinking a better result might be obtained by switching the globes with the towel warmer.

[nnickusa]

Might help, but as stated, I just bought a cheap little de-humidifier off ebay, and that keeps it at 40%RH for as long as I need it to, and I don't use the lights at all anymore.

What I am going to do is make a window in the door panel, and a couple big plugs to reach my arms in, and glue up the plates without having to open it right up.

When I get to the next acoustic, that is....