Dehumidifier sizing

It is really hard to say. It depends on how much moisture is coming in. That is difficult to measure.

There must be guidelines somewhere, that's what I'm looking for. Moisture is cumulative, no? I'd like to get rid of what's there (along with the smell of it), and contain it in the future.

thanks,

Hi,

This might help...

Having one would be a good idea.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

Nope. It depends of how the water is getting in, and how much of it there is. So the depth of the water table, how leaky the walls doors, and windows are, and whether there's water against the foundations, the presence or absence of open sumps, and whether the blowoff valve on your water heater is venting all affect the question more than how big the space is.

That is likely about as good a chart as you are going to get. The only thing likely better might be an experienced professional from your local area to make a judgment call based on a good amount of experience with like homes in like conditions.

Just remember that once you have a dehumidifier running for a while you won't need it as much.

So smaller units (25-30 pint/day) will often work fine. and after the first week you may even be able to go without it for days at a time once the humidity is reduced

Also as a general rule higher capacity means, more expensive to buy, more noise and power consumption.

AMUN

Depends on if you can conveniently rig a way for it to drain itself, or if you have to go down into the basement and empty the damn bucket every night just before dinner.

Thanks for the replies, and especially the chart. Our basement is damp, not really wet. There are no windows or doors to the outside, and it's very rarely used, thus the musky smell down there. We get some white fluff on the exposed concrete wall, so I expect the dampness is from a minimal seepage thru the front wall.

Is it good to oversize? From the chart, a 25 pt unit would take care of a 'very wet' basement the size of ours. Should it be plenty for a slightly damp space of the same size, or is it a better idea to just buy a big sucker?

Well oversize will work better than undersized, but it will be more expensive to buy and a little less efficient so it will cost a little more to run. If you are on the edge, I would go larger. If you go too small you may find you need a second one. BTW the efficiency rating of the larger one MAY be better than the smaller so it may end up being cheaper. I really don't know what the likelihood of that is.

I have a floor drain in the right place, or believe me, I wouldn't be asking these questions. I've just learned from the net that there are dehumidifiers - low temp units - made specifically for basements. I'll pick up a 50 pt one tomorrow. Lowes has one with a hose connection, energy star and all that, two speed and 50 pt capacity. That seems to be about the minimum basement size available, and it's 200 bucks. I thought I was looking at more money, so I'm just going to buy one.

Thanks for all the good advice.

Keith

Good point. I made the mistake of getting one not marked low temp and ended up getting a new one so designed for basements. As it turned out after about three recalls of the old one the finally came up with one last recall which I installed myself and now the original ones functions just fine in the basement. I use it as a backup.

A cupla years ago I was looking for a DH also. I believe it was the Consumer's mag that said to get the largest one you can afford. I did that and it worked fine.

Splinter