gadget to switch dehumidifier on in tandem with tumble dryer?

[jkn]

Hi all I am toying with the idea of getting a dehumidifier to run alongside our (cheap, non-condensing) tumble dryer. This to make a start towards (a) drying out the small 'scullery' where the w/mac and tumbler dryer are kept, (b) maybe ending up with building a dehumidifier-based drying cupboard, as discussed on the uk.d-i-y wiki.

For the time being, I would like to arrange to automatically switch on the dehumidifier in tandem with the dryer timer. So: user sets the dryer timer, dryer and humidifier start running. Dryer timer ends, dehumidifier stops (or even better, dehumidifier stops 30 minutes or so later).

I could make something like this myself but I am sure such things exist. In the industrial arena they would be pretty pricey, but could anyone point me at a cheapish domestic gadget that would do something like this?

Thanks a lot Jon N

[JimK]

I'd concentrate on getting the dehumidifier drying arrangements sorted, that will save you space (if you dump the TD), money AND dry the area anyway?

I just use the top of the stairwell with a retractable clothes line Dehumidifier lives at bottom of stairs & dries washing within 24hrs with say 3 bursts of dehumidifier of 2 hrs each - this in winter of course.also keeps humidity if house down too and noticeable drop in leccy consumption, well impressed

Jim K

[spuorgelgoog]

or those 'eco power saver' strips that were given away by energy companies a few years ago, that turn off your monitor when you turn off the computer

Make sure it will take the load of a tumble dryer though.

Owain

[Nightjar]

I think you are over complicating matters. Why not just switch the dehumidifier on at the same time as the dryer and let it switch itself off when it reaches the pre-set humidity level?

[Andrew Mawson]

Why not run the dehumidifier through a Humidistat from TLC and control the space to the desired dryness. I used one for some time when storing furniture in a container during a house refurbishment and it worked splendidly.

Andrew

[jkn]

Thanks for the link - I knew I'd seen a similar discussion here, couldn't remember the term. FWIW, here's something similar, from Rod Elliot's site:

Cheers J^n

[jkn]

Mainly for reasons of 'domestic ease' ... but it's true I may be making it too complicated...

J^n

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Andrew Mawson writes

Why not pipe the moist air from the tumble dryer outside?

[Nightjar]

On 17/07/2014 08:13, Andrew Mawson wrote: ...

My dehumidifier has a built-in humidistat. It spent all last winter switched on in one of my sheds, but a relatively small amount of the time running.

[meow2222]

A relatively cheap option is a relay and dropping resistor to power it. But why run the TD when youre already running the dh? Just hang the clothes up.

NT

[Mathew Newton]

[...]

[...]

The Status 'Master Slave' adapter might fit the bill. It'll switch on the two slaves when the master draws >30W and turn them off again when

[Michael Chare]

A current relay, and maybe a delay off relay if the tumble drier cycles the power off and on to maintain a particular temperature.

[Harry Bloomfield]

jkn formulated the question :

You can buy sockets which will switch on a second socket, when current is drawn from the first socket - they are like a 13amp double adaptor. They are intended for the likes of switching on and off printers and similar, when a PC is turned on, or home cinema when the TV is turned on.

I fully endorse the drying by dehumidifier in an enclosed space. We use one with a small desk fan to move the air around, in our utility room, which I have fitted with hanging lines. The fan I found was important in a larger space.

[meow2222]

A fan is quicker than a dh without fan.

NT

[Harry Bloomfield]

[e-mail] wrote on 17/07/2014 :

That is why I suggested it. A dehumidifier doesn't move its air flow very far, wet clothes in a dry breeze will dry much quicker. We regularly dry quite heavy items fully, over night due to the fan stirring the air constantly.

[ARW]

I think you are over complicating matters;-) Why not just leave the dehumidifier switched on and let it switch itself off when it reaches the pre-set humidity level?

[jkn]

OH OK ... I hear you! In my defence I guess I have been thinking that a DH 'switched on but with humidity below preset level' would be 'ticking over' a bit more than it seems is the case. From what Colin Bignell and others indicate I guess I will start off just using it according to the instructions ... damn!

Cheers Jon N

[gremlin_95]

^ This

We have our dryer vented directly to the outside through a venting kit and have no problems running it in an unheated space.

[Roger Mills]

+1