Humidity Control?

TheReefGeek · #1 02-03-2006, 10:12 PM

Will a bathroom fan in my fish room vented outside not work well enough?

My house is old, and crappy windows, so there are lots of air leaks in.

Psyire · #2 02-03-2006, 11:18 PM

You could also look into these products:

www.humidex.ca

Doug · #3 02-03-2006, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psyire

You could also look into these products:

www.humidex.ca

Do those units have an exchanger core? How do they warm the incoming air?

untamed · #4 02-04-2006, 12:31 AM

I'll chime in a bit here since I've been looking into this closely as I plan my 360 installation.

The humidex basically a combination of a vent fan and a humidistat that turns the fan on/off based on humidity. It vents out of the house only, and depends on "leaks" in the house to bring new air in. That would be a concern in a very new, tight house due to negative pressure.

A good vent fan to the exterior attached to a humidistat would do about the same thing. I would guess it would cost less, but require a bit of DIY.

Finally, the last thing I'll mention is that it would be good to control the space where the humidity accumulates. If you can get good containment of the tank and fish room, you have a smaller air volume to deal with.

TheReefGeek · #5 02-04-2006, 02:42 AM

I was just going to run the bathroom fan 24/7. This winter is crazy warm, so I am not too concerned about the cold air coming in. Next winter might be different.

How effective are de-humidifiers?

mark · #6 02-04-2006, 03:53 AM

For de-humidifiers take a look at sears.com for an idea. They're rated in pints/day and come in differents sizes (up to 70).

TheReefGeek · #7 02-04-2006, 03:58 AM

Thanks mark, will do.

Doug · #8 02-04-2006, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

I was just going to run the bathroom fan 24/7. This winter is crazy warm, so I am not too concerned about the cold air coming in. Next winter might be different.

How effective are de-humidifiers?

That will remove humid air alright. Just remember the negative balance thing. Good thing its warm there.

One could take an HRV unit with them but depending on how its installed, a lot of structure will be left. It should enhance the value of a house, enough to cover the cost.

De-humidifiers work fine. Just not the most energy efficient things. I depend on one during the summer however, along with AC. Units like HRV,s are not the best in the summer when the outside air is very moist also. However most people with decent central air units seem to have no problems, esp. the ones that have their hoods andso on vented outside. I know several that also vent their large beckett skimmer outside also.

hawk · #9 02-04-2006, 06:14 PM

Venting with a bathroom fan will work as long as the humidity level outside is lower than the humidity in your house. Being in Edmonton this is probably your case, but for those of us in more humid locals this simple fix can actually make matters worse. For example, here humidity outside right now is 86%. If I ran a bathroom fan 24/7, I would be exchanging humid indoor air with outdoor air that is even more humid, not a good trade.

Paverdude · #10 02-06-2006, 02:52 AM

I have a Dehumidifyer running all the time with the 2500 gallon storage tanks from my well in my basement i get tons of water from it.

I have it plumbed into my drain now but i was woundering would the water produced from this be fairly pure as it is simmaler to distiller princaple?

maby i could reuse the water