Dehumidifier drying technique

[Shrewboy]

Hello!

I was thinking about ways to dry out wood quicker, and I realized that I have a dehumidifier in my basement that is constantly spitting out low humidity, slightly warm air.

I put it under a storage shelf (followed instructions with enough room above the unit), rigged up some plywood to direct the airflow over my small basement wood pile, and waited.

After a few months, I found the wood has dried much faster than wood in the piles outside! (The wood in the picture is low right now, its usually piled up under the shelf, but I burned most of it)

Anyone else ever try this? Might be a good way to help dry out the wood you have stored for easy access during the dead of winter.

 

[Simonkenton]

That is a good trick. I have been thinking of putting my dehumidifier in my wood shed.

 

[Shrewboy]

That is a good trick. I have been thinking of putting my dehumidifier in my wood shed.

One issue with that, you are spending money to dry out the wood, I already need to use the dehumidifier to dry out my basement because otherwise it gets moldy

 

[clancey]

I'll be glad when hot weather gets here for you so that you can dry out everything.. Would a fan help as well just guessing here..clancey

 

[spirilis]

Worth slapping on a Kill-A-Watt meter and quantifying the power usage of doing that. Might be a good deal, might not, hard to say without data.

 

[blades]

Idea has merit cost is a factor. Most common dehumidifiers have very poor performance below apx 60 degs F.

 

[Shrewboy]

Idea has merit cost is a factor. Most common dehumidifiers have very poor performance below apx 60 degs F.

I already run the dehumidifier, my basement has mold issues and a lot of moisture, so it is killing 2 birds with 1 stone, to use it to also blow over the wood and dry that out as well

 

[spirilis]

I already run the dehumidifier, my basement has mold issues and a lot of moisture, so it is killing 2 birds with 1 stone, to use it to also blow over the wood and dry that out as well

True... still adding that wood will raise the workload a bit (& moisture problems)

 

[TradEddie]

All that moisture removed from the wood is now in your basement air, requiring the humidifier to run longer to dry the air out. This might be a useful trick in an emergency to deal with unseasoned wood, but unless you've got very inexpensive electricity, it's probably not cost-efficient. Put the wood outside and protect it from the rain.

TE

 

[ClintonH]

Not super-academic, but here's a decent explainer for dehumidifier operation. ...It isn't too terribly expensive, it would seem.
(broken link removed)

 

[Shrewboy]

All that moisture removed from the wood is now in your basement air, requiring the humidifier to run longer to dry the air out. This might be a useful trick in an emergency to deal with unseasoned wood, but unless you've got very inexpensive electricity, it's probably not cost-efficient. Put the wood outside and protect it from the rain.

TE

Good point!

 

[Supersurvey]

In my experience they cost about $1.00 per day to run.

 

[fire_man]

If you are lucky enough to live in MA where the electric rates are north of 20 cents/KWH, a dehumifier gets really expensive.
I would not want to add wood moisture to the equation.

 

[weatherguy]

If you are lucky enough to live in MA where the electric rates are north of 20 cents/KWH, a dehumifier gets really expensive.
I would not want to add wood moisture to the equation.

Im in Mass, Im at 12kw, you can choose who your provider is.

 

[fire_man]

Im in Mass, Im at 12kw, you can choose who your provider is.

That is only the supplier portion of the bill.

The supplier portion of my bill is 10 cents/KWH. When I account for the additional delivery charges my overall rate is 25 cents/KWH.

You have to take the month's total bill and divide it by KWH used to get the overall rate you are actually paying.
MA has the third most expensive electric rate in the country.