Dehumidifier In the garage yes or no
Discussion
What do people think. Fairly dry garage with the car under a cover. Sometimes the car is left for three weeks or so. Intend to keep the car but I am not sure if a dehumidifier is a good idea or not. Does it dry out seals and take moisture out of the leather etc. Would appreciate opinions of people who have one.
Until my 5 year old dehumidifier caught fire in the garage ( issue with the control panel ) I used it daily !
Never an issue with it or the car it was " looking after " until then.
I now only turn one on at weekends.
No damage to the car btw as thankfully went into garage before Fire took hold !
Never an issue with it or the car it was " looking after " until then.
I now only turn one on at weekends.
No damage to the car btw as thankfully went into garage before Fire took hold !
If you monitor the humidity with a guage on the wall you can see if it needs it in the first place, obviously depends on ambient temp, ventilation and outside humidity
For most of the year my garage hovers around 60% humidity and is fine. During some winter months it may go higher, but the dehumidifier is set to kick in if it goes over 70%. Occasionally i go in there and empty a container of water out of it
For most of the year my garage hovers around 60% humidity and is fine. During some winter months it may go higher, but the dehumidifier is set to kick in if it goes over 70%. Occasionally i go in there and empty a container of water out of it
philmorton said:
Was thinking the same. Took the cover off the car yesterday and there was a lot of condensation on it (the car not the cover 
)
)That does not sound good.
Is your car cover made of breatheable material? Possibly not, if condensation formed
underneath the cover.
I use a cotton cover and a dehumidifier that vents outside the garage. It prevents the higher humidity percentages, that sometimes occur during periods of wet weather.
I assume that seal drying problems occur at very low percentages, but would be interested learn more about this aspect.
Edited by Jon39 on Friday 2nd January 18:43
Is your garage un heated? If possible, hooking an additional rad off the house makes a huge difference. I heat my garage to 15deg all the time. It costs next to nothing and all my tools etc stay dry and rust free. I avoid garaging the car when it's wet too. Just leave it outside until a sunny day, then put it away!! It's apleasant place to potter too!
bogie said:
If you monitor the humidity with a guage on the wall you can see if it needs it in the first place, obviously depends on ambient temp, ventilation and outside humidity
For most of the year my garage hovers around 60% humidity and is fine. During some winter months it may go higher, but the dehumidifier is set to kick in if it goes over 70%. Occasionally i go in there and empty a container of water out of it
For most of the year my garage hovers around 60% humidity and is fine. During some winter months it may go higher, but the dehumidifier is set to kick in if it goes over 70%. Occasionally i go in there and empty a container of water out of it
I have a clock with temp and humidity on it and use that to set up the DH.I always put it on after washing the car or after being out in the rains with it.
BTW it is ozone in air that destroys rubber not the "lack of moisture"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_cracking
Edited by mikey k on Friday 2nd January 22:07
Interesting comments here. I have a barn with a number of cars in it and all covered with breathable covers. BUT when I take them all off only the AM has a complete coat of "perspiration" over the body. The other manufacturer cars are dry?!?! I have moved them round the barn and it is always the same?! Could it be the AM paint is different to the other?
I have revamped my garage recently to include heating (via radiator) and dehumidifier which drains to the outside. Temp does not drop below 15C and humidity is set to be at or less than 65%. The cars (E-Type, TVR and V12V Aston seem to be fine - I try to use them every couple of weeks.
Heating the garage can make things worse, not better. Hot air holds more water than cold, so if the temperature of the air (adjacent to your car) reaches the dew point then the water in the humid air condenses. To stop this happening you need to ensure the air (around the car) is warmer then the dew point.
The problems also get worse depending on the ventilation of the garage - too little and as the garage air temperature reaches the dew point in the night as the temperature drops and the water trapped in the humid air condenses. Too much ventilation lets in too much humid air in the first place.
Don't bother heating unless you need to work in the garage. If you do, heat low and all the time. Better to keep the car in an Air Chamber or similar and remove the water in the garage using a dehumidifier.
The problems also get worse depending on the ventilation of the garage - too little and as the garage air temperature reaches the dew point in the night as the temperature drops and the water trapped in the humid air condenses. Too much ventilation lets in too much humid air in the first place.
Don't bother heating unless you need to work in the garage. If you do, heat low and all the time. Better to keep the car in an Air Chamber or similar and remove the water in the garage using a dehumidifier.
Edited by V8LM on Saturday 3rd January 09:49
FalconWood said:
Interesting comments here. I have a barn with a number of cars in it and all covered with breathable covers. BUT when I take them all off only the AM has a complete coat of "perspiration" over the body. The other manufacturer cars are dry?!?! I have moved them round the barn and it is always the same?! Could it be the AM paint is different to the other?
That's because it knows what you are about to do to it... 
Perhaps it's warming itself up in anticipation?I cant put the fleecy indoor cover on when its gritty/dirty and a proper wash takes 80 mins (if the weather is right and then a further 30 mins to 'dry' the brakes ;-) )so I often find condensation on the chrome (shock horror). So i too was thinking about this today whilst silcone sealing the roofing felt in the garage. What do these bloody cars do to us?!!!
So this dehumidifier costs about a pound a day to run absolute max? Do you need to change the dessicant in it?
Cheers
So this dehumidifier costs about a pound a day to run absolute max? Do you need to change the dessicant in it?
Cheers
Ken Figenus said:
So this dehumidifier costs about a pound a day to run absolute max? Do you need to change the dessicant in it?
I don't know what the running cost is. My thoughts have only been about not wanting rusty brake discs etc.
As far as I know, the machine is maintenance free.
Need to ensure that the outlet drain hose, always slopes continuously down for the entire length.
Suggest, as has already been mentioned, that you use a meter first, to see if your garage does sometimes have high humidity.
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