Meredith's 180 In-wall happy place

[melypr1985]

You going to buy a mobile humidifier or something larger?

I'm not sure yet. My husband said he doesn't know how to run a duct back to the HVAC, so I'm going to start looking at dehumidifiers today. Have you looked at any? Have an opinion on them?

 

[Brew12]

I'm not sure yet. My husband said he doesn't know how to run a duct back to the HVAC, so I'm going to start looking at dehumidifiers today. Have you looked at any? Have an opinion on them?

In the summer you still shouldn't have humidity issues if you leave the door open. Your HVAC will pull it out of the air for you just like the rest of your house. Worst case is that you just leave the HVAC main fan on all the time. Now if you want to leave your door closed all the time, that is a different story.

 

[melypr1985]

In the summer you still shouldn't have humidity issues if you leave the door open. Your HVAC will pull it out of the air for you just like the rest of your house. Worst case is that you just leave the HVAC main fan on all the time. Now if you want to leave your door closed all the time, that is a different story.

I really do want to keep the door closed. My son needs a barrier to keep him out and honestly, it's kinda noisy in there. I want to be able to shut the door and not hear it at all. Just a quick google search brought me to a site that described the top five models. They top out at $200 and go down from there. They are mostly good for small rooms, but the fish room is pretty darn small -barely big enough to be considered a bedroom (which is was) so I have some really good options it seems

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RZVHB7M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2LM6ZPY06LT1N
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0ZDD2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO0S0U8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2LM6ZPY06LT1N

 

[Brew12]

I really do want to keep the door closed. My son needs a barrier to keep him out and honestly, it's kinda noisy in there. I want to be able to shut the door and not hear it at all. Just a quick google search brought me to a site that described the top five models. They top out at $200 and go down from there. They are mostly good for small rooms, but the fish room is pretty darn small -barely big enough to be considered a bedroom (which is was) so I have some really good options it seems

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RZVHB7M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2LM6ZPY06LT1N
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0ZDD2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO0S0U8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2LM6ZPY06LT1N

Keep in mind that the better your dehumidifier works, the more evaporation you will have. The more evaporation you have, the better you need your dehumidifier to work. You need to oversize it for the application. I think you should plan on at least 1 gallon per day and wouldn't be surprised if you get close to 2 gallons per day. Your 3rd option (largest of the 3) is only rated to 25 oz per day so only 1/5th of a gallon.

If you can't tie the room into your main HVAC I think you should consider a larger model with a way to drain it outside.

 

[melypr1985]

Keep in mind that the better your dehumidifier works, the more evaporation you will have. The more evaporation you have, the better you need your dehumidifier to work. You need to oversize it for the application. I think you should plan on at least 1 gallon per day and wouldn't be surprised if you get close to 2 gallons per day. Your 3rd option (largest of the 3) is only rated to 25 oz per day so only 1/5th of a gallon.

If you can't tie the room into your main HVAC I think you should consider a larger model with a way to drain it outside.

hmmm.. Ok. Gunna have to go back to the drawing board then. I might need to have Richard look up how to do the HVAC thing. He said it will be more expensive than getting the dehumidifier. The room has a vent from the AC but he's not sure how to tie another into what's already there. We might have somebody in the family that knows HVAC and can help out.

 

[Brew12]

hmmm.. Ok. Gunna have to go back to the drawing board then. I might need to have Richard look up how to do the HVAC thing. He said it will be more expensive than getting the dehumidifier. The room has a vent from the AC but he's not sure how to tie another into what's already there. We might have somebody in the family that knows HVAC and can help out.

It can be tricky to set up correctly and it should really be done by a pro or at least someone who knows what they are doing. You need to have a vent and return in the room along with dampers you can adjust to throttle the air flows. If you don't set it up right you can create and air "short circuit" and it won't cool the rest of your house. You also need to evaluate if your HVAC system is large enough to handle the extra system load from a cooling and air flow perspective.
It will be cheaper in the short run for a dehumidifier. If you can get a large unit to drain directly out of the house it's a good route to go.

 

[tj w]

Honestly melypr1985, dehumidifiers are kind of a pain to deal with in the long run. I'd really consider adding a return vent like Brew suggested. I have a 300g in my living room with no extra ventilation added when installed and the humidity never gets above 50 percent in the house.

 

[Brew12]

Honestly melypr1985, dehumidifiers are kind of a pain to deal with in the long run. I'd really consider adding a return vent like Brew suggested. I have a 300g in my living room with no extra ventilation added when installed and the humidity never gets above 50 percent in the house.

This could be another option. Install something like this in the door into the room. Might let some noise out and won't be 100% effective, but might be a good compromise.

https://www.amazon.com/Air-Conditio...rd_wg=qEGgP&psc=1&refRID=MPHWS40E7R847CZ8NQ2H

I hate being the one who rains on your parade Mel! (Did you like the water/humidity reference? )

 

[melypr1985]

It can be tricky to set up correctly and it should really be done by a pro or at least someone who knows what they are doing. You need to have a vent and return in the room along with dampers you can adjust to throttle the air flows. If you don't set it up right you can create and air "short circuit" and it won't cool the rest of your house. You also need to evaluate if your HVAC system is large enough to handle the extra system load from a cooling and air flow perspective.
It will be cheaper in the short run for a dehumidifier. If you can get a large unit to drain directly out of the house it's a good route to go.

That's good info.

Honestly melypr1985, dehumidifiers are kind of a pain to deal with in the long run. I'd really consider adding a return vent like Brew suggested. I have a 300g in my living room with no extra ventilation added when installed and the humidity never gets above 50 percent in the house.

Thanks! I"m compiling data on this for my husband. I'll let him take care of this part.

This could be another option. Install something like this in the door into the room. Might let some noise out and won't be 100% effective, but might be a good compromise.

https://www.amazon.com/Air-Conditio...rd_wg=qEGgP&psc=1&refRID=MPHWS40E7R847CZ8NQ2H

I hate being the one who rains on your parade Mel! (Did you like the water/humidity reference? )

lol. Good reference! No worries though, the more info I have to give Richard, the more he knows. I'm pretty much getting as much info compiles as I an and getting ready to just dump it in his lap. "your problem... make it happen" He just loves it when I do that.

Thanks to you both for the great info! If you think of anything else that would be pertinent don't hesitate to add it here.

 

[Brew12]

"your problem... make it happen" He just loves it when I do that.

That is just the way my wife handles these things!

 

[Bronc]

Do you have a 2 story house? If not, then a bathroom vent would probably work perfectly.

 

[melypr1985]

Do you have a 2 story house? If not, then a bathroom vent would probably work perfectly.

Nope. It's only one story...... well, until we win the lottery... then there will be an upstairs added on and several additions toward the back of the house. LOL My husband claims that if we won the lottery we wouldn't move into a bigger house. He's weird. I'll run the bathroom vent by him. He can definitely put those in! He's an electrician.

 

[Phil Cusimano]

Yay! Go large! Congrats!

 

[jsker]

Like the video, and the system.

 

[melypr1985]

Yay! Go large! Congrats!

Like the video, and the system.

Thanks yall! I always suggest watching my videos with the mute button on. I tend to babble and sound stupid lol.

 

[jsker]

Thanks yall! I always suggest watching my videos with the mute button on. I tend to babble and sound stupid lol.

You will get it tuned and quieted down. Also it always louder with a bare floor

My I suggest looking into some like this link to quiet the room. Also and I am late, have you thought about a Alabama band aid(AKA window A/C) for your humidity, and a simple bathroom fan for when it is cold? that or a ductless AC unit?

 

[melypr1985]

You will get it tuned and quieted down. Also it always louder with a bare floor

My I suggest looking into some like this link to quiet the room. Also and I am late, have you thought about a Alabama band aid(AKA window A/C) for your humidity, and a simple bathroom fan for when it is cold? that or a ductless AC unit?

Awesome suggestions! Thanks for that! I do plan to put a rug in the there to help with the sound and I do have a plan to quiet down the plumbing a bit. Things are moving just a bit slow at the moment though. So far my husband likes the idea of putting the bathroom fan in there and of course, if we need to, we can always do the window unit. Boy oh boy... I'm getting so many good ideas for this!

 

[jsker]

Awesome suggestions! Thanks for that! I do plan to put a rug in the there to help with the sound and I do have a plan to quiet down the plumbing a bit. Things are moving just a bit slow at the moment though. So far my husband likes the idea of putting the bathroom fan in there and of course, if we need to, we can always do the window unit. Boy oh boy... I'm getting so many good ideas for this!

I started think ductless at the end. Have your husband look into one of those units. They are great for your needs both winter and summer and can remove the humidity year round with more efficiency then a window unit. If you know someone the the havc biz even better

 

[melypr1985]

I started think ductless at the end. Have your husband look into one of those units. They are great for your needs both winter and summer and can remove the humidity year round with more efficiency then a window unit. If you know someone the the havc biz even better

Wow.. I just looked those up and they are very pricey! I'm talking to my husband about it as I type and he's explaining how they work. It would be nice, but we both agreed - after I looked at prices- that it's a bit out of our range. A window unit isn't impossible and neither is a bathroom fan. Hmm.. so far we have several options actually, but it will be a bit before we do anything with that. Still gotta do the mixing station and get that done before I start adding livestock.

 

[jsker]

Find someone the is in the HAVC biz they are much less.