Dehumidifier in cardboard box method...?

shiva71

shiva71

Well-Known Member
Hiy'all,
Ive always had way too high RH in my tent. Got a dehuey last year, put it in my small 60x60x180cm tent and it did jack shit. Did a bit more reading, came across the idea to put the unit in a large cardboard box, and run ducting from there to tent. I just did this, plus a 6 inch inline to suck the dehumidified air out of the box and into the tent, and its not changed the RH reading at all. So that hasnt worked either.
Has anyone used this method...or another one for utilising a dehuey unit so it actually does what its supposed to do?
Cheers!
 
Zinger59

Zinger59

Well-Known Member
Some of the newer dehumidifiers are too energy efficient and frost protected. I have an old Kenmore unit thats 30 years old and will get RH down to 40% easily in summer. Are you having humidity problems like powdery mildew? Hygrometers can be inaccurate especially cheaper models. There are chemical agglomeration materials such as Damp-Rid that draw and trap moisture in smaller areas like closets.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
You probably got a small thermo-electric dehumidifier if it isn't working well for you. You need to get one that uses compressors to really suck the moisture out of the air. They use quite a bit more electricity and produce a fair amount of heat, but they're especially great in the winter for that reason. You need one strong enough to dehumidify the room that your tent is in (lung room.) For an average size room, a 22 pint unit will do the job, and typically runs at around 250-300 watts.
 
Zinger59

Zinger59

Well-Known Member
A dehumidifier is simply an air conditioner in reverse, draws ambient (room) air across chilled refrigeration tubes using a fan. The humid room air condenses on the chilled tubes and drips into bucket or piped to drain. Rurumo is right on!
 
Fardsnarp

Fardsnarp

Well-Known Member
Zinger59 said:
A dehumidifier is simply an air conditioner in reverse, draws ambient (room) air across chilled refrigeration tubes using a fan. The humid room air condenses on the chilled tubes and drips into bucket or piped to drain. Rurumo is right on!
Click to expand...
Not exactly a reverse operation. The dehumidifier uses the removed heat to blow across the condensor instead keeping the cooled air and heated air separate as an AC does. But other than that, the operation you describe is right on. Heat pumps are an example of a reverse operation. They can move heat in or out depending on freon flow.
 
HydroKid239

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
What’s the environment like in the room the tent resides in? You may not be seeing any change most likely because you have humid air being pulled into the tent, and the dehu is at a constant battle. Place the dehu in the room. Let it dehumidify the room, so the air pulled into the tent is already drier than the air in the tent. With extraction running you should see a drop.
 
shiva71

shiva71

Well-Known Member
HydroKid239 said:
What’s the environment like in the room the tent resides in? You may not be seeing any change most likely because you have humid air being pulled into the tent, and the dehu is at a constant battle. Place the dehu in the room. Let it dehumidify the room, so the air pulled into the tent is already drier than the air in the tent. With extraction running you should see a drop.
Click to expand...
Thats the only thing left to try...my bedroom is small enough that it could work. Will have a go tomorrow.
My last run ended mid Dec with lowish RH, 40% or so and it was sparkly with trichomes, was really pleased. My other runs, despite my best efforts finished in summer heat with 70% RH, and they were bone dry, zero stickiness, zero trichomes. I think RH has a big affect on trichomes thats why i wanna keep it down.
Cheers!
 
HydroKid239

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
shiva71 said:
Thats the only thing left to try...my bedroom is small enough that it could work. Will have a go tomorrow.
My last run ended mid Dec with lowish RH, 40% or so and it was sparkly with trichomes, was really pleased. My other runs, despite my best efforts finished in summer heat with 70% RH, and they were bone dry, zero stickiness, zero trichomes. I think RH has a big affect on trichomes thats why i wanna keep it down.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Playing chicken with mold in those conditions. Once you stop using the same air in the room that your tent exhausts in you will notice the difference.
 
Bukvičák

Bukvičák

Well-Known Member
shiva71 said:
Hiy'all,
Ive always had way too high RH in my tent. Got a dehuey last year, put it in my small 60x60x180cm tent and it did jack shit. Did a bit more reading, came across the idea to put the unit in a large cardboard box, and run ducting from there to tent. I just did this, plus a 6 inch inline to suck the dehumidified air out of the box and into the tent, and its not changed the RH reading at all. So that hasnt worked either.
Has anyone used this method...or another one for utilising a dehuey unit so it actually does what its supposed to do?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Is it draining water or not? If not than it might have already leaked the refridgerant and it wont be working unless repaired and refilled…
 
klx

klx

Well-Known Member
A dehuey will only do so much in a non sealed room. If you are pulling fresh air from outside and extracting to outside, you will always be at the mercy of the ambient RH of your location. During humid times of the year increase your extraction and your air movement inside the tent. Go totally overboard with it and it will help to keep the mold at bay in addition to the little bit that the dehuey will do.

The only real way to totally control your environment is to have a sealed room.
 
shiva71

shiva71

Well-Known Member
Many thanks fro replies some useful info there :D
I noticed something this morning. When i blew a puff of vape near the inlet ducts, nothing happened. Id have expected to see the unit pull the steam in but it didnt. So i did what i always do, take it apart and see what i can find. I saw there was a second filter which cannot be removed, that was pretty grimy. So i gave it a vac, when i did the vape test it was different you could clearly see the unit pulling in the air which it wasnt doing before.
But ive just tested in my small 4x6m bedroom, in my even smaller tent 60x60x180cm and its still doing fuck all. Its done fuck all all the time ive had it. I got it 2nd hand.
I have an analoge hydrohygro meter, i tested that to see if its working and that seems fine.
So i think my unit is garbage and i should reinvest.
 
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