Get in your Hole! or Best Dehumidifier <$200

[madtho]

So I'm moving into the basement. (the studio is, I'm still free to move about the house)

It's not -wet-, but it's also no desert.
So, what can get trashed down here?

for starters,
- guitars are living on hooks all about the upper portions of the house
- paper-transformered equipment (tube amps) are in a closet at the top of the stairs

What will a damp environment do to electronics? I've got a synth (80's FM), a modern (new) mixer, a couple pairs of speakers, mics, headphones etc. Oh, and a Tascam 424 that is used fairly frequently.

thanks a bunch.
-mad

[RefD]

corrosion city, for one.

get everything off the floor, then start running a dehumidifier down there 24/7 and empty it often.

my $0.02

[madtho]

Really? aren't there a ton of studios in basements?

There's alot of stuff down there (tools, washer/dryer etc) that aren't corroded. Running a dehumidifier, I'd really like to avoid.
We've had a soaker of a Spring so far, and it's dry in there. A cardboard box that's been on the floor for a couple months shows a <i>touch</i> of dampness, but most everything <i>is</i> off the floor. Like I said, it's not soaking, just not so dry as the rest of the house.

Beyond corrosion, what about rubber wheels/belts and potentiometers? Do circuit boards have some sort of clearcoat on them to prevent corrosion? What about speaker cones?

thanks
-mad

[Jay Reynolds]

get everything off the floor, then start running a dehumidifier down there 24/7 and empty it often.

+1
Most new dehumidifiers will allow you to remove the tank and attach a hose. If you've got a drain that connects to your sump pump, you can pretty much let this system "run itself".

[Professor]

If you aren't worried about dampness, then why are the guitars & amps going at the top of the stairs?
If it's because you're worried about dampness, then buy a dehumidifier and let it rip.

I happen to have an extremely dry studio, and my big problems are dust & dust bunnies, static electricity, and all of the exposed elastic bands on my shock mounts break after a year or two. (cloth covered ones have been OK) I would worry about leaving an acoustic guitar in my place for too long during the summer, and I finally bought a humidifier for the piano sound board that needs to be installed before summer arrives.

-Jeremy

[madtho]

If you aren't worried about dampness, then why are the guitars & amps going at the top of the stairs?
If it's because you're worried about dampness, then buy a dehumidifier and let it rip.

Curse you Jeremy!
OK. So I'll look into dehumidifiers and their cost of operation.

I'd say I'm -aware- of the dampness, but not worried. The guitars/amps are upstairs because wood and paper are just so alive. The guitars are just the nicest things I own so I don't even want to wonder what would happen to them (though they've already been through hell), and the paper insulated transformers just kind of scare me. I also play the guitars alot more than I record anything.

So what's the best Energystar dehumidifier under $200?

-mad

[kayagum]

So what's the best Energystar dehumidifier under $200?

-mad

Anything Energystar rated is plenty good. Get one with a high capacity tank, or (as previously mentioned) a tank with a hose.

In addition to maintaining a stable environment for your gear, you will also help stop anything funky from growing (e.g. mold, mildew).

[madtho]

So what's the best Energystar dehumidifier under $200?

Anything Energystar rated is plenty good. Get one with a high capacity tank, or (as previously mentioned) a tank with a hose.

The <$200 part was a joke, but oddly enough, that seems to be a perfectly fair price.

The Energy Star site has great information, for instance, if your space is routinely going to be below 65 degrees, they make low temperature units that resist freezing coils.

It also appears they cost $80+ /year to run. consider that.

I'm going to plunk down the $30 for a hygrometer to see if I even need to think about this.

-mad

[kayagum]

It also appears they cost $80+ /year to run. consider that.

Cheaper than mold cleanup, I can guarantee you that.

I'm going to plunk down the $30 for a hygrometer to see if I even need to think about this.

Test it in the different seasons- it does change.

I'm going to list a hygrometer the next time somebody asks for "essential tools in the kit". Right up there with a electrical outlet plug tester.

[Professor]

Curse you Jeremy!

That just brightened up my afternoon.

But as for dehumidifiers, I found a cool product from a company called Danby. It's a room air conditioner that doesn't need to mount in a window, it has about 5-feet of flexible plastic tubes (like dryer duct) that can snake up to a basement window, sit in a sliding glass door, or in my case, run into the 4th-floor hallway (no windows in the studio). It acts as either a fan, an air conditioner, a heater, and a dehumidifier. Fantastic concept, especially for a basement that probably is muggy in the MA summers and wicked cold in the MA winters. Mine only really comes out in the summers as an A/C unit - the other features just happen to come along with the portability & large room volume capability.

-Jeremy

[Randy]

I have two things to add (garnered from experience):

#1
If you can, get a humidifier that can sense the humidity. I ran one constantly and then I started to notice the doors in the house were starting to crack and the trim was lifting off the wall. There is such a thing as too dry.

#2
painting the floors and walls with a sealant like DryLoc will probably solve your humidity issues. Plus, the basement won't smell like a basement any more.

Good Luck!
Randy