Loading Room Humidity

[Mark W]

I’m in the process of setting up a new 200 square foot loading in my finished basement. I checked the humidity and it’s averaging over 60% so I’m going need a dehumidifier. I was wondering what others are using and what humidity level to target. I have a floor drain down the hall in a utility room that would allow me to use a model with a pump if it’s placed there, but I wasn’t sure if a unit placed in one room would dehumidify the whole 500 square foot basement since it’s broken up into 3 rooms and a hallway.

 

[JimSC]

from a human comfort view I would not recommend a humidity below 50% and 60% would be acceptable. Too low and you get static problems and in my case nosebleeds. For reloading I would think the biggest issue is if you measure your powder by weight or leave the components open to high humidity for hours or days at a time.. Powder will absorb moisture which could affect the charges to some degree. Not sure how much since I have seen bench rest shooters reloading at the range where the humidity is over 90% and the powder in the throws is there for hours at a time

 

[PigButtons]

I have a Hisense floor unit and the setting I keep it at is 48% and it runs about half the time, drains to the outside of the building. It doesn't have a pump but I raised it enough that gravity carries the collected condensation outside no problem through a garden hose. It's important to keep the filter on the back clean for it to operate efficiently. It says it'll handle about 700 sq ft but unless there is adequate air circulation it is pretty much a one room unit. I also have a Hisense a/c / heater unit that does an excellent job at keeping the humidity in check whether it is on heat or cool. It has a dry setting also that doesn't send the condensate outside like heating and cooling does. Bought them both at Lowe's.

 

[marchboom]

My basement stays between 35-40% all year around. High humidity is not good for powder or primers. If it was the factories would say so. Keep the containers closed tightly. You might even call the powder companies and see what their chemists recommend. Keep it dry and in an area with STABLE temp and humidity. I would put the dehumidifier in the reloading room or just outside the room. But try placing it by the drain (for convenience) and see if it works there.

 

[M-61]

I prefer air conditioning.
Dehumidifiers give off substantial amounts of heat. Air conditioners are dehumidifiers that also 'condition' the air. For what ever reason I've always lived in areas where humidity is crazy high. Also hot summers. So the fact that air conditioners cost more to buy and to run I put secondary to my comfort. Reloading is after all my hobby.

 

[ormandj]

40-60% is the suggested humidity range for living spaces. Depending on insulation HVAC may not be enough to maintain the appropriate humidity and you would need a dehumidifier (happens all the time in modern “tight” and well insulated construction during moderate months when cooling demand is low but relative humidity is high). Depending on air temperature you may want a mini split in addition to a dehumidifier, as they do put off some heat. If it’s already cool, it may be a nonissue, and the dehumidifier alone will be fine.

I’ve found a 40-50% target to be best for comfort and surface rust/degradation prevention. Much higher and it starts to feel damp, and mold can start to grow. 60% is the absolute upper limit and I wouldn’t want to keep the space that high in humidity.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

40%

 

[JMayo]

I live in the south with a million others that have more than that daily. No big deal unless things are damp to the touch .... imo

 

[joshb]

I keep my shop humidity as low as I can get it. The dehumidifier runs 24/7. I keep my powder bottle lids screwed down tight and my primers in zip lock bags. Just breathing in a room raises the humidity considerably!

 

[Mark W]

Thanks for all of the feedback. The basement is already well insulated and finished as well as being air conditioned. I think that @ormandj nailed it when he said, “happens all the time in modern “tight” and well insulated constructionduring moderate months when cooling demand is low but relative humidity is high“. Humidity in the area has been running 80% and above with night time and morning temps in the sixties and low seventies. I just cannot run the AC much in those temps without freezing us out.

I’ve picked out a 50 pint Frigidaire unit that has the option of working with a gravity drain or using its internal bucket. I’ll try it in the utility room set at 40% with the hose running into the floor drain. If if it doesn’t bring down the humidity in the loading room enough, I will move it into the room or consider another small back up unit.

 

[Mark W]

I live in the south with a million others that have more than that daily. No big deal unless things are damp to the touch .... imo

Have you actually checked your humidity? An above grade air conditioned space probably isn’t as high as you might think. I lived in Louisiana and Florida for most of my life and never had indoor humidity this high.

 

[LC Tikka]

What about a natural approach, what is the humidity level in the home above and outside, if lower, then in-out ventilation may work, a large amount of air can be shifted with a slight breeze over an outside vent pipe. On the bad days turn on the powered units.
LC

 

[JimSC]

Have you actually checked your humidity? An above grade air conditioned space probably isn’t as high as you might think. I lived in Louisiana and Florida for most of my life and never had indoor humidity this high.

you got me curious. Our house is new construction adjacent to a lake on SE coast. Indoor humidity was 52%, outside 82%

 

[Mark W]

you got me curious. Our house is new construction adjacent to a lake on SE coast. Indoor humidity was 52%, outside 82%

Good info! Outdoor humidity is 83% here right now and I’m up to 61% on the main floor. My thermostat is set at 74 with a comfortable 72 indoor temp and it’s only 69 outside, so the AC isn’t going to help me very much. When the outdoor temps were in the high eighties in day and seventies at night I was running closer to 50%, but the AC was running a lot more.

I just checked the basement level and the temp is down to 68 degrees with 70% humidity, so I’ve got to do something.

 

[Damon555]

I had a few of the same questions when I set up my man cave/wife's storage shed. When our youngest was born 7 years ago we decided to go ahead and build a 12x24 shed and finish it inside just like you could live in there......climate wise....there's no water or bathroom or anything like that.

As pictured here we chose to use a dehumidifier along with an air conditioner to compliment what would eventually become my beloved 288 square foot retreat. There's a hose running from the back of the dehumidifier, through the floor and out to a flower bed so we don't need to empty the bucket.....

Since you're going to be in a basement I wouldn't think you'd need the AC.....Here in TN it gets pretty darn warm in the summer. It helps keep the electric bill down some to run the dehumidifier at around 40-45% along with the wall unit.

As you can see I have plenty of room to load................sure, I've got a lot of odds and ends things sitting around right now but my reloading is mostly caught up for the year. The bench works well for many different tasks.

 

[JimSC]

a bit more info, it rained between my first post in this thread and now so temps are down to 77 outside but the humidity is up to 98%, inside with the thermostat set at 73 the humidity is at 53%. My last reloading room was in a stand alone garage that was fully insulated and had a window AC for the summer but in winter no heat except a 1500 watt space heater that I would use when the interior temp dropped into the 50's and I was out there. On damp winter days I am sure the humidity out there was up in the 80 - 90% mark but in 12 years of reloading out there I never had a primer fail or powder go bad. I still have pistol primers that I use that were bought around 2005 and still go bang. Also 4 pounds left in jug of Win 231 that was bought before Obama was president. Just anecdotal stuff for whatever it is worth

 

[GoldieMI]

another option to control humidity is to use the Incandescent light bulbs- leaving them on (since they actually get hot to touch) will help dry out the air. I have one setup in my safe- during the spring months, the humidity level can skyrocket with the rains. So timer it on for few hours every day and absolutely no issues. Use the same thing in the attics still. The CFL and LED don't work the same as they don't heat up like the older design.

 

[Oso]

My garage is my playroom (workshop and reloading), and it is not sealed closed (door gets opened for big projects and large items). I am in Houston so humidity is 365 days of the year with rare break when a Northern actually makes it this far south. I go with "Belt & Suspenders" approach to avoiding excess moisture. Before I built out my shop, I had a portable dehumidifier (size of large paper shredder) that I bought at Home Depot that I would periodically turn on. Within a couple of hours it would drain 8 gallons of water (not joking) out of the air all the while I had to babysit it dumping the reservoir. For comfort and convenience I installed a mini-split AC unit. Now I turn the AC on for a few hours most evenings, which is enough to keep the humidity down to manageable level without any surface rust. Second, keep the area clean... dust, especially saw dust, acts as a sponge and draws/holds moisture. Third, everything gets a protective coating of Boeshield or Hornandy One Shot or Paste Wax (large tool surfaces). Finally, where possible I like to place things in clear plastic containers as an additional precaution and to aid organizing/stacking. I blame this OCD on my dad... at least I'm not hording old pill bottles, Folgers cans, and pickle jars.

Oh Yeah... anything that I am very worried about or that would upset me if I found any blemishes gets to live inside the house. Go buy yourself a nice antique armoire that you can stack your primers &/or powder.... looks nice so wife doesn't notice and soon she'll forgets what your have stashed inside.

 

[Mark W]

I got the new 50 pint dehumidifier set up and running In the loading room this afternoon. I set it on 45% and it only took a few hours to pull the humidity down to the set point. Even the utility room down the hall is now under 50%. Mission accomplished!

 

[jonbearman]

Air conditioning is supposed to be at or around 50% rh. So running the dehumidifier in the summer as long as the air is on 24/7 you should be good.