De-humidifier recommendation

[ennjaydee]

With hot weather approaching and humidity levels already around 60% (UK Midlands) I'm considering purchase of a de-humidifier. Can anyone recommend a good domestic unit that automatically maintains humidity around a preset point, suitable for 35m2 room. A combined humidifier/de-humidifier that also helps keep above lower humidity limits in Winter would be ideal.

[chrisvenables]

B & Q do a decent range of dehumidifiers - I've had a couple from them, very reliable and with a hygrostat setting. The piano at home hardly ever needs tuning and the humidifier has a dust filter which has cut Mrs V's housework by half.

[Barrie Heaton]

Eback are very good and come with a 5 year Guarantee, have them in my workshop. but be careful, been to too many pianos where they have had the dehumidifier running to high and to close to the piano. They can suck moisture out of the soundboard and hammers causing a detestation in tone. Don't rely completely on the dehumidifier to monitor the humility use a backup gauge to monitor the humility as well.

A piano life saver is cheaper to run and far better than a dehumidifier. On the systems I have fitted were a dehumidifier was there before the clients have noticed an improvement in sound quality I believe this is due to the fact that a life saver puts moisture back as well as taking it away

Barrie,

[RWAS]

I live in Auckland, New Zealand and the humidity level are high throughout the year. I have a de-humidifier set on automatic at the 50% level running continuously and my piano, a Kawai RX3, seems stable. The disadvantages with the de-humidifier are the noise and in the summer time it pushes up the ambient temperature by 2 degrees so it makes the room hotter on those very warm summer days.
I have two Mitsubishi "Oasis" de-humidifiers with one in use and the other is a back-up.
I also have a heat pump which can work as air con in the summer time, but I have to be careful as it pulls the humidity down to very low levels.

Regards,

Robert.

[david g]

Ennjaydee, to come back to your question, I do not know a good hunidifier/dehumidifier combination. I suspect that like me, you would be better off with separate units. The dehumidifier is very good for hot humid summer weather, such as we have now. During the summer you would not need a humidifier.

I have a de Longhi DEM10 unit, and I am very pleased with it. It works very efficiently, it is easy to dispose of the water, and (most importantly) the humidistat seems very consistent and responsive. The humidistat is not calibrated, so you need to work out the setting that you want with reference to a hygrometer. I have determined a setting that prevents the humidity rising above 55-57%. When the humidity falls below this the unit cuts off, so there is no danger excessive dryness.

I would suggest that you locate the humidifier at some distance from the piano, oriented so that the air blowing out of it blows AWAY from the piano.

[ennjaydee]

Thanks all,

I have bought a DeLonghi DEC14 which is doing a good job. By the time I installed it humidity had risen to 70% - it took 24 hours to bring it back down to 55% (and about 8litres of water extraction from 1 room) and the humidistat cuts in and out pretty well keeping it between 55% and 56%, which is a reasonable level given the weather we are having. In winter when the heating was on a lot, the humidity hovered around the 40% level, a little drying of towels on the radiator was enough to maintain status quo without the need for a humidifier. Meanwhile the Bluthner A remains in tune

[freak.zanjay]

If you do decide to get a stand-alone dehumidifier, then make sure you select a model that allows you various usage. It might have to have an idea of what model you want so that it can't take a lot of time in choosing. I'm agreeing that basement dehumidifier help your home to be stay neat and fresh. SEO Services

[JohnB]

I've had a Mitshubishi de-humidifier I bought in 2003 and which has been in continual use in my basement since then, with no problems at all. You can set the required humidity level and there is a display which shows the current humidity. On the model I have there are also louvres which can be set to slowly oscillate upwards, backwards, etc if required. (This can be useful to direct the airflow in certain situations, e.g. under a 'Sheila Maid' type clothes rack!)

The water tank in mine has roughly a 5 Ltrs capacity but you can also attach a hose to drain the water away (the hose pushes onto a 'pipe' inside the machine and that is designed for a 1/2" hose, not the normal garden hose - though you can fit a garden type hose if you gently heat the end to soften it and widen the bore before fitting)

The current equivalent to the model I have is the Mitshubishi MJ-E16VX-E1. If I had to get another de-humidifier I would definitely get another Mitshubishi (if nothing else they look good as well as working very well).

You should be aware that there is always a background noise with any humidifier and that can be extremely irritating if the room is in constant use as a living area.

[RWAS]

Since my last post on this topic, I have bought a hygrometer to monitor and check humidity levels as well.
One of my Mitsubishi "Oasis" de-humidifiers broke down last year and starting icing up in a room where the ambient temperature was about 18 degrees. It was quite expensive to have repaired.
However, I would agree with John that the Mitsubishi de-humidifiers are very reliable and effective.

The Dampp-Chaser device has the advantage of being silent and it requires less attention than the de-humidifier. My preference, however, is still to provide complete humidity control in the room which provides the piano with full protection.

In Auckland, New Zealand our winters are relatively mild compared to most of Europe and we do not need central heating running constantly which will drag down the relative humidity to dangerously low levels for the piano. We need to find the best humidity control responses according to the region in which we live.

Kind regards,

Robert.

[ennjaydee]

I fully endorse JohnB and RWAS in recommending to anyone a Mitsubishi de-humidifier for pianos. The model MJ-E16VX-E1 has an auto digital humidistat; set it at 50% and the unit cuts in at 51% and switches off again at 49%. Not the cheapest unit but very dependable all summer long. The DeLonghi (DEC14) unit I bought originally failed within a month; I exchanged it for another which also failed, so I returned it for a refund and bought the Mitsubishi.

For winter months I have a Boneco 2055D evaporative humidifier which seems to be working within a precise range too. Auto digital humidistat can be set at 5% intervals; set it to 45% and it will cut in at 43 and out at 47. I did at first buy the less expensive Boneco 2231 steam humidifer but two different units both had faulty humidistats so I returned them and paid more for the 2055D. In another thread JohnB also comments that the 2055D is like the German Venta range of humidifiers recommended by German Piano makers. Boneco is made by Plaston of Switzerland. Hope Herr Bluthner approves!

[stars1]

With hot weather approaching and humidity levels already around 60% (UK Midlands) I'm considering purchase of a de-humidifier. Can anyone recommend a good domestic unit that automatically maintains humidity around a preset point, suitable for 35m2 room. A combined humidifier/de-humidifier that also helps keep above lower humidity limits in Winter would be ideal.

The Frigidaire FAD704TDP 70-pint Dehumidifier (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 921x00003a) is an Energy Star Compliant 70-pint per day dehumidifier capable of continuous operation when the unit is located near a suitable drain. It features full-function electronic controls, an easily accessible collection container with level indicator, and a washable filter that removes both moisture and airborne particulates. The integrated casters allow you to move the unit easily to wherever it's needed.

If you juse need a cheap Dehumidifier, then the plastic Dehumidifier (http://www.sourcingmap.com/mini-portabl ... 22349.html) will be ok.