At Meaco we’re always prepared to go the extra mile. This was the case when classic car owner Colin got in touch with concerns about how to protect his Lotus from the damp and chilly British winter.
Leaving a cherished classic car unused can do more harm than running it through the winter. In a damp garage untreated metal quickly rusts and corrodes, whilst mould flourishes in carpets and on leather upholstery. The first drive of spring can lead to misery and costly repair bills for many enthusiasts.
Having recently purchased a vintage Lotus, Colin was keen to maintain the pristine condition of the vehicle when stored. He decided to build his own environmentally controlled garage for this purpose.
During the design phase of this project Colin identified the need for an appliance to remove moisture. He got in touch with Meaco to seek advice on which
dehumidifier would be best suited for the job. The Meaco team were able to explain the merits of our desiccant and compressor dehumidifiers to Colin. As he had already planned to use PIR insulation panels and a 160W tube heater within the new garage to maintain temperature it became clear that the Meaco 25L ultra low energy compressor dehumidifier from our platinum range would be the most suitable model.
With construction and installation completed in Autumn, Colin has reflected and shared with us his feedback on how the dehumidifier has performed so far this winter:
Humidification control
The Meaco (25L) ultra-low energy compressor dehumidifier works well.
The controller starts the compressor every 30 mins samples the humidity and pulls down to the humidity set point then shuts down for a further 30mins. I have it on the lowest fan speed (150m3/hour) running about 200W.
Without the car in (so almost twice the air volume) it reduced the humidity from 87% to the set point of 55% in less than 4 minutes; as the garage is very well sealed, I expect it not to drift up two much between cycles so expect it to shut down in even shorter times between the 30 mins timer.
I piped up the dehumidifier to continuously drain to the outside of the ‘garage’.
Low temp control heater
I set the thermostat to 5 degC on the tube space heater, I don’t expect it to kick in as the dried air exiting the dehumidifier is reheated by the (refrigerant)
condenser and the level of insulation / sealing of the garage space is so effective. However, it is there just in case (the ‘insurance policy’) to ensure the dehumidifier is always in operating range (above 5 degC) and accordingly I installed the heater adjacent and below the dehumidifiers air inlet.
Low energy usage
This has been quite satisfying to see; I have a monitoring system on my electrical usage that records to a website database. The household base load of circa 250W kicks up by circa 200w every 30 mins and stays higher for only a few minutes before the dehumidifier shuts down again; so, it really is low energy use.
Conclusion
The new garage is performing well and is actually a much better storage environment for cars than even the garage integral to my house. The Meaco dehumidifier is running very well and really is ultra (ultra) low energy usage. 🙂
Glad it is all done, and thanks for your assistance.
Colin”
We’re delighted with this feedback, with this setup we’re confident that Colin will have many more years of happy motoring memories with his Lotus. Our team are always pleased to offer expert advice on all things relating to humidity. To find out more about our award winning Meaco 25L Low Energy dehumidifier click here.
4 responses
Need to dehumidify my garage.
Winter temperatures below 10 degrees.
Please advise.
Colin,
Thank you for your enquiry. Subject to a sealed garage space, you can benefit from our desiccant range.
A desiccant will work down to 1 Celsius below this it will shut down until the temperature increases. A desiccant dehumidifier draws the air from the room in over a filter in the same manner as a compressor dehumidifier but unlike the compressor dehumidifier it has no compressor and no cooling coils. Instead it uses a wheel filled with a moisture absorbing desiccant material to extract the water from the air. The air is then reheated to about 10°C above room temperature and is then blown back into the room.
Please see any of our DD8L models for a suitable purchase, any further questions please give us a call.
Kind regards,
Omar
Can to use car car after a long period in a standard house garage to find mould on the cloth seats, leather steering wheel, I’ve done small amount of research and came to the conclusion that a humidifier would stop this, advise and recommendations required
Grant,
You need a desiccant dehumidifier like the DD8L Junior to keep the relative humidity around 50%rh to prevent these issues happening in the future.
https://www.meaco.com/products/meaco-dd8l-junior-dehumidifier
regards
Chris