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Basement dehumidifier for loading


Howlin' Wolf

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Howdy all,

   So just wondering who made there basement a reloading room and how you dealt with the moist humidity.  We now live in the texas panhandle and my basement if very musty but i want to convert it to a realoading room. Any suggestions? 

 

Thanks

H.W

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That's where my reloading room is, I haven't noticed any issues reloading. I do have a couple of vents from my central unit blowing in the area. It's around 70 degrees all the time and 40-50% humidity.

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When not shooting matches, Latigo Lee, Maid Jalaff, and I are the Collections Management Group for the San Antonio Fire Museum.  We work in the basement of a WPA-built structure dating to 1938.  The basement was a moldy, musty mess due to flooding when the sump pumps quit.  It took some time, but hauling away the moldy stuff, installing circulating fans, and several dehumidifiers turned the large basement into a habitable work space.  The key was the installation of the dehumidifiers plumbed with plastic tubing to an existing (now unclogged) floor drain.  The Wal-Mart bought temperature/humidity monitors show we typically run at or below 30 % humidity even when it rains.  I'd think that an investment of around $200 to $300 you could make your basement safe for reloading (except for the lead part!) as well as make your home environment better.  Mold is not something you want...period.

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If you have central A/C make sure you have a couple supply ducts and a return in the basement. A dehumidifier works on the same principle as an A/C system.

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1 hour ago, Beans Ahgin said:

The key was the installation of the dehumidifiers plumbed with plastic tubing to an existing (now unclogged) floor drain. 

 

^^^ THIS

 

If you can't do it then don't bother.

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1 hour ago, Buckshot Bob said:

Most basements in MI have a crock with a sump pump in it , most people I know just buy a dehumidifier and run the drain to the crock . 

I'm in Ohio and we have the same setup. My dehumidifier drain is plumbed into the sump. I have an a/c vent opened and keep a fan on low. Before doing that my basement ran 60-80% humidity. Now it maintains at 35-40%. 

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16 hours ago, Assassin said:

If you have central A/C make sure you have a couple supply ducts and a return in the basement. A dehumidifier works on the same principle as an A/C system.

Since, the basement is likely to have lower average temp. than the house the registers in the basement need to be on a separate branch ducting so that electric  reheat elements can be employed to raise the air temp.  Otherwise the relative humidity will be high.  Computer room Air Handling Units (Fan Coil Units) have a heater after the the evaporator coil to lower the humidity.   The humidity of the air discharged from the evaporator coil is 100%.

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I have a completely separate HVAC system for the basement.  It keeps the air circulated and the AC pulls moisture out of the air and a small pump sends it outside.  Georgia Summers can get pretty humid and I have had no problem with moisture.  

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I run dehumidifiers in the basement, with hoses to the floor drains.

My reloading/gun storage room* has a separate dehumidifier, that I empty as needed. (No floor drain in that room) 

 

*Not that many guns, just Canadian laws are pretty anal about storage of guns, powder and primers.

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I bought a dehumidifier.  You need to buy the size dependent on the volume of your room.  I'm in North central Georgia where it is a lot wetter than the Texas Panhandle, so if we can do it, you should be able to as well.

 

My larger unit failed several years ago and it was more costly to replace, so I got 2 separate 30 quart units.  They are set up to drain automatically to the little sump pump that my ari conditioner uses to push the water outside.  (One side of my basement is at ground level, so that helps.)

 

I can normally keep it below 40% with just one unit, but when it rains I use both to be sure.

 

That and keeping it clean should do a great deal to help the musty smell.

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On 4/5/2020 at 8:57 PM, Tyrel Cody said:

That's where my reloading room is, I haven't noticed any issues reloading. I do have a couple of vents from my central unit blowing in the area. It's around 70 degrees all the time and 40-50% humidity.

 

Same here. Just empty the bucket about every 3 days. I use the water to wet tumble my brass in. I have been doing this for 31 years with no issues.

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run one and if there is a drain close by use plastic pipe to feed the distilled condensate  directly into the drain , keeps the trap full  and prevents oders , most of them have a knockout and clamp-able nipple on the pan you can attach the hose to , 

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I'm in northwest Ohio -- I have my reloading area in the basement (it's finished) and use a dehumidifier with a drain going to the sump pump crock.  I use a small, wall-mounted gas heater for heat.  I keep the humidity set at 45-55%, as the basement is also my music room, and all my guitars hang on the wall.  45-55% is ideal for guitars.  It's very comfortable and no musty smell.

 

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Pard, the air where I live is so dry, I actually should install a humidifier.  The dry air here often becomes electrically charged -- lightning is the #2 cause of accidental death (diseases, etc. are not included in accidents), with only car accidents topping it.  Whenever I load black powder cartridges I use a brass measurer that I would normally use with my muzzleloader -- no automatic measurers for the Holy Black!  

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On 4/7/2020 at 1:35 PM, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

I bought a dehumidifier.  You need to buy the size dependent on the volume of your room.  I'm in North central Georgia where it is a lot wetter than the Texas Panhandle, so if we can do it, you should be able to as well.

 

My larger unit failed several years ago and it was more costly to replace, so I got 2 separate 30 quart units.  They are set up to drain automatically to the little sump pump that my ari conditioner uses to push the water outside.  (One side of my basement is at ground level, so that helps.)

 

I can normally keep it below 40% with just one unit, but when it rains I use both to be sure.

 

That and keeping it clean should do a great deal to help the musty smell.

 

I spent three summers at FT Benning.  YOU CAN KEEP GEORGIA!!!!

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On 4/5/2020 at 7:37 PM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Respectfully,  find another room.

It's not worth the 'battle'.

OLG 

haha i thought you meant a different forum so i havent check the answers in a while. 

 

 

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Geez - I never knew you could load with a dehumidifier - and here I spent a butt-load of money on a progressive press .......

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If y'all are worried about pulling water out of the floor drain, just pour a tablespoon of vegetable oil into the drain and the oil will prevent the water from evaporating.

I do this to floor drains in all of my buildings to prevent sewer gas from backing up into the buildings. 

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On 4/7/2020 at 7:24 PM, Ya Big Tree said:

 

Same here. Just empty the bucket about every 3 days. I use the water to wet tumble my brass in. I have been doing this for 31 years with no issues.

I also use dehumidifier water for wet tumbling.  It's essentially distilled water.

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On 4/17/2020 at 1:26 PM, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

Ya certainly didn't have the best introduction.

 

The Army stuff notwithstanding, the heat and humidity are killer.  I live at 7400 feet of elevation.  The humidity is near zero, and when it's hot in the summer, as soon as the sun goes behind the mountain it's cool.  Georgia is HOT and HUMID and it's like that all year round.

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11 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

 

The Army stuff notwithstanding, the heat and humidity are killer.  I live at 7400 feet of elevation.  The humidity is near zero, and when it's hot in the summer, as soon as the sun goes behind the mountain it's cool.  Georgia is HOT and HUMID and it's like that all year round.


If you didn’t like Georgia, you’d HATE Central Florida!

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22 minutes ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:


If you didn’t like Georgia, you’d HATE Central Florida!

Probably so.  I avoid hot places when possible, and humid places at all costs.  Combining them together is exactly how I imagine hell would be.

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