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Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside)
but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. I'll probably run it mainly at night in case the noise is annoying in the living room. Does anyone have any "experimental results" with something like this? Any tips or suggestions? Will an extractor fan wear out quickly if it's run for a long period every night? |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Adam Funk wrote:
I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. Wouldn't a humidistat-controlled version be more appropriate? David |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 30 Apr, 14:24, Adam Funk wrote:
I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. I'll probably run it mainly at night in case the noise is annoying in the living room. Does anyone have any "experimental results" with something like this? Any tips or suggestions? Will an extractor fan wear out quickly if it's run for a long period every night? My cellar used to be dampish - not too bad in fact, as cellars go, but I wanted to put a washing machine, tumble dryer and freezer down there, and I didn't want things going rusty. I've got a small dehumidifier with a humidistat down there - one of these http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...10204&ts=50530 It has done the job well, and now doesn't need to come on very much to keep things under control. It's plumbed in, so I tend to forget about it. I can't comment from experience on the extractor fan idea, although I can't see why it wouldn't work. I know from the bathroom versions that they are annoyingly noisy though, and unless you have a big house you may well be able to hear it in the bedroom. I can hear the fan in our downstairs loo in a bedroom two floors up and through two closed doors and some fairly solid victorian walls, but I could just be over- sensitive. However, if the fan is going to run all night as a long term measure you could probably run it much more slowly and quietly. The dehumidifier is only audible in the cellar itself. Cheers! Martin |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:24:37 +0100, Adam Funk
mused: I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. I'll probably run it mainly at night in case the noise is annoying in the living room. Does anyone have any "experimental results" with something like this? Any tips or suggestions? Will an extractor fan wear out quickly if it's run for a long period every night? I'd have thought a dehumidifier would be a better choice. -- Regards, Stuart. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
"Lurch" wrote in message ... On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:24:37 +0100, Adam Funk mused: I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. I'll probably run it mainly at night in case the noise is annoying in the living room. Does anyone have any "experimental results" with something like this? Any tips or suggestions? Will an extractor fan wear out quickly if it's run for a long period every night? I'd have thought a dehumidifier would be a better choice. -- Regards, Stuart. Oh for a decent cellar. Why don't modern houses have them - then we could put the car in the garage. Cellars are ideal places for boilers - who thought that putting them is a small kitchen was a good idea?? |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
In article ,
Owain writes: Get a big 8" or 10" through-the-wall fan from Xpelair or VentAxia, designed for commercial use and priced accordingly. They should run 12 hours a day for years and be almost inaudible (except for when the backdraught shutter snaps shut). The 4" £20 ones from the DIY shed will start squealing, or burn out and start a fire, or cause other distressing nastinesses. I was about to post exactly the same response. Backdraught shutters now seem to be operated by a thermal solenoid, so you don't get the loud bang of a magnetic solenoid anymore. OP probably doesn't need one with shutters in any case. I picked up a very nice 6" Vent Axia from Cash Converters for £10, original box, full instructions, etc. It turned out to be about 10 years old, but had never been used (and was old enough to still have the magnetic solenoid shutters). It was intended for fitting in double glazing, but is now mounted in my garage wall, with a few minor modifications. This model is still sold (now with thermal solenoid) for over £100. It's certainly not inaudiable though -- it's a high throughput model. -- Andrew Gabriel [email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup] |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article , Owain writes: Get a big 8" or 10" through-the-wall fan from Xpelair or VentAxia, designed for commercial use and priced accordingly. They should run 12 hours a day for years and be almost inaudible (except for when the backdraught shutter snaps shut). The 4" £20 ones from the DIY shed will start squealing, or burn out and start a fire, or cause other distressing nastinesses. I was about to post exactly the same response. Backdraught shutters now seem to be operated by a thermal solenoid, so you don't get the loud bang of a magnetic solenoid anymore. OP probably doesn't need one with shutters in any case. I picked up a very nice 6" Vent Axia from Cash Converters for £10, original box, full instructions, etc. It turned out to be about 10 years old, but had never been used (and was old enough to still have the magnetic solenoid shutters). It was intended for fitting in double glazing, but is now mounted in my garage wall, with a few minor modifications. This model is still sold (now with thermal solenoid) for over £100. It's certainly not inaudiable though -- it's a high throughput model. I would have thought unobstructed air bricks back and front would give enough natural airflow. Maybe put extra ones in. I can't see that a fan is the way to go. Better to try and find out why it's damp. A rainwater drain might be blocked etc. If there are no obvious signs of water, check the general condition of floor and walls. The palm of the hand is as good as anything for detecting damp |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-04-30, Lobster wrote:
Adam Funk wrote: I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. Wouldn't a humidistat-controlled version be more appropriate? Possibly --- I'll look into that. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-04-30, Lurch wrote:
I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. .... I'd have thought a dehumidifier would be a better choice. I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-04-30, Owain wrote:
Get a big 8" or 10" through-the-wall fan from Xpelair or VentAxia, designed for commercial use and priced accordingly. They should run 12 hours a day for years and be almost inaudible (except for when the backdraught shutter snaps shut). Is it possible to get a high-quality one with a small diameter (around 4")? The front air brick is flush with the front of the house but recessed (when you look at it from inside the cellar) in a hole just bigger than two bricks --- so I want to mount the fan in a board, screw the board to the wall over the hole, and probably caulk around it. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:24:37 +0100, Adam Funk wrote:
|!I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) |!but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of |!the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary |!(controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. Try to find out where the water comes from, almost certainly Ground Water, which means that you are drying not only the walls, but 50 ft of soil behind the wall, so it may never dry out completely, in the West Riding some cellars flood periodically depending on how wet or dry the year is. Some were dry between WWI and WWII when it was dry and damp after WWII when it was wetter -- Dave Fawthrop sf hyphenologist.co.uk 165 *Free* SF ebooks. 165 Sci Fi books on CDROM, from Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page Completely Free to any address in the UK. Contact me on the *above* email address. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Tue, 1 May 2007 12:30:24 +0100, Adam Funk
mused: On 2007-04-30, Lurch wrote: I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. ... I'd have thought a dehumidifier would be a better choice. I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! You can get dehumidifiers with pumps built in, failing that though an automatic pump is an easy addition. You just want a condensate pump from a plumbers merchants. -- Regards, Stuart. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
In message , Lurch
writes You can get dehumidifiers with pumps built in, failing that though an automatic pump is an easy addition. You just want a condensate pump from a plumbers merchants. Keeping in mind there are a few types. The solenoid type makes a loud rasp when it runs while other types like the peristaltic ones are pretty much silent. -- Clive Mitchell http://www.bigclive.com |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 1 May, 12:30, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2007-04-30, Lurch wrote: I have a damp cellar with some ventilation (air bricks to the outside) but not enough, so I'm planning to mount an extractor fan in one of the air brick recesses, then run it as much of the time as necessary (controlled by a timer) to dry out the cellar. ... I'd have thought a dehumidifier would be a better choice. I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! Ventilation will bring the cellar down to exterior temp, and you'll then lose lotsa heat through the living area floors. IOW a fan will cost you much more than a dehumidifier to run. A condensate pump will solve the tank emptying problem. NT |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
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Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-05-01, Lurch wrote:
I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! You can get dehumidifiers with pumps built in, Really, where? (I haven't seen any.) failing that though an automatic pump is an easy addition. You just want a condensate pump from a plumbers merchants. When I was looking into this last time, the plumbing supplier I phoned (just before the old dehumidifier died) seemed a little surprised I thought he would have such a thing. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Adam Funk wrote:
On 2007-05-01, Lurch wrote: I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! You can get dehumidifiers with pumps built in, Really, where? (I haven't seen any.) failing that though an automatic pump is an easy addition. You just want a condensate pump from a plumbers merchants. When I was looking into this last time, the plumbing supplier I phoned (just before the old dehumidifier died) seemed a little surprised I thought he would have such a thing. The whole concept is flawed in my view. You're simply sucking in air from outside through the air bricks. Sure, you'll create reassuringly large amounts of water but it won't make the cellar any drier. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2 May, 12:22, Stuart Noble wrote:
The whole concept is flawed in my view. You're simply sucking in air from outside through the air bricks. Sure, you'll create reassuringly large amounts of water but it won't make the cellar any drier. My cellar is drier with a dehumidifier than it was before. I keep some tools down there, and they no longer develop the slight coating of rust that they used to. I take the point about it not being wholly efficient unless it operates in a sealed room. But the same logic applies to running the central heating - why bother, all the heat only ends up going through the roof in the end? |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Martin Pentreath wrote:
On 2 May, 12:22, Stuart Noble wrote: The whole concept is flawed in my view. You're simply sucking in air from outside through the air bricks. Sure, you'll create reassuringly large amounts of water but it won't make the cellar any drier. My cellar is drier with a dehumidifier than it was before. I keep some tools down there, and they no longer develop the slight coating of rust that they used to. I take the point about it not being wholly efficient unless it operates in a sealed room. But the same logic applies to running the central heating - why bother, all the heat only ends up going through the roof in the end? Yes, it's all compromise but I would think air bricks in the cellar would be the equivalent of having all the windows in the house wide open. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-05-02, Martin Pentreath wrote:
On 2 May, 12:22, Stuart Noble wrote: The whole concept is flawed in my view. You're simply sucking in air from outside through the air bricks. Sure, you'll create reassuringly large amounts of water but it won't make the cellar any drier. My cellar is drier with a dehumidifier than it was before. I keep some tools down there, and they no longer develop the slight coating of rust that they used to. Mine was a lot drier when the dehumidifier was running too. I take the point about it not being wholly efficient unless it operates in a sealed room. But the same logic applies to running the central heating - why bother, all the heat only ends up going through the roof in the end? Good one. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 1 May, 11:00, Stuart Noble wrote:
Andrew Gabriel wrote: In article , Owain writes: Get a big 8" or 10" through-the-wall fan from Xpelair or VentAxia, designed for commercial use and priced accordingly. They should run 12 hours a day for years and be almost inaudible (except for when the backdraught shutter snaps shut). The 4" £20 ones from the DIY shed will start squealing, or burn out and start a fire, or cause other distressing nastinesses. I was about to post exactly the same response. Backdraught shutters now seem to be operated by a thermal solenoid, so you don't get the loud bang of a magnetic solenoid anymore. OP probably doesn't need one with shutters in any case. I picked up a very nice 6" Vent Axia from Cash Converters for £10, original box, full instructions, etc. It turned out to be about 10 years old, but had never been used (and was old enough to still have the magnetic solenoid shutters). It was intended for fitting in double glazing, but is now mounted in my garage wall, with a few minor modifications. This model is still sold (now with thermal solenoid) for over £100. It's certainly not inaudiable though -- it's a high throughput model. I would have thought unobstructed air bricks back and front would give enough natural airflow. Maybe put extra ones in. I can't see that a fan is the way to go. Better to try and find out why it's damp. A rainwater drain might be blocked etc. If there are no obvious signs of water, check the general condition of floor and walls. The palm of the hand is as good as anything for detecting damp Perhaps it's underground or something! Who can say, I guess it could be one of those above ground cellars, but they seem to be getting ever so rare these days. Did it never occur to you that rain sometimes falls on the earth making it damp on the outside of the cellar and maybe (just maybe) some of this water is coming in hence the damp! Alternatively could be a damaged downpipe, one of those ones that reaches the ground and then just carries on down! Fash |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 2007-05-02, Stuart Noble wrote:
When I was looking into this last time, the plumbing supplier I phoned (just before the old dehumidifier died) seemed a little surprised I thought he would have such a thing. The whole concept is flawed in my view. You're simply sucking in air from outside through the air bricks. Sure, you'll create reassuringly large amounts of water but it won't make the cellar any drier. YMMV, but in my experience, the cellar was a lot drier with a running dehumidifier (and the bother of emptying the tank every day) than it is now (with a few air bricks, but no fan or dehumidifier). |
Dehumidifier with pump (was: Running an extractor fan for long periods, damp cellar)
[Adam]
I had a dehumidifier and was thinking about getting an automatic pump, because I was tired of emptying the tank every day and because it would fill up and shut off when I was away --- but the dehumidifier failed recently, so I'm looking for an easy, low-maintenance solution! On 2007-05-01, Lurch wrote: You can get dehumidifiers with pumps built in, failing that though an automatic pump is an easy addition. You just want a condensate pump from a plumbers merchants. I eventually found a dehumidifier with a built-in pump at a large B&Q. It was £200, which sounds like a lot, but I thought it wasn't too bad in comparison with the prices of a decent dehumidifier and a separate pump, plus the work to fit the two together. It's a "three-way" model: you can (1) unplug a drain hole in the back to run the water away by gravity, (2) leave it as it comes to empty the 6-litre tank by hand, or (3) plug the inlet into the tank to get the pump to run whenever a (presumably much smaller) tank inside fills up. The pump has a maximum head of 1.65 m. I slightly underestimated the height of the air brick I wanted to run the hose out through, so I ended up putting the dehumidifier up on a heavy-duty shelf. It mysteriously leaked a lot of water one evening right after I'd moved it there (and let it settle for over an hour before plugging it back in, although that's to protect the compressor rather than the pump, AIUI). So I switched it off, looked to see if I could figure out where it was leaking, gave up, and tried again later --- it has worked fine since then. The cellar is now drying out reasonably well after something like two months of accrued damp with no dehumidifier. Unfortunately this dehumidifier, which is rated at 60 litres/day, draws 600 W (and increases the temperature down there by 2 or 3 C) when the compressor and fan are running (I doubt the pump adds much more). I've turned the humidistat back from "full blast" and will consider running it on a timer for E7 too. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
replying to Stuart Noble, Ian Bowden wrote:
The only proper way to dry (and maintain) a cellar is *ventilation*. You should draw air in one end and pump out at the other if you do not have any other method or form of doing so. -- for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy...ar-391177-.htm |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Monday, 20 January 2020 16:14:05 UTC, Ian Bowden wrote:
replying to Stuart Noble, Ian Bowden wrote: The only proper way to dry (and maintain) a cellar is *ventilation*. You should draw air in one end and pump out at the other if you do not have any other method or form of doing so. a) wrong b) 13 years too late |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Yes must have been home owners club again, but I've blocked a lot of those.
Brian -- ----- -- This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from... The Sofa of Brian Gaff... Blind user, so no pictures please Note this Signature is meaningless.! wrote in message ... On Monday, 20 January 2020 16:14:05 UTC, Ian Bowden wrote: replying to Stuart Noble, Ian Bowden wrote: The only proper way to dry (and maintain) a cellar is *ventilation*. You should draw air in one end and pump out at the other if you do not have any other method or form of doing so. a) wrong b) 13 years too late |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
replying to Ian Bowden, sarah burgin wrote:
Hi Stuart, do you have a recommendation for a good supplier please -- for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy...ar-391177-.htm |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
And your recommendation would be?
-- For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy...ar-391177-.htm |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
Get a decent news supplier and post a quote from what you are replying to.
Brian -- -- This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from... The Sofa of Brian Gaff... Blind user, so no pictures please Note this Signature is meaningless.! "Paul" wrote in message roupdirect.com... And your recommendation would be? -- For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy...ar-391177-.htm |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 02/09/2020 20:00, Paul wrote:
And your recommendation would be? It makes no sense to ask someone who replied 13 years ago! -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Thursday, 3 September 2020 10:36:38 UTC+1, alan_m wrote:
On 02/09/2020 20:00, Paul wrote: And your recommendation would be? It makes no sense to ask someone who replied 13 years ago! It makes even less sense than that. The poster didn't even bother telling us what they wanted a recommendation for! It's a HOHer. NT |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
A dehumidifier uses much more energy than a fan. My dehumidifier uses 330 Watts on low, a fan is usually less than 10 watts
-- For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy...ar-391177-.htm |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Sun, 25 Oct 2020 23:01:22 +0000
Damian wrote: A dehumidifier uses much more energy than a fan. My dehumidifier uses 330 Watts on low, a fan is usually less than 10 watts 13 years is certainly long enough to test the endurance of the fan. -- Davey. |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Sunday, 25 October 2020 23:01:25 UTC, Damian wrote:
A dehumidifier uses much more energy than a fan. My dehumidifier uses 330 Watts on low, a fan is usually less than 10 watts No, it uses more power than a fan. What matters is energy, not power. NT |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On 25/10/2020 23:01, Damian wrote:
A dehumidifier uses much more energy than a fan. My dehumidifier uses 330 Watts on low, a fan is usually less than 10 watts Yes, but... An extractor fan is taking warm air from your house and throwing it away. This is being replaced by cold air from outside. That's likely to be a lot more than 10 watts. A dehumidifier is using (in your case) 330W, but that all ends up inside the house. In fact even more than that ends up in the house, as you get back the latent heat of evaporation of all the condensed water. Andy |
Running an extractor fan for long periods (damp cellar)?
On Tuesday, 27 October 2020 21:23:32 UTC, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 25/10/2020 23:01, Damian wrote: A dehumidifier uses much more energy than a fan. My dehumidifier uses 330 Watts on low, a fan is usually less than 10 watts Yes, but... An extractor fan is taking warm air from your house and throwing it away. This is being replaced by cold air from outside. That's likely to be a lot more than 10 watts. A dehumidifier is using (in your case) 330W, but that all ends up inside the house. In fact even more than that ends up in the house, as you get back the latent heat of evaporation of all the condensed water. Andy and the fan must run for far more time to get less effect. NT |
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