Workshop Humidity

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colinc":27z30rn8 said:
the same as the humidity of the place your product is going to live in? Otherwise the wood will re-size as it adjusts.
Not sure that's so simple to achieve though.
Probably about right, but not an exact science. My 'shop has a dehumidifier running 365/24/7 which drains into a soak-away under the floor. No idea what the RH is but I don't have problems with condensation ('shop heated, sealed and well insulated) on metalwork. I ought to get hold of one of those meters though....
 
25% RH is dry. Very dry. Those are the kind of readings that you would expect in a very cold winter. My workshop rarely sees those kind of readings. It went down to around 35% in the recent cold weather but it's back up to around 45% now. In the summer it can easily reach 70% RH. It's easy enough to get the Humidity up from say 35% to 45%. It's much harder to get it to drop though. Any largish workshop and you are likely to need an industrial dehumidifier.
 
I visited my sister in Auckland, and commented that the bedding and my clothes in the wardrobe were damp. I noticed a hygrometer which informed me that the humidity was 90%. She said it was just as well I wasn't there when it was high.
 
Apparently RH of under 70% is necessary to keep rust at bay. Our dehumidifier keeps the workshop between 50 and 60% RH maximum, and we are rust free. The machine actually runs mainly in spring and autumn, although it is left on all the time. Today RH is ~45% so it's not running, but standing by, and the timber in the workshop is around 7% according to my cheapie meter. It's quite damp here in Devon and we need a dehumidifier indoors as well, to stop mildew in cupboards.
 
An Australian friend in Sydney earlier in the week said the humidity reached 100% in his workshop last week. (His workshop is the garage which is part of the residence. )
 

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