We have a 6 year old home that has a very cold (64 F)and medium high humidity(75%) in the FINISHED BASEMENT ONLY. The main (upper) floor level is fine even when there is a heat wave outside. Because the home is well insulated, and has the proper attic ventilation,etc, the main level will usually stay at 72-74 F and 60% rh. But the basement is so cold and damp. We do not need or want A/C because this would make the basement even colder. We have heard of a “Humidex type, or a Venmar type ducted Fan that “draws “air from the upper level down to the basement level and expels this cool damp air from the basement low floor level to the outside, therefore warming the basement up and also lowering the rh….Anyone have any experience as to this Fan type ofappliance? Thanks for any reply. Hube
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But that fan would also cause outside air to be drawn into the house.
Don't know what the climate it, but in many areas that is hot and humid which probably doesn't help the overall situation.
What about a dehumidifier.
It removes moisture and supplies heat.
Bill; Thanks for the reply. I dont want to use a Dehumidifier, and by installing this Fan I know it will allow some infiltration in through the house, but it should also expel some moisture and warm the basement up if it works. My question is "does this Fan appliance work as they claim? Hube
Sounds like snake oil to me.
When you draw the upstairs air down to the basement, the relative humidity will INCREASE.
Two possible solutions come to mind. First would be to keep ground water away from the foundation. That would help keep your basement dry in the first place.
Second would be to run a dehumidifier in the basement to reduce the humidity.
You no more win a war than you can win an earthquake [Jeannette Rankin]
>> You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. [Jeannette Rankin]
But you can win an earthquake! The US, Japan, and other advanced countries routinely incur just a handful of deaths and injuries in earthquakes that would kill hundreds or thousands of people in places like Iran, Turkey, and Mexico.
But even if she's right, even if it's not possible to win a war, it is sure as h*** possible to lose one.
-----
PS - Your version of the quote is missing a word. It should be, "You can no more win ..."
O.K., so maybe you CAN win an earthquake.
But can you win a cold, damp basement ???New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move [David Letterman]
this is quickly becoming a conversation between men who think they understand women
;l)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
what sort of heating plant do you have? With a central forced air, you can swithc the unit to "fan only" and run it 'till the whole house is recircualted and stable. You can also have a dehumidifier and or AC in the trunk lines.
Without that option, i would say you need a dehumidifier in the celllar
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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Piffin; Thanks for the reply. I know I could run my furnace's fan on low speed and that would make the basement and upper level "parrallel" after a while of running low speed. I do not want to run a Dehumidifier, I want to find out if anyone has any actual experience with this Fan Type of appliance that expels the moist cold air and draws down the warmer dryer air from the upper level of the house. Hube
You have moisture wicking through the external basement walls and evaporating -- this accounts both for the temperature drop and for the higher humidity of the basement air.
IanDG
Yes ,I know what problem I have. I want to know if this Fan type appliance will work as they claim it will.Hube
Yes, I know what problem I have.
Then you'll realise that lowering the humidity of the air in the basement will increase the rate at which the moisture will wick through the wall.
IanDG
Dispite your objection to using a dehumidifier...
High capacity dehumidifier plumbed for the floor drain.
Sears makes a good one that allows the hose to be connected directly to the condensate drip source, bypassing the tank completely.
Has a 3-hour and 6-hour on/off timer, which makes it convenient to run it while the basement is not occupied.
An inexpensive 3-speed window box fan can help move the air around at floor level.
Your air circulating fan setup may work ONLY if your main floor air is conditioned.
If not, it will only raise the humidity level in your basement.
Edited 7/6/2004 6:54 pm ET by Ahneedhelp
Don't know about what you described, but why not a dehumidifier--fan blwos warm air. You can lead hose right to a drain, so you don't have to empty container.
Dan; Thanks for reply, but I dont' want to use a Dehumidifier. I want to use this special Fan that is supposed to do the job fairly quietly and no water to empty or drain. And supposed to use far less power too. I just need some info on it.Hube
Hube,
You can't rid of moisture in the air without a drain for the water you extract. There is no such thing as "just blowing the moist air out." The right way to do it is to prevent the moisture from entering your basement. Otherwise, get a dehumidifier. See below:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=basement+dehumidifier
Billy
Well I looked at their website.
Basic snake oil salemem. Lots and lots of fear tactics.
They put all home air/moisture problems into one basket and only offer one solution to solve all of those problems.
What they are saying does work in SOME CASES for SOME PROBLEMS.
They mentioned that causes "good air" to be drawn in from the outside.
But do you know that there is "good air" to be drawn in.
BTW, you can do the samething with a 19.95 bath fan and $15 duct kit.