Larrivee vs Martin

Lewy · January 2017

thomasross20 said:

How noisy is it (if noisy, do you turn it off at night?) and does it make a noticeable difference in energy bills?

I'm getting a loan of one off a guy at work for a week so will see how it does. No point spending thousands on guitars and skimping on something like a dehumidifier!

It's pretty quiet on the low power setting. I don't run it at night. My guitars are snug in their cases that protect them from fluctuations effectively (monitored by humiditrak) and then run it as and when I want to reduce humidity in the room. The unit can take it from 60% to 45% in minutes. Sometimes I'll run it for a couple of hours with all the cases open as this has proved the best way of keeping the cases dry and not soaking up moisture over time.

ToneControl · January 2017

if you google "ideal room humidity", there are loads of links
They all say about the same, 40%-50%

http://www.thermastor.com/information/relative-humidity-and-your-home.aspx

paganskins · January 2017

Lewy said:

I have an older version of this one, which does a good job:

http://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/cd20le/electriq-cd20le-dehumidifier?refsource=Apadwords&gclid=CM-ExOHitNECFYwy0wodgj8Irg

Thanks for the link, they've got a January sale and I've just ordered a dehumidifier for less than half the price I was expecting to pay

thomasross20 · January 2017

The meter's showed 73% the last few days.
Will defo try it in another room and try calibration. ALso another one for reference and try this dehumidifier when I get it.

ToneControl · January 2017

I would not be happy above 60% for any guitar

thomasross20 · January 2017

Yeah, I'm not happy. Hope to get this resolved pronto. The loan of the dehumidifier will keep me going in the short term.

thomasross20 · January 2017

https://www.neptunecigar.com/tips/how-to-calibrate-your-adjustable-digital-hygrometer
http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/dehumidifiers/article/how-to-buy-the-best-dehumidifier
http://www.dehumidifier-reviews.co.uk/
http://www.fixmyroof.co.uk/videos-and-guides/condensation-cure/best-dehumidifier/

I'm going for dessicant as it's often lower temp in the room and they seem to be lighter and quieter and more efficient at lower temps. Best Buy:
http://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/meaco-dd8l-domestic-desiccant-dehumidifier-which-magazine-best-buy-2014.html?___SID=U

These two seem to be the best on the market:
http://byemould.com/2015/02/23/ecoair-dd122mk5-and-meaco-dd8l-differences/
DC12 is another.

thomasross20 · January 2017

So I calibrated it.. well, there's no button for calibration but I can add or subtract known error.

Using the salt cap method in a tub, it reads 77% when it should be 75%, so I know the unit itself is ok.

Going to go with an ecoair dessicant unit - I do hear dessicant have worse reliability but everything else about them seems better. The mk5 is the most popular but I'm all about space and simplicity so will likely get the smaller DD122.

thomasross20 · January 2017

Another data point.
Humidity at work using the same hygrometer is showing 46%.
Going to order the dehumidifier today.

Ordered ecoair (apparently better customer service than meaco) dd1 mini.

thomasross20 · January 2017

Just got the dd122 mini delivered today.
Haven't put it in yet but I'm glad I got the mini one - a nice size!

thomasross20 · January 2017

This thing is brilliant, I'll take a pic later.
Humidity already down to 58%, as low as it's ever been!

CHRISB50 · January 2017

Dehumidifier in dehumidifying shocker

thomasross20 · January 2017

Best bit of kit I've bought in ages lol.

richardhomer · January 2017

Just waiting for the 'all my guitars need their trussrods adjusting' thread....

CHRISB50 · January 2017

thomasross20 said:

Best bit of kit I've bought in ages lol.

They are a very worthwhile bit of kit, with a decent acoustic in the house.

ToneControl · January 2017

have you bought a hygrostat to go with the dehumidifier?
I think your one stops at 40% - OK, but 45% or 50% would be ideal

ICBM · January 2017

I would certainly be concerned by going straight from 65+ to 40% over a short period. That could cause issues with more than just the truss rods needing adjustment.

thomasross20 · January 2017

I've got two (now) hygrometers..

Well fear not. Overnight it has gone back up to 70%!! WTF.
Yesterday I left it on with the door closed and set it to 8 hours full blast.
Over night the door was open.
Maybe I need to set it on full blast with all the doors open to dry out the whole flat a bit more..
Damn.. This is going to take a week or more, I reckon.

richardhomer · January 2017

thomasross20 said:

I've got two (now) hygrometers..

Well fear not. Overnight it has gone back up to 70%!! WTF.
Yesterday I left it on with the door closed and set it to 8 hours full blast.
Over night the door was open.
Maybe I need to set it on full blast with all the doors open to dry out the whole flat a bit more..
Damn.. This is going to take a week or more, I reckon.

Is your landlord Rigsby, by any chance?

ChrisMusic · January 2017

It definitely sounds like there are issues with your flat, or at least that room.

It would make sense to get that sorted 'at source' if possible, you will have less corrective work to do and lower your risk if the tech fails, or you forget to switch it on...

thomasross20 · January 2017

Just to be clear, girlfriend had a guy come round from the housing association and there were no reported problems for damp or mould.

That might have been before we got the new bathroom fitted.

Edit - turns out that was we got the new bathroom, however the guy checked the kitchen only.

-> again.. last night it was on for 8 hours, bringing the level down to 55% but this morning it's back to 70%

ToneControl · January 2017

thomasross20 said:

Just to be clear, girlfriend had a guy come round from the housing association and there were no reported problems for damp or mould.

That might have been before we got the new bathroom fitted.

Edit - turns out that was we got the new bathroom, however the guy checked the kitchen only.

-> again.. last night it was on for 8 hours, bringing the level down to 55% but this morning it's back to 70%

I am being repetitive, so I apologise, but in the winter, I am not aware of any reason to have 70% humidity indoors unless you have penetrating or rising damp, or you are drying a lot of washing indoors. (I assume you are not running a restaurant)
I the house is incredibly well insulated and airtight, you may get some increase in RH (not 70% though I think). Do you have double glazing with no vents?

I have the mirror image problem:
in a 1920 house with no damp problems, run at a constant 22C, I have to keep my guitar room door closed in the winter, to avoid the humidifiers trying to humidify the whole house. If I leave the door open, humidity rapidly drops to 35% or below

thomasross20 · January 2017

It's OK

How can one get rooms treated for damp?

We had a guy check the kitchen a month ago, which was ok, but it was part of another service.

I do believe it's double glazing on all but the living room windows and there are some small vents.

I'm hoping after a week it will be ok but I'm starting to have doubts. The room is right next to the bathroom, which does have a fan, but it gets really steamy in there.

I don't know what's worse.. too high or too low. Probably too low as mentioned earlier as it can crack wood.

ToneControl · January 2017

these things can be crazy

our family have the old family 1 storey cottage, hand built a 100 years ago, and modernised in the 70s

It had terrible damp, they spent lots of time and money looking at the roof, gutters, walls

In the end then found it was the water main, under the floor, just slowly leaking

With 70% I'm surprised you don't have mould on the walls

thomasross20 · January 2017

So am I!
I must find out if there's a quick and cheap way to get this checked.

thomasross20 · January 2017

Guy is coming tomorrow to check for problems.
If the window in the room is left open all day, humidity drops to 56% but it returns to 70%+ by morning.
Also found a good two-prong damp detector on Amazon for £20.

thomasross20 · January 2017

On another note, one girl in our acoustic trio has a mini guitar like my old Little Martin. Must admit I miss that guitar.. so small and easy to play, but sound-wise it doesn't stand up the Larrivee. A shame.

ICBM · January 2017

thomasross20 said:

Guy is coming tomorrow to check for problems.
If the window in the room is left open all day, humidity drops to 56% but it returns to 70%+ by morning.

You've got a definite problem if the inside is damper than the outside of a building in Scotland in January...

thomasross20 · January 2017

Yeah !! Well, let's see what the guy says tomorrow..

thomasross20 · February 2017

Thought I'd update this.
Turns out our free external wall coating (a year back) on the building traps moisture a lot more. Leaving the window open for hours brings the humidity back down to 55% or so. Overnight even prior to having a shower in the morning, our breathing in the room takes it back to 62%+. A guy from the council left two data recorders and we have all the data (temp, humidity vs time) and nothing looks amiss, as such. We're moving house, but it was good to get the info, anyway.

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Larrivee vs Martin

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