How Can I Keep My Shop Dry?

Charles L said:
I just want to figure some inexpensive or reasonably inexpensive way to stop the rust without spending hundreds or thousands on a trial and error process. These responses have given me a lot to think about and I am interested in what others have done. Keep the responses coming.
Click to expand...
Oil
grease
cosmoline
car wax

heat, AC and ventilation are more effective, but oil will somewhat ork if you don't want to spend the money to do it right
-Page
 
Think of the mirror in the bathroom when showers are taken. The reason the mirror fogs is because it is cooler than the surrounding air. To stop the fogging requires you to a.)warm the mirror, or b.) keep the air around the mirror drier, so there is not as much vapor to condense on it.

Cool air is dry air, because it does not have the ability to hold as much moisture. I expect you have warm, moist, air coming in to the shop, and then cooling down inside. As the air cools, it lets go of some of it's moisture, because it can no longer hold it at the lower temperature. That leaves condensation on the tools.

You either need to a.)Raise the temps in the shop to above that of the surrounding air:D, b.)dehumidify the air in the shop, with A/C or dehumidifier, or c.) get a LOT of ventilation going, so the air does not have time to cool down and lose moisture, and any moisture can have air movement to help it leave. Think along the lines of a couple 5' floor fans, moving air in one end and out the other. Some powered roof vents can also let hot/moist air out.

I just realized you said you did not want to spend hundreds. Sorry. I expect though, that you will spend more by leaving expensive equipment around in that environment. I hope you get something figured out. You may be able to fix one small room though, for sensitive equipment, with a small a/c unit.
 
I am going to enclose one section of the shop so it will be insulated and air conditioned. It will house my KMG, drill press, (wood) band saw, paragon kiln. It is the other equipment I am worried about..my power hammer, treadle hammer, (metal) band saw, hydraulic press, anvil and stand. Those pieces cost more than the ones in the controlled environment. After reading "Any Cal." response I believe the problem is during the day a temp up to and over 100 degrees then at night it cools down to 80-85 degrees so condensation must build up on some of the equipment at night. I know there is no moisture on the equipment during the day because it is too hot for it to form. So, if moisture is forming at night, I need to figure out how to stop that. I do run a large shop fan and a large blower when in the shop during the day. Otherwise it would be too hot to stay in it. Again, thanks for all the replies and I did not mean to take over someones posts on the forum.
 
I forgot to mention how industry often prevents rust on equipment in high humidity areas where condensation is a problem - Cover It Up. Put a big sheet of plastic over it when not in use. Cost is a couple bucks. It will eliminate the problem, 90%.A quick spray of some light rust preventative oil on exposed bare metal at the end of the day (Dies, rams, and saw beds) will help,too. I use fitted covers on two anvils,a big metal saw,post mounted buffer,horizontal grinder, post vise, big machinist vise, and forge. They are merely BBQ grill covers I buy at Home Depot ( from $5 to $15 each). They are often on sale at the end of the summer season.Get the heavy duty type if possible - they last longer and have an insulating layer. The equipment mentioned is outside in the smithy and exposed to the elements and has not rusted in many years of use.The metal cutting band saw and post buffer are on an open deck with no overhead protection at all. If you look in some hardware and homeware catalogs, you can find patio furniture, BBQ, and air conditioner covers that will cover most any shape and size of equipment...or just use a tarp and a bungee cord.
My setup is very much like your,in a way. I have a 24'X10' smithy area with the center 8' covered and the 8' side decks open. I have a 8'X8' "grinding room" built next to it that is tight and dry.....with a power fan. Then there is the 12'X8' storage room, which is dry, and has a small ventilation fan. Between the two rooms is a covered corridor (making a three sided room) with a work counter to put the HT oven on. The area below the counter is enclosed to store the oven and casting equipment. There is no AC, and the only heat is when I fire up the propane burner during the worst of winter to forge in something above freezing.This arrangement has kept my equipment dry and rust free for years.
Stacy
 
Last edited:
thanks guys.... i guess i need to epoxy coat the floor because i think i have some coming in through it... so i guess i should put somegutters inand keep it from pooling around the shop in the first place.

and once the electric is in and i can actually run a dehumidifier all the time and the fans and ac etc.

thanks again guys keep em coming. good to hear new ideas
 
spray your machinery LIBERALLY with aerosol silicone lube and then wiping it down will prevent rust in a shop with moisture problems. Keeps all the moving (metal on metal) bits gliding smoothly too.

a floor fan exhuasting to the outdoors can help too.
 
I live in Northern Wisconsin and my shop is concrete as well. I have to agree with Stacy the ventilation is a great start for sure. If you keep the air moving it is less likely to condensate. I have two ceiling fans that run all the time and a wall fan and ceiling power vent that I run when working. I have had good luck even in the humid summers to manage condensation and rust with moving air.
 
Mike I have the same thing every summer going on and I don't get out side ground water.
like Any cal said the cold cement attracts the moisture from the out side air from your doors being opened or any way it can get in side or moisture from a source with in.... remember tyvec or typar or any house wrap has holes in it, using this stuff, your vapor barrier should be on the inside you don't want a vapor barrier on both the inside and the out side of your walls at the same time that will rot your studs out and everything connected to them. house wrap on the outside and backed insulation on the inside for your barrier or plastic.

I keep the place buttoned up tight and just wait for a cool dry night every so often and open it up again to dry it out and cool the floor back off, it will dry out the floor as fast as a few hours, I'd rather the floor collect the moisture then my tools, I like it cool in side that's why I do this instead of what I should be doing which is getting the cement floor warmer than out side on dry days..
painting the floor won't help if it's because of it attracting the moisture in the first place because of it being colder than the out side... lake water ( inthe way of more moisture in the air)does present a problem also as mentioned in that case as said at least a dehumidifier but keep in mind those will heat the place up a few degs also.. AC is the best way though to fix it for good., like said above..

2 gallons of pherric chloride on the floor will cause a rusting problem for sure :eek:
 
like this morning :D :thumbup: taking advantage of..
50 F out this morning at 6:00 AM low humidity and the doors are wide open the cement floors are viably dry with-in an hour and cooling off.. some different than 36 hours ago, in the 90's and high humidity :mad: :)
 
did mike forget to mention that he never closes the door:D not to mention that brother inlaw..whew.. a piece of work that one:rolleyes:
Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top