In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.950130164312.19982D-100000@northpole.med.uvm.edu> "W.
Ray Gibbons" writes:
> OK, folks. I got the Aircraft Spruce catalog, and it is neat. But in
> regard to the Goldenrod Dehumidifiers--does anyone know how these things
> work (or if they *do* work)? It says, "This compact, low voltage
> dehumidifier is an ideal way to eliminate dampness....If installed...will
> eliminate moisture which leads to rust...Operates on standard 110V
> current...but uses four times less power than a standard light bulb." (I
> assume it means 1/4 the power of a standard light bulb, since four times
> less is three times less than nothing.)
>
> Be that as it may, 110V does not sound like low voltage to me. Is it just
> a low wattage heater??? And if that is all it is, how can it use less
> power than a light bulb--a watt's a watt, after all and ninety something %
> of the power used by a light bulb ends up as heat. A 15 watt goldenrod
> thingie and a 15 watt light bulb should use the same current and give off
> the same heat, within a percent or two, or else I slept through a critical
> physics lecture.
>
> If this gidget is supposed to work by warming the air so the relative
> humidity goes down, it might have some effect in a small, tight,
> well-insulated box, but it isn't going to do much for Kermit as he sits
> under an uninsulated sheet in an unheated garage. I may as well save my
> $35 for later rust repair. Or I may as well put a 15W bulb in an aluminum
> box inside Kermit--it won't do anything either, but it won't hurt and it
> won't cost $35. How about it, is this a scam?
>
> Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
> Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
> gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
>
>
Ray,
I went to West marine & looked at two different types of electric dehumidifiers.
One is a 115W heating coil in a ventalated enclosure. The other os the Golden
Rod which comes with differnt sized heating elements enclosed in a rod. And yes
they work by heating the air so the relative humitity goes down and the inside
of your car doesn't reach the dew point. You could do as well with a light bulb
& it'll cost a lot less. I was disappointed when i found out what they were.
I ended up purchasing a couple of chemical dessicant containers & am trying them
out. For a cool area, I guess a heating element is better than nothing and
might work if you have a small exhaust fan sitting at a window to exhaust the
warm moisture leaden air, & an opening near the bottom of the car to bring in
cooler (therefore lower moisture) air.
TeriAnn Wakeman Large format photographers look at the world
twakeman@apple.com upside down and backwards
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