Workshop air conditioning

hello all.

Some years ago I converted my garage into an office, this included the fitting of an air conditioning unit.. As the years passed the office got used less and less until I finally dumped the desk in favour of a bench..

I use the air condition as a dehumidifier on a regular basis, but the last few times I have used the heating function it seems to emit a great deal of water vapour, so much so that all the windows mist up..

I have never noticed this as a problem so am thinking I need to call an engineer,

does anyone have any experience of this..

Is the heating function a separate system within the air con unit ? Is the heater just a simple electric element and nothing to do with the air conditioning ?

I suspect the condensate drain from working in cooling mode and condensing vapour is partly blocked leaving a reservoir of water to be blown in when you switch over.

Modern domestic life is full of such traps. Check the drain for your auto-defrost fridge while you are about it.

This is a common problem on condensing gas boilers for anyone starting up their CH and having it inexplicitly cut out after a short time or in icy weather when the outlet pipe freezes.

And if your washing machine cuts out full of water then it's the little plastic tube ging up to the pressure switch that tells it when to stop filling (there is also a timer to stop it filling forever) which gets blocked by soap scum.

Finally on Landrovers the heater air inlet is on the wing top to catch rain and has a drain below that gets plugged by leaf detritis and dead bugs.

This is a common problem, often down to high humidity, but first check the drain pipe to the outside. We have an air conditioner/ heater using a heat pump for heating mode and have never had the misting problem, plenty of other probs. tho', anybody know how to get wiring diagrams for these things? Please don't suggest the makers.

Hello.

Spoke to the air con people, basically it sounds like something that has always been there..

Workshop is a little damp, warms up quickly creating condensation, just never remember it being this bad..

Anyway, back to the oil can..

Possibly you could use the car demisting technique: set to recirculate and turn on the a/c, which condenses out the moisture. My car does this when it's set to auto demisting, the aircon switches on even if the heater is going. The windows clear like magic even though the air is warmed.

Either way, I'd say an aircon system is capable of changing temperature so quickly you're bound to be crossing the dew point multiple times in a day - I'd avoid this at all costs. a gentle background heater able to maintain a low temperature and another gentle/moderate heater for comfort when your actually in there seems to be a popular choice -

I still haven't sorted anything for my garage but I leave a dehumidifier on 24/7, it only turn on when humidity is over a certain level (about 60-70%) - nothings gone orange yet, but now the nights are getting rapidly colder I might just have to adjust the humidity stat to 50-60% - My lathe and my mill are wrapped in very heavy bath towels when not in use so they are less sensitive to changes in temperature and are still able to breath.

John, yes my car does to, it's very effective, even on the coldest mornings with a cold engine and frost screen - garage wise, so long as your air con drains the water outside rather than one of the floor standing "mobile" units that just recirculates it if you don't empty it out every few hours/days

Edited By Russ B on 06/10/2014 13:28:28

I think you have hit the nail on the head Russ..

Keep the workshop at a stable temperature high enough for a dehumidifier to work efficiently.

I do have a small oil filled radiator, i will try using that for a while to raise the back ground temperature.

See what that does to the electricity bill...

Thanks all..