How many pints capacity do you think I would need for dehumidifying a
2.5 car garage?

It will be mainly used after the car has been washed and garaged.
I have two large fans blowing on my car after a wash, but would like
to dry more efficiently.

Thanks.

 

a 40-50 pint unit should be fine for what you need. Stand-alone garages tend to not have the same sources as homes for humidity (people, cooking, showers, etc) but still need some considerations. Your garage needs to be somewhat insulated and weathertight for the most efficient continued use of a dehumidifier. Also, the dehumidifier needs to be capable of running in cooler environments; as a standard model would tend to freeze up and stop working in something less than about 70 degrees F. Once temps fall below about 60, the need for a dehumidifier is practically nil, as surrounding air tends to be rather dry unless you live near water.

I have used an old low-temp dehumidifier to keep my tools and machinery in my garage from rusting due to condensation in the spring. Sadly, the unit quit after 20+ years of it's hard life. I am in the process of air conditioning the garage, which will also be useful in dealing with humidity and condensation.

 

Several years ago I installed a dehumidifier in a basement. The one I bought had a garden hose connection on the bottom of the removeable tank and I was able to mount the dehumidifier on the wall, high enough that I could drain the tank into my washing machine drain. This yielded a dehumidifier with an unlimited tank size and removed the need to regulary haul the water away. It was very handy!

Maybe you can port the drain directly to the outside (use enough hose to get it atleast a few feet away from your foundation) or into a pre-existing drain like myself...

 

Greatbear, agranger - Thank you for the responses. :smile: I think I need to
investigate further on the operating temps of those portables.

 

I have a Maytag dehumidifier running in the basement that is rated for low temp use. It has digital controls and an Energy Star rating and was fairly cheap. I got it at Lowes or Home Depot earlier in the year. It comes with an attachment to affix a drain hose to keep from needing constant emptying, it's quiet and also has an air filter. Recommended.

 

Greatbear-One of these gadgets? Maytag 45pt.

Low temperature operation down to 42 deg. F.

 

That's the very one!

 

I checked out HomeDepot today (was there to buy 6 cans
of Behr paint since there's a $5 rebate per can today) and ran into a
LG dehumidifier going for $129. Picked up. it's a 30pint one so not
as powerful as the MayTag, but should be enough to rid humidity
inside the garage.

It has autoshut off, 2 fan modes, variable humidity control, and comes
with its own casters..very straight forward. I tried it out tonight and
it's very quiet. Not sure how many watts this thing pulls, but it doesn't
have EnergyStar. It's okay for me since im only going to use it in the
garage after my car's been washed.