Does a damp room damage analogue radios?

[richrussell]

A friend of mine used fibreglass sheeting (scrap from a demolished conservatory) and an awful lot of silicone sealant to make a semi-sealed box in his cellar. Shower ventilation fans draw fresh air in from the coal chute and blow exhaust air back out. The 'box' he used for storing books and things in, the other half of the cellar was damp and cold and used for wine and things that don't rot so easily. That seems to work well for storage, but it probably isn't a good solution for a workshop.

[kalee20]

Originally Posted by fidobsa

As I pointed out before, just a dehumidifier with no heat is not the answer in winter. They work like a fridge, a condenser is cooled so that condensation forms on its surface and drips into a tank or drain pipe. It relies on the condenser being colder than other surfaces in the room which it won't be if the room temperature drops too much.

If the temperature drops a lot though, the water content of the air falls massively. Electro-static damage to modern equipment in manufacture is much more of a problem in frosty weather than temperate weather. Last winter, during the sub-zero periods, I noticed my horses drinking a lot more water than other times - the trough in the field needed filling much more often (besides having to keep breaking the ice) - because they lost much more water breathing dry air.

One problem with my dehumidifier in cold weather, is it ices up and doesn't thaw properly during its thaw cycle, then water drips everywhere. I use mine with a time switch, just to be sure - a couple of hours running at a time only. But it does work during winter. And when below freezing,

[mickash]

At school (years ago) we were given an underground room to use as a club room. It was next to the coalfired boiler room.
We brought in spare tins of paint from home to paint the plain brick walls to brighten the place up.
The painting took place one Friday afternoon and looked OK. On arrival after the weekend, we were disappointed to find the walls were plain brick again.
The damp in the walls had washed almost all of the paint off where it had collected at floor level.
That room was only partially underground and had the boiler next door. Water is amazingly powerful and will get it's own way.

Michael.

[bschani]

Oh no, this is not the news I was prepared for The cellar is really old (mid 1800's) and it does feel damp at times, we've tried to sort it but the best method we've come across is to keep the central heating on for a while each day or to leave the two windows in the cellar open.

We were hoping that the windows open would be enough to keep the radios from permanent damage (we've had to move them there whilst we are getting the house renovated). Most of the radios and tape decks are in their original casings however I feel they won't be airtight.

Thanks for all the help, hopefully I can keep them dry enough