I do my winemaking in a 16 X 16 room in the basement of my new house.
The humidity are too high in the summer, around 80% and sometimes even
more. The temp is constant at around 18 C. I recently buy a
deshumidifier unit but the temp rise to as much as 23-24 C so i got
other problems. I decided to exchange the unit against an AC unit.
Guess what ? It only work between 18 and 30 Celcius ! Is there
something i can do to be able to drop the temp around 16 C ? I am
thinking of some mod to the temperature prob of the unit. The AC unit
is a window mount 8000 BTU unit made by GE.

Any help is appreciated,
Séb

Seb,
Is it running all the time when you are set to 18 C? If so, that is
the limit of the unit, you would need a bigger one. 8000 BTU's should
get that room pretty cold.

You can buy lower temperature thermostats if it's not always on, or
maybe you can play with the calibration of the thermostat. That voids
the warranty, so I'm not suggesting you do that on a brand new unit.
If you were to try that, you would pull the knob off of the one you
have and see if the shaft is hollow. If so, it may have a calibration
screw inside you can adjust. Often times there is a set screw on top
of the adjusting screw to lock it down that has to be removed; I would
think GE would do that, it's a good unit. Some of them have an
adjustable stop that sits on the outer ring of the mounting stub
instead.

All it really is is a switch, if you bought a lower temp thermostat
you would just replace it. If you do decide to play with that
remember to mark your starting point so you can undo the adjustment...

The cheapest line voltage thermostat I see in Johnstone supply that
works for cooling is a ETD5SS for around $14 (US). (You want the SPDT
action, you want it to go off on temperature 'fall'.) It does not say
who makes it, sorry. It says it goes from 50 F to 90F. The Johnstone
PN is L37-725. Grainer is in Canada, they would sell these too. Or,
just look up appliance repair in your phone book for suppliers.

If your relative humidity is still at 80% with it running you may have
a water problem in the walls or floor. The cooling coils in the AC
will still be well below 18 C and moisture should be condensing on
them and draining out. If that drips into a bucket and is a few
gallons per day it's coming in the basement somewhere. It could take
several days to dehumidify, give it at least a week before doing
anything.

Hope that helps,
Joe

(seb) wrote in message om>...
> I do my winemaking in a 16 X 16 room in the basement of my new house.
> The humidity are too high in the summer, around 80% and sometimes even
> more. The temp is constant at around 18 C. I recently buy a
> deshumidifier unit but the temp rise to as much as 23-24 C so i got
> other problems. I decided to exchange the unit against an AC unit.
> Guess what ? It only work between 18 and 30 Celcius ! Is there
> something i can do to be able to drop the temp around 16 C ? I am
> thinking of some mod to the temperature prob of the unit. The AC unit
> is a window mount 8000 BTU unit made by GE.
>
> Any help is appreciated,
> Séb

(Joe Sallustio) wrote in message . com>...
> Seb,
> Is it running all the time when you are set to 18 C? If so, that is
> the limit of the unit, you would need a bigger one. 8000 BTU's should
> get that room pretty cold.
>
> You can buy lower temperature thermostats if it's not always on, or
> maybe you can play with the calibration of the thermostat. That voids
> the warranty, so I'm not suggesting you do that on a brand new unit.
> If you were to try that, you would pull the knob off of the one you
> have and see if the shaft is hollow. If so, it may have a calibration
> screw inside you can adjust. Often times there is a set screw on top
> of the adjusting screw to lock it down that has to be removed; I would
> think GE would do that, it's a good unit. Some of them have an
> adjustable stop that sits on the outer ring of the mounting stub
> instead.
>
> All it really is is a switch, if you bought a lower temp thermostat
> you would just replace it. If you do decide to play with that
> remember to mark your starting point so you can undo the adjustment...
>
> The cheapest line voltage thermostat I see in Johnstone supply that
> works for cooling is a ETD5SS for around $14 (US). (You want the SPDT
> action, you want it to go off on temperature 'fall'.) It does not say
> who makes it, sorry. It says it goes from 50 F to 90F. The Johnstone
> PN is L37-725. Grainer is in Canada, they would sell these too. Or,
> just look up appliance repair in your phone book for suppliers.
>
> If your relative humidity is still at 80% with it running you may have
> a water problem in the walls or floor. The cooling coils in the AC
> will still be well below 18 C and moisture should be condensing on
> them and draining out. If that drips into a bucket and is a few
> gallons per day it's coming in the basement somewhere. It could take
> several days to dehumidify, give it at least a week before doing
> anything.
>
> Hope that helps,
> Joe
>
Thanks a lot Joe, in fact the unit is brand new, didn't install them
yet. I just read in the manual that the setting are between 18 C and
30 C. Since my room is normally at 17-18 C I guess the unit will not
turn on ? So, that's why i whant to play with some mod on the unit.
The control panel is electronic, no varistor to adjust. But, i am
thinking of placing the thermostat higher and also isolating it so the
unit should work cooler like 16 C maybe ? I will try that and if it
didn't work i will replace the thermostat with the unit you give to
me. I don't really mather with the warranty, I will just let them
work without any mod for one or two weeks to be sure he is working ok
and then i will begin to play with it. This 8000 BTu should be more
than enough for a 16 X 16 room.

Thanks,
Séb

Two possible suggestons. First, you might consider running both the AC and
the dehumidifier. IT might seem inefficient but it might solve your problem
and after the dehumidifier gets most of the humidity out of the room neither
of them may run very frequently.

The other suggestion is to use an AC designed for wine storage rooms. They
are designed to get the temperature down below 18 deg.

Ray

"seb" > wrote in message
om...
> (Joe Sallustio) wrote in message
. com>...
> > Seb,
> > Is it running all the time when you are set to 18 C? If so, that is
> > the limit of the unit, you would need a bigger one. 8000 BTU's should
> > get that room pretty cold.
> >
> > You can buy lower temperature thermostats if it's not always on, or
> > maybe you can play with the calibration of the thermostat. That voids
> > the warranty, so I'm not suggesting you do that on a brand new unit.
> > If you were to try that, you would pull the knob off of the one you
> > have and see if the shaft is hollow. If so, it may have a calibration
> > screw inside you can adjust. Often times there is a set screw on top
> > of the adjusting screw to lock it down that has to be removed; I would
> > think GE would do that, it's a good unit. Some of them have an
> > adjustable stop that sits on the outer ring of the mounting stub
> > instead.
> >
> > All it really is is a switch, if you bought a lower temp thermostat
> > you would just replace it. If you do decide to play with that
> > remember to mark your starting point so you can undo the adjustment...
> >
> > The cheapest line voltage thermostat I see in Johnstone supply that
> > works for cooling is a ETD5SS for around $14 (US). (You want the SPDT
> > action, you want it to go off on temperature 'fall'.) It does not say
> > who makes it, sorry. It says it goes from 50 F to 90F. The Johnstone
> > PN is L37-725. Grainer is in Canada, they would sell these too. Or,
> > just look up appliance repair in your phone book for suppliers.
> >
> > If your relative humidity is still at 80% with it running you may have
> > a water problem in the walls or floor. The cooling coils in the AC
> > will still be well below 18 C and moisture should be condensing on
> > them and draining out. If that drips into a bucket and is a few
> > gallons per day it's coming in the basement somewhere. It could take
> > several days to dehumidify, give it at least a week before doing
> > anything.
> >
> > Hope that helps,
> > Joe
> >
> Thanks a lot Joe, in fact the unit is brand new, didn't install them
> yet. I just read in the manual that the setting are between 18 C and
> 30 C. Since my room is normally at 17-18 C I guess the unit will not
> turn on ? So, that's why i whant to play with some mod on the unit.
> The control panel is electronic, no varistor to adjust. But, i am
> thinking of placing the thermostat higher and also isolating it so the
> unit should work cooler like 16 C maybe ? I will try that and if it
> didn't work i will replace the thermostat with the unit you give to
> me. I don't really mather with the warranty, I will just let them
> work without any mod for one or two weeks to be sure he is working ok
> and then i will begin to play with it. This 8000 BTu should be more
> than enough for a 16 X 16 room.
>
> Thanks,
> Séb

"seb" > wrote in message
>
> . This 8000 BTu should be more
> than enough for a 16 X 16 room.
>
> Thanks,
> Séb

That can be a problem. An AC that is too big will lower the temperature but
will not run long enough to reduce the humidity. It will be cold and damp.

Many years ago I was in a printing plant where humidity control was very
important for the paper. they used to run the heat along with the AC if the
outdoor temperature got too low in order to make the AC work more and
condense the moisture in the air.

"seb" > wrote in message
>
> . This 8000 BTu should be more
> than enough for a 16 X 16 room.
>
> Thanks,
> Séb

That can be a problem. An AC that is too big will lower the temperature but
will not run long enough to reduce the humidity. It will be cold and damp.

Many years ago I was in a printing plant where humidity control was very
important for the paper. they used to run the heat along with the AC if the
outdoor temperature got too low in order to make the AC work more and
condense the moisture in the air.

(Joe Sallustio) wrote in message . com>...
> Seb,
> Is it running all the time when you are set to 18 C? If so, that is
> the limit of the unit, you would need a bigger one. 8000 BTU's should
> get that room pretty cold.
>
> You can buy lower temperature thermostats if it's not always on, or
> maybe you can play with the calibration of the thermostat. That voids
> the warranty, so I'm not suggesting you do that on a brand new unit.
> If you were to try that, you would pull the knob off of the one you
> have and see if the shaft is hollow. If so, it may have a calibration
> screw inside you can adjust. Often times there is a set screw on top
> of the adjusting screw to lock it down that has to be removed; I would
> think GE would do that, it's a good unit. Some of them have an
> adjustable stop that sits on the outer ring of the mounting stub
> instead.
>
> All it really is is a switch, if you bought a lower temp thermostat
> you would just replace it. If you do decide to play with that
> remember to mark your starting point so you can undo the adjustment...
>
> The cheapest line voltage thermostat I see in Johnstone supply that
> works for cooling is a ETD5SS for around $14 (US). (You want the SPDT
> action, you want it to go off on temperature 'fall'.) It does not say
> who makes it, sorry. It says it goes from 50 F to 90F. The Johnstone
> PN is L37-725. Grainer is in Canada, they would sell these too. Or,
> just look up appliance repair in your phone book for suppliers.
>
> If your relative humidity is still at 80% with it running you may have
> a water problem in the walls or floor. The cooling coils in the AC
> will still be well below 18 C and moisture should be condensing on
> them and draining out. If that drips into a bucket and is a few
> gallons per day it's coming in the basement somewhere. It could take
> several days to dehumidify, give it at least a week before doing
> anything.
>
> Hope that helps,
> Joe
>
Thanks a lot Joe, in fact the unit is brand new, didn't install them
yet. I just read in the manual that the setting are between 18 C and
30 C. Since my room is normally at 17-18 C I guess the unit will not
turn on ? So, that's why i whant to play with some mod on the unit.
The control panel is electronic, no varistor to adjust. But, i am
thinking of placing the thermostat higher and also isolating it so the
unit should work cooler like 16 C maybe ? I will try that and if it
didn't work i will replace the thermostat with the unit you give to
me. I don't really mather with the warranty, I will just let them
work without any mod for one or two weeks to be sure he is working ok
and then i will begin to play with it. This 8000 BTu should be more
than enough for a 16 X 16 room.

Thanks,
Séb