Humidity Problem in our Laboratory

G

grzesiek

#1
hello everyone

we have a problem with low humidity in our lab, this concerns especially our weighing room

humidity is low (25-30% RH), after attaching two boxes with water to a wall heater which we thought would solve the problem, but unfortunately it only helped to go from 15 to about 27

there is a window in the room and because it is winter i suspect that this could be a problem, still i dont think there's anything to be done in this particular area

i was wondering if buying some humidity controller (preferably cheap), but am worried if that will not affect weighing (sound, turbulation, temperature of the device), can someone reccomend a good one?

we would want to go in the 40-70% RH range

i would appreciate help if someone had simmilar problem and found solution, as well as any ideas to solve the issue
 
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BradM

Staff member
Admin
#2
hello everyone

we have a problem with low humidity in our lab, this concerns especially our weighing room

humidity is low (25-30% RH), after attaching two boxes with water to a wall heater which we thought would solve the problem, but unfortunately it only helped to go from 15 to about 27

there is a window in the room and because it is winter i suspect that this could be a problem, still i dont think there's anything to be done in this particular area

i was wondering if buying some humidity controller (preferably cheap), but am worried if that will not affect weighing (sound, turbulation, temperature of the device), can someone recommend a good one?

we would want to go in the 40-70% RH range

i would appreciate help if someone had simmilar problem and found solution, as well as any ideas to solve the issue
Oh yes... we dealt with the same issue. We bought two units (not expensive ones) and placed in the room. Our balances were on air tables, so vibration did not become a factor. We constantly monitored temperature anyway.

I can look today and see what brand we have. BTW....70% is an awful lot of humidity. Are you sure you need to go that high?
 
G

grzesiek

#3
hi brad

should have been 40-60 RH
I have read mt materials that 20-80 is a must, best is 40-60, so we are trying for 30-70, but would like 40-60, this is where this 70 came from :)

what is air table btw? would you expect these instruments to affect balances on the wall table?
 

BradM

Staff member
Admin
#4
hi brad

should have been 40-60 RH
I have read mt materials that 20-80 is a must, best is 40-60, so we are trying for 30-70, but would like 40-60, this is where this 70 came from :)
Gotcha.:agree1: As you are quickly realizing... it is awfully difficult to control the humidity in the room after the fact. We bought some Air King humidifiers to go in the room. They have been doing decent. However, it is worthy to note that the rooms were already controlled to an extent; just not tight enough.

Here is a Honeywell that may work for you:
http ://www .drillspot.com/products/349612/Honeywell_DH90A1007_Whole_House_Dehumidifier - OBSOLETE BROKEN 404 LINK(s) UNLINKED - PLEASE HELP - REPORT POSTS WITH BROKEN LINKS

I haven't used it, though.

what is air table btw? would you expect these instruments to affect balances on the wall table?
Good question.

Here are some products from TMC:

http: //www .techmfg.com/products/tabletop/tabletop_pzt.htm - OBSOLETE BROKEN 404 LINK(s) UNLINKED - PLEASE HELP - REPORT POSTS WITH BROKEN LINKS

They are not inexpensive, but, if you have any vibration issues, these will help.

Otherwise, there are some small granite plates with cushion legs on them that can help a little bit. They are sold by VWR.

Hope that helps.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
S

samsung

#5
hello everyone

we have a problem with low humidity in our lab, this concerns especially our weighing room

humidity is low (25-30% RH), after attaching two boxes with water to a wall heater which we thought would solve the problem, but unfortunately it only helped to go from 15 to about 27

there is a window in the room and because it is winter i suspect that this could be a problem, still i dont think there's anything to be done in this particular area

i was wondering if buying some humidity controller (preferably cheap), but am worried if that will not affect weighing (sound, turbulation, temperature of the device), can someone reccomend a good one?

we would want to go in the 40-70% RH range

i would appreciate help if someone had simmilar problem and found solution, as well as any ideas to solve the issue
Why not to consider putting up one or two Desert Coolers like this in your lab.

We always do it in our labs to achieve RH at about 60%. During winters, we additionally have to put a room heater since we need to maintain the temp at 27 degrees in addition to 60% RH. And indeed we never thought of buying any other device for this purpose.

The desert cooler as shown in the picture is the simplest piece of equipment that can be fabricated anywhere. It can either be fitted in widows or can be placed on a stand inside the room. The desired humidity level depends on the fan speed & the area of the side panels holding grass pads to soak the water.
 
G

grzesiek

#6
thanks for the info brad
i think the one you pointed would be too big for us, i think something more portable will be needed
 
G

grzesiek

#7
hi samsung
we have put some wall heaters humidifiers (boxes with water) as we dont want to do too much air current too, cos it could degrade repeatability of our weighings
have you put it in weighing room also?
thanks for replies so far
 
S

samsung

#8
hi samsung
we have put some wall heaters humidifiers (boxes with water) as we dont want to do too much air current too, cos it could degrade repeatability of our weightings.
Have you put it in weighing room also?
thanks for replies so far
We have a separate room for precision weighing balances where we do not allow too much air current to flow since, as you pointed, it degrades the efficiency of the weighing systems.

We keep non-precision balances (where too much accuracy is not required) in the outside room (humidity controlled) and we just switch off the desert coolers while weighing in order to avoid any disturbance due to air flow. As it takes only 2-3 minutes for a weighing it does not affect the RH so much to go beyond the tolerance (range - 55 - 65%).

For precision weighing, you need to ensure optimum room humidity for the fact that changes in humidity during weighing can affect the mass of the material being weighed. 40 to 60% RH is the desirable range for the weighing rooms.

Please note that dry air with less than 40 % relative humidity increases the risk of your weighing vessel or the sample to become electrostatically charged to cause weighing errors arising through the electrostatic forces that act between the weighing sample and the surroundings.

Thanks.
 
D

Daniel Walker - 2011

#9
we had a honeywell in-line steamer installed in the hvac system above the lab. A $90 wall mounted controller in the lab switches the unit on and off. The humidifier water is supplied by a small water line that they ran off the nearest water supply in the ceiling. A little more cost up front, but no maintenance so far in 3 years. We hold 50% +/- 5% all year round.

Oh, and it sends the humidified air out of the existing ducts which are positioned to eliminate currents along the walls where the balances are. Don't place balances in the corners of the lab. We found that the corners are problem spots no matter what air distribution method you use.
 
G

grzesiek

#10
thanks for all the replies guys, this really helped me a lot

I forgot absolutely that the device is "switchable" samsung, thanks :)

"Please note that dry air with less than 40 % relative humidity increases the risk of your weighing vessel or the sample to become electrostatically charged to cause weighing errors arising through the electrostatic forces that act between the weighing sample and the surroundings."

yeah, that's the main reason why we make the effort
 
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