Shop temps and machine tools....

I live in a much colder climate that @DavidR8 - I try to keep the shope at 5 degrees C , or about 40 Fahrenheit. Anything less, and heating/cooling leads to condensation on the machines. It is heated with a vented ceiling furnace,
 
I run a humidistat in my shop. Above 75% seems to be where the sweating is worst, so that's where I set the switch point to. Seems to work pretty well without costing me a fortune.
 
It probably depends on the local climate but here we dehumidify in the summer and humidify in the winter. Heating with fossil fuel dries the air inside to a very uncomfortable level in the depth of winter so we have to add humidity.
If one is using electric heaters with no air turnover then yes I can see that humidity would build up inside in winter. Humidity control is as important as temperature control but a certain amount of air turnover to prevent stale air is also a necessity.
My shop is in the basement of the house so I can use it 24/7/52 in my shirt sleeves.
 
Us Hawaii guys do feel for you frozen folks. :laughing:

It's 74 degrees here, with lovely cooling trade winds and bright sunshine. This is our winter weather so we learn to struggle with it.
 
Aw, shucks, @mikey ... go ahead and rub salt in their wounds :) Nevertheless, you are indeed climatically fortunate. So enjoy!
 
I'm looking at adding a condensation detector to boost my heating when I get those nasty "sweating machine tools" days. Sick feeling in your stomache seeing water condensing on your babies!

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We live in Everett, WA, my tools are in storage in Lake Stevens, WA. Add to this we live on the water.
The best option is, and this will depend on the size of your shop, put a oil radiator heater in the shop, may two depending on size. Then add one or two box fans.
The constant air movement will dry the air faster and better than any heat will ever do it. In fact, too much heat will only create a wider differential between the air and your equipment condensing the water from the air.
I spray my lathe and other tools down with WD40 on a regular basis. The floor in our storage unit is radiant and is only high enough to keep the worst conditions from forming.
I have never tried it, but I wonder how well radiant heat would work. It would keep the machines warmer than the dew point and should prevent condensing process.
 
erikmannie said:
I often wonder what other hobbyists do with their free time when they can’t do shop work.
Click to expand...
Personally, I find myself making frivolous purchases on eBay. ;) Want to see photos? Go to the "What did you buy today?" thread and search under my name!

Bruce
 
I live in New Orleans and humidity is just the norm. Hell, it’s the tropics here as far as I’m concerned. Running a fan does the trick. On those days where even the cars and carport floor is soaked with dew... I run both wall fans which oscillate.
It really does keep the metal from sweating. As far as my nice precision gauge blocks, 1-2-3’s and measurement tooling... I keep those in cabinet with some camphor. I put a cube of camphor inside a big medicine bottle. Just drill about 5 1/8th holes in the top.
 
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