shipping container workshop?

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Originally Posted by gavztheouch

Thanks Eddy, did you have insulation in your container?

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Some were used for sotrage and did not have insulation but vents had been fitted along the top and bottom so that the air inside was at the same temperature as the air outside.
Some were plywood lined and were quite good but I have no idea what was going on behind the wood (between the wood and metal), nobody cared either because they were just scrapped at the end of the job.
There was no heating in any of them and gas heating is the last thing you want due to the huge amount of water they produce.

Thanks thats interesting, sounds like there is a lot more you could have done to help prevent water build up. Im hoping this is possible to have a decent protection. I remeber going to a military event day and they had shipping contianer workshop full of machine tools.

There is some good advise on this website
http://www.dampstick.com/for-shipping-containers/

At the end of the day it's physics, warm air condensing on a cold surface, warm air holds more moisture than cold air.

From Wiki

"The dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor in a sample of air at constant barometric pressure condenses into liquid water at the same rate at which it evaporates. At temperatures below the dew point, water will leave the air. The condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface. The condensed water is called either fog or a cloud, depending on its altitude, when it forms in the air."

"Relative humidity of 100% indicates the dew point is equal to the current temperature and that the air is maximally saturated with water. When the moisture content remains constant and temperature increases, relative humidity decreases"

Control that lot and you're there ! :friendly_wink:

So with my dehumidifier I keep the relative humidity below 50% whatever the temperature and that's mostly to keep my wood right but also keeps rust at bay. If I put my wood burner on the relative humidity can drop to low 40's%

Do you have a fancy dehumidifier?

Would something like this work ok, it appears to have a low power usage so I could have it on all winter doing its thing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Compact-po...item20c0fc030a

There was a grand designs last week about a guy in Ireland that clagged together 4 containers and the finished article was very nice, foam spray is the only way to go you want no air gaps @ all and all steel must be covered ie main support framework or you will get a thermal bridge, with a dehumidifier as well it should be fine.
Mike

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Originally Posted by mekanik

There was a grand designs last week about a guy in Ireland that clagged together 4 containers and the finished article was very nice, foam spray is the only way to go you want no air gaps @ all and all steel must be covered ie main support framework or you will get a thermal bridge, with a dehumidifier as well it should be fine.
Mike

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Yeah that was fantastic, cant believe he spent 14k on a bath!

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Originally Posted by gavztheouch

Do you have a fancy dehumidifier?

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This one,

http://www.koolbreeze.eclipse.co.uk/...%20Arizona.htm

A bit high wattage but the built in humidistat only brings it on when required. It also has continuous drain so no need to keep emptying it.

I can't remember where I saw it but there's web sites where you can determine the size of dehumidifier required for the volume of your space.

If you insulate the entire container really well, it will only require a small heat input (when closed) to keep it warm enough to stop dampness. Remember that insulation will not keep it warm in itself, it just stops heat escaping so you will still need a heat source.

I used to work in a small recording studio where the room was kept closed nearly all the time and had sound-absorption over most of the room surfaces. Even just running the computer and an amp the room was noticeably warmer than anywhere else. I calculated that was probably about 100 watts of heat output keeping the room warm.

Have a look at this thread which shows how to calculate heat loss and insulation needs. I'd hazard a guess that 150mm of insulation with a vapour barrier and 18mm osb would be dry n toasty with a couple of hundred watts of heat input.

I've just insulated and boarded out a 3m x 5m metal shed with wood battens, 25mm Celotex in the spaces and all the insulation joints foil taped prior to boarding out with 18mm OSB.
I'll report back on heating requirements once it gets icy, meanwhile I've fitted an extractor as at the moment it gets too warm for jeans & T-shirt sat at the bench with just me & the strip lights on ;-)

- Nick