[DIY] Screen Drying Cabinet

[mimosatexas]

I already posted an album of this in another thread, but I thought it would be a fitting first post for this board, and wanted to add some more info.

Here is the album showing process photos and the finished product: http://imgur.com/a/q2GU2

It can dry 27 23x31 screens, regardless of coating style and outside temp/humidity in an hour or less.  Occasionally if I need a weird mesh or coating style, I can throw a single screen in and it is dry within 20 minutes.  I've been told adding a little desk heater would speed everything up as well.  Having it against a wall creates a semi closed loop of air, with the dehumidifier exhausting dry air into the wall and the fans sucking some of that up and back into the unit.  I did some test prior to the final build with just a box and the fans and dehumidifier sucking or blowing air in different configurations with and without a closed system, and this was the quickest configuration for whatever reason.

Here's a somewhat detailed shopping list. I am probably missing or off on a few things. I already had a lot of the wood sitting around and some of the random stuff like screws and wood putty. I looked up the prices on the Lowe’s site for things I already had to get a rough total cost. You could save quite a bit by not putting it on casters which would free up some of the wood costs as well, by using white tile board instead of counter top laminate, or by not painting the exterior and using nicer hardware for the handles etc. I overdid it a bit.

    4x8 sheet of counter top laminate (lowe's) - $45
    dehumidifier (craigslist) - $40
    bathroom fans (2) - $26 ($13 each)
    door hardware (8 hinges, 4 handles, 2 latches, 8 double roller clasps) - $50 (I spent more for nicer handles and ended up not using the 8 roller clasps)
    4x8 OSB (4) - $48 ($12 each)
    4x8 Plywood - $27 (I wanted to use plywood for the top for structural reasons)
    4x8 pegboard - $18
    1/2x3/4 (3) - $8
    1x2 (16) - $15
    2x2 (4) - $6
    2X4 (12) - $30
    black oil based paint (1 gallon) - $27
    white exterior paint (1 gallon) - $18
    screws - $12
    wood putty - $4
    caulk - $4
    weather stripping - $12
    casters (4) - $14 ($3.50 each)
    extension cords and powerstrip - $10

TOTAL: $415

If you have any questions or want a detail photo of anything just let me know!

[Gilligan]

Very interesting design.  Lots I like, a few things I don't... but I think it's a matter of what works for you and your space and this seems to be perfect for you.

[noiseloops]

looks really good! i wish i had the luxury of space. looks neat and tidy there!

[tpitman]

Here's mine. Might have posted it in the past. Holds 12 screens. Both in the warehouse I had and in my garage now I had my exposure unit and cabinet in a small, dehumidified space with the dehumidifier draining outside the room. The dehumidifier sits on top of the cabinet. Filtered air drawn in at the bottom of the door, with a fart fan pulling the moist air out the back at the top. The door has weatherstripping to keep only clean air coming in, and the legs keep the unit off the floor a bit to hopefully keep lint from being stirred up.

[TCT]

In our screen room, we made racks with 2x4s for the uprights/stability and the screens rest on 2' 2x2's. We use a 2x2 as a spacer. We are right in the middle of building our new screen room, I'll take a few pics when I get to work today.

[mk162]

mimosa, I am hoping you are just storing your screens that way, but they are upside down if that is how you are drying them.

I don't have a picture of our cabinet, but it's big enough to roll a screen rack into.  A heater is overkill since a good dehumidifier will get the cabinet over 100 quick, most heaters only go to 90 or so.

[mimosatexas]

mimosa, I am hoping you are just storing your screens that way, but they are upside down if that is how you are drying them.

I don't have a picture of our cabinet, but it's big enough to roll a screen rack into.  A heater is overkill since a good dehumidifier will get the cabinet over 100 quick, most heaters only go to 90 or so.

I actually dry my discharge screen squeegee side down. I only use a 1/1 coating on them so the eom is tiny which helps mash the ink into the shirt. I also found that having more emulsion on the squeegee side made the screens last longer. I am currently testing some new stuff with my coating but that has worked well for me recently.

The shop is a disaster right now compared to when i built this, but that is why im doubling my space!

[mk162]

if it works, keep on doin' it then.

I would however avoid a space heater and just go dehumidifier.  also hot air will hold more moisture, so a dehumidifier will remove that moisture as it evaporates out of the emulsion, a heater alone will not.

[mimosatexas]

Yea I'll probably continue just using the dehumifier.

[Gilligan]

Yeah, we have a largish cabinet... Similar to yours and we just run the dehumidifier, but we are completely sealed. Necked it yesterday, 29% and like 96 degrees.

[TCT]

Here are pics of the shelves out of 2x2's I was talking about....

[GaryG]

That's real nice!