Can basement humidify crack sub box?

Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
It’s a passive sub I was considering using at some point due to low power requirements but clearly it has cracked . Is my other audio gear in basement also in danger ? Like klh 10”? Powered sub
and ways to repair this box cheaply. ??



Ultimate bass lover !! Stereo integrity si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Humidity will cause the wood to expand, so I suppose it should be possible to cause a crack. That could possibly also be caused by shock such as being dropped, by shifting the stress of the shock to weak points in construction.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Where do you live?

I have seen problems with furniture up here in this region, especially lately. The summers are getting more humid, which tends to make wood products swell. Then as heat kicks in during the winter and the air is cold outside, then humidity drops, and you get the problem you describe on anything poorly made, like that sub. It is particularly hard on piano sound boards.

Climate change is forcing HVAC systems to become more complex, to avoid a whole host of issues, mold in particular.

So in our new house there is no basement. I decided to invert the house and put the "basement" on the second floor. The HVAC in addition to heat and cool, has an energy recovery unit, tightly controlled make up air and an Aprilaire humidifier for the winter and an Aprilaire dehumidifier for the summer.

Humidifier to left of furnace, and humidifier to the right.



ERV



Make up air unit.



Climate change is making life a lot more complicated and expensive.

To answer your question about repair, that box needs rebuilding and not repairing. As far as other boxes using those materials, yes, they are at risk.

Homes are changing. This is the tank less boiler that supplies the in floor heat. It can heat up to 12 gallons per minute. This is also an energy saver.



I took the unusual step of putting the mechanical room upstairs.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
It’s a passive sub I was considering using at some point due to low power requirements but clearly it has cracked . Is my other audio gear in basement also in danger ? Like klh 10”? Powered sub
and ways to repair this box cheaply. ??



Ultimate bass lover !! Stereo integrity si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
That was made of particle board and it's a bit like a soda cracker. The guy who sharpens saw blades for me said "Particle board is the hot dog of wood products".

Anything that can absorb water in high humidity, will. Your equipment will also have water condensation on/in it under the right conditions, so you really should get a dehumidifier. If you notice a funky smell when you're in the basement, do it now.
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
Where do you live?

I have seen problems with furniture up here in this region, especially lately. The summers are getting more humid, which tends to make wood products swell. Then as heat kicks in during the winter and the air is cold outside, then humidity drops, and you get the problem you describe on anything poorly made, like that sub. It is particularly hard on piano sound boards.

Climate change is forcing HVAC systems to become more complex, to avoid a whole host of issues, mold in particular.

So in our new house there is no basement. I decided to invert the house and put the "basement" on the second floor. The HVAC in addition to heat and cool, has an energy recovery unit, tightly controlled make up air and an Aprilaire humidifier for the winter and an Aprilaire dehumidifier for the summer.

Humidifier to left of furnace, and humidifier to the right.



ERV



Make up air unit.



Climate change is making life a lot more complicated and expensive.

To answer your question about repair, that box needs rebuilding and not repairing. As far as other boxes using those materials, yes, they are at risk.

Homes are changing. This is the tank less boiler that supplies the in floor heat. It can heat up to 12 gallons per minute. This is also an energy saver.



I took the unusual step of putting the mechanical room upstairs.
Looks as if you went tankless on the water heater...I've built a couple of homes with them...endless, yes, but one was definitely not instant hot water, a small aux tank fixed that.

Whole house water filteration?
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
Where do you live?

I have seen problems with furniture up here in this region, especially lately. The summers are getting more humid, which tends to make wood products swell. Then as heat kicks in during the winter and the air is cold outside, then humidity drops, and you get the problem you describe on anything poorly made, like that sub. It is particularly hard on piano sound boards.

Climate change is forcing HVAC systems to become more complex, to avoid a whole host of issues, mold in particular.

So in our new house there is no basement. I decided to invert the house and put the "basement" on the second floor. The HVAC in addition to heat and cool, has an energy recovery unit, tightly controlled make up air and an Aprilaire humidifier for the winter and an Aprilaire dehumidifier for the summer.

Humidifier to left of furnace, and humidifier to the right.



ERV



Make up air unit.



Climate change is making life a lot more complicated and expensive.

To answer your question about repair, that box needs rebuilding and not repairing. As far as other boxes using those materials, yes, they are at risk.

Homes are changing. This is the tank less boiler that supplies the in floor heat. It can heat up to 12 gallons per minute. This is also an energy saver.



I took the unusual step of putting the mechanical room upstairs.
Ohio , in central area .
Canton , my mom shut off both of those de-humidifier looking things.
What would you fix these cracks with ? I was considering hooking it up to my car stereo .
More worried about my other gear getting hurt in basement.

Ultimate bass lover !! Stereo integrity si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
Last edited:
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
That was made of particle board and it's a bit like a soda cracker. The guy who sharpens saw blades for me said "Particle board is the hot dog of wood products".

Anything that can absorb water in high humidity, will. Your equipment will also have water condensation on/in it under the right conditions, so you really should get a dehumidifier. If you notice a funky smell when you're in the basement, do it now.
We have two of them neither is running !!I need to turn them on my mom shut them off somehow maybe to sabotage me .


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
How would you repair this subwoofer?? Big crack in it


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
The box is shot... if it is humidity that did it in, the panels likely wouldn't even be in good enough condition to slavage.
MDF will suffer the same damages in high humidity, your best bet would be to build a new box to the exact dimensions of the old one using marine grade plywood. You can find some excellent reference material on the web for what goes into building a good quality speaker cabinet. Care and precision count.

This is two DIY projects you got for yourself, now; this and those beat up computer speakers. And your still trying to figure out a TV stand for that old CRT (survey says: Cinder Blocks). Even poor, disposable electronics can last a long time if taken care of... and I have old Rat Shack Optimus speakers from the early '90s that are in very good condition still to prove it.

You've been given good advice on how to push forward in several of your threads. Time to fly little bird. Amazon can deliver a soldering iron with helping hands and a magnifying glass, as well as a multimeter to test the curcuits. They can deliver books on woodworking and how to build a speaker cabinet (I would recommend starting with the Weems book). But you will need a lot more in tools and equipment to rebuild that box!

Best,
R
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
sorry for offtopic, but I didn't start it.
@TLS Guy I have a similar water softner. I don't have the 3 separate filter stages, supposedly the charcoal within the tall bottle is sufficient for my main water quality. To be honest this was one of the absolute best purchases I've done for this home. My AC/Furnace is also Goodman - a very very similar unit, minus integrated humidity stuff. I find that my Ecobee smart controllers do good enough job of keeping humidity at bay
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
The box is shot... if it is humidity that did it in, the panels likely wouldn't even be in good enough condition to slavage.
MDF will suffer the same damages in high humidity, your best bet would be to build a new box to the exact dimensions of the old one using marine grade plywood. You can find some excellent reference material on the web for what goes into building a good quality speaker cabinet. Care and precision count.

This is two DIY projects you got for yourself, now; this and those beat up computer speakers. And your still trying to figure out a TV stand for that old CRT (survey says: Cinder Blocks). Even poor, disposable electronics can last a long time if taken care of... and I have old Rat Shack Optimus speakers from the early '90s that are in very good condition still to prove it.

You've been given good advice on how to push forward in several of your threads. Time to fly little bird. Amazon can deliver a soldering iron with helping hands and a magnifying glass, as well as a multimeter to test the curcuits. They can deliver books on woodworking and how to build a speaker cabinet (I would recommend starting with the Weems book). But you will need a lot more in tools and equipment to rebuild that box!

Best,
R
So marine grade plywood? Hardest part is drilling the circular hole I do not have the money for the big power tool you need for that . My one friend used my dads hand guided saw for my stereo integrity.
This speaker box really sub par anyways probably ruining the driver as far sound quality .
Going to cost a lot more then the sub is worth to build a box but the driver is well intact so it may be worth it.!! Don’t want to get rid of a perfectly good sub driver .

Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Squirt in some gorilla glue. 5 bucks.
Jigsaw can cut a circle. Rental, probably 10 bucks.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
sorry for offtopic, but I didn't start it.
@TLS Guy I have a similar water softner. I don't have the 3 separate filter stages, supposedly the charcoal within the tall bottle is sufficient for my main water quality. To be honest this was one of the absolute best purchases I've done for this home. My AC/Furnace is also Goodman - a very very similar unit, minus integrated humidity stuff. I find that my Ecobee smart controllers do good enough job of keeping humidity at bay
Wow, we have very similar setups. I've got a Goodman dual zone unit (builder should have installed two units, but whatever) and the Ecobee was the best purchase I've made in a while. Really helped get the temp regulated, but I don't have a separate de-humidifier.

I got lucky in that my brother-in-law is a plumber so he hooked me up with a very nice softener. That with a whole house filter makes for very nice water. I was going to go RO, but after tasting my water thought it was unnecessary.
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
Squirt in some gorilla glue. 5 bucks.
Jigsaw can cut a circle. Rental, probably 10 bucks.
Good plan , what is this sub intended for music ? It’s a pretty wimpy sub for subsonic bass .


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
Squirt in some gorilla glue. 5 bucks.
Jigsaw can cut a circle. Rental, probably 10 bucks.
Could silicone something waterproof hold and repair it ? So humidity doesn’t feel crack it? My local hardware store no longer sells big container of gorilla glue .


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
Would this be better then silicone? Or wood glue for fixing the crack and water proofing it??



Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
nbk13nw

nbk13nw

Full Audioholic
So I should return it for wood glue? Or will this work just as good


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
The product you are thinking of using is flexible. The cabinet should ideally be inflexible. So DAP is out. A wood glue, assuming the cabinet can be compressed using clamps, will provide a stronger bond than any other spot on the cabinet.

So some clamps or weight on the cabinet after applying the glue, to compress or close the opening, is the best solution.
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
The product you are thinking of using is flexible. The cabinet should ideally be inflexible. So DAP is out. A wood glue, assuming the cabinet can be compressed using clamps, will provide a stronger bond than any other spot on the cabinet.

So some clamps or weight on the cabinet after applying the glue, to compress or close the opening, is the best solution.
I don’t have a big enough clamp but I can use something heavy maybe to wood glue it ?


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens
 
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