> Patrick, I live in Minnesota, and just moved into an old house with a damp
> basement. I bought a 50 pt rated dehumidifier, and it has improved the
> basement environment substantially. You will need one this size for a
> basement. It is now very dry feeling, and doesn't smell like a basement.
> However, it doesn't cool down your house or basement like Nick says. It
> does make it "feel" cooler in the basement because it lowers the
> relative humidity. Mine draws 6 or more amps, much of which goes into
> changing water from the vapor state to the liquid state. It does put out
> some heat as well, but you won't notice this in the basement. I bought
> mine slightly used at the ApplianceMart in the Twin Cities, and paid about
> half of retail. It is essentially brand new with full mfg's warranty.
> Beware that your electric bill will go up: it could cost $20 or more per
> month to run the beast. You shouldn't need to run it between October and
> early-mid April. By the way, I will be building a woodstrip canoe in my
> basement this fall.

Checkout a device by the tradename "HUMIDEX" , essentially it is a vent that picks up air at the floor level and vents it outside, driven by a fan, controlled by a humidity switch. It retails for about about $200 Canadian. A small fan mounted in some 4 or 5" duct would accomplish the same thing but without the humidity switch and cost around $20, just let it run full time or on a timer and save the $180. Note that this would only be effective as long as the humidity at floor level is higher then it is in the air replacing the vented air. definitly ok in the winter.

Greg