I am moving again. I found the perfect place that has space and a good neighbors. I have been living in a town home that had a basement but it also had a sump pump in the corner. It always smelled damp and I hated having my food storage down there. I felt confident in my storage holding up but the dampness really bothered me. This new place has a basement that is dry, no sump and does not smell musty. It is cool and has two rooms that I could store food in. One is a normal room that is in right off the furnished part of the basement (semi-cool) but anyone opening the door will see my food storage. Off that room is another door that leads to the water heater and furnace with an adjoining smaller room. I am thinking this would be a good place for my preps but am questioning if the water heater and furnace will be too dry and warm. It felt cool both times I was down there but the heater and water heater really were not being used. I would like my preps to stay cool and dry. There is a half wall separating the room and the furnace/water heater. Do you think in the winter it will get too warm and dry?
It'll be dry because it's winter, and warmer because of the two appliances. A small fan on the floor will keep it a lot cooler.
only way to tell is put a thermometer in the room. As for the other - Put a lock on the other door and an in-house alarm as well. People can be nosy - there is no reason to put up with it. Had a friend who put marbles in his bath cabinet. Anyone open the door would make quite a racket when the marbles hit the floor.....
Depends on how cold it gets in the basement. Check the insulation of the home and ask if the seller knows how cold the basement gets. The furnace could offset the cold and maintain a temperature around 60F, but you will have to check in the winter. As long as it doesn't exceed 70F, it should be fine. Install a thermometer and keep an eye on it. If the furnace is throwing off too much heat, you could insulate the room with the furnace. A dryer atmosphere is better for food storage, and most folks install a dehumidifier in the basement anyway. You could install a vent and fan system if needed, and sometimes all it takes is a simple vent with no fan for the room with the furnace. Also, insulating the water heater directly is a good idea no matter what and you can buy water heater wrap for it easily. Tough call to make from the internet.
If your heater or water heater are throwing enough heat from the unit to have an effect through even an uninsulated wall, you have a problem and need to have that addressed. I also agree with DKR that a lock between the furnished and unfurnished part of the basement is a good idea...especially if one might have adventurous adolescents in the house, maybe the kind that like to rebuild things.
Well except that it's not Winter, and the water heater and the furnace are made to move heat to other parts of the house, they won't make that room noticeable warmer, but I don't have a furnace, it is a heat pump, which I seldom use. Rancher
I have had good luck with basement storage in the 50 - 60 range and a dehumidifier for dry storage. Still need root cellar for food storage of potatoes etc, that require high humidity and cool temps. Would not want to store gun, ammo, buckets of long term food storage in root cellar, try it and monitor it. Find my dehumidifier does an excellent job 12 months a year, when not removing water, it tells me the basement temp and humidity and kicks on if needed. Be sure to get one that will remove water at lower temps, though most seem to do that today. I have the most problems with my dry storage in the winter as the relative humidity rises as the temps fall, and 50 degrees and 95 % humidity in my basement has turned out to be a big no no for both my wood working tools, long term storage foods, and my reloading, gun work, and wood working benches. Heat with wood, so furnace seldom kicks on, and I had to install a wood stove in basement. Side benefits are that I could now cook or live in basement if I had to. Try to keep it in high 50's and wear a vest while working and find it very comfortable.
In your AO I'm betting you'll be fine. Mine was. Almost all of my food preps were in the basement when I lived up there. Had no issues whatsoever. Similar set up, hot water tank and gas furnace in the basement not far from the shelves.
Because of the space I have now I can step things up. After a six month hiatus and eating from my preps, I am ready to start putting food away again.
"Sump pump." Two words that would put me off immediately. If a sump pump is necessary, the basement floor is below the normal ground water level. How far below? When the power goes out and the pump isn't running you will find out pretty quick. What to do then? I prefer basements with gravity drains in the floor. I'm happy that you are able to move to a dry space.
