Condensation......AGAIN!

[cinemaphonic]

I just learned of these cheap electronic dehumidifiers today. today so I really know nothing about them. It does seem to have very good reviews on Amazon. They might work in the small space of a van and if not then it won't cost much to find out.

Bob

which one are you talking about specifically?

 

[akrvbob]

Oh poop, I didn't include a link!! Getting old!!

You folks can't read my mind yet with all I've written on here, come on!!!! Another oops, it's probably better you can't, it can be scarry in here!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0XFCS/

Bob

 

[Almost There]

Haha, I noticed the missing link but figured you'd realize it yourself and didn't need a poke in the ribs.

I took a look at the reviews and the E333 and it's big sister E500 are only being used by people to help keep dry a closet or a showcase.

They only suck up maybe a 1/2 cup of water before you have to remove them and 'recharge' them which dries them out ready to re-use.

There is a larger unit that holds 16 oz but that's only 2 cups. I suspect it would have to be emptied multiple times a day.

OP has two people and a dog living in a TT . Cooking, heating water, heating the TT, heck even the moisture coming off 2 bodies and the dog are enough to create high humidity.

The condensation is forming on the outside walls because of the cold outside and the heat inside. It's probably measured more in gallons than in ounces.

I had the same problem when I tried wintering in KY and IN in a Class A.

Unless the TT is specifically built with a cold weather package, the insulation is minimal and the window glass used has not got a thermal break.

I know it's hard to find the space for a full size humidifier but the other choice is mold and paneling deteriorating from being saturated with moisture for months.

 

[LucyImHome]

The Eva Dry is the brand I'd been looking at, just a bigger one though. I think it was about $100? But since having the air conditioner on fan only, it's been dry in here. Run it all winter though? Hmmm
The TT is an '82 Terry Taurus 24'. It has the jalousie windows, but it also has all the inside storm windows. I have left the bathroom window without, as well as the lower bunk window and the one front window. Plus, there are two roof vents. So hopefully adequate ventilation.
The only time it's gone back to wet walls is when we didn't think and used the dehydrator to make jerky! Yikes. Next time, we'll do it at the neighbor's!

 

[66788]

This works. It's cheap and will solve the problem.

http://www.drizair.com/

 

[highdesertranger]

ok lucy you are running a standard rv heater(which is a vented heater because the combustion gases are vent to the outside of the rv) which should not add moisture in fact it should have a drying effect. but 2 people and a dog plus cooking adds a lot of moisture. you say running the ac on fan solves the problem. it seems one of the fan powered vents set on exhaust should do the trick with less power consumed or even a computer fan on one of your vents. do you have a fan on you stove hood vent? running this while cooking will help tremendously. highdesertranger

 

[gypsychic]

There's nothing special about these crystal products that Bob and 66788 have linked. Desiccants are like those little gel packs you find in new shoe boxes. These are just prettied up and upcharged. Desiccants need to be heated once they are full to drive off the water vapor. That's probably what the plug in action does when it "recharges" it. Don't spend $100 on that. You can buy the gel in bulk. Here's a general list from amazon. I personally don't like DampRid because they add a scent that I don't like to the gel but the concept is the same as I'm saying to do with the bulk gel. The color indicating gels cost a little more but they change color to let you know when they are saturated.

I've used them in damp, mold prone basement living in the humid midwest before I had $ to buy a dehumidifier. I found it to be a decent stop gap. ymmv It was 2 adults and 2 cats. Heating the oven in the summer to dry them out was a bummer.

Glad what you have going is working so far. I'm in Portland and it's raining buckets today. I feel for you in WA. Best of luck.

GypsyChic

 

[LucyImHome]

There are 2 brand new FantasticFans. The one in the front, as soon as it was hooked up, it fried the adjacent ceiling light and the porch light. Fuses are fine, so....?? The fan in the bathroom worked great, until the condensation began in earnest. I think the moisture got to the wiring. In addition to the roof a/c fan being on, I have a small tower type fan setting on the bunk bed, aimed at the window for the condensation there. There's also a box fan in the front of the trailer. These fans are always on, 24/7. We do use the stove hood fan when cooking for more than a few minutes, though it's so loud, rattling like some wild creature is trying to escape!
It rained really hard last night, all night. The flooding in the road is now attracting ducks! Knock on wood, the roof leak has been resolved. Whew.

 

[SoulRaven]

My recommendation. The cord is user-replaceable with a 12V cord for sale at the brand's website.

DampRid and DriZair are the exact same ingredient: calcium chloride. It is much cheaper purchased in bulk as deicing salt, intended for scattering on pavement and cement.

First issue with it: I was living in a 2-door car in rainy western washington and for the 3 days I tried it a 4 pound tub of Damprid did nothing. Zilch. Nada. Sure, by about the 4th day the crystals were beginning to clump together a little bit, but condensation was still dripping everywhere and everything was still damp. I've since tried it off and on and it has not yet even begun to absorb enough moisture to dissolve itself, as it does when it's actually working.

Second issue with calcium chloride: it is a salt, and I've heard from a lot of sources that it will cause corrosion similar to sea air.

Third issue: you do want to figure out a way to mitigate the spill concern, as it eventually dissolves completely into a liquid capable of impressive permanent damage to surfaces. This is when purchasing a brand-name can make a difference, as many models offered are designed to reduce the spillage concern.

The renewable crystals are silica gel. I lived in a trailer for several years that had a severe humidity problem, followed by a mold problem, and convinced myself that with enough silica gel "dehumidifiers" the condensation issue would be resolved. I bought it in bulk, I put it everywhere, I renewed it as needed - and it didn't do a single thing. The problem? Silica gel doesn't absorb moisture fast enough. It's great for long term storage, where new moisture is not being introduced, so it can take its sweet time drying everything out and then simply keeping it that way.

I've been running the "Petite" electric dehumidifier in my car the past couple weeks and I find I have to turn it off because the air gets too dry. Dry mouth, dry eyes, and completely dry environment. Done and done.

Since I anticipate spending a lot of time in this area, I'm basically building my new setup around this dehumidifier as an essential component for comfort and health.

 

[offroad]

Pettit electric dehumidifier!! Awesome. Outstanding solution. Humidity is your enemy!!

 

[akrvbob]

Is Pettit a brand name and do you have a link to it?
Bob

 

[Almost There]

Is Pettit a brand name and do you have a link to it?
Bob

Bob, it's link is at the top of Bitty's post. I tried linking it for you but my skills are from the dinosaur age..sorry...

It's one of the larger Eva Dry Dehumidifiers. It's the one I noted that will hold 2 cups which would probably be very suitable for a van or cargo trailer. Maybe not so much for a full size TT though.

 

[SoulRaven]

Is Pettit a brand name and do you have a link to it?
Bob

There are a couple different brand names that seem to carry the same thing, but the Eva Dry brand is the one I know has a 12V plug option, if that's important to your setup. I don't know about the others.

This classification of dehumidifiers does not use a desiccant, but rather has a water reservoir you dump when full just like a full size dehumidifier. They come in a couple different sizes. The Petite is the smallest, also available in black now, and runs on 22.5 watts. Gurin is another brand that appears to put out a similar product, same with Ivation, which actually appears to be exactly the same just rebranded.

Next size up is termed on Amazon as mid-size; specs can be found on the Eva-Dry website. Again, you've got Ivation putting out a similar product, though with visibly obvious differences.

My research stopped when I found something that works for me, but it looks like there's a whole category of compressor-free electric dehumidifiers out there that have a lot of potential for vandwelling suitability, if you can get the power to it.

 

[akrvbob]

Bitty, thank you so much for that good info!! I wish I had known about it when I lived in Alaska!! Now that I'm in the desert I don't have any condensation problems but I know many of us still do.

Knowing it works for you is really helpful! And it's a reasonable price and many of us can run it off our solar system.

Thanks again!

Bob

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

The eva-dry and gurin both look pretty cool, but of course in a van you may want to tap 9 volts directly from your battery (or better an auxilliary battery) rather than invert 12 volts to 110 ac then convert 110 ac back down to 9 volts. I suspect all that conversion results in 30% efficiency. Maybe a 12v to 9v converter like this might do the trick.

 

[SoulRaven]

but of course in a van you may want to tap 9 volts directly from your battery (or better an auxilliary battery) rather than invert 12 volts to 110 ac then convert 110 ac back down to 9 volts. I suspect all that conversion results in 30% efficiency. Maybe a 12v to 9v converter like this might do the trick.

Or you could just run it off the 12 volt cord, which does away with the ac cord/inverter entirely. They've designed both the petite and mid-sized dehumidifiers to be able to run directly off of a standard 12V cigarette lighter without any hassle, you just buy the other cord, unplug the ac setup, plug that one into the back of the unit instead and you're good to go.

 

[offroad]

After reading the discussions about this technology. Get the impression it does not work as well as needed to be effective. You need to pull more water out of the air faster to drop the humidity levels. Ambient environment heat already does that more effectively. --- plus these units tend to fail after a couple months, but the fan can be replaced.

 

[Willy]

I leave a 'sacrificial window' uninsulated during the winter. An amazing amount of water condenses on it throughout the day/night and flows outside via the seep holes. The dehumidifiers do essentially the same thing, but need to be powered to do so. The window trick has the advantage of being passive tho. ..Willy.

 

[offroad]

Willy - just outstanding

 

[SoulRaven]

After reading the discussions about this technology. Get the impression it does not work as well as needed to be effective. You need to pull more water out of the air faster to drop the humidity levels. Ambient environment heat already does that more effectively.

Perhaps for some setups, in some environments, "ambient environmental heat" is sufficient. It hasn't been for me - in fact, not anywhere remotely close - which is what forced me to find another solution instead. As I reported, in my experience the dehumidifier borders on too effective if left on. I can certainly see how those who don't spend winters west of the cascades or in similar high humidity areas would likely be able to get away with simpler solutions.

I leave a 'sacrificial window' uninsulated during the winter. An amazing amount of water condenses on it throughout the day/night and flows outside via the seep holes. The dehumidifiers do essentially the same thing, but need to be powered to do so. The window trick has the advantage of being passive tho. ..Willy.

I insulated all my windows with Reflectix, and all of them got massive amounts of condensation on them anyway and there were no seep holes. So it would drip down and literally soak everything I owned - I learned to keep my electrical equipment in the very center of the car because that was the one place it wouldn't get wet. The air was still so damp it would cause the touchpad to stop working.