I'm curious how many of you in cold climates, use some sort of electric or desiccant dehumidifier when your boat is laid up outside?
Do you use any type of dehumidifier in the winter?
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
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No. Humidity in the winter is really low, so there is very little if any condensation. I do try to provide some ventilation. Leave the sink drain cocks open and don't close dorade vents. Make sure the shrink wrapper installs vents in the shrink wrap. The other way to solve the ventilation problem is to store the boat inside.
In the water yes. More dampness and the water can be much warmer (fall--drives moisture from the bilge) or much colder (spring--late snow on deck can make it practically rain inside on a warm day) than the air, driving condensation.
On the hard, just ventilate. Obviously, if you have leaks, fix them or at least cover with duct tape or a good tarp.
On the hard, just ventilate. Obviously, if you have leaks, fix them or at least cover with duct tape or a good tarp.
Electric dehumidifiers don't work under 40-50 degrees. As stated above, the humidity is very low in the winter, but rises in the spring. I set out seven buckets throughout the boat with colanders in the top and put a couple scoops of calcium chloride pellets in the colanders. It absorbs the water in the air in the spring and the water drips into the buckets. I get at least a quart of water in each bucket at the uncovering in April.
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I put a couple Damp Rid containers in the cabin for the winter. They go through February basically looking like new. Once the weather warms up and humidity increases they start absorbing moisture. By the time we launch they’re pretty much expended.
Last year I decided I would save money and buy cheese cloth bags and a bottle of silica beads to recharge before next year. They sat in the boat all season. The bag disintegrated and then I hit some 4 footers and they went flying all over the place. I'm still finding those little beads every so often!
The beads changed color slightly in the spring but really changed in the summer
Anyways, this year I did the same but I 3D printed some containers and will use a filament dryer to recharge them.
The beads changed color slightly in the spring but really changed in the summer
Anyways, this year I did the same but I 3D printed some containers and will use a filament dryer to recharge them.
I made a little array of sensors that lets me remotely monitor temperature and humidity, and graph them over time. My goal is to keep humidity below 60% and temperature above 40F. In our climate, I find that if I keep the temperature above 50F, that keeps humidity under 60% with no additional dehumidification. What I don't do a good job of is circulating this warmer/drier air into all of the cooler/damper recesses. So, I get a little bit of mildew in some of the deeper lockers. Adding a fan or two would probably address this.
For a while now I have been purchasing dry bags from Amazon. PEKGRIL Moisture Absorber Packets 14-Packs, 15 oz Hanging Dehumidifier Bags, Fragrance Free Humidity Packs for Closet, Bathroom, Kitchen, 420g/Pack for $34. I tried other brands, tubs and pouches, however this was the one I found which had the best cost effeciency with duration before no longer being effective. WM is Damp Rid brand and the cost is prohibitive. My local Bjs wholesale club has a four pack of Damp Rid Pouches for $14. I never leave my boat plugged into shore power unless I'm on it, so heaters dont work for me. I wouldn't want a 12v heater hooked up off my house bank which would be charged via solar for the same reason. But thats just me.
I deploy about six DampRid desiccant buckets in the cabin with all lockers empty and propped open, and cushions on end for air circulation. The desiccant is effective during the late autumn and spring months when we have wildly fluctuating temperatures and humidity that cause condensation issues here in Chicago. After the shrink wrap goes on, I open the sink drain seacocks and head portlite to provide circulation of cold, dry winter air when the desiccant is ineffective.
Seven buckets and matching collanders at the dollar store $14 one time cost. One 40# bag of pure calcium chloride $30. You now have 10+ years of humidity control.
I spent 30 on desiccant beads, $5 on 3D printer material for the containers and am using a $40 3D printer filament dryer to recharge the beads. Dryer was not bought for this purpose
Not using the large ones. Checked pricing on line at Home Depot today:
Small 10.5 oz DampRid buckets are $3.78 each. Six of them cost $22.68 and they‘re reusable for several years.
The 7.5 lbs DampRid refill, which serves me for almost two years, is $12.97
Even with 10.25% Chicago sales tax and shipping, it’s nowhere near $240.
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The plastic gets brittle after years of use. I had one crack apart one year when I was about to deploy it. It may have been eight or ten years old. Fortunately it was empty at the time, but I learned to rigorously check they’re still flexible every fall before filling them. I store them empty in a dark locker on the boat over the summer.
A dry bilge and mild temperatures allow me to use a thermoelectric (Peltier) dehumidifier during the wet off season (Nov to Mar). Something like an Eva-Dry or a Pro Breeze plus 2 small Caframo circulators keeps the interior below 60% RH. A weekly visit usually reaps about 2 cups (500ml) of water. All the compartments and lockers are propped open and books and fabrics are removed.
The plastic may be in good shape, but how do you know that the desiccant isn't saturated?