This is how the West Marine pancake style dryers work; They keep the temperature in the cabin warmer than the outside air which stops condensation from forming. Nifty trick. The pancake dryers do it with a small heating element instead of a light bulb. Same idea, just darker!
Vents... Dehumidifier... ???
- Thread starter SailFysh
- Start date
How did you plumb it to the drain? Pictures?I have used for the past two seasons a "solid state" dehumidifier. This operates on 120v and drains into my sink. Works all winter thru freezing temps and keeps the relative humidity on my boat (Beneteau 373) below 50%.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,746
I found that leaving the drop boards out gives my boat plenty of ventilation. I use a boom tent to keep rain from entering through the companionway. This is a successful example of my philosophy of starting with the simplest and least expensive possible solution, then adding complexity/expense until an acceptable solution is found.
I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Breeze-P...751248&sr=1-5&keywords=dehumidifiers+for+home
I set it on the side of the sink and drilled 2 quarter inch holes in the front. Drains right into the sink.
I set it on the side of the sink and drilled 2 quarter inch holes in the front. Drains right into the sink.
I do use the same unit, but I drilled a hole in the reservoir and stick a small plastic tube in it. Now I can put the tube over the sink, or raise it up and use the reservoir.
Ken
What I'd like to find is one that has defrost capability and one where if the power goes off for any length of time it will come back on and run with the same RH% setting it was set for. Normally my setting is between 40% and 50% RH.
The one I have does have defrost capability (so that part is good) but if the power goes off much longer than a moment it turns itself OFF!!! A real bummer because it is usually in the late fall to early spring when that happens. Don't appreciate making a trip down to the boat every time the lights flicker just to check if it is still on or not.
The one I have does have defrost capability (so that part is good) but if the power goes off much longer than a moment it turns itself OFF!!! A real bummer because it is usually in the late fall to early spring when that happens. Don't appreciate making a trip down to the boat every time the lights flicker just to check if it is still on or not.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,746
Check out WEMO. I think the have a smart plug. It connects to wifi and can tell you if the plug is powering the attached appliance. Saw it on line the other day. Pretty cool. Reports the power consumption of the appliance.
The Nicro's, new and old models, are on sale for $100 at WM this weekend. I looked at the old models at WM and was surprised that the 3" and 4" are the same size accept for the hole size. Doesn't make sense to go with the lower flowing 3" if you are still stuck with the 9" diameter exterior. I'm hesitant to mount this fairly large vent on my 27' boat, but I'll probably appreciate it in the long run and may reduce my reliance on the damp-rids.
Anyone have any information about the new Nicro solar vents? I know the motor is replaceable.
Anyone have any information about the new Nicro solar vents? I know the motor is replaceable.
After trying several Nicro vents I found something that worked far better (for me).
I figured that to remove odors I had to ventilate ALL the sources and not just the cabin.
What worked was a 12 volt computer fan (100 ma - check what you buy as they vary considerably in current draw).
It was attached directly to the engine room vent. This pulled air from the engine room, the bilge (it's connected to the engine room) and finally from the cabin (many places where air can be sucked down into the bilge). Fresh air enters the cabin via vents in the hatch boards.
Result was (finally) an odor free boat as the bilge and engine room were definite "contributors".
Current drain is so low I just leave it running all the time.
I use it over the winter as well - except I add a piece of flexible dryer vent so it exhausts outside the winter cover. For winter I power it with a small 40 watt solar panel beside the boat. Without any regulator it screams like an F14 when the sun is out but moves a ton of air.
Never any kind of odor in the spring...
I figured that to remove odors I had to ventilate ALL the sources and not just the cabin.
What worked was a 12 volt computer fan (100 ma - check what you buy as they vary considerably in current draw).
It was attached directly to the engine room vent. This pulled air from the engine room, the bilge (it's connected to the engine room) and finally from the cabin (many places where air can be sucked down into the bilge). Fresh air enters the cabin via vents in the hatch boards.
Result was (finally) an odor free boat as the bilge and engine room were definite "contributors".
Current drain is so low I just leave it running all the time.
I use it over the winter as well - except I add a piece of flexible dryer vent so it exhausts outside the winter cover. For winter I power it with a small 40 watt solar panel beside the boat. Without any regulator it screams like an F14 when the sun is out but moves a ton of air.
Never any kind of odor in the spring...
With no shore power, a single FLA G27 battery and 20 hours of engine time a year, I would probably need to connect in a solar panel to support the 100ma. I like the idea so I will have to investigate this further.
We installed a 5" Nicro solar fan (turned to exhaust direction) into the forward hatch, then cut slits into the plexi top companionway hatch door (two door system) so some air could move. Finally (have shore power) we use a drum-shaped fan driven heater placed on the main cabin floor near midships. This combination has prevented serious mildew and musty smell issues for the past 27 years with this boat (O'Day 28).