Mini Dehumidifier

[jamestaylor18]

Hi all
Does anyone use a mini dehumidifier in their Caravans? I have just bought one off amazon for £20 (it only a mini one). My Caravan is kept in storage without electricity, so this will only be used when in the van when away. I thought it might be a good idea to keep condensation/moisture down when away in the caravan.

What are peoples thoughts/experiences?

 

[Damian]

In very simple terms, a waste of money.
Because of the amount of fixed ventilation in a van the air changes very frequently so therefore you would be attempting to dry out the whole world with one £20 machine !!!!!

Unless you all stop breathing when in the van (not recommended for long periods of time) then you are simply adding to the problem, ……..oh, and don't open the windows or door at any time !!!!!

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi all
Does anyone use a mini dehumidifier in their Caravans? I have just bought one off amazon for £20 (it only a mini one). My Caravan is kept in storage without electricity, so this will only be used when in the van when away. I thought it might be a good idea to keep condensation/moisture down when away in the caravan.

What are peoples thoughts/experiences?

A slight chuckle before i even fished reading the whole lot and that's before I'd read Damiens reply !

Waste of time . Hope you kept the receipt !

 

[jamestaylor18]

That’s me told :lol:

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello James

Can I add a twist to your subject.

I totally agree with the answers so far in terms of long term storage, but there can be case to use a dehumidifier in some more specific circumstances.

The humidity in caravans is raised when people use the caravan, what we breath out is very humid, and as an example over night a adult can easily exhale as much as 100mL of water as vapour. When we use the open flamed cooker and oven, for every gram of gas used the flame produces about a gram of water vapour, and then of course there's the steam from boiling kettles and pans. Room seal appliances like the space, water heater and fridge will also produce water vapour but it is ducted directly outside and does not contribute to the interior of thecaravan.

So during use there is moisture build up in soft furnishings and the woodwork of a caravan - Oh and of course if the caravan has a water ingress problem that too will contribute.

All this is frequently obvious when the windows mist up at night. So during or immediately after periods of usage a dehumidifier may help to extract the excess moisture, but there is no benefit in using one after a couple of days in storage.

Obviously it won't do any harm (except to your bank balance) to leave one in long term, but there is no effective benefit

The best solution to control long storage humidity is ensuring the caravan is well ventilated, with soft cushions lifted or even removed and doors and lockers left open to aid free air circulation.

And getting any water leaks repaired!

 

[jamestaylor18]

Thanks Prof!

That is my plan really to combat the evening/morning condensation when the van is in use. I wouldn't be leaving it running full time due to not having EHU at the storage place I use. I could probably leave the windows on the trickle setting, but you do get quite a draft of cold air which isn't pleasant.

I will give it bash and see if it make any difference to the evening/morning condensation.

 

[Guzzilazz]

Usual preamble that my humidity condensation experience is boating related not caravan based (yet)…

I use a Meaco DD8L dehumidifier on a 10.5m sailing boat in the winter when out of the water. To support the Prof's statement, you need to avoid humidity and the damp getting into soft furnishings, as there lies the road to mildew and mould.
The comments about water vapour produced by combustion happening internally are absolutely correct. The other thing to remember that warm air holds far more water than cold - which is why we get dew on cooler mornings. We also stand cushions etc on end during the winter to allow air to circulate. Many boat owners remove them altogether, we don't have room at home. I don't mind dehumidifying the atmosphere, because the Meaco is able to cope with a far greater space than the boat (or a caravan) and the amount of water removed is amazing to see. The Meaco also has a deioniser, which I also use, because it stops dust sticking to surfaces, making cleaning prior to launch easier.

 

[otherclive]

Usual preamble that my humidity condensation experience is boating related not caravan based (yet)…

I use a Meaco DD8L dehumidifier on a 10.5m sailing boat in the winter when out of the water. To support the Prof's statement, you need to avoid humidity and the damp getting into soft furnishings, as there lies the road to mildew and mould.
The comments about water vapour produced by combustion happening internally are absolutely correct. The other thing to remember that warm air holds far more water than cold - which is why we get dew on cooler mornings. We also stand cushions etc on end during the winter to allow air to circulate. Many boat owners remove them altogether, we don't have room at home. I don't mind dehumidifying the atmosphere, because the Meaco is able to cope with a far greater space than the boat (or a caravan) and the amount of water removed is amazing to see. The Meaco also has a deioniser, which I also use, because it stops dust sticking to surfaces, making cleaning prior to launch easier.

We have a home dehumidifier left over from when we had old homes in Cumbia. It's now used to provide "deionised" water for the iron, and car windscreen washers. You don't get any build up of residue on the unswept portion of the screens or front side windows either. When we need to run it in winter my wife surrounds it with the clothes horse to feed it water !

 

[Thingy]

If you havent got the receipt, take the plug off and use it as a door stop. Mind you, if you are prepared to buy such an item, Ill go take a look in my shed and see what I can sell you B)

 

[ProfJohnL]

...The comments about water vapour produced by combustion happening internally are absolutely correct. The other thing to remember that warm air holds far more water than cold - which is why we get dew on cooler mornings....

It is also the reason why windows mist up. Warm air inside the caravan (or boat) takes up the moisture produced by breathing bodies and cookers..etc, and as the warm air circulates it comes into contact with much cooler surfaces (windows and other metal bits) which cools the air, and the air has to give up its moisture by condensing it onto the cooler surface. If that surface is open grain wood, it will be capillaried into the wood.

The problem with boats is they badly designed :huh: They don't put enough ventilation through the bottom to allow good air circulation inside :evil:

 

[otherclive]

...The comments about water vapour produced by combustion happening internally are absolutely correct. The other thing to remember that warm air holds far more water than cold - which is why we get dew on cooler mornings....

It is also the reason why windows mist up. Warm air inside the caravan (or boat) takes up the moisture produced by breathing bodies and cookers..etc, and as the warm air circulates it comes into contact with much cooler surfaces (windows and other metal bits) which cools the air, and the air has to give up its moisture by condensing it onto the cooler surface. If that surface is open grain wood, it will be capillaried into the wood.

The problem with boats is they badly designed :huh: They don't put enough ventilation through the bottom to allow good air circulation inside :evil:

When Bailey first introduced the Series 5 Pageant range around 2005 they did not fit anti-condensation boards behind the lounge seats, or between the bed and the caravan sidewalls. Bailey claimed that the superior wall insulation made anti condensation boards unnecessary. Lots of people told them it wouldn't work. We had had the caravan 2 months and no amount of ventilation within the caravan would stop the build up of moisture on bedding or into upholstery So I spoke to the supplying dealer and was told that Bailey would authorise fitting of anti condensation boards So they were fitted and the problem went away. However unlike a car manufacturer it was up to the customer to complain as caravan makers don't do recalls.

 

[Parksy]

We used to use our caravan all year round but grandad duties, dodgy health and a nice warm home has meant that unless the winter is very mild the caravan is now in storage until March. I always leave a couple of windows on the night latch to allow air to circulate throughout the caravan, plus I move the soft furnishings away from the walls and put them on end to allow air to circulate into floor storage lockers. I made the mistake of using spray furniture polish one year which resulted in some fine green mould over the cupboard doors, a mistake never repeated.
The caravan is nice and dry whenever we go down to check on it and we have no problems with damp when we start again in March.

 

[Trevormc]

With my van situated outside the back door of our house we often open e door during warm spells in winter, never had any problems with damp. also used as storage at times.

 

[Beachball]

We also use a dehumidifiers at home in the bathroom but never thought of using it in the caravan our is always dry and no damp but like what someone says we do leave some of the windows slightly open and so far it is ok