Opinions please - moisture.

[Thingy]

I decided to give the caravan an airing today and then run the heaters for a few hours. The weather is cold and very damp here, and I did my usual routine of opening cupboards and bedboxes to allow the air to flow. I didnt open the wardrobe (rear washroom) which is against the rear panel of the van.

Leaving the heater on for about 10 hours I went into the van, and for some unknown reason decided to open the wardrobe door. I found that the side panel of the van was dripping wet over the whole of the inside of the wardrobe, limited to the one sidewall only. Possibly an area of two square metres. Leaving the wardrobe door open and the heater running another few hours I checked to find it bone dry although pouring with rain outside which seems to negate water ingress.

This may be a phenomenon that you guys have encountered before. There would have been a large temperature difference between inside and outside the wardrobe, so I am guessing its just condensation. Van is in in March for a service so it will get checked out then. Has anyone else encountered this though. Possibly it happens a lot, I just havent noticed it.

 

[Thingy]

And mods, please move this to the right place, its 0210 hrs and a sleep deprived Thingy wasnt concentrating.

 

[Hutch]

I should have replied just aftr you wrote your question, as I was also awake at that time, I tend to leave all our door and locker doors open in storage, and when getting it home prior to going away, leave them open when I put on the heating. Never noticed it in our caravans. Good question though.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Thingy,

The symptom you describe is almost certainly condensation , and you comprehensive description of what you did and when holds the explanation.

With the cupboard doors closed and the heating on, the main body of the caravan warms up. The warmer air absorbs more moisture from the material of the caravan which tends to dry it out a little bit. But the inside of the cupboard does not warm up any where near as much, but there will a small air exchange with the main body. The consequence is the cooler air inside the wardrobe sinks and will find a small route into the main cabin. This air is replaced by the warm moister air from the lounge, but the cool wall in the cupboard drops its temperature and causes the condensation.

This is a good example of why heating a room to control condensation can sometimes be couner productive elswhere in a dwelling. Its always best to allow free ventilation and Hutches solution is one of the best.

 

[Thingy]

Thanks guys, I usually do open the bedboxes and all the cupboards but only when I am actually airing or warming the van.
In future, I will leave all open whilst its standing, and hopefully increase the air flow around the more secluded parts of the van.
I do wonder how many more people are experiencing this without knowing, and indeed, how much long term damage can be caused by this.
I did suspect condensation, but the sheer amount rocked me a little, a hint of panic maybe B)

 

[otherclive]

I always open all cupboards, lockers and doors as well as lifting bed boxes up and the soft furnishings are opened too. In fact it looks a bit like an explosion in a furniture warehouse! Never put heat onto a van in winter as I have never had any condensation issues when I look into them during winter. Hopefully yours was just condensation caused by too large a difference in temperatures between fittings.