Dehumidifiers

My wife wants us to buy a de-humidifier for our 2010 Broadway. She thinks that we should keep it on all winter to keep the vehicle dry. I have looked on the web and seen that the cheaper ones don't work if the temperature gets too low. The Meaco D122 looks good but seems to be a bit more expensive to run. Is anyone on the Forum using a dehumidifier? What is your experience? Any recommendations?

We use a small non electric dehumidifier in which you put granules and leave it in the bathroom over winter, this has worked well over the last 20++ years of caravanning and motorhoming. We do use the van all year round but not as much December / January. Management assures me this works well.

I have an electric dehumidifier which I got for drying out our dining room after a pipe leak, but never use it in the van. Just as a precaution I've got two beanbags of drying agent that I place in strategic areas. My own view is that if there is enough damp in there to cause a problem then it is a real problem and will need more than a bit of dehumidifying...........

Never really understood the logic of dehumidifiers in caravans, motorhomes etc. It always seems to me that if the van is well ventilated and you then run a dehumidifier, all you do is suck in damp air so that the dehumidifier fills up and you think "what a good thing I had a dehumidifier on in here....".

Am I missing something?

T ny.

Yep! About right......

I used the bags in our van last time when I had mistakenly knocked off the kitchen sink drain hose, resulting in a wet cupboard. Dried it out with a cloth and then put a bag in there for a week to absorb any thing else. That was what I meant. No point in sticking it in the middle of the van, but it is one of those things that if it feels like the right thing to do then why not?

As i understand it, these units work on the basis that warm air holds more moisture than cold air, The unit takes in air from its surroundings and passes it across a cold coil, upon which the moisture condenses.This collects in a container and you then remove it.

The warmer the air the better it functions. Makes the system a bit expensive to run.

Mate of mine puts a bowl of salt in his van, and dries it out occasionally.

The less hydroscopic material left in the van the better, remove the cushions, bedding and anything else that holds on to moisture.

Interested in any ideas on this front, as we are newies at this game.

Don't suppose you can get a damper environment than a boat left on moorings over winter!

We used a small "granule" type of dehumidifier in a small section of the bilges (where we kept some tinned goods and bottles of wine) but left the rest of the boat to it's own devices, without any problems, for eight years.

Good ventilation and a good location (i.e. Somwhere where the air can circulate) is the key to a non-damp atmosphere in anything.

I use the phrase "non-damp" because there is water in all atmospheres and "damp" occurs mainly when the vapour condenses into a liquid and then gets absorbed into, or settles on to, somewhere where it isn't wanted! As previously mentioned, unless it is fitted with a hygrometer to stop it working when a certain level of moisture is reached, a dehumidifier will keep working to try and dry ALL atmospheres; and thereby use copious amounts of power needlessly!

In my opinion it would be better to leave all the interior doors, cupboards and drawers propped open and spend the money on a small heater (500 watt?) set to come on when the temperature drops to 5-10 degrees or so to keep the MH warmed through. That way, the bedding stays "aired" and there is very little chance of dampness occurring.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Dutto

Thanks everyone for your advice. We have ended up buying the Meaco D122. It is a dessicant type of dehumidifier, rather than a condenser type and is therefore smaller and quieter. It has a drainage tube so you don't have to empty it every day, just let it run down the shower drain. Best of all it has an auto-reset facility, so you can put it on a timer switch, and use it for perhaps just an hour a day. It also has a clothes drying function, so will be useful in the house too. I don't expect to use it until the winter really takes hold, but I will let you know how I get on.