Anyone know of a good, reliable dehumidifier?

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Clivevon

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Anyone know of a good, reliable 240 volt mains electrical dehumidifier for a boat? My not very old desiccant Meaco DD8L Junior has broken down – again - & I need to replace it.

Its laying up time & I have found that using a dehumidifier on middle setting, together with an electric convector heater plugged into a digital thermostat socket (the ET05 Timeguard) set to come on at say 7 degrees C, has meant I can leave everything on board over winter without any damp or mould problems at all. Certainly saves a lot of work compared with shifting everything home, & then back in the spring. The low heater setting means the electricity consumption is also pretty low in our UK weather.

I’m actually pretty disappointed & annoyed with the Meaco. I bought it because it was Best Buy in the Practical Boat Owner magazine test a few years back but in my experience is 100% unreliable. I bought it in late 2016 & used it for 3 months that winter & then also the next 2 winters. Sometime during the 3rd winter it stopped working & was electrically dead. I returned it for repair under warranty early last year & put it back on the boat last autumn. Now it is dead again – same issue as far as I can see. Meaco say it is out of warranty & obsolete & they cannot now get the parts to repair it. From 2016 !!! They offer me 20% off a new Meaco dehumidifier. I pushed hard for 50% but no budging. Anyway, why would I buy another one from them? It lasted what – 4 winters?

I have a compressor dehumidifier in my caravan (RV) from Clarke which has worked faultlessly doing exactly the same job every winter for maybe 15 years ? I‘ve lost count. It shows up the Meaco for the piece of junk it is. I would buy another one like that in a flash but of course it has been discontinued… Probably because it lasts too long…

So I urgently need a new machine. 1st decision is: compressor or desiccant. Dessicant is supposed to be much more efficient for what I use it for – unattended in low temperatures onboard down to say 5 degrees C – with more durability due to less moving parts – but that has most definitely not been my experience. Quite the opposite as far as durability is concerned.

Is that just my bad luck? Anyone had a good experience of a dessicant dehumidifier in this sort of application? It must have a continuous drain facility.
I also found this guide on the web. Any comments?
https://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/guid...rees%20celsius.
 
My Meaco has worked without a hitch for 7 winters, basically on full time for 3 or 4 months of the year. You’ve obviously had a duff one and are understandably annoyed. But I sometimes have to give myself a kick and remind myself not to cut off my nose to spite my face - you of course probably have more moral fibre! ?
 
CLB said:
I would answer. Because it's nowhere near as good.
Click to expand...

A lot of people would disagree with you. I've never used a dehumidifier on my boats over the years. I've never taken bunk cushions home in the winter. I've always allowed some ventilation. I've never had bad mould/mildew problems.
 
pvb said:
A lot of people would disagree with you. I've never used a dehumidifier on my boats over the years.
Click to expand...

They would probably also follow the first sentence with the second. I do love it when people question something, then admit to never trying it. I have done both, so I'm speaking from a position of authority, compared to those that haven't.

Anyway, I'm not trying to convince you. Personally I couldn't give a monkey's, but you asked and I answered.
 
I have the Seago Smart Dry 2 compressor dehumidifier, which I run constantly when I'm in a marina - for days, weeks or even, over the winter, months at a time.

I doubt if there's much to choose in terms of performance between compressor dehumidifiers (if that's the kind you end up choosing), but I preferred the Seago's shape / dimensions than the equivalent Meaco compressor model, which is more boxy.

Compressor dehumidifiers are much more efficient at warmer temperatures - if you examine all the specs on Meaco's website, you'll see they can extract enormously more water from the air at 20°c. But they seem to do an adequate job at lower temperatures too - I had no heating on my boat last winter, and it was perfectly dry. I bought the SmartDry in October last year because the condensation was so bad that water was dripping off the walls and, in places, causing the interior paintwork to bubble; it dried the boat out in 3 or 4 days and I was relieved to see the bubbling disappear.

I can't see that there are significantly more moving parts in a compressor dehumidifier than there are in a domestic fridge - the fan is a bit bigger, that's all. It looks like I paid about £20 a month in electricity to run it; I think you'd probably see quite a saving, and yet still do an adequate job, by setting it to 50% or 60%. At the 40% setting it seems to be the last 5% that's the challenge, and which keeps it running,
 
I bought my Meaco dd8L in 2017 .
Not used it in anger yet this winter but switched it on for an hour at the weekend and it appeared to be functioning normally.
I have been advised to keep the filter clean ad to check the drain for any sign of fluff with a cotton bud. I did so before taking the dehumidifier to the boat.

If you are not happy with a desiccant dehumidifier why not get a compressor dehumidifier ?
electriQ 12L Low Energy Smart App Wi-Fi Alexa Dehumidifier for up to 3 bed house with UV Air Purifier CD12PRO-LE | Appliances Direct
.
 
I’ve heard that the Maeco dd8L doesn’t like being used on a time clock. They do a new version called the Zambezi which has a built in timer.
 
Dino said:
I’ve heard that the Maeco dd8L doesn’t like being used on a time clock. They do a new version called the Zambezi which has a built in timer.
Click to expand...
That's correct. Switching on and off other than using the power button on the machine or the run timer is not good.
The dd8l has a run timer but is not programmable.
 
Has to be a dessicant for reasons already outlined above, I went for an Ecoair DD1, similar price and spec to the popular Meaco. No problems, had it for 3 years & for a full time liveaboard adds greatly to comfort aboard...
 
Dehumidifiers do work well, the boat always “feels” drier in the winter when I open the hatch. I don’t see how ventilating a boat interior with damp winter air is better?
I bought a compressor dehumidifier from Argos 17 years ago and it is still working well, but I am getting nervous about leaving it on at that age. (My insurance people say an unattended dehumidifier is fine) So I was thinking about a new Meaco desiccant version as my compressor DH can “grow” a load of ice at sustained low temperatures for a week or so (below 1-2deg).
i now have a tube heater as well.
 
CLB said:
They would probably also follow the first sentence with the second. I do love it when people question something, then admit to never trying it. I have done both, so I'm speaking from a position of authority, compared to those that haven't.

Anyway, I'm not trying to convince you. Personally I couldn't give a monkey's, but you asked and I answered.
Click to expand...

I've never tried a dehumidifier because I've never had a problem with damp, so I'm speaking from a position of authority. What on earth do you think people did before dehumidifiers were invented? What do all those thousands of people with swinging moorings and no electricity do?
 
KompetentKrew said:
This is true of all desiccant dehumidifiers, by the way, but not compressor ones.


Sorry, which reasons? I'm quite happy with my compressor one.
Click to expand...

Dessicant work well at low ambient temperatures, compressor don't work at all well in low temperatures. Less of an issue if you're aboard and have heating on as well I guess...
 
Meaco here, must be 8 plus years old now.
I bought it after reading many positive posts on a canal boat forum, and figured they are going to give it more hard than floating caravan dwellers ever will.
 
Clivevon said:
Anyone know of a good, reliable 240 volt mains electrical dehumidifier for a boat? My not very old desiccant Meaco DD8L Junior has broken down – again - & I need to replace it.

Its laying up time & I have found that using a dehumidifier on middle setting, together with an electric convector heater plugged into a digital thermostat socket (the ET05 Timeguard) set to come on at say 7 degrees C, has meant I can leave everything on board over winter without any damp or mould problems at all. Certainly saves a lot of work compared with shifting everything home, & then back in the spring. The low heater setting means the electricity consumption is also pretty low in our UK weather.

I’m actually pretty disappointed & annoyed with the Meaco. I bought it because it was Best Buy in the Practical Boat Owner magazine test a few years back but in my experience is 100% unreliable. I bought it in late 2016 & used it for 3 months that winter & then also the next 2 winters. Sometime during the 3rd winter it stopped working & was electrically dead. I returned it for repair under warranty early last year & put it back on the boat last autumn. Now it is dead again – same issue as far as I can see. Meaco say it is out of warranty & obsolete & they cannot now get the parts to repair it. From 2016 !!! They offer me 20% off a new Meaco dehumidifier. I pushed hard for 50% but no budging. Anyway, why would I buy another one from them? It lasted what – 4 winters?

I have a compressor dehumidifier in my caravan (RV) from Clarke which has worked faultlessly doing exactly the same job every winter for maybe 15 years ? I‘ve lost count. It shows up the Meaco for the piece of junk it is. I would buy another one like that in a flash but of course it has been discontinued… Probably because it lasts too long…

So I urgently need a new machine. 1st decision is: compressor or desiccant. Dessicant is supposed to be much more efficient for what I use it for – unattended in low temperatures onboard down to say 5 degrees C – with more durability due to less moving parts – but that has most definitely not been my experience. Quite the opposite as far as durability is concerned.

Is that just my bad luck? Anyone had a good experience of a dessicant dehumidifier in this sort of application? It must have a continuous drain facility.
I also found this guide on the web. Any comments?
https://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/guid...rees%20celsius.
Click to expand...
Ebbac
 
pvb said:
I've never tried a dehumidifier because I've never had a problem with damp, so I'm speaking from a position of authority. What on earth do you think people did before dehumidifiers were invented? What do all those thousands of people with swinging moorings and no electricity do?
Click to expand...
stripped all loose kit off & took it home
 
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