best constant drain dehumidifier

I use moisture traps - which are quite effective and required only on the colder months . We have no mould issues, Must admit there were a couple of occasions last winter when a dehumidifier would have been a added benefit.
May to October inclusive I use nothing - but the boat is rarely closed up for more than 5 days.
 
Ecoair 122 always does well in reviews. I think when I discussed with them they said get the Simple for a boat becuase the more fancy electronic ones don't seem to like shore power cuts. The unit is supposed to run for a few minutes when "off" and the Simple is more tolerant if you do not. (Don't ask me, just re-telling the comment!)
Anyway, the dessicant is a revelation after the conventional type
http://www.ecoair.org/Dehumidifier.html
 
We use a Meaco at home and it is really good, kind of doubles as a very low powered heater but on the boat over the winter just a standard XM type one. You will find that most units have a constant drain option. I would agree with above about ventilation which in the summer is the best. I have a solar vent which makes all the difference as it moves enough air to keep everything fresh and dry. Remember that for a dehumidifier to work, it must be in a sealed room otherwise you are just trying to dehumidify the planet! So all ventilation needs blocked.
 
Plus 1 for the Maeco dessicant dehumidifier. More reliable and will operate at lower ambients than a piezo alternative. I tried moisture traps on the Azi, but she has too much volume, but the Maeco works a treat. I time it for 1.5-3 hours per night over the winter, reducing hours as we get into March/April. Cost about £140. Mine drains into the galley sink, which drains out of the boat. The Maeco also produces a bit of heat, so a Brucie Bonus.
 
Meaco dessicant - don't bother with anything else. We are going to have to buy a replacement this winter - the current one has been run continuously from November to March every year for the last five and is beginning to sound terrible.

There are people that claim they are not necessary - just ensure sufficient ventilation. I guess a lot depends on the nature of your boat and the way you use it. If your boat does not leak at all and you simply shut it up in October and don't touch it again till the end of March, then they may be right. We use our boat all the year round - there are few weekends in the year when we are not aboard and we often work from it during the week - in mid December with two adults (and a cat) cooking and sleeping on board, it soon becomes very damp. When we are aboard with the Meaco turned on, I usually let it drain into its internal tank rather than sitting it on the worktop next to the sink - it often extracts a couple of pints in a day - that would be condensing on the roof and hatches if it was not sucked out.
 
We bought a DeLonghi from Argos and coupled to moisture traps worked for us. One thing in the instructions was that it shouldn't be used with a timer switch as I think it goes through a dedicated shut down cycle which a timer switch won't allow.
 
If you are planning on leaving it running on an unheated boat, make sure it is a dessicant type, not a compressor. The latter do not work well in low temperatures.
 
I have been doing a bit more research on the meaco DD8L and I am alarmed by the amount of reviews people are saying where there units have stopped working and when they speak to meaco they say it will be £70 to sort the faults out as the customer has to pay the carriage even though they are still under warranty and also there seems to be a lot of them on ebay for parts not working which makes me think they seem to fail easily are there any other makes that are desiccant dehumidifiers with constant drain facility
 
I've been considering replacing my 18 year old Ebac CD30 compressor type dehumidifier (it's a bit industrial & Mrs Q doesn't like it) with a Meaco desiccant machine, but am rather put off by some of the above comments.

My Ebac machine has been run for a couple of hours or so everyday for 18 years and still runs perfectly.

I know people that run this model in garages with classic cars etc 24 hours a day and they don't complain.
 
lanerboy said:
I have been doing a bit more research on the meaco DD8L and I am alarmed by the amount of reviews people are saying where there units have stopped working and when they speak to meaco they say it will be £70 to sort the faults out as the customer has to pay the carriage even though they are still under warranty and also there seems to be a lot of them on ebay for parts not working which makes me think they seem to fail easily are there any other makes that are desiccant dehumidifiers with constant drain facility
Click to expand...

I've never heard significant bad reports of Meaco products - I guess you have to recognise that people who bother to comment on review sites tend to be skewed towards those with complaints - I don't think I ever bothered to go online to report that my DD8L has boringly worked as advertised since it arrived. It is possibly also the case that the Meaco desiccant devices come in for a harder life than the majority of dehumidifiers - the cheaper refrigerant models work fine in most domestic environments and are probably more common in the home. They will be switched on for relatively short periods to dry a room out, then left off for hours, or even days. The Meaco desiccant devices are preferred by boat owners who leave them running for weeks, or even months, on end. Ours sounds like a tin of old nuts and bolts despite the fact that it is only three years old - but during those three years, it has been switched on in late October and run continually till mid March - that is a lot of wear and tear!

If you are operating it in a heated boat, then there is nothing wrong with a refrigerant type which will be cheaper to purchase and, potentially, cheaper to run. If you are leaving it unattended for long periods in an unheated boat, then the desiccant has clear benefits - it works a lot better at low temperatures.
 
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