Dehumidifier + heating?

[JeremyF]

Just bought the ST-recommended budget dehumidifier from sces.co.uk. It does not need +5 deg to operate. Should I leave a heater on board as well as this when she comes out the water at the end of the month, or is it just damp that causes problems? Electricity consumption is not an issues, as its part of the marina deal.


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[tome]

If it has a heating cycle (usually referred to as 'hot gas cycle' or suchlike) then it's fine and you won't need any heater.

Dehumidifiers have a condenser palete to evaporate the water, but this causes internal cooling. The cheap domestic ones will freeze up in winter so aren't any good. If it's ST recommended then I'd hope this is ok.

If it has an internal tank then try to bypass this with a hose (othewise it will fill up and switch off). I feed the hose into the galley sink where it can drain overboard.

Have it on a low setting otherwise it will suck the moisture out of the wood work and, I'm told, can even suck water through the hull.

They are brilliant and on my boat I can leave books on board, bunk cushions etc and everything stays fresh and dry.

 

[gtmoore]

Is it recommended to use a dehumidifier when a boat is kept in the water over the winter period?

 

[pandroid]

I dont know whether its recomended, but I do, and it works a treat. I back it up with a 60 watt greenhouse heater. I leave the dehumidier on from about December thru to March.

 

[tome]

I don't know whether it's recommended, but I don't see any reason why not. The only proviso I've heard is not to have a higher setting than you need. I've used one for the past few winters and it's made a big difference - the boat is always ready to go.

 

[Iota]

Assuming that you have drained the water tank(s) plus hot water cylinder, got the toilet drained and removed the batteries no need to heat. But with a heater it leesen the risk of damage to the engine, keep the batteries at a reasonable temperature, if the water draining is less than perfect lessen the risk of damage, keep soft furnishings nicer so as power is not a problem put on some greenhouse type heaters turned up a notch or two above frost level

Courtesy is an iota but makes the world go round

 

[JeremyF]

Thanks

Great advice all. Thanks!

Ive bought a £5 Woolies fan heater with a frost guard setting, so I might as well use that as well, if only to keep the batts and engine happy.

I was only going to remove the bedding, and leave all electronics, including TV, on board. From the responses here, it would seem that's better than taking it all home and leaving it in the attached garage. Unless you advise differently!

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