Dehumidifier question

[Fergus]

Since I can't get down to my boat on a regular basis, what's the best approach? Leave it on full blast for a couple of weekends at beginning and end of winter or at 1/4 setting constantly? Manual says it doesn't like having the power cut off (?!)

 

[muckypup]

I leave mine on constant with the humidistat set to "comfort" whatever that really means.

S.

 

[SoSageofLorn]

I use one with a humidistat set to 55%-60% this keeps things nice and comfortable without drying out the timber.

 

[StugeronSteve]

Yep, top end of comfort. Left it on constantly last winter and everything seems ok. Unless you need to dry the boat out, after a wetting, the "comfort" setting should keep things nice.

If yours isn't marked comfort, just pick a dry day and turn the humidistat up until the unit kicks in, then knock it back a fraction. You should find that that will do the job.

 

[AIDY]

I never keep mine on constant, it will eventually dry all the wood out on the boat.

I run it for 5 hours a day at dawn. then run a tube heater for a few hours in the evening..... seems to work okay.

 

[sarabande]

Running a dehumidifier in the coldest part of the day doesn't make sense to me.

Warm air holds moisture more easily than cold air, so the deHs work best when the temp is high rather than low.


Getting the settings right to make the heater and deH work in tandem WITH each other, rather than AGAINST each other is crucial. Heater ON to increase the amount of moisture in the air, then the DeH to extract the moisture from warm air.


BTW, where do you place the drain from the deH ? Extracted water must eb dumped back outside the boat otherwise you are working on a closed cycle, just moving water round the cabins.

 

[AIDY]

depends if on hard standing or afloat.. normally out through the kitchen sink or through the speed/log ashore.

 

[Rooster]

I have mine on comfort setting and run twice a day for a total of 5 hours using a plug-in timer.

R