Dehumidifiers

[thames cruiser]

Sadly, it's fast approaching the end of the summer boating season again (what summer, I hear you ask?!!). I need to buy myself a dehumidifier to leave running in the cabin over winter. Any recommendations on which best buy? (or even which models/brands to avoid?)...

 

[Cossy]

Terrible feeling when autmn comes and I have to think about laying up for the winter. I've used a Symbol dehumidifier for a few years and it works well for me. IMHO the points to watch out for are:

automatic on/off control so it's not running 24/7

continuous drain arrangement so you don't have to keep emptying the little container for the condensate

avoid one that won't switch itself on after a power cut. I'm told some marinas cut the electricity supply outside normal work hours to reduce fire risk

Best of luck with it

 

[AllanJ]

I have one. I have used it, and I have not. I think that each circumstance is different, but I would experiment if I were you to see if it was actully doing any good.
The only circumstance that it seems to make sense to me is where you have sealed the boat so far as is practicable, and the air temperature is likely to fluctuate a lot.
Warm air holds can 'hold' more water than cold. That is why you get condensation on cold surfaces. But, water will spread from damp to dry air and so any open hatches, doors etc will simply re-wet the air that you have (expensively) dried with your dehumidifier.

Would be interested to hear more on this.

 

[maby]

Buy a dessicant, not a compressor unit. Compressors are a bit cheaper, but they don't work well in low temperatures, so they will do little in an unheated boat in mid winter. Dessicant dehumidifiers work right down to zero and slightly warm the air that they output (rather than cool it as is the case for compressors) - in all but the coldest of weather, you probably will not need a heater to stop the pipes freezing. At first sight, a dessicant dehumidifier burns more power than a compressor, but they are so much better at extracting moisture that they run for a lot less time.

We use a Meaco DD122FW (http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD122FW) which was the PBO best buy last year - it's a little noisy, but excellent apart from that.

 

[nrbx]

If you get one where you can set it to only run the compressor when it's over 65% for example, the added cost of the unit could well pay off in electricity savings. Certainly does for us!

 

[Bandit]

Following the MBM article on dehumidifiers we bought the compact B&Q unit which sits in a sink and with a piece of hosepipe drains into another sink.

It works well, boat dry as a bone, I leave it on all year and boat bry as a bone. i leave it on 65% humidity so as not to dry out the joinery.

 

[admillington]

I purchased the Meaco and installed it two weekends ago and am amazed how much water it has removed. A small well made unit.

Andrew

 

[Dave_Seager]

Dessicant dehumidifiers ... slightly warm the air that they output (rather than cool it as is the case for compressors).

It is not correct that compressor dehumidifiers cool the air. Actually, they warm it. They work as a heat pump, cooling one part while warming another. The air passes over the cool part first, where the moisture condenses out. The air then goes on to the warm side where it is reheated. However, there is actually a gain in heat due to the latent heat from the condensation. Additional heat comes from the inefficiency of the electric motor which run warm, losing its heat to the air.

In simple terms, you can probably assume that most of the electric power used will end up as heat.

 

[PEJ]

We use a Meaco DD122FW (http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD122FW) which was the PBO best buy last year - it's a little noisy, but excellent apart from that.

+1

I got one for the boat and liked it so much I got one for home.

 

[asteven221]

We use a Meaco DD122FW (http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD122FW) which was the PBO best buy last year - it's a little noisy, but excellent apart from that.

We use the same one. Best one I have had. Nice and light. Won't damage the wood if it falls as it's all smooth surfaces. Heats the air a wee bit too. It can be used with a timer and will go of and on ok without losing settings.

I would be interested to find out if otherr users find that the non turbo settings don't seem to remove a lot of water from the air. When we use ours on quiet or normal mode not much water comes out the air at all. However if it's used on turbo setting, it tries to sook up the sea! Seriously it seems to extract massive amounts of water from the air in turbo mode. It's also brilliant for drying wet clothes as well.

All in all a great uit.

 

[maby]

We leave ours on Auto all winter - it idles most of the time, just kicking up to full blast when it detects dampness in the air. If we are sleeping on the boat and it has been on full power all evening, I may switch it down to low power over night to keep the noise down.

 

[SolentPhill]

Buy a dessicant, not a compressor unit. Compressors are a bit cheaper, but they don't work well in low temperatures, so they will do little in an unheated boat in mid winter. Dessicant dehumidifiers work right down to zero and slightly warm the air that they output (rather than cool it as is the case for compressors) - in all but the coldest of weather, you probably will not need a heater to stop the pipes freezing. At first sight, a dessicant dehumidifier burns more power than a compressor, but they are so much better at extracting moisture that they run for a lot less time.

We use a Meaco DD122FW (http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DD122FW) which was the PBO best buy last year - it's a little noisy, but excellent apart from that.

It's about £30 cheaper here http://www.comfortableclimate.co.uk/Meaco DD122FW - 7 Litre Desiccant Dehumidifier.html