Dehumidifiers

[Nick_Pam]

Hi All
Any help you can give us would be gratefully received.

We decided to treat our new (well - new to us) Dehler to a dehumidifier (same model as the badged XM one but from Argos - £69.95 as opposed to £129.95, but I digress!) and I wondered what is the best way to protect our investment (the Dehler, not the dehumidifier!!) by making sure that if the dehumidifier throws a wobblie, it won't set fire to the Dehler.

Is there any point in using an RCD plug, like I have on my electric flymo, or is the one built into the shore-power circuit up to the job?

Any thoughts??

Thanks in anticipation

Nick & Pam

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[AndrewB]

There is nothing in a dehumidifier that is particularly likely to cause a fire, but an RCD cutout is always highly advisable for the on-board mains supply just in case of a short. There are also different views about the most appropriate way to earth on-board mains power, but I think most people settle for relying on the shore earth line.

The dehumifier has to be perched somewhere where it can drain. The bucket is not large enough unless you invariably visit your yacht a couple of times weekly. So this normally means leaving a sink seacock open, my guess is that sinking due to a faulty outlet is the bigger risk! It must also be well supported so there is no risk of it falling over should the boat be blown around a bit in a gale.

I bought my bottom-of-the-range dehumidifier in Argos back in 1997 - they were then about £100 - and it has been run continuously for about 6 months every year since then without trouble, though lugging it on and off the boat when we've gone for sails has left it very battered. Keeping the boat thoroughly dry has really opened up winter sailing and living aboard for us.

 

[Nick_Pam]

Andrew
Thanks for this - I'm pretty sure that the galley sink drains above the waterline (only took ownership of said Dehler this week and still learning our way round it) so hopefully that mitigates the sinking risk a bit!!!
I'm pretty sure that there is an RCD on the shore-power inlet - head down in locker this weekend!!
Wedging it so it doesn't go walkies in rough marina weather might be an interesting topic for another post!!
Appreciate your help
Nick

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[Stemar]

IMHO, an RCD won't protect against a short circuit unless it's to earth. Its job is to protect you against earth faults.

The best protection against fire with any electrical equipment is to make sure the cord is in good condition and the plug has the right fuse:

Up to about 650watts - 3 amp
650 - 1100watts - 5 amp
1100 - 2200watts - 10 amp
Anything more - 13 amp

If a bit of kit near the top of the range and the fuse keeps blowing, you could try going up 1 fuse, but no more. A dehumidifyer could do this, as there may may well be a higher load as it starts up.



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[Nick_Pam]

Cheers Steve....according to the spec, the dehumidifier only draws a maximum of 200 watts (circa 1 amp in old money) so I would hope a 3 amp fuse would be OK. Said device is brand new, so hopefully they've fitted a decent power cable!
Thanks for your input
Nick

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