Dehumidifyer

[Trumpton189]

I am about to layup my motor cruiser for the winter and have been advised to install a dehumidifyer to reduce damp and mould build up. Can anyone recommend a reliable make and supplier and provide guidance / tips ?. Many thanks.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Any recognised make of dehumidifier will do but obviously it has to be sufficiently light and with a handle such that you can carry it off/on the boat. IMHO, it is vital that it has a discharge pipe outlet on the back to which you can attach a length of plastic pipe. If you just allow the water to drain into the tank, it will fill within days and switch itself off. I usually place my dehumidifier in the galley with the discharge pipe draining into the sink. Also, dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity so, if your marina charges you separately for electricity usage, get a timer and set it such that the dehumidifier only comes on for say, 2 hrs a day. This is a bit of a safety measure too because there have been tales of dehumidifiers going up in smoke so not leaving it on for 24/7 just might save your boat

 

[Skysail]

Recent thread here

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212670&highlight=dehumidifier

 

[Questor]

As said, get one with the continuous drain facility.

Also, get one with a humidistat, along with a timer.

Get one with the Hot Gas Defrost facility, to stop any potential freezing up of the evaporator unit, which could restrict airflow.

Get a decent make ie Ebac.

You may pay a little more, but I've never heard of an Ebac catching fire.

We use an Ebac CD30 which is probably oversized and a little industrial, but a good, reliable, and robust piece of kit, which remains on the boat all year round.

 

[gjgm]

you dont say what the boat is..I wouldnt say its always necessary anyway.

 

[Trumpton189]

Thanks for your guidance. The boat is a 2002 34ft GRP broads cruiser which will be lifted out and stored on land this year.

 

[seamaster30]

I am about to layup my motor cruiser for the winter and have been advised to install a dehumidifyer to reduce damp and mould build up. Can anyone recommend a reliable make and supplier and provide guidance / tips ?. Many thanks.

As already said, stick to a good make - don't try to do it on the cheap.
Must have a permanent drain facility linked to your sink, and a variable dial type humidistat - avoid a High / Low switched type.
I don't bother with a timer (a further point of failure and will get out of sync if there is a power disruption.), as the humidistat will only turn the unit on when the moisture levels require it.
It would be helpful to also have a lowish wattage oil filled heater to keep the base temperature up a bit.
Try to get the specs sheet and see how low a temperature the unit can operate at - many require quite a high temp to be effective.
Ignore the 'it will remove x gallons per day' claims as that would only apply to perfect conditions and they will never occur on the boat over winter.
Some form of defrost cycle will be beneficial.

 

[Scubadoo]

It has been known for Timers to burst into flames, a house was completely destroyed because of a timer catching fire and set light to a curtain. Best to keep anything flammable away from the electrical points/units. The guy who lost his house was using timers for lights while on holiday.

 

[SVB]

One thought - if you are also going to provide back-ground heating it may be more economic to get a desecant based dehumidifier rather than a condensing type - overall power consumption may be less + only one item to store.
S

 

[FunkyMonkey]

i agree with SVB a desecant type would be more cost effective and safer.... unless you are visiting the boat regulary would you want a condenser type running while you are not there?? i certianly wouldnt and ive been in the Ref and Air Con game nearly 20 years... many of the newer dehum units are very reliable but theres always that chance it could fail and i do see them fall over occationally.

Irrespective of manufacturer these several moving parts such as compressor, condenser fan , evap fan, condensate pump, all these things to go wrong... while your not there...

prehaps it would be more benifitial to run a small cheap dehum unit for a day or two before leaving the boat then once you going to seal her up for the winter go down the desecant route.

again this is only my opinion

 

[Trumpton189]

Thanks to all who responded. After a couple of hours research I have decided to order an XDry Desiccant Dehumidifier from Boatsheen who were keenest on price.

 

[ian38_39]

One thing to check is that your dehmidifyer will turn itself back on after a power outage. if you need to reset it after turning it off it will not work after the shore power has been off

 

[johnpye]

Restart dehumidifier after power -off

One thing to check is that your dehmidifyer will turn itself back on after a power outage. if you need to reset it after turning it off it will not work after the shore power has been off

We (BoatSheen ) do two dehumidifiers, both desiccant type, both have external drain, and both will restart after power off. We considered those be essential features for a dehumidifier on a boat over winter.

The new model is the kid brother to the X-dry. Very similar spec, slightly lower power rating, physically smaller and lower price. There's a comparison at http://www.boatsheen.com/dehumidifiers.html.