desicant dehumidifiers

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yourmomm

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im thinking of investing in one of these as im told they are quieter than my compressor-based dehumidifier and have comparable performance in the real-life temperature and humidity ranges found on boats in british winters-they are rated around 5-7L/day rather than the usual 10-20L/day, but ive learned never to trust these figures anyway....just wondering if anyone has any experience of them-are they upto the job...? many thanks
 
Chemical dessicants are indeed quieter! but less expensive? depends how you operate it and what form of chemical you are using. Stuff like salica gel can be heated and the moisture removed, the others just disappear as they attract the moisture. In either case, you need significant amounts of the chemical and frequent replenishment/replacement.
 
There have been several threads on them over the last 18 months. The consensus is that they are better for the UK climate as compressor types tend to freeze up. B&Q sell one, I believe.

We had a compressor one on our yacht in Falmouth for several years and it did tend to freeze up but when we were living aboard in Chichester we had two compressor types running 24/7 and they were brilliant - though you could hear them. Much of the noise comes from the fan and you will presumably get that for both types.

Anyway, have a search here.
 
The dessicant types will certainly work better in low temperatures, but may be more difficult for you to install - they usually require a vent hose to take the moist exhaust outside. As for quoted extraction rates, most dehumidifiers quote extraction based on very high ambient temperature and humidity - typically around 30 deg C and 80% RH - so normal UK use will see much lower extraction!
 
[ QUOTE ]
they usually require a vent hose to take the moist exhaust outside.

[/ QUOTE ]Surely not? Why? A main benefit of them is that they give out useful heat. I've never heard of one with a vent, can you cite an example?
 
The one I gave a link to certainly doesn't require a vent hose for air. Just deposits into a tank like most dehumidifiers. Doesn't say if you can override and drain to a sink as most people do tho
 
Those are commercial huge volume, domestic drop the liquid into a tank or a tube to vent overboard or into a sink which vents overboard, same as the domestic compressor versions
 
Re: desicant dehumidifiers vs compressors

I bought one of the B&Q units at about £70 last year and used it for part of the winter in our Motorhome which had developed a leak in the skylight. The unit is 250 watt so with electricity at £0.09 per kw hour it works out at about 2p per hour. Dried out the van and kept it warm though the winter. Will be putting it back in this winter on a time clock to run it about 6 hours per day and will connect the external drain through a hole in the floor so that I do not need to empty it. When the unit was in operation last winter, we had to empty the built in container every two to three days.
 
Posted many times on this subject, as a user for 2 seasons I can confirm they are indeed excellent.
This is the model that I use.

http://www.breathingspace.co.uk/pages/amberdry.php

Before anyone without user knowledge tries to quote power consumption will make it expensive to run, I can be quite honest & say that it costs no more than the equivallent compresor type due mainly to being more efficient so runnning less often.
 
BrendanS said:
Those are commercial huge volume, domestic drop the liquid into a tank or a tube to vent overboard or into a sink which vents overboard, same as the domestic compressor versions
Click to expand...

Yes, you can get desiccant dehumidiifers with continuous drain.
Also some that will restart after a power failure - good for use on a time switch.

We did a lot of research on models for use on boats over the winter and have found two desiccant models that matched our criteria. Good prices too http://www.boatsheen.com/dehumidifiers.html
 
I've been following these threads with interest. Johnpye's link seemed the most promising so I've ordered o#their smaller. Thanks for all the contributions.
 
Amberdry

We've had the amberdry (or is it the rubydry - one is white, ours is grey) for a few years now. It is certainly very quiet on the low speed setting; highest speed I would say is comparable to compressor type. Power consumption is greater due to the heater side, but it means it keeps working in low temperatures. If you have an automatic bilge pump, then just attach an external hose and drain to bilges for permanent unattended operation. One thing to note is that in the event of power failure, it won't come back on when power is restored; I believe the later model (X-Dry) will come back on (see http://www.dry-it-out.com/x-dry-xdry-dehumidifier )
 
Spuddy said:
I've been following these threads with interest. Johnpye's link seemed the most promising so I've ordered o#their smaller. Thanks for all the contributions.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the positive comment - and the order- Spuddy, and yes, both our models have automatic start after power interruption.
 
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