Solution to this???

[wasnotwas]

Hi i have a boat on a mooring which doesn't provide shorepower i was wondering how to get round this problem when fitting a dehumidifier is there ones out there that don't require 240v? or what about the natural types which i vaguely remember hearing about thanks....

 

[RAI]

There are chemical ones, often found in camping/caravan stores. They absorb a lot of water but need emptying and replacing.

 

[Portland Billy]

I used to get a collander and fill it with silica gel chips (the chemi dehume re-fills) and put it over a bucket. Seemed to absorb loads of moisture - but now doubt if it was worth the effort or had any real effect.

 

[KevB]

I have 3 of THESE type of things on the boat as well as a dehumidifier. The dehumidifier is on for about an hour and a half everyday but the 3 crystals containers combined still collect about a pint of liquid over a couple of weeks. So yes they work. A big bag of replacement crystals is about £8 from camping shops and lasts a few months.

 

[RIN]

Yup I'm with KevB on this. The dehumidifying crystals do remove a surprising amount of moisture. We got some really big traps from Aldi last year (2) and two smaller ones which we leave on the boat up to the end of April. We do have elec but it isn't metered so if you are not on the boat the yard pulls the shorepower leads out.

 

[NomadicMom]

Silica Gel is an excellent way to remove moisture from the air without the need for electric current. Beads of Silica Gel can absorb up to 40% of their weight in water! Some Silica Gel changes colour as it absorbs moisture and is called Indicating Silica Gel. Avoid the Silica Gel that turns from blue to pink as it contains Cobalt Chloride which is classified as a hazardous substance. The nice thing about Indicating Silica Gel is that there is no guess work about knowing when to replace or reactivate it. There is a non-toxicc variety available that turns from orange to green. http://www.silicagelpackets.co.uk/ carries a wide variety of Silica Gel products that are ideal for using on boats of all sizes. My folks are sailed their Tayana 37 to Turkey over the past couple cruising seasons and swear by these products!

 

[ChrisMichael]

Without electricity you are a bit stuck and you will have to depend on ventilation to keep the air dry, this is fine at this time of year but will create a cold breeze in the autumn/winter and will increase heating costs in the winter.

The only way to dry the air without electricity is by using these desiccant packs that others have spoken about. They are though rather pointless in anything more than a cupboard as they work on about 500 grams of gel per cubic metre of air volume. You then have to regenerate the gel somehow and if you do it on board then the moisture will go back into the boat!