Dehumidifier

texhater42 · 04-01-2016, 10:46 AM

Last year on our last trip of the year, it ended up raining the entire trip. We ended up doing some cooking in our camper, along with all the hanging out and breathing and living. After a couple of days I noticed condensation on the walls (never thought about having to stay in the camper so much and not even be able to open some windows for proper venting due to the rain). Obviously a dehumidifier is needed. My question is, would i be ok with a couple of the "Eva-dry" doo-dads

http://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva-d...r_1_87&sr=8-87

or do I need something more hardcore? Thanks in advance

AlbertaRvMan · 04-01-2016, 11:16 AM

I had the same issue last season.

We had 4 adults and three kids staying in our camper, it mostly rained so we stayed inside and played games. It was the fall season, so we did not have any open Windows open at night and had the wet propane furnace running.

The walls got very wet.

This year I have invested in two EvaDry E-500 dehumidifiers to keep in the camper all the time and for winter storage. I also bought a Evadry 2200 dehumidifier to plug in during those rainy days when we have lots of humidity.

I don't know how effective this will be, I think I went overkill for the camper, but I am looking forward to less moisture on the walls. In the spring / summer we usually crack open windows and roof vents with max air covers.

Also this year I bought an electric heater so I don't need to run the furnace as much, I have read that propane is very moist.

I'm hoping this helps.

**JRTJH** · 04-01-2016, 12:38 PM

There is no moisture in propane, if there were, it would freeze as it evaporates and flows through the regulator as a very cold gas. You will notice "frost" on the outside of your propane tanks on humid days which demonstrates how cold propane is "in the tank". Any moisture inside the tank would freeze the regulator preventing gas flow. Additionally, the furnace "firebox" is a sealed unit, vented to the outside, so no "propane combustion products" are introduced into the trailer, so any moisture in the propane wouldn't be able to enter the trailer interior. Now, back to "wet propane". The reason you see increased moisture in a "closed up" RV when using the furnace is because of people breathing and producing water vapor that's not "circulated out of the RV". You see "less condensation" with electric heat because the heat helps "dry the air" so it won't condense out of the air onto the "cooler window and wall surfaces"......

What you're seeing as condensation is the "moisture normally produced by cooking, bathing and breathing". The average adult (about 150 lbs) produces roughly 13.5 ounces of "water" per day simply by breathing. Add cooking, showering, some insensible water vapor from sweating and you can see an easy 15-20 ounces daily from each adult. Figure about half that for children and 1/3 that for infants/toddlers.

So, two adults in a camper with all the windows closed will produce about 27 ounces from breathing and probably that much more with other activities. That's 54 ounces of water expelled into the air daily.

It's pretty easy to see that a "dessicant dehumidifier" that holds 6-8 ounces before needing to be "recharged" won't make much of a dent in the moisture inside the "average RV"...

The only solutions are: 1) Provide adequate ventilation to remove the excess moisture and use a small electric heater to "dry the air" or 2) Use a "powered dehumidifier" with a sizeable reservoir and expect to empty it daily.

To answer the OP's question about the Eva-Dry 333 dehumidifiers, they each hold 4-6 ounces before needing to be recharged. With 3 or 4 people inside a "closed up RV in a rainstorm", you'll add that much "water vapor" into the air in a couple of hours, so those dehumidifiers won't do you much good. They probably would be OK for storage with nobody in the camper, but you'll produce far too much water by breathing for them to keep up.

Mike484 · 04-01-2016, 01:29 PM

Do those moisture absorbing bags that you hang in your closet do much? Is it a good idea to use these while in storage?

Pull Toy · 04-01-2016, 01:35 PM

Maxx Air and Vent covers do a good job of keeping the outside... "outside". I even keep mine cracked during the winter here in Connecticut, just to move air. Keeps the mildew/mold down, and the fresh air dehumidifies... all in one No fuss, no muss!

Also remember the amount of O2 that you are using... and the H20 you are adding with each breath. Good idea to change out some air even if you need to run extra heat.

Nature... Mother Earth's dehumidifier!

cpaulsen · 04-02-2016, 02:00 AM

We tried the small ones and did not as well. We ended up getting large one tht holds up to a gallon of water and sometimes empty it at least once a day.

texhater42 · 04-02-2016, 03:09 AM

I really appreciate the inputs guys. It would seem I need to go with one of the "plug-in" models with a large capacity. We have our first trip of the season planned for next weekend...wouldn't you know it, rain in the forcast lol...I better get on it. The electric heater makes sense too because propane is so flippin expensive. Would you guys just go with 1 heater for a 27' camper, or a couple...(there's a kiddo in the reah bunks, and my wife and I in the forward bed)...I just don't want to overload any circuits

SLIMSHADIE · 04-02-2016, 04:45 AM

There air alot of heaters reviews if you search them. Ive used this one in your similar situation for almost 5 years. I like it because its compact and has a thermostat, hi-lo-fan settings.

http://www.amazon.com/Broan-6201-Bro...s=Broan+heater

I keep it up on the counter so nobody trips on it in the middle of the night and to keep the dogs away from it. The KEY is to use your furnace to get up to temp and this little heater pretty much holds it for the rest if the night. The furnace cycles a couple times a night compared to a couple times an hour.

CWSWine · 04-02-2016, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texhater42

I really appreciate the inputs guys. It would seem I need to go with one of the "plug-in" models with a large capacity. We have our first trip of the season planned for next weekend...wouldn't you know it, rain in the forcast lol...I better get on it. The electric heater makes sense too because propane is so flippin expensive. Would you guys just go with 1 heater for a 27' camper, or a couple...(there's a kiddo in the reah bunks, and my wife and I in the forward bed)...I just don't want to overload any circuits

I have a 39 foot with electric fireplace heater and we small ceramic heater in the bedroom. A normal night in the mid 50's the two will keep my 5er nice and warm. I set the electric heaters for 70 degrees and the propane RV heater for 65 degrees and the propane heater only comes on when the inside temp falls below 65 degrees. Works for use and save propane.

mikell · 04-03-2016, 06:59 AM

We're camping right now in Frankenmuth MI and the Polar Vortex knocked it down to 20 last night and 3"of the white stuff. This morning all the roof vents are raining ice cold water. We've taken 2 showers and cooked breakfast.

The furnace runs a few minutes every hour and the electric oil filled pretty much keeps the chill off with the help of an electric blanket. Running the furnace more to dry it out and the interior rain has stopped.

Having a great time anyway and glad this time we don't have slides to chisel the ice off from. Probably 50 campers here last night and many freaking out because it was going down to 20. We had no issues

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