Hi, all.
For the past four years, I've had great success using a standard dehumidifier at the dock on shore power. In a few months, I plan to move out to the mooring field, and I'm worried that the boat will get full of moisture and ruin the cushions and electronics, especially at night and while I'm away from it at work during the day.
I plan to install both solar and wind to power several golfcart batteries, so I'm thinking the system could handle a couple of 3-amp 12v dehumidifiers, such as this one:
[url]http://www.air-n-water.com/product/ADS-400.html[/url]
Has anyone tried these Peltier-technology dehumidifiers? or if not, how do you keep the humidity from ruining your boat interior?
—
Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263
72Ah / Day, for just one, is a LOT of power for something that liked won't do much. Two of them is pushing you well over 140Ah /day.. A real dehumidifier uses a LOT of power to remove moisture from the air not 3A at 12V DC.......
Our boat swings on a mooring and has zero issues with mold etc.. We accomplish this through good passive ventilation & a dry bilge.
Over the head we have a LARGE dorade aimed to take air into the boat.
Over the main saloon we have a Nicro Vent set up to suck air out.
In the companionway hatch boards there are vents.
On the stern there are passive vents.
Our bilge is kept spotless and mold free
Our bilge is kept 100% bone dry (turkey baster if necessary but stopping ALL leaks is a must)
Our mast is keel stepped so I built a dedicated mast base sump. I drain it with a turkey baster after rain or periods of fog.
That's it. No need for dehumidifier.... Keeping a dry bilge is the numero-uno rule for having a dry mold free boat. There is NO need to have a wet bilge and this is 100% unacceptable to our family. The fact that most boaters just accept a wet bilge as "normal" is odd to me. It may take time to find and stop all the leaks but it can be done. This is especially true in a place like Florida where RH hangs out in the 80%+ range. With a wet bilge there is nowhere for it to "evaporate" as the air is already saturated and you a compounding the problem.. That said our summertime humidity is similar to Florida hoovering at 80 to 90%+..
Ever see an indoor swimming pool that was not a humid mold festival? Eliminate bilge water and 90% of your issues are gone.. The rest can easily be handled with passive ventilation and Nicro vents to keep the air moving..
-Maine Sail
https://www.marinehowto.com/
I do all the steps that Main Sail listed. In addition I installed 4 12VDC 3 1/2" computer fans on a starboard and cut it to size and placed it in the hatch just above the galley stove. It brings air in and the interior is dry. The outside of the fans has filter to catch dust. I must add that I use shore power to provide power to the fans. I think that if you had solar power you can have a separate battery to charge and apply power directly to the fans and not connect them to the house battery. Each fan requires 0.34 Amps that is a total of 1.3 Amps at 12VDC. These ball bearing fans are available at Digi-Key for $ 10.00 each.
Haro Bayandorian, 1999 C36 MKII, Sail La Vie #1787, M35B,
Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA.
Thanks guys. You really made my day! I was so worried about that last big piece of the off-the-grid liveaboard puzzle. Think I have most everything else worked out.
Maine Sail, my bilge is still bone-dry (from our other forum thread).
Do you two happen to have some pics of your dehumidifying solutions?
Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263