Dehumidifiers

[Starman]

A friend of mine has a Caframo heater/dehumidifier on his 24' well craft which is covered and parked in his yard.

When the boat was in a slip he had this Caframo heater plugged in and also when in his yard. There was never a sign of mold/mildew anywhere.

It is so low voltage, and the fan is so low, that you can hardly tell it is on.

The point is, has anyone been using this item, or a like item in their boats or in the engine room to keep the moisture levels down and the mildew out ?

 

[Brian Degulis]

I used dehumidifiers on my old boat I used the low temp basement type from Lowes. I had one in the acomadations one in the saloon and one in the engine space. All had hoses to drain to a shower sump or bilge. They made a big differance no smells must or mildew and less rust and corosion in the engine room. The down side was that it made the area hotter I'm in FL so I needed to remember to turn them off before working in the engine space or using the boat. It was a lot more economical than running the AC and simpler no pumps running and no wear on the boats system.

Brian

 

[eze2bme]

I also use a dehumidifier ... made by Sears ... has two fan speed settings, a digital humidity setting control, and an ON-OFF cycle for either 3 hours or 6 hours. It has an internal water collector that must be emptied or it shuts off so I plumbed the drain into a dedicated thru-hull. (Make certain that this water drips away from your hull and DOES NOT run down the hull as it will leave a stain) I've used this unit for the past four years and it works great ... no smells or mold or musky odors ... and I use it year round (South Carolina).

 

[Starman]

This Caframo unit does not collect water. It just keeps the air dry, preventing moisture buildup and mold/mildew from forming.



My friends boat was always dry and musty smell free, yet it was so low powered it did not dry out the cloth or vinyl seats etc........


So with that in mind, I was wondering how it would work in an ER.

You can see it at Boaters world. Sells for about 60.00. WM also has the same thing but with their name on it.

 

[rswirtz]

I wonder how it can keep the air dry without removing the water???? Sounds like it may just be an expensive fan.....

 

[jlightonjr]

I know a LOT of boaters running dehumidifers in their ER's here in FL -- the kind from Sears - they are set up to drain overboard. I notice a HUGE difference in smell and ER rust/pitting onboard their boats - I think its a great idea!