De humidifier and solar panel

MelandGill
MelandGill Forum Participant Posts: 1
edited June 2020 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

Hi All.. As it looks like I may not be able to use my Caravan this year due to Covid-19 and personal commitments. At the end of August after having my Caravan serviced and cleaned I was thinking about covering it up, as I would normally do for winter for long-term protection..

My question if anyone can help is.. Can I purchase a small dehumidifier maybe run by a small solar panel and somehow have a drain pipe inserted to an outlet? I have used other granulated types but these don’t seem to work that well...

The van is in storage and I have no access to electric, I just want to ensure I can stop any moisture build up as it will be sometime before I use the van again,. 

Any suggestions will be more than welcome.. Many thanks... Mel 

Comments

  • no one
    no one Forum Participant Posts: 216
    edited June 2020 #2

    I to am not a fan of the granulated dehumidifiers, so I bought one of the UNIBOND types for last winter

    unibond moisture absorber 

    suprising how much water it collected, there is a fragrance part of the block which keeps the air fresh as well, I would put 2 in a caravan and check them once a month.

    As for the electric dehumidifiers, it is possible, but seems like a lot of work and do you really want an electrical device left running unsupervised in a covered up caravan?

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2020 #3

    Personally I wouldn't cover it up. Some of the roof vents in our caravans  still allowed ventilation even when closed. Much better for there to be a free movement of air. When putting ours away we always made sure it was as dry as possible, not using the shower on the last morning and steaming everything up for instance, making sure the fridge was fully defrosted and dry. A caravan isn't a sealed unit,  all a dehumidifier is going to do, is remove the water from the air, which will be replaced by more damp air from outside. In our case we would be trying to dehumidify Nottinghamshire.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2020 #4

    I agree with Steve and I would remove all the soft furnishings and store at home.

    peedee

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2020 #5

    I’ve never understood the whole-‘free movement of air’ thing when coupled with the word ‘dehumidify’ if you want to keep moisture out of the air within a confined space(LV) why would you want humid air to get into the LV in the first place only to want it gone again?🤷🏻‍♂️. Just shut everything up tight, good breathable cover on it for protection & dehumidifiers internally👍🏻

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2020 #6

    I have tried covering LVs and cars. In my experience it is not worth it especially if you intend to use the vehicle in the winter.For example, I have had my car covered these past few months after giving it a good clean at the start of lockdown. It has been very dry and dusty here but when I removed the cover yesterday it was still covered in fine dust which had blown in under the cover. So what did I achieve? In the wintertime stiff solid frozen covers can be difficult to remove.

    peedee

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2020 #7

    Don't know about you R, but I wouldn't be up to crawling under the van to seal up all those little meshed vent holes.😂 Not all would be accessible from inside and often in difficult to reach spaces.

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited June 2020 #8

    No issue for me, I’m very bug & rodent friendly but not in my living space I ain’t🤷🏻‍♂️

  • papgeno
    papgeno Forum Participant Posts: 2,158
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    edited June 2020 #9

    Am I alone in thinking that if you try to dehumidify a caravan with all the ventilation for gas safety you're fighting a losing battle because the air inside the van will be replaced by more damp air from outside especially in the winter months .

    Its the reason you only used air conditioning in the car with windows closed and the vents set to recirculate the air, in fact in my car when I turn the air con on the system automatically selects to recirculated air.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2020 #10

    Indeed, as I put we would have been trying to dehumidify Nottinghamshire. On the subject of car air con that does take the moisture out of the air. Mine certainly doesn't put recirculation on. I thought that was for if you were stuck behind a smokey vehicle, or to initially cool it down when very hot. When I have put it on recirc by mistake the air very rapidly becomes  stale and dry, not nice at all.

  • papgeno
    papgeno Forum Participant Posts: 2,158
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    edited June 2020 #11

    Mine certainly comes on automatically Steve and I have to turn it off manually when I turn off the air con.

    I wonder if the air con does  a bit more than just cool the air because I haven't really noticed the air getting stale, however I don't use the air con that often except when my eldest GS is in the car, he puts it on as soon as he gets in. The other GS always puts Capital Radio on.