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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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dehumidifier

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weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/17/2003 : 21:50:27

Hello,

I would like to know what most of you use to dehumidify the air in your boats? The winters here are often very foggy and this leads to mildew. I read in the archive that some of you use calcium chloride in bulk. Where would I buy a device to hold this substance?

Does a small heater work as well as the calcium chloride?

Are there small electric dehumidifiers, say under $100.00 ??

Thanks,

Mark Eichman
Lake Don Pedro,CA
'86 c25 TR, SK

Edited by - on

Tony Dillon
Navigator

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USA
168 Posts

Response Posted - 10/17/2003 : 22:07:21

Hi Mark,

On Mental Floss we use a small heater we obtained from SailNet mostly to keep the boat above freezing. We also use the CaCl. We have buying Driveway HEAT at Wal-Mart in a gallon bottle, putting half of it in a plastic collander that is placed in the top of a 5 gallon bucket (total investment of about $8). Last winter we needed 2 bottles of HEAT and dumped the bucket 4 times. We don't seem to have any problems with mildew.

Tony Dillon
Mental Floss

Edited by - on

sailgal
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
400 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 10:36:48

Mark, not to plug ebay, but I had their site up and typed dehumidifier in and came up with 5 pages, and prices were cheap....way under $100. Many were stores with warranties and some with free shipping. Just a thought...Also The Home Depot has one for around $129. My bother up in NY uses one on his boat, the only problem I for see is you must be available to empty the water. Good luck!

Suzie, Tropical Sleigh
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3da07b3127cce96a441e875780000001010" border=0>
WB #619 Sarasota FL.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 11:25:08

For about $50 you can get a low-output 'always on' heater/dehumidifer from West Marine (or others).

(Go to West Marine and search on dehumidifier)

IMHO stuff follows, perhaps worth 2 cts.

I think the best dehumidifer may depend on your environment... in particular how much water is entrained in the air.

If your air is warm and often 100% saturated (very wet fog) it carries a lot of moisture. In that environment, I think you may be draining a catch pan or adding chemicals frequently... so for a "mild and wet" environment, I'd be inclined to get a heater/dehumidifier.

If you live in a place with colder and drier air obviously an 'extraction' dehumidifier won't need as much maintenance.

Most of the commercial boats around here (it's mild and foggy) use a milkroom heater or simply a hang an incandescent lightbulb to keep the cabin a little warmer than the outside air.

If you get a heater, I'd make sure it has a 'tip over switch' or is well secured. Also be aware that most common heaters will produce a spark when they start/stop and aren't safe for an 'explosive' environment. A gasoline leak that introduced vapor to the cabin could produce disasterous results.

If you leave gasoline on the boat, that's a real consideration. (and a big part of why I wish I had a diesel...)

WOTAM - '77 Catalina 25 SK/SR Sail Number 158

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 12:08:44

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
environment. A gasoline leak that introduced vapor to the cabin could produce disasterous results.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

This is one of the main reasons that I spent so much time and effort to get a Mk. IV. I could never understand how the original Catalina 22's and 25's could have been designed with the gas tank shelf in the lazarette, and not even an electric blower motor to vent fumes! I guess Coast Guard requirements were not as stringent in the early 70's. The last 2 years I was so anxiety-ridden about the gas tank on #1205 that I quit putting it in the lazarette and kept it in the cockpit, right over the drains, despite the loss of 14" of legroom. In a milder climate, it probably wouldn't matter, but it gets so hot in Sacramento in the summer months, frequently 110ºF for several hours in the afternoon, that I was always worried about gas fumes venting from the tank or overpressure bursting the filter. Never happened to me, but I worried anyway. The few boat fires on small Catalinas with outboard engines that I have heard about always started in the galley, but that gas tank in the lazarette seemed a greater risk than even the infamous "curtain burner" stove.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 12:43:50

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>This is one of the main reasons that I spent so much time and effort to get a Mk. IV...The last 2 years I was so anxiety-ridden about the gas tank on #1205 that I quit putting it in the lazarette and kept it in the cockpit...<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

I have the gas tank shelf on North Star, but I don't loose any sleep over it. If anyone is concerned about gas fumes from the tank vent getting into the lazarette, then simply add a vent hose that leads outside instead of venting into the lazarette.

Although it wouldn't bother me too much, I'm sure the inboard Atomic 4 gas fire breather on the C30 causes some to wince.

<img src="http://www.catalina25-250.org/c25sm.gif" border=0>Don Lucier<img src="http://www.catalina25-250.org/c25sm.gif" border=0>
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d904b3127cce9f7cd9ffdf1d0000003010" border=0>
North Star SR/FK

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Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 16:01:59

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
My bother up in NY uses one on his boat, the only problem I for see is you must be available to empty the water.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Sometimes, Suzie, my brother's a bother, too. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> Paging Arlyn Stewart...

J.B. Manley
Antares '85 FK/SR #4849
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees
36°29'58" -94°59'59"

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 10/18/2003 : 20:20:12

Great info.

The collander idea is great, and I'll definately look up the dehumidifiers on the West Marine web site and may also check out e-bay.

Thanks

Mark Eichman
Lake Don Pedro,CA
'86 c25 TR, SK

Edited by - on

cch
Navigator

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202 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2003 : 08:01:18

Hi Mark,

We have been using the $50 "heater" type dehumidifier from West Marine for years with great results. We also run a fan in the quater berth and an additional one blowing into the v-berth.

Here in northwest Florida the humidity is very high and it has worked well summer and winter. The excess heat is a drawback in the summer however.

We run the dehumidifier 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Run like this a unit will last 3 years or so.

I have been running a house type dehumidifier lately as our keel trunk has been leaking (very wet bilge= high cabin humidity) It has worked great but it requires a drain (I ran a hose into the sink drain) and it is heavy and hard to move off the boat, and it popped the breaker on my shore power so it must be run off an extension cord. This type dehumidifer will generate heat while running as well. Try Home Depot of Lowes. ($125 to $150)

Chris Hunsicker
Panama City FL
Moonglade
80 C25 #2126 sr/sk
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3d636b3127cce8c9d4c83e7890000002010" border=0>

Edited by - on

sailgal
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
400 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2003 : 12:40:41

UGH, and I try so hard to watch my typing <img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>!!!!!!!! Ha

Suzie, Tropical Sleigh
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3da07b3127cce96a441e875780000001010" border=0>
WB #619 Sarasota FL.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2003 : 13:25:33

Thanks for the tip on the West marine unit, I ordered one yesterday. My wife and I slept on the boat two weekends ago and the humidity was so bad that it was raining in the vee berth. When I went to haul the boat Sunday every boat deck I could see was dry and mine was soaked, even my mainsail cover was still covered with dew and no one else's was. Very strange, eh what?

<img src="http://members.cox.net/fhopper/Catalina25/sigbow.jpg" border=0>Frank and Martha in Wichita KS. Lake Cheney

Edited by - on

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2003 : 13:44:28

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
When I went to haul the boat Sunday every boat deck I could see was dry and mine was soaked, even my mainsail cover...<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Hmm...You're not prone to walking in your sleep, are you, Frank? <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

J.B. Manley
Antares '85 FK/SR #4849
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees
36°29'58" -94°59'59"

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2003 : 17:39:19

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
When I went to haul the boat Sunday every boat deck I could see was dry and mine was soaked, even my mainsail cover...<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Hmm...You're not prone to walking in your sleep, are you, Frank? <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

J.B. Manley
Antares '85 FK/SR #4849
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees
36°29'58" -94°59'59"
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Only when I need to pee. Hmm.

<img src="http://members.cox.net/fhopper/Catalina25/sigbow.jpg" border=0>Frank and Martha in Wichita KS. Lake Cheney

Edited by - on

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