Condensation Fix

[Devoman]

While we were in St.Augustine the last 2 weeks the first was very good and dry but the second week the front stopped right on top of us.It rained and drizzled that week pretty much.Well...The condensation was bad so we were trying to figure out a solution.We found one that worked really well.We turned the A/C on to get it cold inside the Airstream and then turned our portable heater on.It worked out perfect.It took a little while for about an hour but you could see feel the air getting dryer.Also we have one of those indoor outdoor thermastats that tell you what the inside of your Airstream is doing.Pretty cool fix.
This is not the pic of the temps with the fix.I just took them while cleaning the Airstream here at home.But what you see is the temps for here in the florida panhandle thoughNiiccceeeee

[Janets Husband]

Devoman
Your post started me thinking about high humidity areas of the country, and that stale musty oder. I took a look around and there are tons of small dehumidifiers available cheap, so I don't know how well they work. The bigger units are rated to remove up to 65 pints per day, that's a lot of water and the smaller ones don't give rating like that but some have 16oz reservoirs. I ran across a seller on Ebay that has a bunch of trailer size dehumidifiers. eBay Store - AIR and WATER: Dehumidifiers: Small Portable Compact Mini Dehumidifier Air Dryer NEW
Hope this might help.

[Devoman]

I know a lot of people have these but do they work really well.If I use one when the weather is bad and condensation gets in the trailer will this dry up the moisture in there really good.I hate sleeping and it feels like it is damp in there.Very uncomfortable.What I did was really simple and it worked but now I wonder if that is the wrong way to do it.Would getting one of these work and dry the air up like this heater did?Any help is greatly appreciated.Thanks.

[Silvertwinkie]

You know, if it wasn't too cold out and you have the heat pump, maybe that would solve the issue?! It's basically an A/C unit in reverse.

[dwightdi]

If it is cold enough outside simply allowing outside air to come into the trailer and then heating it up is enough to solve the problem. Heating air 15 degrees F will cut the relative humidity in half. That means, if the outside temperature is 30 degrees colder than you want it inside the trailer you can still achieve 25% relative humidity inside the trailer even if it is raining and 100% humidity outside the trailer. This does not work if it is 50 degrees outside and raining and you only want to have 65 F inside the trailer. In this case, the small dehumifier is your best bet. It is a very cost effective way of getting rid of the moisture inside the trailer as long as you have shore power and do not mind empting the unit frequently.

[Devoman]

Being in St.Augustine florida with the rain and such the outside temps were around 65 to 70 and moist.That is why we ran the A/C unit.Then we made it colder inside and then turned the heater on to the exact temperature we wanted it to be.It totally dried it all up very well.Seems like and easy solution at the time.

[Silvertwinkie]

It's not a bad one either.

If you had a heat pump, at 60-70 degrees, I think that you'd get the best of both worlds. If much colder than say 60 degrees, the heat pump starts to become ineffective. Of course if you don't have the heat pump feature, then I'd prob do what you did too.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

You know, if it wasn't too cold out and you have the heat pump, maybe that would solve the issue?! It's basically an A/C unit in reverse.

Sorry! That doesn't work. When in AC mode, it accumulates condensation on the evaporator inside the trailer, which reduces the hunmidity in the trailer. When run as a heat pump, it accumulates condensation on the coils on the roof from the ambient air. That is why the heat pump defrosts periodically. No humidity is taken from the trailer interior by the heat pump. The best it can do is lower the relative humidity by heating the air inside; same amount of water.

Someone a long time ago, I think it was Jack, posted a photo of his heat pump totally iced up on the roof.

[Silvertwinkie]

Yup. It was Jack, but I thought that was went it was colder outside when it iced up.

We'll there goes my idea...guess it's A/C unit and furnace.