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  1. #1
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    Dehumidifier overkill?

    Hello everyone. We have been traveling from Texas to California over the last 5 days and have hit some cold nights. We have been warm without issue with the furnace during the nights but the condensation had been bad come morning. I purchased a small Peltier dehumidifier before we left which is worthless and am now considering upgrading to a 30 pint real unit, but wondering if it is overkill...I have a Grand Design Imagine XLS 21BHE, but there are 5 of us.

    I have found the cracked ceiling vent with the fan going works wonders but it cycles the furnace much more frequently (no wonder since I'm sucking the warm air out).

    Trying to find a solution to preserve propane (furnace usage) with condensation control...

    This is the unit I'm considering: https://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-Applia...idifier/189957

    Thoughts?
    Last edited by Raife1; 11-24-2020 at 02:19 PM.

  2. #2
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    We used 2 of these when we lived in our Momentum, obviously only needed it in winter. We supplemented our furnace with electric heat only running the furnace when temps would drop below freezing. Solved any condensation issues. Click image for larger version. 

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  3. #3
    Long Hauler geotex1's Avatar
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    It is a pretty small space for 5. Are you monitoring the real humidity level indoors? There are some outstanding resources on the web about healthy humidity levels based upon outside temperatures. The reason I bring this up is because you can get condensation occurring at what are good humidity levels, and the response to condensation should not necessary be over-drying the air because your sinuses, skin, and materials of camper construction can suffer. Are you following best practices to control indoor relative humidity such as always using the bathroom vent when showering? Always using the range vent when boiling and steaming when cooking? How about how you air out the camper because a big mistake a lot of folks make early-on when living in a camper for long duration is allowing massive swings in the interior climate overlooking the thermos-bottle like construction. Also, if one of the 5 is a family pet, come bath day they should dry outdoors first. Really monitoring indoor humidity levels is key, and sometimes supplementing a small dehumidifier with desiccant will find a better balance along with good practices.
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  4. #4
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    Thank you for the info. I'm upgrading our ceiling vent to give us more control over air flow...general consensus (from some research and other forum post/responses) is I need to vent rather than dehumidify...
    Last edited by Raife1; 11-24-2020 at 05:27 PM.

  5. #5
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    It is very difficult to get the humidity too low in a RV.
    The pint rating commonly used for dehumidifiers is for how much moisture a unit can remove from the air in a 24 hour period. While this is useful in comparing them, realize that what it really is telling you is how fast they can remove moisture from the air.... And that is IMPORTANT! RVs because of their small size and construction can reach high humidity levels quickly... And the faster you can reduce these high levels, the better it is for your RV.
    One needs to understand just how high humidity can destroy a RV.
    Humidity is water in vapor form suspended in the air. It can travel thru semi porus materials such as the interior walls. When it comes into contact with a cold surface, it will condense into liquid form. You can see this happen with an ice cold drink as it sweats water sitting on a counter. You can also see this when humid air in an RV contacts a cold window, first fogging it, then forming drops of water. When you see this, it is a warning sign that the RV is under attack, The humid air that has been pentrating the RV walls will contact the outer skin of the RV which if it is fiberglass/Filon etc. cannot be penetrated, and is cold enough to cause it to condense into liquid water. The liquid water will force the luan which is glued to the filon to lose it's bond.... And that is the begining of a delamination problem.
    The bottom line is: Whenver you seel the windows fogging..... Take action pronto! Fans and venting are the fastest way to reduce humidity, but not the most efficient over time, as you lose heat. A dehumidifier is more efficient, as no heat is lost, in fact the dehumidifier will produce a small amount of heat.
    Take note though: No matter how powerful a dehumidifier you have, it is possible to produce humidity in an RV faster than it can be removed by one. So some venting will be needed while certain activities are taking place such as cooking, Showering etc. Watch the windows and vent as needed
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  6. #6
    Site Sponsor livinthelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntindog View Post
    It is very difficult to get the humidity too low in a RV....
    Maybe. But we had a drawer front split due to being too dry inside the rig.

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  7. #7
    Site Sponsor Jerryr's Avatar
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    After experiencing wet windows and wet walls one winter when using propane heater when traveling we bought this. https://www.amazon.com/Danby-DDR050B...dp/B084DBC9MN/

    Initially we ran it in the living area at night and it fills up the holding tank by morning. Now we put it up on the island countertop and run it using a hose connected to the external drain into the sink.

    What’s nice about it is you can set the RH in 5% increments from 35% and up. I usually set it to either 40% or 45% RH. Once it reaches that RH it shuts off and will restart when the RH goes up again. It also produces heat as a byproduct.

    We also use the electric fireplace as primary heat source since it doesn’t produce humidity like the propane heater does.
    Last edited by Jerryr; 11-24-2020 at 08:30 PM.
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  8. #8
    Long Hauler huntindog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by livinthelife View Post
    Maybe. But we had a drawer front split due to being too dry inside the rig.
    It is difficult to imagine low humidity being the primary cause of that. More likely was the drawer front wood was never properly dried before it was milled.... In which case it will crack when it eventually does dry out.

    Where I am in Phoenix AZ, there is no such thing as wood not drying out during one of our summers.
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  9. #9
    Seasoned Camper Just Krusen's Avatar
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    We are in N Georgia this winter. We do not have a humidity problem in our 376. We run the furnace and humidity stays in the 35% range. RV LP furnaces do not increase humidity levels because the combustion exhaust is outside. We have dual pane windows which eliminate the moisture problem on the windows. Also in the dead air spaces we have small computer fans that circulate the air and keep the spaces dry. Condensation will form on slide walls if there is not enough air flow. Watch areas behind couches or in closets especially if they are in the slides. We do have a dehumidifier but find that its only needed when the heat or ac is not being uses, such as days when its 60-75 degrees and raining out. We only vent when showering or cooking.
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  10. #10
    Site Sponsor Jerryr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Just Krusen View Post
    We are in N Georgia this winter. We do not have a humidity problem in our 376. We run the furnace and humidity stays in the 35% range. RV LP furnaces do not increase humidity levels because the combustion exhaust is outside. We have dual pane windows which eliminate the moisture problem on the windows. Also in the dead air spaces we have small computer fans that circulate the air and keep the spaces dry. Condensation will form on slide walls if there is not enough air flow. Watch areas behind couches or in closets especially if they are in the slides. We do have a dehumidifier but find that its only needed when the heat or ac is not being uses, such as days when its 60-75 degrees and raining out. We only vent when showering or cooking.
    Pam & Ed,

    Thanks for that explanation. I was confusing a ventless propane heater rather than a heater where combustion exhaust is outside.

    Our visible condensation occurs in our RV in cool and rainy weather. It’s noticeable on slide out walls in the bedroom so I assume (there I go again) it’s from the humidity of human exhaled breath.

    Our Danby dehumidifier is doing its job the last few weeks keeping my shed dry at our cabin in the cooler and sometimes rainy weather. I’ve got it set for 40% RH. I’ll be bringing the RV to the cabin lot tomorrow and I’ll probably use the dehumidifier if needed to keep the RV RH down. Right now outside it’s 68 deg and 77% RH.

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