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Old 10-23-2021, 09:19 PM   #1
Peterbug
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Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Florence, Alabama
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Default Dessicant Dehumidifier for cold weather works great

Last year I came across a youtube video explaining the merits of dessicant dehumidifiers that are popular in damp cool England. It turns out that these contraptions work well in cold weather and are lighter than compressor based dehumidifiers.
The dessicant material is kept in a wheel that slowly turns, and a quarter section at the bottom trip applies a heater that releases the moisture into a bucket (with simple tube option for drainage). The benefit includes adding a little bit of heat to the dry air that exits. Brits even use them in the laundry room in the place of a drying machine, pointing the vent (with sweep option) at the hung clothes.
Winter campers who deal with condensation would find these to be a nice way to manage moisture and get some heat. Mine generates about 750 watts of heat on high, and has a humidistat that allows for settings from 35% relative humidity up to 95%, with an option for 'constant on' if you really want that.
The humidistat allows you to leave it in a closed camper at the level of dryness that you feel offers the best trade-off between mold growth and energy use. You can look up "Mold Chart for Temperature and Humidity" if you really want to be informed.
My unit is an Ivation 19 Pint Small-Area Desiccant Dehumidifier, and I bought 4 of them for basement, bathroom, camper, and Mom's house. All worked well last winter. They weigh about 20 lbs, and I run the tube out a prepared floor hole under the sink near other plumbing holes. They were refurbs at the SkyMall seller on Ebay, $110 each.
Important tip: The heater does not run constantly, but needs a cool down period with the fan running, so after you turn it off the fan runs for a minute. Don't get impatient and just unplug it, as that can scorch the wheel. I have not heard of fires, but one tear down video from BigClive on youtube discussed that as a possible reason for a failure.
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Old 10-25-2021, 10:38 PM   #2
Larryjb
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How often does the dessicant need replacing? If I need to open the trailer in the middle of the winter, I'll need to remove the tarp and open both shells.
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Old 10-29-2021, 10:13 AM   #3
Cya3124
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The way it reads, the desiccant never needs changing. The heat removes the moisture, drying the desiccant back out. I use a smaller version with no moving parts in a cabinet. It turns pink so you know when to plug it in to dry it out. When dry, it's blue. (Blue's cool, pink stinks was how I was taught to check the moisture indicators in the spare parts.)
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Old 10-29-2021, 03:18 PM   #4
Larryjb
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Pardon my confusion, but I don't see how it ultimately removes moisture from the air. If it heats up the desiccant, won't that just cause the moisture to evaporate back into the air in the trailer?

Do you have a name of one of these desiccant driers?
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Old 10-29-2021, 04:25 PM   #5
Larryjb
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I finally looked up "desiccant dehumifier" and found this information, which was helpful:
https://www.dehumidifierbuyersguide....ifier-reviews/
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