Dryer & Dehumidifier for boat interior

[blueplastic]

I'm about to drive to the local Boat U.S. store to buy a 110V AC Turbo Dryer Dehumidifier for the interior of my epic 22.

I park my boat in front of my friend's house, which is about 20 minutes from a lake I ride at. I live 15 minutes from my friend's house (where the boat stays).

Lately, the weather here in Orlando, FL has been horrible. It is cloudy all day and rains for 2-3 hours every day. A lot of times, by the time we leave the lake, it's too late and the rain starts to pour down on the boat. Then I have to cover up the boat for the next 5 days and the interior gets humid and a little mildewy. The carpet stays damp and moist for all 5 weekdays. This is becoming a problem.

How do you guys deal with this problem?

So, I'm about to drive to the local Boat U.S. store to buy two of these (one for bow, one for back):

http://www.boatus-store.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=20002&langId=-1&catalogId=20002&classNum=380&subdeptNum=379&storeNum=12&productId=21504

I'm also going to go to home depot to buy a couple of extension cords and maybe one of those electric timer thingies so I can only run the dehumidifier for 48 hours after I get back from the lake.

I'm going to have two of these things running in a tightly covered boat for 48 hours. There will really be no where for the air to leave the boat... Has anyone tried one of these gizmos? Anything I should be careful of? Do they really work?

[phenom_1819]

I have that one. It works great.  There are no moving parts so very little risk of starting a fire. I place mine right on top of the battery compartment, where it has about 10" in every direction.  It might not dry the boat out as quickly as you're thinking/hoping it will, but it's definitely worth the $50 or so those things cost for the peace of mind.

Make sure you pull all your cushions out and stand them on end, so that you have as few vinyl to vinyl contact points as possible.

[2000epic]

I have one too from www.Shadetreewatersports.com, my boat used to have that musty boat stink, now it smells new-boat all the time.  I also put a silica-filled "Dri-Z-Air" in the trunk, and one in the doghouse.

[blueplastic]

VillageIdiot,

Why do I want no vinyl to vinyl contact points? Curious..

I usually just take the vinyl cushions out of the boat and store then in the garage on top of teach other. In the garage, the vinyl definitely touchs the other cushions above or below it.


Sameer

[blueplastic]

Alright... I bought one LG Electronics 40-Pint Dehumidifier and a West Marine Dryer Dehumidifier.

I placed the LG dehumidifier at the front of the boat, in front of the engine, right behind the bow. And the West Marine dryer is at the back of the boat.

[phenom_1819]

Damn, that thing's serious!!

Just because if you don't pull your cushions out after each use, the mold will build up in the spots where it's vinyl on vinyl -- like how the bottom cushion in my drivers seat is.  Sounds like you've got it covered though if you're pulling them all the way out.

[Lakeside]

Be sure to read the owners manual of the LG dehumidifier carefully to be sure that it is safe in such a tightly confined space.  A few years ago, I had a similar dehumidifier by Whirlpool that was recalled because they were catching fire and they burned down a few too many houses.  I'm not saying that the LG unit will do the same, but it's unlikely that LG had a boat in mind when they built it.  You might want to run the LG unit in your home for a few days to see how hot it gets, etc. before you put it in the boat.