Hi all
Well I am storing the Camper tipped to the rear with the breathable winter cover over the transit cover. I am going to winterise it next week clean the pipes and drain the water system I am then going to use These inside and also a moisture trap in between were the beds meet on top of the canvas.
also every couple of week or so I will open it up to air.
Do you recommend anything else that I have forgot or should do
Many thanks
Rex
------------- "Be the person your dog thinks you are" (BM)
Dear Rex,
I regard to PK2 dehumidifiers, I am sceptical. You have to ask yourself the questions; 'On what physics does the device operate?', 'Where does the moisture go?' and 'How much does it hold?' Item description says; "......the window will turn blue and the dehumidifying force will be as good as new....." What "dehumidifying force" exactly? Hmmm... The only thing I can thing of is that they are filled with a water attracting chemical. (e.g. copper sulphate that has been dried.) In which case, you might just as well put bags of copper sulphate which you have put in your oven till it has dried white around your van. Then drying them out periodically in your oven again.
The only reliable way of getting rid of water vapour is a source of heat. If you intend to open your camper up periodically, I suggest warming it through, ideally with a fan heater (because it moves the air about)or an oil filled rad.
P.S Just read the PK2 item descripton more carefully, they are indeed filled with Silica Gel which simply attracts the moisture.
So I suggest spending a fraction of the £26.98 that PK2's cost on making up a few bags of your own containing dried copper sulphate or Silica Gel. (Just Google 'silica gel packs')
Silica Gell packs can be revived by drying them out in a warm place such as your airing cupboard.
Hi John
Thank you for the information,I did buy them as I thought they would help and I will be using The silica pack between the two beds.I should have posted this before I bought them but they are supposed to keep absorbing for up to four months before an electrical recharge is required,
Thank you again John.What you have told me may save someone else buying them.
Regards
Rex.
------------- "Be the person your dog thinks you are" (BM)
------------- Think this year is to follow old meet friends for 2014.
If you cant do someone a good turn,don`t do them a bad one,its nice to be nice you know,and little things mean much more later in life.
Pete.
I think its worth putting some silica gel ( I use the packets that come free with computers etc) in the fridge as there's often not enough time to get it as dry as if you open it again at home and with it on the "just open" setting its relatively enclosed. But in the main unit with all the vents and a breathable cover it just removes the moisture in the air and more comes in. I think the most important thing is to remove all food and " dettox" the work tops so mice and mould are less likely. We also open ours up in the winter on a sunny or crispy day and give the canvas a good flap and move her a few inches to help the tyres.
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
You are wasting money, time and effort using any form of dehumidifier whilst your house, trailer, motor caravan or caravan is stored or unoccupied.
Dehumidifiers work by absorbing moisture from the air. Chemical ones use Silica gel or similar and have a very limited capacity so will soon be saturated.
Mechanical ones work by recovering the Latent Heat of Evaporation and they are excellent to use when you unit is in use as they give out about 4 times the energy they need to operate. But when the unit is at ambient temperature they just waste energy.
Provided your trailer covers keep the rain out and has adequate ventilation the unit will be as good as can be over winter.
Are you sure the gas cupboard door at the front is water tight because if rain enters it will run over the floor the length of the unit.
Quote: Originally posted by rexgrant on 11/11/2008
Hi all Well I am storing the Camper tipped to the rear with the breathable winter cover over the transit cover. I am going to winterise it next week clean the pipes and drain the water system I am then going to use These inside and also a moisture trap in between were the beds meet on top of the canvas. also every couple of week or so I will open it up to air. Do you recommend anything else that I have forgot or should do Many thanks Rex
Had trailer tents/folding campers for many years and never had mould. First winterise and pack away on a day when it is dry outside to give canvas a chance to air. Then leave it for the winter.
Silica gel/humidifiers/ heaters will be of little use becaue there will still be some airflow under the cover. If its a folding camper there will be a number of air vents under the floor anyway. For the same reason there is little point in opening it up every couple of weeks.
I recon opening up on dry days during the winter is at the very least good to put your mind at rest. I opened my cruiser up this year in january to find some condensation on the inside of the transit cover which had made the canvas damp! No lasting damage but if i had left it packed until april/may it may have been a very different story...