Anyone know of a good reliable dehumidifier?

[Clivevon]

Anyone know of a good, reliable 240 volt mains electrical dehumidifier for a boat? My not very old desiccant Meaco DD8L Junior has broken down – again - & I need to replace it.

Its laying up time here in UK & I have found that using a dehumidifier on middle setting, together with an electric convector heater plugged into a digital thermostat socket (the ET05 Timeguard) set to come on at say 7 degrees C, has meant I can leave everything on board over winter without any damp or mould problems at all. Certainly saves a lot of work compared with shifting everything home, & then back in the spring. The low heater setting means the electricity consumption is also pretty low in our UK weather.

I’m actually pretty disappointed & annoyed with the Meaco. I bought it because it was Best Buy in the Practical Boat Owner magazine test a few years back but in my experience is 100% unreliable. I bought it in late 2016 & used it for 3 months that winter & then also the next 2 winters. Sometime during the 3rd winter it stopped working & was electrically dead. I returned it for repair under warranty early last year & put it back on the boat last autumn. Now it is dead again – same issue as far as I can see. Meaco say it is out of warranty & obsolete & they cannot now get the parts to repair it. From 2016 !!! They offer me 20% off a new Meaco dehumidifier. I pushed hard for 50% but no budging. Anyway, why would I buy another one from them? It lasted what – 4 winters?

I have a compressor dehumidifier in my caravan (RV) from Clarke which has worked faultlessly doing exactly the same job every winter for maybe 15 years ? I‘ve lost count. It shows up the Meaco for the piece of junk it is. I would buy another one like that in a flash but of course it has been discontinued… Probably because it lasts too long…

So I urgently need a new machine. 1st decision is: compressor or desiccant. Dessicant is supposed to be much more efficient for what I use it for – unattended in low temperatures onboard down to say 5 degrees C – with more durability due to less moving parts – but that has most definitely not been my experience. Quite the opposite as far as durability is concerned.

Is that just my bad luck? Anyone had a good experience of a dessicant dehumidifier in this sort of application? It must have a continuous drain facility.
I also found this guide on the web. Any comments?
https://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/guid...rees%20celsius.

[tkeithlu]

Sorry you're down about it.

We've used two of these rather small and inexpensive dehumidifiers in muggy north Florida, one in the lower cabin of our trawler and one in the bathroom next to our spare bedroom. Both have been running for five years now, and we've had no mould problems, although do note that these are places with no people breathing out mist. We dealt with the drain question by drilling a small hole in the lower corner of the tank, inserting a short piece of vinyl hose, setting the dehumidifier on the side of the basin, and dropping the hose therein. This cite is to the UK version:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Breeze-...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Good luck with it. I don't think this has to be an expensive situation - a closed boat just doesn't produce all that much water.

[Clivevon]

Thanks for that, very interesting & of course you are right about a closed up boat not generating that much moisture. I looked into it though & it seems the Peltier effect dehumidifiers are like the compressor type in that they dont work too well in lower temperatures such as we get in our winters here. Great for Florida though & a good, low cost & reliable solution it seems.

[Clivevon]

I loved your continuous drain solution by the way - inspired but so simple!

[s/v Jedi]

Actually, I am testing a new one that came highly recommended and it is performing outstanding up til now (I have it a couple of weeks now).

The main features that we like: compact, auto-restart after power outage, comes with hose for continuous duty without the need for emptying the reservoir.
Not sure if it’s sold in the UK as well?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Clivevon]

Thanks Jedi. Doesnt look like it is sold here - at least not under that name. Pity - it does look to have all the features you would need.