Condensation - Montana Owners Club

Dogman · 12-20-2005, 03:22 PM

I just did a search on this and basically came up empty. It appears this is considered an unusual problem. We are currently in Florida but have had cooler then normal weather the past week or so. Our windows are fogged up (not thermopane) and yesterday we found a considerable amount of condensation at the bottom of the bedroom closet walls as well as both walls along side the bed. In addition we found condensation on the walls behind the couch and the recliners from floor level up to around 18" or so. It was also wet along the inside slide seals where they contact the inside walls. The windows and vents have been closed due to the cool temperatures and the furnace has been working at night. Has anyone had a similar problem? I assume it's being caused by excessive humidity inside so now we have a window partially open but with the low temps. still have to run the furnace at night. Seems like such a waste of fuel. Anybody have any other suggestions on how to combat this problem?

rickety · 12-20-2005, 03:38 PM

Phyllis and I live here in the Northwest, and last winter we spent Christmas at a small coastal town called Westport, Washingotn.
To make a long story short, we had an enormous amount of condensation inside the trailer. We went into Aberdeen, to the Sears store and bougth a de-humidifier. We set the level at 50%, turned it on and next mroning dumped approximately 2 1/2 gallons of water out of it. The Monty stayed much warmer, the heater did not come on as often, Outside temps were 28-37 deg, with rain and wind. What a big difference the de-humidifier made. It might be worth looking into.
Merry Christmas!

Montana Sky · 12-20-2005, 03:54 PM

I would also recommend getting a de-humidifier, that should take alot of your moisture problems away. I have also found that if I run my fantastic fan while doing cooking and showering it helps remove moisture. Just another thought.

derfr · 12-21-2005, 02:51 PM

To Rickety: One of the reasons the trailer is warmer and the heater does not come on as often at night is related to power use. The dehumidifier has a condensation coil (like a refrigerator) which is run by electricity. The power to operate the condenser is partially lost as heat. You may feel this if you go near the unit, in much the same way a refrigerator give off lots of heat. So really you are just using a different form of heat to warm your Monty. You may notice the difference when you receive your power bill (if you are billed for use). But the end result of lessening the humidity level is necessary. Good suggestion of using the dehumidifier.

CountryGuy · 12-22-2005, 02:02 AM

IN conditions not as severe as rickety describes, we keep one of the ceiling vents open about 1/2 inch 24/7. Also run fantasitic vent when showering. The one ceiling vent open gets rid of most of the dampness for us, friends camping same time, same place, asked how we kept the Montana so warm. Dry feels warmer, as we all know.

Montana_2387 · 12-22-2005, 03:23 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Dogman

I just did a search on this and basically came up empty. It appears this is considered an unusual problem. We are currently in Florida but have had cooler then normal weather the past week or so. Our windows are fogged up (not thermopane) and yesterday we found a considerable amount of condensation at the bottom of the bedroom closet walls as well as both walls along side the bed. In addition we found condensation on the walls behind the couch and the recliners from floor level up to around 18" or so. It was also wet along the inside slide seals where they contact the inside walls. The windows and vents have been closed due to the cool temperatures and the furnace has been working at night. Has anyone had a similar problem? I assume it's being caused by excessive humidity inside so now we have a window partially open but with the low temps. still have to run the furnace at night. Seems like such a waste of fuel. Anybody have any other suggestions on how to combat this problem?

Montana_2387 · 12-22-2005, 03:27 AM

You've GOT to keep some of your vents open all the time. If they don't have hoods on them, get some. Also get some of the Dri-Ease pots (we use 4 in our 5th wheel). These are usually found at
RV stores and we have seen them at Wal*Mart also. Circulation is the key to preventing mold problems.

Parrothead · 12-22-2005, 05:30 AM

We have always used the Dri-Ease (or DryZ is another brand) in our fifth wheels. I even saw a different brand at Target. You know they are working by the amount of water tht collects in the container. We also keep vents open and run fans expecially the fantastic fan when cooking, showering or doing laundry.
Happy trails...................

Dogman · 12-22-2005, 02:35 PM

Thanks for all the replies. We seem to have it under control right now. We dried everything out,and with a little warmer weather have opened up the windows and vents during the day which helped a lot. We're also keeping a couple of windows cracked open all the time. We've been fulltime for 4 years and have never had this problem to the extent we did last week. We've always kept a few containers of Damp-Rid in the closet and in the main living area and routinely refill them. I think it was probably just due to the unusual weather which we responded to by keeping everything closed up(mistake). Hopefully we won't have a repeat situation.

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