DAMP/CONDENSATION

Irishgoatman · 24-04-2012 12:12pm #1

I have mentioned this before but got nowhere.

I'm having a lot of bother with damp/condensation in my '86 Romahome.

With the weather the way it is, warm in daytime and cold at night, the bench cushions and cushion backrests are continually getting damp.

I've tried leaving one of the roof lights slightly open but it makes no difference. I've also wrapped the gas bottle to save having to keep taking it out (it's place is under one of the benches).

I've now resorted to pulling them away from the sides when the 'vans not in use.

Any alternative suggestions welcome

spaceHopper · 24-04-2012 1:15pm

You can get chemical dehumidifiers that work well lidl and aldi have had them but any good HW store should have them Maybe put two large one’s in and keep the windows closed, you want to dry the van not the air outside then keep one in the van. You should also look to see are there any leaks, where is the water coming from?

Irishgoatman · 24-04-2012 1:37pm

Thanks spacehopper,

I'll see about dehumidifiers.

No leaks anywhere that I can see. It happens regardless of raining or not.
Just when it's warm in daytime and cold at night.
The Romahomes are/where one piece moulded so only place leaks could be is around the windows and I've checked those.
Just seems to be general condensation on the inside (plastic?) walls.

Buford T Justice · 24-04-2012 3:54pm

Yeah, I'd go with either chemical de-humidifiers or a small electric one.

Irishgoatman · 24-04-2012 4:40pm

Thanks folks,

I'll do that and report back.

cygnet · 24-04-2012 5:09pm

pick up a few small dehumidifiers in Home Store n More for €1.99 each - work great I have used them - have built in fragrance as well

24-04-2012 11:05pm

Have you considered taking the stuffing out of the cushions and replacing it with silica gel balls?

Irishgoatman · 24-04-2012 11:09pm

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Have you considered taking the stuffing out of the cushions and replacing it with silica gel balls?

What, and put a bed of nails on the floor between the seats to make a more comfortable bed?

:rolleyes:

24-04-2012 11:13pm

It was a joke man, besides cushions are for girls. How about a silica gel buddah bag?

Irishgoatman · 24-04-2012 11:31pm

So was my reply. After all, who makes beds of nails nowadays with the price of metal going up all the time!

Need a lot of nails for a really comfortable one.

24-04-2012 11:51pm

moodrater · 25-04-2012 10:51am

Give it a good dry out with a mains powered dehumidifier first and the chemical one should be able to keep up from there on theres probably too much moisture in the van at the moment.
For the rooflight to dry out the van you need low down ventilation to get proper convection so that the warm moist air rises out the roof vent.
If it has lower verts and its parked up on grass/gravel the air coming through the lower vents may have a very high moisture content and add to the problem though.

Aidan_M_M · 25-04-2012 12:34pm

Get a supply of Dishwasher salt , and fill a basin with it , scop out the centre a bit , and leave in the MH . It'll absorb moisture from the air . When it gets damp , leave it in the house to dry out .

moodrater · 25-04-2012 1:54pm

Normal salt NaCl only begins to dehumidify around 74% humidity which is very high. Calcium Chloride is far more effective and you can always dry it out in the home and reuse it.

Irishgoatman · 25-04-2012 11:16pm

Thanks folks, I'm taking all these suggestions on board.

As I think I said earlier, it only appears to be the seats (beds) and the cushion back rests that seem to get damp where they rest against the walls.

Since I pulled them all away from the walls they have dried out so I don't think a mains machine is needed.

I'm also working on a new way to wrap/insulate the gas bottle because I'm sure that is part of the problem.

I'll keep you informed of progress:).

Irishgoatman · 12-05-2012 3:38pm

I seem to have got rid of the damp/condensation. Thanks for all the help.

I've come to the conclusion that most, if not all, of it is being caused by the gas bottle. As I only use the gas to boil a kettle for washing and making tea/coffee (I don't do cooking when I'm away) I'm thinking of doing away with it. So, does anyone use a 12 volt kettle? if so how good/quick are they?.

paddyp · 13-05-2012 12:24am

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I seem to have got rid of the damp/condensation. Thanks for all the help.

I've come to the conclusion that most, if not all, of it is being caused by the gas bottle. As I only use the gas to boil a kettle for washing and making tea/coffee (I don't do cooking when I'm away) I'm thinking of doing away with it. So, does anyone use a 12 volt kettle? if so how good/quick are they?.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The water condensing on the gas bottle is just a symptom of high humidity removing the gas bottle will just mean that the moisture will just condense somewhere else. If you're really keen on eliminsting the gas bottle condensation put a lagging jacket on the cylinder or wrap it in camping mat.

Regarding 12v kettle. They are usually 150 - 200w thats 15-20 times slower than a 3kw mains kettle. That works out at 12.5 - 16.6 amps so you need decent wiring to your cigarette socket.

Engine off Decent sized 700ml one takes up to 30 minutes to boil from cold. That will be about 25 mins with the engine running or best case 20 mins if the water is room temperature and engine running.

Irishgoatman · 13-05-2012 10:40am

I hear what you're saying paddyp,
but through the winter the 'van was in a large barn, both roof vents partially open, the barn was in regular use for getting to cattle feed etc so plenty of air circulating but still I found the seats and cushions damp where they touched the sides of the 'van. The ones directly above the cylinder are the worst of all.

A travel kettle would take it's power from the leisure battery, which is kept charged from a solar panel on roof not through the main engine battery. Although I do still have one cigarette lighter socket wired up to main batt. that I could use.

Another option, in order to keep the 2.72kg cyl would be to change it, if possible, from a screw on regulator to a clip on type if it's possible to get them. The location of my cyl makes it a pain in the proverbial to get it in and out ( please everyone, don't laugh because I have this problem, just put it down to old age.). The cyl itself has to be turned whilst holding onto the regulator with my third hand.

spaceHopper · 14-05-2012 9:29pm

I don't get condensation problems from a gas bottle is it vented properly is there good air flow in the barn. I park outdoors all year but I use the van to go to work two days a week also parking it out doors means that the sun does heat it up and dry it out. I also keep a chemical dehumidifer in it all the time. Dry it out fully and see how you get on. Also don't get an electric kettle, I have one of these as a back up they are great for boiling a kettle if that's all you need. Thed argos one is expensive keep an eye out in tecos.... http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/3407497/Trail/searchtext%3ESTOVE.htm

*Kol* · 14-05-2012 11:34pm

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I have mentioned this before but got nowhere.

I'm having a lot of bother with damp/condensation in my '86 Romahome.

With the weather the way it is, warm in daytime and cold at night, the bench cushions and cushion backrests are continually getting damp.

I've tried leaving one of the roof lights slightly open but it makes no difference. I've also wrapped the gas bottle to save having to keep taking it out (it's place is under one of the benches).

I've now resorted to pulling them away from the sides when the 'vans not in use.

Any alternative suggestions welcome

I think the best solution is what you are doing by pulling the cushions away from the walls when not in use. I had a similar problem and that seemed to do the trick plus a chemical dehumidifier over the winter (i.e 10/11 months of the year!!). Seemed worst around the area where the water tank was.

Irishgoatman · 15-05-2012 2:33pm

*Kol* wrote: »

I think the best solution is what you are doing by pulling the cushions away from the walls when not in use. I had a similar problem and that seemed to do the trick plus a chemical dehumidifier over the winter (i.e 10/11 months of the year!!). Seemed worst around the area where the water tank was.

Thanks, this is the conclusion that I've come to.
I have no problems when we have warm nights and warm days (3 or 4 of them last year I think!).

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm leaving the gas bottle out for a while and see how things go. As I said, I only use the gas for boiling water. If the weather is cold enough to use the heater I don't go out.:D

I'm definitly a warm weather camper.

dickwod1 · 15-05-2012 3:35pm

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=11101&langId=-1&catalogId=15551&categoryId=212564&action=listrefine&mode=list&constraints=sor%7C%7CPrice%7C%7C1%7C%7Crpp%7C%7C20

Have a look at the first two items on that page may help a bit.

Irishgoatman · 15-05-2012 5:41pm

dickwod1 wrote: »

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=11101&langId=-1&catalogId=15551&categoryId=212564&action=listrefine&mode=list&constraints=sor%7C%7CPrice%7C%7C1%7C%7Crpp%7C%7C20

Have a look at the first two items on that page may help a bit.

Thanks for this.

Certainly looks better than the 2 I bought which are not re-fillable, and have to shake them and just go by sound as to whether they have done any good or not.

Halfords here I come.

dickwod1 · 16-05-2012 1:06pm

Irishgoatman wrote: »

Thanks for this.

No bother

spaceHopper · 16-05-2012 8:31pm

aldi have one you can microwave to recover at the moment

paddyp · 16-05-2012 8:40pm

spaceHopper wrote: »

aldi have one you can microwave to recover at the moment

Had a look at one today reckon its silica gel in a breathable membrane bag ala tyvek. So if you know anyone who works in a warehouse you could ask them to collect a bunch of sachets for you and make a huge one.

Irishgoatman · 16-05-2012 11:04pm

I was in Aldi on Monday but missed that.

I'll have a look tomorrow.

Thanks spacehopper.

spaceHopper · 17-05-2012 12:04am

paddyp wrote: »

Had a look at one today reckon its silica gel in a breathable membrane bag ala tyvek. So if you know anyone who works in a warehouse you could ask them to collect a bunch of sachets for you and make a huge one.

have you some kind of obcession with silicone gel and ware houses or something

Irishgoatman · 18-05-2012 11:52am

Had a look at the aldi dehumidifiers yesterday. They are pretty small. Going to have a look at the Halfords ones when next near them.

Have left the gas bottle out and made a point of not opening the 'van up for a couple of days just to see what's happening so going to check later.

paddyp · 18-05-2012 5:22pm

spaceHopper wrote: »

have you some kind of obcession with silicone gel and ware houses or something

More of a fetish :P

I used to work in the electronics industry some large crates would come in with 500g bags of silica gel you can dry them out in the oven great for keeping sensitive things like camera equipment, studio microphones nice and dry.

Irishgoatman · 19-05-2012 3:16pm

Dehumidifers and bowls of salt doing nothing at all:mad:. As dry as when I put them in.

I've now come to the conclusion that water is leaking in from the bottom of the window (off-side) although the piece of wall covering between the bottom of window and the re-start of the interior wall is dry, so it is coming in behind that covering. A small amount of condensation is building up and running down between the double glazing.
I'm now waiting for a good down pour of rain just to see if that is the cause but as we've had no rain the last two nights and yet there was a little water where the cushion normally sits I think it's the double glazing and interion seal.

Some days you just can't win:(.

So if anybody knows of anyone to fix this, please remember that I'm in South Mayo.

Thanks everybody.

paddyp · 20-05-2012 4:35pm

Irishgoatman wrote: »

Dehumidifers and bowls of salt doing nothing at all:mad:. As dry as when I put them in.

I've now come to the conclusion that water is leaking in from the bottom of the window (off-side) although the piece of wall covering between the bottom of window and the re-start of the interior wall is dry, so it is coming in behind that covering. A small amount of condensation is building up and running down between the double glazing.
I'm now waiting for a good down pour of rain just to see if that is the cause but as we've had no rain the last two nights and yet there was a little water where the cushion normally sits I think it's the double glazing and interion seal.

Some days you just can't win:(.

So if anybody knows of anyone to fix this, please remember that I'm in South Mayo.

Thanks everybody.

one person directing a hose and another inside looking for leaks works well if you can get a helper

saw these dehumidifier bags on adverts if someone is in the area mmight be worth getting

http://touch.adverts.ie/caravans-mobile-homes/caravan-damp-moisture-trap-dry-bag-reusable/1527517

Irishgoatman · 20-05-2012 9:27pm

Yes I thought of using a hose, the only problem is that it might force water in where rain wouldn't get in.

spaceHopper · 21-05-2012 9:25am

I has a leak in one of the top windows, it was probably my fault I'd closed it very tight wit the leaver behind the catch that twised the frame and moved the seal. Got it fixed in dublin by a guy who replaced part of the panel for me inside as it had rotted. He also but silicon seal under the rubber. Otheres here would be better able to advise but you could clean the rubber and under it, try a baby wibe. Then up a smear of silicone under the seal.

AutostratusEB · 21-05-2012 9:59am

I resealed 2 windows on our MH over the winter. Both were leaking similarly to what you describe. There was a bit of rebuilding to be done as a result of this damp problem which I tackled also, but that's another story.

Mine were the Seitz style windows. With care it's fairly easy to do yourself, and there are loads of advice sites (mainly from caravan owners/camper converters but technique is similar). There's been some good advice given on doing this on this forum too

I'm no professional but the MH has done 4000kms since February, been lashed with rain for virtually the whole of April/early May (France, another story..) and all good so far. Will be resealing two more of the MH windows this winter, purely for maintenance reasons. I think its a weak point on all types of constructions

At least consider doing it yourself, a professional repair will be surprisingly expensive.

Irishgoatman · 21-05-2012 11:55am

Thanks for these but the problem is that the seals look as though they are the original ones from 1986, so as you can imagine they are not very flexible (more like set concrete actually) and someone in the past has done a rather untidy job of putting sillicone round the outside of them. ( which is also solid).

I'm still waiting for some rain just to see if rain gets in or if it is just condensation forming between the double glazing.
I was out in her for the weekend and what with warmer nights and me sleeping with one of the roof lights open, no water inside at all!!!.

Life is full of little mysteries and puzzles to be solved, we'd be bored otherwise.

Aidan_M_M · 21-05-2012 1:11pm

Don't use a normal domestic silicone sealer , use a proper one like Wurth Band n' Seal , or Sikaflex 221 .

Irishgoatman · 21-05-2012 2:24pm

I'm a bit wary of touching the existing silicone for fear of damaging the rubber seal, with it being so hard I could make things worse.

I think I'll get a professional opinion first. Where are you based Aidan_M_M ? I might just come and pass the problem over to you:D.

(It's ok I do know where you are).

(Unless I'm going blind, there's no-where on the web site that gives your opening hours?)

Aidan_M_M · 21-05-2012 11:01pm

that's cos we're flexible... haha! Standard hours are 9.00 to half 6 ish... often work a lot later.

Irishgoatman · 22-05-2012 1:07am

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

that's cos we're flexible... haha! Standard hours are 9.00 to half 6 ish... often work a lot later.

Like me, you never have to listen to the dawn chorus of sparrows farting.

Sorry, meant to say sparrows singing of course.

Aidan_M_M · 22-05-2012 12:37pm

TBH , when things are very busy , I'd often start at stupid o'clock , but not open the gates til near 9... amazing what you get done without the phone ringing.

Irishgoatman · 23-05-2012 11:15pm

I've found someone fairly local to replace the rubber seals on my windows.
He's a guy who used to build campers so he knows what he's doing and so fingers crossed that this will solve the problem.

So watch this space.

Rocheydub · 16-06-2012 8:21pm

Hi folks,

New to this area of boards, as I just became the proud owner of a towing caravan, however, I am a mechanic by trade, and the cars I worked mostly on (shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) had endless problems with damp and water egress and access...

Someone said earlier that using a hose to see what leaks may be might provide more water than any rain would... To answer that, and I hope not to sound condescending: Rain water has a habit of rising up trough tiny gaps (scientific term called capillary action) and the best way of finding this access point is by pressurised water. Because only a drop or 2 a minute get through as you inspect inside, does not mean it's not a leak worth rectifying. Seal up any leak you can with silicone sealant and there are numerous videos and tutorials on youtube to help you do this cheaply I am sure. If not, PM me, and I'll try assist.

For window seals, we used to clean them off with a lint free cloth soaked in vinegar, and then a gentle rub of very light vaseline on the finger tip across the seal surface, to encourage water repelling.

I lost count of the amount of times I lay on my back (ooooeeerrrr matron) on a car floor with the carpets out, tracing a drip of water, every 12 minutes, back to it's source.... Pain in the ass, but worth it when the solution is found.

Irishgoatman · 16-06-2012 11:30pm

Thanks Rocheydub, I take your point about the hosepipe.

After finding someone to replace the window seals I'm still not convinced that the problem is there, although I'm going to have it done anyway as a previous owner had re-sealed at sometime and hadn't bothered about neatness.

3 days ago there was a little water in the camper even though we hadn't had any rain for 2 days and nights. Yes I know that's hird to believe.

I will report back!!!.

DAMP/CONDENSATION

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