Recommendations for a dehumidifier?

[Bigjim]

My boat is very wet. I bought it 2 years ago and it had been leaking for years. I'm just catching up to all the leaks. But I need a good dehumidifier to start sucking some of the water out of the interior. This will also cut down on the growth of mold throughout the boat.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good product that I can plug in at the pier and run 24/7 to start drying out the boat? It should have a way to discharge into the galley or head sink.

Some people recommend an inexpensive model that is designed for RVs.

[Chotu]

Literally any household full size dehumidifier works. I happen to have a General Electric one. All can be plumbed into a sink drain since all drip into a catchment bucket in the lower half of the unit.

Basically, they’re all the same. Grab one at Walmart or Best Buy and let her rip.

[tkeithlu]

Chotu speaks with wisdom. We use a little one from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Breeze-El...s%2C265&sr=8-7

for $45, with it sitting on a sink and with a drain from the cup into the sink. It's fine for when we are not on the boat - keeps a very large space free of mildew. Remember that when you are on the boat you are adding moisture every time you exhale.

[gonesail]

this is the smallest and lightest one I have found that can actually remove a substantial amount of water. also quiet and has an air purifier. Ivation 11 Pint Small Compressor Dehumidifier. check it out.

[HBrew]

I bought one of these https://www.mmair.com/marine-division/dehumidifier/ and it has worked very well for me. Seems very well built.

[Vega1447]

A suggestion: secure the dehumidifier from above (eg a line to an overhead grab handle) as a passing boat or such could cause your dehumidifier to fall. Happened to a friend and now I always tie mine up.

[patrickbarbary]

I have had both. I would recommend the A/C unit that fits in a hatch with the water exiting on the side of the boat. A dehumidifier warms up the volume to dry it and the water exits inside the boat. The A/C unit has the exchanger in/out so it cools it down while dehumidifying and the water is left outside...

[SV-Viento]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Literally any household full size dehumidifier works. I happen to have a General Electric one. All can be plumbed into a sink drain since all drip into a catchment bucket in the lower half of the unit.

Basically, they’re all the same. Grab one at Walmart or Best Buy and let her rip.

This is Exactly what we did. Bought boat, tracked down major leaks first , bought GE dehumidifier at HD, attached optional drain hose to dehumidifier (Make sure you purchase one that has this option), run hose to galley sink, turn on and run whenever your not at boat. Absolutely amazing results. We had cabinets that were so swollen from moisture they would not open. A week or two later they wer like fine cabinetry again. One of if not Best $200 We spent to improve boat and all you have to do is plug it in and wait.

Short answer is This. https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-50-pt...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

I just bought a replacement $170 GE house unit. Previous unit served me well for many years until it dropped to sole because of my mistake. I have a hose that drains continuously into galley sink and it takes 20 seconds to untie securing line, unplug, and set in shower area on a few towels when day sailing. I put it in the car whenever I overnight. Makes a huge positive difference.

[Bigjim]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Chotu speaks with wisdom. We use a little one from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Breeze-El...s%2C265&sr=8-7

for $45, with it sitting on a sink and with a drain from the cup into the sink. It's fine for when we are not on the boat - keeps a very large space free of mildew. Remember that when you are on the boat you are adding moisture every time you exhale.

I've seen this model recommended several times. It's seems pretty small. Does it actually work? We had a dehumidifier in our basement for years and it made a lot of noise but I don't know if it did much good. This model would be the perfect size if it works?

My boat is 35 feet long with two cabins. I've sealed up most of the obvious leaks and the boat smells much better now.

[Seriously Slow]

We can recommend this Black & Decker.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The unit has a fitting for a drain hose
We had same story as you but with one additional twist. No power in the dry storage yard when we pull the boat for hurricane season. With this unit we can power it with our solar and a timer for daily runs and of course an inverter. The unit will run with only application of power and no button pushing required.
We returned to a nice dry boat after 4 months on the hard.
We also run a small ozone generator a few hours a week.
Our boat is a 45' monohull with 7 opening hatches and 23 opening ports, lots of potential leaks.

[ventura 38]

i bought two of them on my 30' Erickson left them running for two wks came back both had no water in. i would say there junk

[Dsanduril]

We have a Perfect Aire 4PAD30, mostly because it was what was available in town when we needed one. Couldn’t be happier. When we’re living aboard the tank lasts a day most of the time, when we’re away it lives in the galley sink. Amazing how much water it makes.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by Bigjim

My boat is very wet. I bought it 2 years ago and it had been leaking for years. I'm just catching up to all the leaks. But I need a good dehumidifier to start sucking some of the water out of the interior. This will also cut down on the growth of mold throughout the boat.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good product that I can plug in at the pier and run 24/7 to start drying out the boat? It should have a way to discharge into the galley or head sink.

Some people recommend an inexpensive model that is designed for RVs.

I use this one: Ivation 13-Pint Small-Area Desiccant Dehumidifier

It is smaller, lighter, and quieter than a compressor type. Keeps humidity inside the boat around 40% in the winter, which otherwise would be around 80%. Also, unlike the compressor type, it does work well at low temperatures. The problem draining it through a sink is that the through-hull for the sink must be left open, which is a bad idea.

[Thumbs Up]

You want a compressor type unit. The smaller sizes do 30 pints a day. The number one feature to look for is one that will stay on after a power outage without being reset. Some do, some don't. For long term storage this is very important.