Condensation

[TakeLifeEasy]

How do people cope with the condensation in their buses this time of year. I have mine under a cover and on dry days open everything up and run the engine for a bit but because it has been so cold and damp for so long, this is no longer doing much good. Went into the van yesterday and the room on my westy pop up was dripping wet.
Begining to wonder if it is better to remove the cover this time of year. It is a pro-tec cover so is breathable.

 

[CornishSilver]

Ditch the cover mate Imo. Put it on if there is prolonged rain forecast 2-3 days +, I have a breathable one to that does the same. I firmly believe that you are best of using your van weekly as it gets a good airing. The only thing I avoid is the salted A roads. I have a garage that has to much stuff to get the van in, it has a very good through draft, but even so my fishing cap that stays hung up is always damp so I'm not convinced my van would fair any better. If your bus is sealed up well with no leak's and always has a good layer of wax all over (wax oil underneath) and you have lots of country lanes to get you about then use it

I will get shot down now by majority as I'm pretty sure the general consensus is store it for winter. I do live in Cornwall so its the mildest part of the uk through winter and thankfully many un salted roads.

 

[Robcod]

I had a late bay I had under a JK cover. I thought it was brilliant but looking back I'm not so sure. I think the first couple of years it worked well and then it lost its waterproof. It seemed to degrade quite a bit over those fours years and it was probably due to its condition hiding under the respray. I was always impressed when I took the cover off as it seemed dry and don't remember it having much condensation. So I think a good quality water proof/ breathable cover is definitely worth having. Since I got my early import I now store it in the garage having changed the doors so I can fit it in. I go in the garage regularly and it is never condensated up and without doubt if I had done this with the last one it wouldn't have gotten into the condition it was in before. All depends on circumstances. If you have a garage use it, if you don't then get a good cover imho. If the bodywork is not hiding bad rust underneath, well waxed, good rubber seals and you use it then it should be fine too, blimey that's how they were all used for the first 20 plus years of their life

 

[sparkywig]

The JK covers were never said to be waterproof, and any cover should only be used infrequently. They're not designed for long term use.
The best way to store it is in a dry, well-ventilated garage or unit.

If you're like the majority of us and it's parked outside, wash it, wax it, and use it.

 

[TakeLifeEasy]

I might try a bit of both as suggested in the first post, if it is going to rain for days, put the cover on, if not take it off and get some air to it. I will run it a bit more, just as soon as I can get it running (see my other post)!

 

[ozziedog]

I think that you have the gist of it as above. Getting new air into it is only gonna work on the driest of days though because changing the air can all too often lead to more moisture being introduced into the van. I`ve got an oldish Merc that steams up on the inside and I had to defrost it inside and outside the same as my van. Seems as cars get older that they have more issues because of the moisture getting trapped more and more each year, it`s possibly an age thing. I`ve tried something different this year and it`s a bit of a faff but it seems to work well so far. I`ve bought from B&Q a moisture trap, it looks a bit like a crystal ball but made of plastic with a strange block that goes inside that is about the size of a large bar of soap. This block sits in the two piece crystal ball and is on a shelf in the top, it seems to attract moisture and drop it into the bottom bit. It has stopped all the internal moisture in my van and my car. The faffy bit is I have to put it in the car every night and take it out in the morning because it`s a bit top heavy and likes to fall over while you is driving around, it`s fine while the motor is stationary, and in the van, its not such a big issue as its only used on weekends. This year, I seem to have noticed more condensation In my garage, at first I thought the roof was leaking as it was dripping off the inside edge of the sheets which are cement based big 6 corrugated sheets at quite a low pitch. Then I thought, hang on a minute, it hasn`t rained since last weekend ???? It would seem that the damp is getting introduced into the garage by getting the van wet and even though I shammy it off, some is dripping into the concrete base where it can`t go anywhere apart from evaporate up on warm days then freeze on the inside of the roof and it has it`s own little climate in there, very similar to what happens inside an old Merc or an old van. So I`ll get another couple of these for the garage and keep an eye on what is happening. I think they are made by Unibond. Funny enough, I`ve got rid of the moisture in my van but its dry inside and getting a bit dripped on on the outside :roll: Sometimes you just can`t win :lol:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,About a tenner a pop and you can get refills too :mrgreen:

 

[mister]

Ditch the cover mate Imo. Put it on if there is prolonged rain forecast 2-3 days +, I have a breathable one to that does the same. I firmly believe that you are best of using your van weekly as it gets a good airing. The only thing I avoid is the salted A roads. I have a garage that has to much stuff to get the van in, it has a very good through draft, but even so my fishing cap that stays hung up is always damp so I'm not convinced my van would fair any better. If your bus is sealed up well with no leak's and always has a good layer of wax all over (wax oil underneath) and you have lots of country lanes to get you about then use it

I will get shot down now by majority as I'm pretty sure the general consensus is store it for winter. I do live in Cornwall so its the mildest part of the uk through winter and thankfully many un salted roads.

Ditto. If you dont have access to a dry store unit.

Mine is outside year round, used regular and I don't suffer from major condemnation. Just avoid the grit.

 

[TakeLifeEasy]

I think the key to keeping these busses dry most of the time is use it more which is something I need to do just as soon as I can sort out the timing problem I have. Spent all morning out in the cold trying to get to the bottom of it and still no further so it looks like it is going to be damp in the van a little bit longer until I can get the damn this started!!!

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=73145

 

[Goldensyrup]

cheap way is to buy a big bag of table salt and empty into a old ice cream container. put one in front,one in middle , one in back. i do this and its kept in a garage with cover on and windows slightly open and it works a treat

 

[ozziedog]

cheap way is to buy a big bag of table salt and empty into a old ice cream container. put one in front,one in middle , one in back. i do this and its kept in a garage with cover on and windows slightly open and it works a treat

Someone else was telling me they used to do something like this in their static caravan with bowls of crystals and they'd done it for years and it works, if you forget to do it when you close the caravan for the winter, it would be running with damp and mould everywhere when they opened it up for the summer. I don't know what sort of crystals they were.

Ozziedog,,,,,,, worked for years too. :mrgreen:

 

[CornishSilver]

cheap way is to buy a big bag of table salt and empty into a old ice cream container. put one in front,one in middle , one in back. i do this and its kept in a garage with cover on and windows slightly open and it works a treat

Someone else was telling me they used to do something like this in their static caravan with bowls of crystals and they'd done it for years and it works, if you forget to do it when you close the caravan for the winter, it would be running with damp and mould everywhere when they opened it up for the summer. I don't know what sort of crystals they were.

Ozziedog,,,,,,, worked for years too. :mrgreen:

I fill old socks with cat litter and hid them out of site in various locations, works a treat.

 

[sparkywig]

cheap way is to buy a big bag of table salt and empty into a old ice cream container. put one in front,one in middle , one in back. i do this and its kept in a garage with cover on and windows slightly open and it works a treat

Someone else was telling me they used to do something like this in their static caravan with bowls of crystals and they'd done it for years and it works, if you forget to do it when you close the caravan for the winter, it would be running with damp and mould everywhere when they opened it up for the summer. I don't know what sort of crystals they were.

Ozziedog,,,,,,, worked for years too. :mrgreen:

That would be Nick and myself. Salt was quite effective.
You baked the crystals in an oven for an hour to dry them out ready for the next use.

 

[TakeLifeEasy]

Going to give the salt a go, sounds like a good idea, thanks

 

[gvee]

Mine is currently in the garage with a dehumidifier running in it.
I know not everyone has this luxury; but I have done the same when I only had a driveway by the use of a large extension cable... my slider has a gap in the bottom corner that is just big enough to run a cable in whilst still being able to lock it.

 

[Simshaz]

Wife's classic Porsche has a Storm Guard cover over it and on the inside we use a moisture trap. Like a box with a tablet in the middle. As the tablet absorbs moisture it drops it into the bottom of the container. We get around a litre of water in the container every winter. Check it once a month and empty as required. Never had any mold or smell issues doing this. Just don't spill the residual water on furnishings as it leaves a white stain you will not get out

 

[ozziedog]

cheap way is to buy a big bag of table salt and empty into a old ice cream container. put one in front,one in middle , one in back. i do this and its kept in a garage with cover on and windows slightly open and it works a treat

Someone else was telling me they used to do something like this in their static caravan with bowls of crystals and they'd done it for years and it works, if you forget to do it when you close the caravan for the winter, it would be running with damp and mould everywhere when they opened it up for the summer. I don't know what sort of crystals they were.

Ozziedog,,,,,,, worked for years too. :mrgreen:

I fill old socks with cat litter and hid them out of site in various locations, works a treat.

Again, I've heard about this before and I'd thought what a brilliant idea then forgot all about it. I specifically like the idea of old socks because I could hang them up in old socks around the inside of the van and for that matter I could hang them up in the garage around the inner eaves. When soggy, drop them in the bin or dry them out in the summer perhaps or is that being tight maybe ? Last night, Mrs Ozziedog got in the old Merc that hadn't been driven that day and knocked over my moisture trap so blue shit and blue pee was all over, this is the downside. Normally it's not an issue but accidents occur when you are not expecting them. I'm thinking pop this one in the garage and do something with cat litter in the car. Possibly socks filled put in old curry trays slid under the front seats? That's out of the way, shouldn't get spilt and a bit more convenient than putting this thing in and out every night and morning. :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,, Sounds a plan, I'll report back troops :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[ozziedog]

Wife's classic Porsche has a Storm Guard cover over it and on the inside we use a moisture trap. Like a box with a tablet in the middle. As the tablet absorbs moisture it drops it into the bottom of the container. We get around a litre of water in the container every winter. Check it once a month and empty as required. Never had any mold or smell issues doing this. Just don't spill the residual water on furnishings as it leaves a white stain you will not get out

That's exactly what I was just saying. I had blue bits from the block and blue pee everywhere but it's an old leather interior so it cleaned up ok. The one I got is like a sphere somewhere between football and tennis ball size but quite top heavy as the block is in the top. The block looks a lot like the ones you used to see in urinals but about the size of a bar of soap. But I wouldn't want to clean that up on a regular basis. Especially on the way to work I'm gonna try socks and litter and curry trays, sounds a winner. A good waterproof container might be required to store it in I'm guessing :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,, more than one way to skin a cat. :mrgreen:

 

[TakeLifeEasy]

Just been in the van and it is dripping because it is cold, damp and foggy outside. I have poured a whole tub of table salt in a washing up bowl and put that in the van so will report back in a few days to see how it goes.

 

[thru_a_lupe]

i bought one of these mini dehumdifiers and get about half a litre of water every week out of it in winter.
https://www.aircondirect.co.uk/p/798042/electriq-md80-mini-compact-dehumidifier-with-500-ml-tank?gclid=CIO7jOvd59ECFe-_7QodqGQCjA

 

[TakeLifeEasy]

Blimey just 24watts, that looks fantastic.