Windshield Condensation/Reduced Vis

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Fletcher500

Fletcher500

Guru
Joined
May 30, 2016
Messages
2,005
Location
USA
Vessel Make
Helmsman 4304
Does anyone have any ideas to prevent it? IE, for those mornings or at night when the dew point is high.

I bought a small, 12V plug in fan, pointed it at the windshield, and it didn't help. Not enough heat, or air flow to make difference.

I have heard there are some liquids/sprays that can be used. Snake oil?
 
A bar of soap , or a cut potato marked across the inside and spread with a towel will work to stip some condensation.

Just like inside a scuba mask.

Spit works too but is hard for a large window.
 
Hmmm, hadn't thought of that. We use diluted J&J baby shampoo in our scuba masks. Best (and cheapest) defogger, and I've tried many.
 
Strange of strange. Windex. Spray on lightly. Helps reduce the surface tension of the humidity. But you have to find the right balance between too much and not enough.
 
I turn on the inverter and run a EVA Dry dehumidifier as soon as I start the engine in the morning. Seems to work pretty good.

Tom
 
Thanks for the feedback. My wife was using the rag on the boat hook yesterday morning at 4 am. The condensation comes back pretty quick though. Its an open boat, hard top, but aft canvas, so I am not enclosed like a typical trawler so that adds to the problem, and why a heat source wont work.
 
Fletcher500 said:
Thanks for the feedback. My wife was using the rag on the boat hook yesterday morning at 4 am. The condensation comes back pretty quick though. Its an open boat, hard top, but aft canvas, so I am not enclosed like a typical trawler so that adds to the problem, and why a heat source wont work.
Click to expand...

The only way to avoid it then is to equalize the temp and humidity on both sides of the glass. The best way to do that is with air exchange. Hard to do if you are sleeping on board as our bodies kick off a lot of moisture and heat.

I would go with a high quality chamois type cloth to do the wiping to avoid much streaking which would hurt visibility later in the day when the sun comes out.
 
shaving cream.I use it on mirrors, but would work on a window. Needs occasional recoating.
 
You might try the 12v stick on foil like in cars (aftermarket stuff like from JC Whitney).

Usually cheap enough, low power and canning it if it doesn't work is what it is....
 
Have you tried this Rain-X product? I never have tried it, but have tried something similar for a glass shower door that seemed to work OK for a while. Not sure how it effective it would be long-term.


79369464-2324-46df-8a80-03f5db9b2550_1.8fb9b02d51df660c855762f47a6dad96.jpeg
 
Joy soap -Wipe on with paper towel and remove with same.

Al
 
Lepke said:
shaving cream.I use it on mirrors, but would work on a window. Needs occasional recoating.
Click to expand...

I thought this was crazy when I first heard it months ago, but it works. Apparently shaving cream has ingredients similar to products designed for this.
 
I have tried a portable, 12V heater, and it didn't work.


Thanks for the comments about the various liquids. I will give it a try.
 
Use a squeegee to remove most of the condensation then a big hand full of dry paper towels followed by warm air from a 12volt window defogger. It may take more than one hand full of dry paper towels but the squeegee is key to remove most of the water.
 
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