Tankless Dehumidifier

[BonesD]

Does anyone know of a dehumidifier that does not incorporate a big reservoir?
I see several commercial offerings but they are very pricy and overkill for my 40’ boat. Get rid of all the darn plastic surrounding a simple pump and filter and it would be a lot easier to hide in a smaller space
I have a couple sinks I can easily run the the accumulated moisture into but don’t have much counter space to mount it on.
Seems like I am always looking for something that doesn’t exist or hard to find. I don’t want to go through another winter here without one.
Thanks

 

[Capt Jack]

I just bought a GE dehumidifier from homedepot. It has a tank but also a garden hose hookup that I run into the sink. It has worked out well so far. Not a small unit but it is very effective.

John

 

[HopCar]

I used one of the small Peltier effect dehumidifiers. It was about the size of a loaf of bread. I drilled a hole in it’s tank, stuck a piece of aquarium air hose in it and ran the hose to the sink. It worked great. You’d probably need two or three of them for your giant boat. ��

What ever you get, pick up a hygrometer also so you can track how well it’s working. The little dehumidifier dropped the humidity in my cabin 15 to 20%.

 

[SteveK]

I bought a small one, drilled a hole in the back and put in a 1/4 OD line fed to drain of sink. It must be working as the tank level is below hose outlet.

 

[DDW]

There are a number of them available at the big box stores that have a built in sump pump. Comes on when the reservoir is full and pumps out through a smallish tube. They are a little more than the simpler ones, (like $200 instead of $125). Have used one in the beach house for a couple of years, works great.

 

[Barking Sands]

I bought smaller one...drilled a hole in the tank and run it into my sink. Seems to be a common thing around here...lol. One thing to add that hasnt been mentioned. You may want to buy one with an old school on off switch. Mine has a single pushbutton that toggles between off/on. But when power goes out and comes back on it has to be pushed again to turn it on. If it had an old school rocker switch it would just power up again and continue working in your absence.

 

[SteveK]

OK I confess, I also eliminated the switch and added a dehumstat set to 45 so it turns off when not needed

 

[BonesD]

Thanks for all the replies. The smaller ones are certainly more convenient but most are not rated for very many cubic feet. Trying to get it done with one unit if possible. I imagine I could buy a bigger one and Frankenstein it. Good hints on the switches. Thanks all

 

[firehoser75]

For years I used one of the "regular" dehumidifiers on my boats (first one a Bavaria 36 sailboat and later on my Nordic Tug 37). It just sat on the galley counter and drained via a short hose into the galley sink then overboard. Worked like a charm. I had a 'weather station" monitoring and the humidity was always very good..... not too dry or too moist. You can supplement with additional fans to move air around from cabin to cabin if needed. It only took up about 2 sq ft of counter (1'x2') approx.
Your location would not differ much from mine.

 

[ksanders]

This is easy. Go buy a unit at home depot or lowes or similar.

Get one with a hode connection, almost all of them have one from the factory.

 

[dhays]

Thanks for all the replies. The smaller ones are certainly more convenient but most are not rated for very many cubic feet. Trying to get it done with one unit if possible. I imagine I could buy a bigger one and Frankenstein it. Good hints on the switches. Thanks all

I have used dehumidifiers on my boats for years. Most of that time was the small home compressor dehumidifiers. I would put it on the galley counter and have it drain into the sink with the hose connection.

A few years ago I switched to the smaller, quieter, Peltier dehumidifiers. They are not as effective as the compressor type but worked very well. Initially I got two of the Eva-dry 1100s and 1 of the Eva-dry 2200. The small ones were put in the forward cabin and the pilothouse and the larger in the galley. I drilled a hole in the tank of the 2200 and used 1/4” tubing to have it drain into the sink.

The 2200and one of the 1100ones have died. They lasted about 4 years. One of the 1100 is still going strong, but none of them have lasted like the old school compressor types did. None of them ever died. They are just a lot heavier and bigger to lug around to store. The Peltier can just stay where they are at, even underway.

This fall I will likely replace the dead Eva-dry 2200 with another Peltier type of dehumidifier but will chose a less expensive brand. These things seem to be disposable. They just work so well and are so convenient that I can put up with that.

 

[mvweebles]

Believe it or not, at $660, one of the cheaper options for a tankless continuous duty unit. Would be a decent solution for permanent mount below sole with intake/exhaust vent into room, and overboard

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N6C4GPP/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_04MJTQ4DHV5WBWT6YW9T

 

[rwidman]

I take it you don't have air conditioning on your boat? Many of the marine air conditioners have a "dehumidify" setting which simply runs the AC on a schedule to dehumidify the boat.

 

[ghost]

I have a fairly large one on my boat, and have quite a few humidity sensors throughout the boat. What I learned is square footage wise the unit could easily do the whole boat. Practically speaking though, it doesn’t. The difference comes down to ventilation. Every partially closed door, etc.. so I either need to get another, maybe smaller unit, or strategically place fans throughout the boat to ensure air travels from one end to the other.

I don’t have a great place for mine either, and as I think about where I might build it in more permanent like, the obvious need for better airflow becomes all too clear.

 

[DDW]

This is why I put a "whole house" type dehumidifier in the AC ductwork. Distributes dehumidified air throughout the boat, into every cabin the AC ductwork reaches (all of them, in my case). Especially in the PNW, don't know why this isn't done more often.

 

[DDW]

Almost any portable unit has a hose drain function. That requires locating the unit higher than a sink or other drain. But again, cheap ones with a built in sump pump are easily found, these pump dry periodically to wherever you want. If the pump fails the bucket fills up and the safety shuts it off.

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

I use a compressor type unit spec'd for 2500 sq ft. It's located about the center of the boat and drains into a sink. It's on a timer and runs about 10 hrs a day. I also put a couple of small fans in the far areas to help circulate the air. On a previous boat that had wood framed windows I just plugged a dehumidifier and let it run 24/7. It dried the boat out so well that the wood around windows shrank and leaked. That boat was in covered moorage so that may of made a difference.

 

[Bacchus]

I just put a large HomeLabs.com unit in my S&B basement and noted that when using the discharge hose it bypasses the tank so it doesn't get all scummy.
I dont know if the smaller sizes are similar. Mine is rather quiet as a side benefit.

 

[Moonfish]

I’ve heard good things about these Ecor Pro stainless steel desiccant dehumidifiers designed for boats:

https://ecor-pro.com/product/epd150-pro-dryfan-150-pint-stainless-steel-desiccant-dehumidifier/

 

[dacap06]

A Different Approach

Think about this:

Get the dehumidifier you want based on size, capacity, price, and mounting ideas. Pay no attention to whether or not it has a tank.

If it has a tank but you ewnt it to drain continuously, Look for the appropriate through-wall adapter for the kind of drain hose you want. The one below is just an exemplar you can use with a garden hose.

https://www.amazon.com/Joywayus-Con...locphy=9007562&hvtargid=pla-530035370529&th=1

 

[Scottwb96]

Obviously not exactly what you're looking for, but I have found this to be very useful not only as a dehumidifier but also as a nice way to monitor the boat environment. Since it has the ability to link up via Wi-Fi, I can see the humidity levels on the boat, turn on/off the device, from anywhere...
Also has the standard drain type hose, so you can leave on and not worry about the reservoir filling in 1-2 days...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0816SXSG8/ref=nav_youraccount_switchacct?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[stevemitchell]

I’ve heard good things about these Ecor Pro stainless steel desiccant dehumidifiers designed for boats:

https://ecor-pro.com/product/epd150-pro-dryfan-150-pint-stainless-steel-desiccant-dehumidifier/

After trying just about every solution out there in the last 15 years, I bought an Ecor-Pro EPD50 last year, and have been very pleased with it:

https://ecor-pro.com/product/epd50-dryfan-50-pint-desiccant-dehumidifier/

They are not inexpensive, but they are worth every penny in terms of quietness, reliability, and not having to deal with emptying water of any kind. They keep the boat extremely dry in the drippy season here in the PNW.

They do require a vent going outside of the boat or space you're dehumidifying, and I stuck mine in the engine intake vent area and it has been working fine there.

 

[MVDarlin]

I drain mine to the bilge.

 

[RLKramer]

I use GE dehu with clear hose so I can monitor water flow directly into overboard sink. I have fans throughout boat directing air to cabin with dehu. AC off so water not circulating in boat; too dangerous if leaks and unnecessary wear on system.