12 volt de-humidifier ?

[Signor]

Greetings
It seems to me that older cars suffer more from internal condensation then newer motors. Especially now its b****y winter[]
Has any one ever come across an internal de-humidifier that sort of works off the car battery. I use the car daily so it sits on the drive and not in a nice warm garage.[].
OR what about those packs of silica gel that you find inside the packing of electronic equipment and the like. Maybe around 100 packs stuffed under the drivers seat might work, is that too daft?[8|]
Anyway gentlemen you comments please.

 

[totsnap]

Hi I have no affiliation or experience but I saw these rechargeable de-humid. units just from searching dehumidifier on ebay, there are also packs that you can get that are like big bags of silca.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-INTERIOR-MOISTURE-DAMP-REMOVER-CARAVAN-DEHUMIDIFIER_W0QQitemZ180196154665QQihZ008QQcategoryZ79621QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Fred Hindle]

Some time ago the 964 boys on Titanic were using large bags of silica gel. Can't for the life of me remember who was supplying it. I'll post a question on there and see if anyone remembers.
Just done a search on ebay - item 110205149947 is for (5 x 100 bags), so that is 500 grams for £6.99 postage free. This may answer the supplier question.

The place that Titanic used was this :- Russell Covington. GeeJay Chemicals Ltd.
16 Gosforth Close, Sandy, Beds., SG19 1RB.
Tel : 01767 682774. Fax : 01767 692409.
e-mail : sales@geejaychemicals.co.uk
www.geejaychemicals.co.uk

At the time they were selling 500 grams for £11 and 1.5 kg for £20 so the stuff on ebay looks to be the better deal.

Cheers,

 

[Guest]

You can get the crystals from Woolworths

 

[sentwistle]

Having driven old cars for years I know this problem. It is worst at the start of the week if you don't use the car over a weekend so actually using it and having the heater running does a good job. I often run the cabin up to very hot for a few minutes on a Monday and then open the windows assuming that any damp will then be carried away with the hot air.

The gel packs may well work as Frost sell them as well and they are a good supplier who won't bother with gimmacks.

Do please report back if you give it a try asyou have now got me interested.

It goes without saying that if your car has any water leaking in then you need to fix that first as it wil mist up whatever you do if it is getting wet carpets.

Steve E.
3.2 Coupe

 

[Signor]

Greetings
OK, I'm going to go with an army load of silica gel and see what happens[:-] The car has just undergone a resto so all the rubbers are new or newish anyway. Thanks for all your comments guys, I'll let you know how I get on in due course[]
I could of course go and buy a brand new motor, model "XYZ" mk2 (with the drop down cup holders) and cure the problem[]
Sorry no chance[]
Happy Christmas everyone
Alex

 

[Signor]

Happy new year one and all.
I've just had a look at Frosts website and found the perfect thing for my needs. I don't know how to attach a link so if you visit www.frost.co.uk and enter V420 in the search box it brings up an item called an AIR DRY.
So I've order a couple of the bags and will let you know how it goes, but at a tenner each, plus carriage, it ain't going to break the bank anyway, even if they don't work that well[:-]
Please note the car in the photo, demonstrating the product. Why a 911 of course[]
Bring on the rain[]
Cheers
Alex

 

[Fred Hindle]

Sounds like silica gel. Once saturated with water, silica gel can be regenerated by heating to 120°C (250°F) for two hours. (People don't tend to have their radiators on all year round). Just make sure the Sunday Joint is not in the oven at the same time.[]

Cheers,

 

[rich mich]

B+Q SELL THE 12 V DE HUMIDIFIER AS I BOUGHT ONE LAST YEAR FOR £20
Richard
Boxster S( 02my)
Focus Tdci(07my) (daily driver)
mk4 XR3I cab (project car)

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: rich mich

B+Q SELL THE 12 V DE HUMIDIFIER AS I BOUGHT ONE LAST YEAR FOR £20
Richard
Boxster S( 02my)
Focus Tdci(07my) (daily driver)
mk4 XR3I cab (project car)

wow thats cheap ! might invest myself. You should be able to get a de-humidifier cheaply at Maplins and CPC (branch of Farnels)

 

[nathan 1981 930 G50]

Rads will not be hotter than 82C.

 

[Signor]

Greetings
Well am now in receipt of two bags filled with "silica gel" or what ever, from Frost and lobbed both into the interior of the car for a more "immediate" effect, (your only supposed to use one at a time, ie one in operation and one resting on the AGA).
Anyway they only b****y work[]
So now I mop up the outside of the windows with a rubbery squedzee thing and the inside is bone dry.........amazing[]
I do get a little misting tho' when the fans first kick in but that doesn't last long.
So all in all highly recommended and they don't need 12 volts.[]
Well worth it!
Cheers all
Alex

 

[nathan 1981 930 G50]

That's good news. It's so annoying having to rub down windows on the inside when the weather is bad.

 

[sue11sam]

The gel is a better idea as any dehum also needs a decent ambient temp to work , anything less than about 10 degrees is a waste of time , the higher the ambient the better they work , because the water is already a gas and can condense more readily , if the temp is below about 5-6 degrees , the unit will just freeze up , so unless you intend using a heater in the car as well during the winter , I should stick to the silica , and cook it often ![]

 

[totsnap]

Ambidry produce a unit that does not freeze - run mine all year round in the garage and it works very well indeed.
Also generates a little heat that is given off warming the temp slightly.