First Snow

[Cypherian]

Well the cover is holding well and the small ceramic heater is keeping it nice inside 16 deg out side 58 inside with the heater set at low. Not much snow but hey for this place it's either none some or how deep :}




Cypher

[padlin]

Do you leave the heat on all winter?

[Cypherian]

This is the first winter I have had it, thus far I turn it off if the outside temp is above 50. I have a remote thermometer in the trailer I can read from the house the outlet I am feeding the trailer from is switched so I just turn it off when it is not needed. How did you fair with the snow?

Cypher

[padlin]

We only had 6" or so, but it was darn frigid. Already sick of being stuck inside, especially now that I'm retired.

Never thought about running a heater, we had mildew issues one year when we opened up come April, we keep ours stick built covered as you do when I tried leaving the windows and vent cracked. I saw where one of the folks uses a temp sensing receptacle for his heater. Need to come up with something for next year once I have the Escape, we want the option of heading south in the winter if the mood hits us.

[cpaharley2008]

Cypherian,
I used a 400 watt "oil filled, radiator type" heater and set it in the bathroom floor door open and checked it daily. I'd never leave a fan forced heater running unattended. Amazon.com - NewAir AH-400 Portable Space Heater
it is also tip over safe.
In your pictures, Quahog looks content. Let's plan a springtime get together.

[dbailey]

I'm not looking to keep the trailer warm, just dry. I'm trying a 60w incandescent light bulb running 24/7. 60w of heat certainly isn't enough to keep the trailer warm, but I'm hoping it will be enough to help it stay dry. All the cupboard doors are open, of course.

It's an experiment... And as experiments go it's a fairly poor one, since I don't have anything to compare it to.

I quit working in the trailer a month or so ago when it got so cold that my hands were going numb in just a few minutes. I have some of the winter's projects completed, but still a couple more to finish up. Once I get a few more things done around the house I'll fire up the heater in the trailer, warm it up, and get a bit more done out there. Seems wasteful to warm it up for 20 minutes work though, so I need to get a bunch of stuff ready to go all at once.

[cpaharley2008]

For dryness I put one of these in the ss sink and leave on Amazon.com: Davis Instruments Air-Dryr 500 Dryer: Sports & Outdoors
very safe, there is also a bigger 100 watt model…..anyone want to buy a slightly used model? It seems I have 2 of everything, except wives….

[dbailey]

Looking at the Davis web site (Air-Dryr 500 by Davis) it appears to just be a 70W heater. Not sure how it would be any different than running an incandescent light bulb. Less fragile, I guess. But the light is something I already had.

[cpaharley2008]

Perhaps more surface area for drying? More effective? I do not know...

[gbaglo]

Buddy of mine gave me one of those that he was no longer using on his boat. I tried it out, but can't tell you if it works or not. Not sure how it would dry air, if the air is contained in the trailer. Anyway, it's now in the landfill since nobody wanted it.
I use two Dry-Z-Air containers with the crystals. You can see the results in the bottom of the container. Needs to be emptied from time to time.

[amirie]

We have used one of those "stor dry" units and have for over 10 years.
When it's REALLY cold we sometimes put a small cube heater in on low and check it frequently.
Mind you we live her eon the "wet" coast...so we certainly can not compare to you in te middle of the country and the absolute frigid weather back east..
Just all our cupboards open/propped up cushions/fridge and freezer propped open. So far so good....

We used those units that you have to empty the first year we had our Boler and I didn't like them that much..

[padlin]

So is the purpose of a heater to keep it dry?

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, typically heat means dryness and cool means dampness. Gun lockers use golden rods, a thin tube that heats up the interior to keep guns from corroding, same principle on the above dehumidifier heat products.

[padlin]

Thanks, tried the moisture removing crystals but it turns to a block of ice soon as it gets damp and the temp drops.

[onetim]

Condensation occurs when the temp drops to the dew point. Dew points during the winter here in New England are usually very low. It doesn't take much heat to keep the temperature in the trailer high enough to prevent condensation. That's why those 70 or 140 watt "Dryr" heaters promise to prevent condensation.

Keeping the temperature in the trailer above the dew point is probably the best way to prevent condensation during storage.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by padlin

So is the purpose of a heater to keep it dry?

A heater doesn't remove any moisture at all; however, warm air can hold more water, so keeping the air adjacent to surfaces a little warmer means it holds a little more water so less water condenses out on those surfaces (like dew). A warmer trailer has less damp surfaces.

Edit: Tim posted while I was composing. I completely agree with his excellent explanation.

[J Mac]

I know this is somewhat off topic but interesting none the less www.trackngo.com