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Old 11-22-2010, 10:42 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Cold bus? Solution!

Hey everyone! We just bought a dehumidifier for the bus aand man, it's is so much warmer now. We have two heaters in front and back and now ther air gets circulated soon much better. I didn't realize a little bit of dampness made ther bus soon cold. Bought at home depot for $ 130.

FullTiming for a year now with three kids in a 40 footer!

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Old 11-22-2010, 08:34 PM   #2
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

It is so dry here that I am constantly statically charged! We "zap" each other all the time. We need the humidity! Even running the stove does very little to put moisture in the air (LP dumps moisture when used).
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Old 11-22-2010, 08:39 PM   #3
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

i just got one to.. 279 dollars.. i dunno why they are so expensive now!
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Old 11-22-2010, 08:48 PM   #4
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

I bought a whirlpool 70pint at crappy tire a few weeks back for $169.99 .
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Old 11-22-2010, 11:00 PM   #5
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty
...I've even seen wood furniture split from too low % humidity...
Boy ain't that the truth... David had built a barrel topped cedar lined chest for my wedding present. We drug it from FL to NC to SC to TN and back to NC. All high humidity areas. We brought it out here and the boards that make up the rounded top are shrinking and opening up the joints. Even my little rock maple table is opening up where it was joined. We will probably end up getting a humidifier for the bus.
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Old 11-23-2010, 03:09 AM   #6
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

I'm sorry Smitty, but I highly beg to differ. Dry = Warm, period. Wet never equals warm, on any planet. The tropics are cooler than the deserts because the rain evaporates cooling the air. So, if your bus is sweating from the condensation, then it is also evaporating the water and therefore cooling your air temp. A demudifier is totally and completely necessary or you will end up with mold issues as well as a massive cold issue anywhere near your windows, tire wells or draft of any sort. Splitting wood is fantastic if you have that kind of heat. A 22% humidity rate is all a human needs and that is some pretty dry air, with no evaporation occuring. The heat we felt in the bus after the dehumidifier is quite fantastic as the air is now circulating the heat around the bus as well as stopping all evaporation from occuring. No way would I give up the fun of dumping 2-3 gallons of water a day from that fantastic little machine and not worrying anymore about water, mold or cold!
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Old 11-23-2010, 12:00 PM   #7
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

In the defense of Kirkndopp and Smitty. We live in the great Northwet, I understand their issue we have and use a de-humidifier to keep the dampness down and keep the mold monster at bay. When we run the de-humidifier the space "fells" warmer weather it is the compressor heat plus the drier air I am uncertain but it does make a difference. I understand what Smitty means there is a difference and they are not the same issue but it sure seems to help us.

All I know is mold and moisture has caused many problems in my skoolie, and the use of a de-humidifier has warmed the space and kept the windows from turning green.
Too much dry BAD
Too much wet BAD

just my 2 cents
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Old 11-23-2010, 12:47 PM   #8
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Quote:
Originally Posted by madpsalmer
Too much dry BAD
Too much wet BAD
Picky, Picky, Picky. What... you want perfect weather? Only rains when it's convenient? Not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, not too dry? Don't we all?

Don't want green windows... Do what we did. We left NC with emerald green moss & greenish windows. By the time we hit TX ... everything was brown!
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Old 11-23-2010, 12:52 PM   #9
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

I bet man! I grew up in Arizona I know the dry thing, but this constant rain thing up here is really a trip. We are not full timing yet were still house sitting but soon it might be our home we might need to find a better climate for our sanity sake.
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Old 11-23-2010, 04:18 PM   #10
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

It's amazes me how many old crochety dudes are experts on my life. A person comes on here to share info and glean it. We did minimal conversion on our bus for financial reasons. I only came on here to possibly help other people with cold wet buses! Last night it was 15 degrees and we were warm and dry with our heaters and dh! Sad people cannot simply give advice on this site based on a year's experience living in a skoolie. Maybe I'll come back in thirty years smitty and have a right to give advice. Meantime, I'm gonna keep traveling on then cheap and living life free!
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Old 11-23-2010, 06:06 PM   #11
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Damn guys, I think there is room here for agreement.

If the OP had inordinately high humidity in his bus with 15 degree temperatures, a dehumidifier would make things more comfortable. Take too much humidity out of the air at the same temperatures will result in discomfort.

KnowhutImean?
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Old 11-23-2010, 06:27 PM   #12
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Quote:
Originally Posted by madpsalmer
I bet man! I grew up in Arizona I know the dry thing, but this constant rain thing up here is really a trip. We are not full timing yet were still house sitting but soon it might be our home we might need to find a better climate for our sanity sake.
For me it's the opposite. I grew up in coastal FL & NC mountains... two high humidity areas. I've seen it rain in NC from Halloween thru New Years... from fine mist to downpour... non-stop. And here I sit in NM.... it's DRY! I miss rain and I miss green!
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Old 11-25-2010, 10:44 AM   #13
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

btw, we did insulate the bus but not the windows which obviously would have cost far more than $130. But thanks for being so condescending. I think I'm gonna go get an umbrella and return that dehumidifier because that was some great advice! It will probably help a lot of skoolies out there with moisture and heat issues. I'm glad you pointed it out, , with your obvious vast experience, I'm sure it will help many many people on this site hoping to warm up and and dry out their buses. So please, Smitty, share your wealth of information for the poor man on how to warm up their bus they are already living in. I really need to learn more...
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Old 11-25-2010, 11:12 AM   #14
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Lighten up boys! The perception of "warmer" is probably because you no longer feel the "damp". Cold damp and warm damp are both bad. I know of many Rvers who run dehumidifiers even during the winter. LP appliances will dump lots of moisture into the air. This seems to cause problem in places like closets, where the air circulation is poor or non-existent. In a high humidity area, a de-humidifier is pretty much de rigour. Even in drier areas, one may be needed at times.

And if you think "warm & wet" means if "feels" cooler.. go spend some time around Lakes Hartwell, Keowee and Jocassee in SC. Temps of 100F and up... humidity at 95% and up. It feels like you are drowning on dry land. I'll even give you the names of two campgrounds.... High Falls County Park and Chau-Ram State Park

http://www.oconeecountry.com/highsouthparks.html where we used to "hide" from the area building contractors until they discovered that we camped... then they would cruise thru the campground looking for David to install cabinets...

http://www.oconeecountry.com/chaurampark.html Our other park... the builders never found us there since many in the area didn't know it existed.
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Old 11-26-2010, 01:25 PM   #15
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Obviously from all the people on this thread that use dehumidifiers or know how much you need them in general, the original intent worked and perhaps might help someone in the future. That was my reason and always has been. I consider it paying forward for all the information we got while converting from this site. Only that maybe someone else can learn from our experience. Smitty, as you know from following us along the way, we clearly don't live in a bubble and, funny, we're not hippies either. If you had ever met a hippy in your life, you'd know we aren't. You think painting a bus colorful makes you a hippy than you haven't met any artists in your life either. It sounds funny to think that Dali, Steinbach or Maya are hippies! I won't be back to this site as I think I've paid forward what we took. Good luck.
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Old 11-26-2010, 03:09 PM   #16
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

i was stuck with the dehumidifier i bought because thats all there is in this city other then a "lancaster" brand POS..

It has been helping in the moisture and heating problem. in the bedroom it has been collecting on the windows plastic and running down the head of the bed. was causing moisture problems there. also the vents are no longer dripping. IT has helped greatly!

for your window insulating problem, get the home plastic wrapping window stuff and do your windows on a nice day! it helps!! I did all of mine and the window sills do not fill with water and its cut the heating down!
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Old 11-26-2010, 04:19 PM   #17
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

kirkndopp,

We insulated the floor well and replace insulation below the windows. Everything above that is factory. We have not the time nor the ambition to pull the steel off the ceiling to insulate. Also, we dont want to live in a steel tube. I have spent too much time in entertainer coaches to want to sit for days, without windows. Therefore, we opt to keep all the windows and put up a harder fight to keep it warm. We're just on the tail end of -15. I dont care how cold it is in the bus, I wont be in it unless we have concerts to do.
My wife bought insulated curtains for ALL the glass in the bus. It makes a huge difference. With a temporary propane heater, when we wake in the morning, the glass is wet. Nothing else, just the glass. Get running down the road and een at 0, the factory heaters will cook you out and dry whatever was wet. I would insulate the ceiling, but only if I could spray something or something to that effect. We need this and dont have time to diddle with a such big project as that.

Anyways...that's my rambling.
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Old 12-06-2010, 11:09 PM   #18
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

smittey, what is your solution to condensation? i understand insulation will help but what about the moisture from your breath? my walls also drip in the winter and anything touching the walls gets wet. there are three of us, and three people put out a lot of moisture. i thought the wood stove would help but the moisture just laughs at it. a dehumidifier sounds like the perfect solution, but im not big on band-aids. going on 2nd year in the bus and wanna figure something out soon. thanks all.
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Old 12-07-2010, 10:40 AM   #19
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Re: Cold bus? Solution!

Quote:
Originally Posted by opus
kirkndopp,
... With a temporary propane heater, when we wake in the morning, the glass is wet...
Propane dumps a lot of moisture into the air as it burns.
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