Moisture control under v-berth mattress

Thanks for all the reply.
I talked to someone at Mac's Upholstery in Seattle about their Hypervent and I'm waiting for a shipping quote from them. this product is very similar but seem a bit stiffer then the HYPERVENT AIRE-FLOW™ MOISTURE BARRIER, its also a bit more expensive ($12.50 vs $10/ft).I also find a rain shield for house siding that look extremely similar to the Dry-Den, I was able to order it at home depot with free shipping and easy return. It was same price as the smaller den-dry but it should be enough to cover at least 4 v-berth, so if it work good, I'll have some available for local sale :D .
Now for part two of moisture mitigation. Having little experience with it, it make me sleep better to always turn the wallas off for the night, Should I not be concern with this? How many of you keep it going all night?
 
Having little experience with it, it make me sleep better to always turn the wallas off for the night, Should I not be concern with this? How many of you keep it going all night?
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We usually turn the Wallace off overnight, but we have used it all night if it is especially cold. I prefer to run it with an energy free Eco-Fan which circulates the air and does not drain the battery. It is also very quiet which the the Wallace Fan is not. I always have some ventilation open at night, usually the hatch above the berth and another window, but it a big storm we usually shut these down as well. I like the forced air Wabatso as it heats up the cabin really quick, whereas the Wallace take much longer. You can set the Wabasto on a timer to run sometime overnight, but I usually don't do this. I find that when trying to dry out the cabin, it is good to get it really warm inside and then open things up to push the warm humid air out. Sometimes I will crank the heat and then hop in the kayak for a short paddle. In the rainy PNW I find that I need to work daily on trying to keep the moisture level in the boat at a reasonable level. Doing this is a lot easier than trying to dry things out when everything is really damp.
 
I had to look this one up. I have used the Eco Fan, but this post from Scan Marine is in our archives: The bottom line is that you don't save much power, and there could be damage to the stove if you didn't run the stove with the lid closed--heating mode.

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 6:10 pm Post subject: Wallas current draw, fuel burn Reply with quote
The Wallas 85D/270 combination is only intended for use as a heating device with the lid down (blower fan running).

The current draw and diesel fuel burn for this stove/heater is as follows:

Lid up, lowest power setting: .15 amps, 3 ounces per hour
Lid up, highest power setting: .25 amps, 6.5 ounces per hour

Lid down, lowest power setting: .5 amps, 3 ounces per hour
Lid down, highest power setting: .75 amps, 6.5 ounces per hour

Running the stove continuously with the lid up and not cooking can bring about system shut downs based on overheating. Lower power settings may prevent this.

As you can see from above, the difference between lid up and lid down power draw at low power is only .35 amperes. This means a fully charged 200 amp/hour battery could power this heater for 400 hours with the lid down. Unless you don't plan on starting your engine or charging your batteries for 6 days, use your lid!

If your lid blower is making a lot of noise, it may have a bent rotor. This is something we can address if your unit come in for servicing.

Thanks for using Wallas!
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I wouldn’t be concerned with it running at night, but we never have, as we sleep best with cold air & warm blankets. Besides, the biggest contributor to condensation forming on the inside of the boat along with breathing & heating water, during high humidity is the difference in temperature between the inside & outside of the boat. I’ve never been able to create enough air flow from inside to outside, if it’s around 40 degrees & raining, no matter how much the dry heat to stop the condensation. In fact the higher the heat, the more the condensation. In these conditions only enough insulation will prevent the condensation forming. We’ve experienced in SE Alaska during April & May these conditions many times. Yes, when the humidity is moderate & the temperature not to extreme, all the remedies mentioned so far in this thread will work fairly well. Over the years & cruises in SE Alaska, experiencing the many different conditions affecting the inside condensation in the boat, we’ve worked out what works best for us. Keeping the temperature inside the boat just high enough with sufficient clothing & ventilation to be comfortable. Adding more heat & then increasing the ventilation can turn into a catch 22. Heating during the night, when it’s difficult or impossible to ventilate sufficiently, will increase the condensation.

Also heating or cooking with unventilated propane like using a Buddy Heater or Coleman type propane stove will greatly increase condensation. During the times we lost use of the Wallas & turned to the Buddy Heater & coleman stove created our very worst condensation events.

Jay
 
All good info, thanks. In my last outing, it got a bit below freezing at night, a lot of condensation in the morning and it took several hours to clear (except for under the mattress which never did got dry) with the wallas only. I should probably look into improving the ventilation also but at those temperature, it might be something I have to leave with.
I do have a noisy blower on the stove , if I wiggle the lid a bit it quiet down but only for a couple few minutes, Wondering if I have a bumper of some sort missing? I have the 85D with the lid attach to counter separately from the stove unit.
 
Also heating or cooking with unventilated propane like using a Buddy Heater or Coleman type propane stove will greatly increase condensation. During the times we lost use of the Wallas & turned to the Buddy Heater & coleman stove created our very worst condensation events.
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I use one of those Korean butane stoves for a lot of our cooking. I tend to often cook in the cockpit under the bimini or in the camper back. This is especially important when you are boiling pasta or frying fish or bacon. It keeps much of the moisture out of the cabin and the smell as well.
 
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