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Preventing Condensation


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Thanks for that Roger.

 

My widebeam has only portholes so with the larger internal volume I only get small amounts of condensation on the aluminium porthole frames.

 

I have a friend with on a narrowboat with condensation problems on his windows. Would you mind giving us your double glazing film recommendation again please? I told him about it but forgot what it was called and where to buy it.

 

Thanks - Mike

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Thanks for that Roger.

 

My widebeam has only portholes so with the larger internal volume I only get small amounts of condensation on the aluminium porthole frames.

 

I have a friend with on a narrowboat with condensation problems on his windows. Would you mind giving us your double glazing film recommendation again please? I told him about it but forgot what it was called and where to buy it.

 

Thanks - Mike

 

If you follow the 'Link' in Rogers post above you'll find the details in that thread .

Edited by johnjo
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Thanks for that Roger.

 

My widebeam has only portholes so with the larger internal volume I only get small amounts of condensation on the aluminium porthole frames.

 

I have a friend with on a narrowboat with condensation problems on his windows. Would you mind giving us your double glazing film recommendation again please? I told him about it but forgot what it was called and where to buy it.

 

Thanks - Mike

 

Hi Mike,

 

Not sure if you mean the film that I originally used, or the acrylic sheet that I have permanently replaced it with.

 

The film is just called double glazing film, which I bought from Wilkinsons, although I think B&Q do it as well.

 

The acrylic is ecoglaze from www.365plastics.com.

 

Regards,

 

Roger

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Two excellent threads. Thanks to Roger for all the time and effort he's gone to.

 

Our condensation problem is mainly on the metal window framework rather than the glazed area and I was thinking of fitting some form of secondary glazing to see if we could cure it. The 365plastics idea mentioned above seems to be what we're looking for. Unfortunately their site was down when I checked a few minutes ago. Hopefully it is only a weekend thing and they'll be back up tomorrow.

 

We've got drop back vents which would force the secondary layer to be some way from the primary glazing. Has anyone any experience of using the acrylic sheet idea with DBVs?

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if you have central heating on your boat and you warm the air up inside, when you turn off the heating will the hot air meet the cooler air and cause condensation because of the changing temps.I dont have central heating and i never close the windows,so dont have a problem with condensation but have seen boats where it looks like a sauna up the windows i just wondered if it was to do with the central heating

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Two excellent threads. Thanks to Roger for all the time and effort he's gone to.

 

Our condensation problem is mainly on the metal window framework rather than the glazed area and I was thinking of fitting some form of secondary glazing to see if we could cure it. The 365plastics idea mentioned above seems to be what we're looking for. Unfortunately their site was down when I checked a few minutes ago. Hopefully it is only a weekend thing and they'll be back up tomorrow.

 

We've got drop back vents which would force the secondary layer to be some way from the primary glazing. Has anyone any experience of using the acrylic sheet idea with DBVs?

 

I think the 365plastics site is being rebuilt at the moment, but you can access part of the site via the parent company LINK

 

If by DBVs you mean the top hopper type, then we had the same, just removed the metal retainers either end to reduce the gap. You can still open the hopper, as the shape of the transom retains the glass, or just put the retainers back in the Spring.

 

Roger

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Roger

 

Thanks for the information. Not sure about removing the metal retainers but I'm not on the boat to check at present. However, I think that the glass would "fall" out without the retainer as there is nothing to hold it in the frame.

 

We're talking channelglaze windows.

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if you have central heating on your boat and you warm the air up inside, when you turn off the heating will the hot air meet the cooler air and cause condensation because of the changing temps.I dont have central heating and i never close the windows,so dont have a problem with condensation but have seen boats where it looks like a sauna up the windows i just wondered if it was to do with the central heating

 

If there is any moisture in the air (as there inevitably will be) when it touches a colder surface than itself then that moisture will form on that colder surface, when this happens depends on the amount of difference between those two temps, doesn't matter if it's CH ( doesn't make any difference if CH has just been turned off or not) or open fire tho both these produce a drier air with less moisture content than say a non room sealed gas heater. If you can prevent colder surface dropping below a certain temp in relation to internal temp then you can have a sauna inside and get no condensation tho in that scenario you would need totally unrealistic amounts of insulation.

 

In fact you can get condensation wherever warm moist air meets cold drier air that is what happens if a warm weather front meets cold air, cloud and rain forms. This is what happened in the Chunnel recently when cold air from outside met warm air inside and produced massive amounts of condensation and knackered the electrics.

Edited by nb Innisfree
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if you have central heating on your boat and you warm the air up inside, when you turn off the heating will the hot air meet the cooler air and cause condensation because of the changing temps.I dont have central heating and i never close the windows,so dont have a problem with condensation but have seen boats where it looks like a sauna up the windows i just wondered if it was to do with the central heating

 

I don't think so. Condensation occurs as a result of warm air meeting cool surfaces or cool air - like when you breathe out on a cold day..I can't see it happening as a result of heating being switched off?

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Condensation occurs as a result of warm air meeting cool surfaces or cool air -

Off topic but Woody Allen, back in the days when he was funny. tells a brilliant tale about living in a bedsit in a New York tenement in midwinter in which the central heating was turned up full and couldn't be turned off, but the window above the radiator was broken, and he used to sit on his bed watching tropical storms form over the window ledge. :lol:

Edited by quebec
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Rather than use salt which expands with water & oozes all over the container its in, please try using cat litter.

Static caravan owners who winterize the vans are now moving away from salt to cat litter, it does not make a mess & continues to absorb water ok.

We have used it over the last few years with good results after being given this tip & its cheap :lol:

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http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Solar_Air_Vent.html

 

I`ve installed one of these-got one bit cheaper but same sort of thing! You can get cheaper ones but be aware of how much air per hour it shifts as the cheaper ones dont move much!

It fits into a 4" mushroom vent hole without any cuttitng of metal-just adjusting the ceiling lining very slightly!

Bonus is that it sucks and blows(!! :lol: ) so will move air in the summer!

I stick mine on in the morning-its in the bedroom-then while its off in the day it charges up to use it in the evening to relieve some of the heat from the stove-I`ve left it on all night and not run out of juice!

You can get marine chrome ones or the conservatory type(wat I got) that comes with three options of colour-the brown actually dont look too bad on a cream roof!

 

Highly recommended!

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Which type of cat litter Roger clumping or silica gel? I currently use large quantities of Kontrol Krystals (calcium chloride) quite expensive but works well.

 

I've only ever used table salt which is extremely cheap in bulk bags. I only about half fill a bowl, so that as the water is absorbed it doesn't overflow.

 

The cat litter sounds like a very good idea although I've never tried it, but doesn't it contain other chemicals for neutralising urine? My wife seems to recall that pregnant women should avoid contact with it for some reason.

 

Silaca gel is also excellent if available at the right price. Calcium chloride is a very effective water absorber and de-icer, but does require more careful handling and storage than Sodium Chloride (table salt)

 

Roger

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As I have said before, we do not suffer with condensation at all on our boat. I don't know why this is but it may be a combination of deep draught, small ports, good insulation or good ventilation. The point being that if R. W. Davis can build boats that don't suffer with condensation problems why cannot other boat builders do the same?

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As I have said before, we do not suffer with condensation at all on our boat. I don't know why this is but it may be a combination of deep draught, small ports, good insulation or good ventilation. The point being that if R. W. Davis can build boats that don't suffer with condensation problems why cannot other boat builders do the same?

 

Something to do with price I believe!

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As I have said before, we do not suffer with condensation at all on our boat. I don't know why this is but it may be a combination of deep draught, small ports, good insulation or good ventilation. The point being that if R. W. Davis can build boats that don't suffer with condensation problems why cannot other boat builders do the same?

you can't look at the boat in isolation.

it's as much about your life style as is it about the boat.

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you can't look at the boat in isolation.

it's as much about your life style as is it about the boat.

 

I am wondering if the mode of heating makes a difference. We never used to get condensation problems (except in the unheated bathrooms) when we had houses with solid fuel heating. We did experience serious problems in a house that was well sealed but had central heating.

 

The heating on our boat is from a Morso Squirrel centrally located with a back boiler feeding three radiators. The stove is situated close to the bathroom and there is a big radiator in the bathroom which room is also well ventilated. Somertimes the large mirror will mist up when one of us is having a shower but as the mirror is above the radiator, it soon clears.

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We are getting zero condensation (apart from a little on the outer port glass which drains outside + bathroom after a hot shower) and that is in all this cold weather and kettle simmering all day and night on the SF stove. It's down to ports, good insulation, adequate ventilation and ventilated DG and the fire kept in 24/7 at a saloon temp of 25c. Get up in the morning and look out through clear dry windows.

 

Not wanting to sound smug but if we can do it then it is reasonably easy to achieve.

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The cat litter sounds like a very good idea although I've never tried it, but doesn't it contain other chemicals for neutralising urine? My wife seems to recall that pregnant women should avoid contact with it for some reason.

I think this is because of the risk of contacting toxoplasmosis bugs, which can be carried by cats and are not good for pregnant women. Clearly only a problem if the litter has been used by cats, rather than as a dessicant.

 

 

MP.

Edited by MoominPapa
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I think this is because of the risk of contacting toxoplasmosis bugs, which can be carried by cats and are not good for pregnant women. Clearly only a problem if the litter has been used by cats, rather than as a dessicant.

 

 

MP.

 

Thats useful to know MP, might try some out then. Thats for moisture absorbtion rather than peeing in :lol:

 

Roger

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