Condensation in the rig

[Foxfire]

Today it's about 50 degrees outside and raining pretty hard. The heat is on set to 72 degrees. The windows are fogged up pretty good which I figured is normal. I can't turn on the maxxair because of the rain.
What I am noticing is the condensation on the three sides of the slides. It almost looked as if the slides were leaking but it's just condensation forming around the slide. I'm thinking it's slight leaks in the gasket causing the difference in temperature making it sweat. There's also minor condensation around the ceiling in the corners.
The temperature is fine throughout the rig and steady but it's still sweating pretty good. I guess the next project will be maxxair covers.

[0nTheRoad]

Are you using the furnace or heat pump? I would think the HP would help control the moisture more than the furnace but who knows, the dry air from the furnace might knock down the humidity more???

[Foxfire]

We're using the heat pumps. It's raining pretty hard for the last 12 hours. Everything's wet. We used the furnace yesterday to bring the rig up to temperature but the heat pumps since yesterday. I'm sure I would stop if I was able to turn on the maxxair

[0nTheRoad]

Yeah, they help get the air moving inside the rig. The covers are great, you can leave your vents open most all the time!!

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Foxfire

Today it's about 50 degrees outside and raining pretty hard. The heat is on set to 72 degrees. The windows are fogged up pretty good which I figured is normal. I can't turn on the maxxair because of the rain.
What I am noticing is the condensation on the three sides of the slides. It almost looked as if the slides were leaking but it's just condensation forming around the slide. I'm thinking it's slight leaks in the gasket causing the difference in temperature making it sweat. There's also minor condensation around the ceiling in the corners.
The temperature is fine throughout the rig and steady but it's still sweating pretty good. I guess the next project will be maxxair covers.

If you have that much condensation going on, I would suggest you run the furnace to heat up the air. The higher the air temperature, the more moisture the air can absorb. Then simultaneously, turn on the second air conditioner so that it can dehumidify the air. Run both until the condensation disappears.

Running the Maxxair fans will only pull in more humid air from the outside.

[JerryL]

^ My Maxx fan can go either direction. It was the same way with my other rv.

[johnboytoo]

Having been there, done that ! part of the sale was to put covers on all three vents, but our condensation this weekend was because it was so humid and we had the ac set on 65 or something frigid like that the vents in the bath hallway were dripping !

[almcc]

I'm a little surprised at the amount of condensation you are experiencing. We have the next size up trailer, that may be a factor, but we haven't seen that amount of condensation even with outside temperatures near freezing and after a couple of showers in the morning. We do run the Max-air and we only get condensation on the metal window frames, not the windows themselves. Just a thought, you may want to check for a water leak somewhere in the RV.

[marandjwr]

I was under the impression that the heat pump would "create" less indoor humidity than the furnace because all gas burning appliances create moisture. Isn't the condensation in the corners from too much humidity inside the coach? We run a dehumidifier in the winter when outside temps prevent using the HP and run fans, ceiling fan and small 5" behind the couch.

[markw]

We spent 3 months this past winter in Crystal River FL. Frosted about 5 times. The only condensation we had was a little at the bottom of some windows. I was very happy with how comfortable and dry the trailer was.

Mark

[almcc]

Originally Posted by marandjwr

I was under the impression that the heat pump would "create" less indoor humidity than the furnace because all gas burning appliances create moisture. Isn't the condensation in the corners from too much humidity inside the coach? We run a dehumidifier in the winter when outside temps prevent using the HP and run fans, ceiling fan and small 5" behind the couch.

Only gas burning furnaces that are "direct fire" where the combustion gases go into the heated space will add combustion moisture to the air. The RV furnace is "indirect fire" the combustion system and the heating loop are separated by a heat exchanger, no combustion moisture gets into the heating loop. There are not many "direct fire" furnaces around these days for safety reasons.

[marandjwr]

thanks, almcc, so do gas ovens and cooking burners result in extra moisture?

[almcc]

Yes, the combustion moisture will enter the living space from the stove. I find that one of the biggest culprits is the moisture created when showering (you can see the moisture on the vanity mirror). Even in the colder weather we try to run the bathroom exhaust fan.