I am miserable in this east TN heat and humidity, and have a huge case of summer cabin fever, so I might as well get out and camp. I can be miserable in the minimally lower heat in the mountains as well as I can be miserable right here at home.
The question: when I am connected to a 30 amp service, can I take and run my home dehumidifier and the a/c unit at same time. I simply cannot sleep in a clamy humid environment, and the a/c alone does not remove much moisture, or you have to crank it to 50 degrees to take much out. I want the dehumidifier to keep the humidity below 70%, and then will probably need the a/c for cooling. [The humidifier adds heat, and the heat of these hot summer nights] After the summer temps and humidity go away, I will be fine in the cold.
Humidifier is 110v house unit, with 4 amps listed on the back panel. I think our a/c unit is the smaller one that could be powered by a generator, but I am not sure. Sorry, this is about all the technical info I have. If I can do this without blowing / tripping breakers, does it matter which 110 outlet I use?
Many thanks.
[font size="3"]You have a total of 30A available. The A/C will take ~12+A running, the electric WH will take ~11A if used. The converter and fridge will take 3-6A depending on battery condition. So your 4A dehumidifier will be fine. I routinely run a small electric heater, 12.5A, plus the converter and WH and computer etc., with no problems.
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That's funny, I have a camp site in east TN (Cherokee NF) that I bought just to escape the heat and humidity. If it bothers you up there, don't even think about heading down to Savannah. :D :)
Thanks guys. I think our WH is gas, so I should have room to spare. Yes, USCG I would not even think of going more south. It has been unusually miserable for us, I think we broke the record of days over 90 in July, and basically no rain, so I do not know how it is so humid. There is a campground in SW Va, Grayson Highlands SP, where the campsites are at 4800 feet, so we hope to go there first. Maybe the temps will be lower, but the humidity will be thru the roof. I am seriously thinking of getting a job on Mount Desert Island next summer and just camping up there in Maine for 2-3 months.
We always run a home dehumidifier with the A/C with no problem.
[p]We just got back from a few days of camping in the northern Adirondacks in NY State. Humidity up there was awful yesterday and the elevation was about 1,500 feet so that didn't help much either. I like the idea of getting up to almost 5,000 feet but I am totally surprised that there is a campsite in Virginia that high. Go for it.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Your A/C is on one breaker and the 110V outlets where you would plug the dehumidifier is on another, so you shouldn't have any problems particularly if you run the hot water heater on propane.
David[/p]
This is a very timely discussion for me as I have been struggling with humidity the past two trips. Recently at Vogel State Park in GA, the AC was set at 65 and the humidity still got to 80%.
DJSamuel, what kind of reduction do you get using a home dehumidifier? I have a home unit that can be used in our 21BHS and plan to use it next trip placing it in the shower compartment and letting it run. Or at least that is the plan. Do you let it run and the condensate collects in the dehumidifier bucket or run a hose to allow the condensate to continually run to a drain? I can probably figure all this out but no since reinventing the wheel since you have already been there done that!
Thanks
[quote source="/post/23840/thread" author="@montedtrotter1" timestamp="1470969089"]This is a very timely discussion for me as I have been struggling with humidity the past two trips. Recently at Vogel State Park in GA, the AC was set at 65 and the humidity still got to 80%.
DJSamuel, what kind of reduction do you get using a home dehumidifier? I have a home unit that can be used in our 21BHS and plan to use it next trip placing it in the shower compartment and letting it run. Or at least that is the plan. Do you let it run and the condensate collects in the dehumidifier bucket or run a hose to allow the condensate to continually run to a drain? I can probably figure all this out but no since reinventing the wheel since you have already been there done that!
Thanks
[/quote]I can get the humidity down very low, even 40% with no problem. However, since that dry seems to make sleeping a bit uncomfortable due to my sinuses, I have ours set at 60%. We are camping right now in Florida and it has no issues. Granted, the A/C helps some, but at night when the A/C is not cooling as much since the outside temperature is down, the dehumidifier does the bulk of the work (plus we're in the camper sleeping and adding moisture by breathing). In the winter without A/C it does just as well. We're camping right now and it is REALLY humid (lots of rain yesterday afternoon) and the dehumidifier handled it easily.
We do not run a drain. With two of us sleeping in the camper, I empty it each morning and have around 1/3 to 1/2 of the bucket full. When my daughter and son in law stay with us, it may be a bit higher than that, but still well within capacity.
As a side benefit, we just dump the water down the sink or toilet which adds clean water to help when emptying the tanks.
Thanks for all the good responses. I am Ron, also Dogband too before I lost my original login. Sean got me straightened out.
Since this posting, we were out to New River in NC, bordered by the .... New River, very foggy in the morning. It was ripping hot, and the A/C kept it about 72-74 and the humidity was fine during the day. As evening approached and the a/c worked less, it got incredibly muggy, in the high 90%. Paper was damp in the camper. I slept on a cotton beach towel.
I have used the home dehumidifier in the camper just to dry it out before a trip, and in our 14dbs it will take it to 40% without any problem in just 6-8 hours, and only filling the bucket half way.
Based on these responses, I'm taking mine on most trips in the future, unless it is really cold and dry outside, as in below 50.
Grayson Highlands in VA, is at 4800 feet, hope to get there in a few weeks.
Yes, a home dehumidifier really helps keep the humidity in check, which allows for much more comfortable living and sleeping. It doesn't have to be a real large one. Ours is only 30 pints, but it is smaller in size, fits well in our camper, and works great!
[quote timestamp="1470924067" source="/post/23809/thread" author="@david"][p]I like the idea of getting up to almost 5,000 feet but I am totally surprised that there is a campsite in Virginia that high. Go for it.[/p][p]
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[/p][/quote]Hey David
Seems a lot of folks don't realize this.
The highest peaks east of the Mississippi all reside in the Blue Ridge province of the Southern Appalachians, most notably in the Black and Great Smoky mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. The top 10 are: (1) 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, (2) 6,647-foot Mount Craig, (3) 6,643-foot Clingman's Dome, (4) 6,621-foot Mount Guyot, (5) 6,611-foot Balsam Cone, (6) 6,593-foot Mount LeConte, (7) 6,571-foot Mount Gibbes, (8) 6,475-foot Potato Hill, (9) 6,417-foot Mount Chapman, and (10) 6,410-foot Richland Balsam.
So while they are no Rocky's they do have some heights to them. Also very beautiful . My wife went to college back in dem dar hills, and we camp in them all the time. Temps drop greatly when you get back deep in the Smoky Mountains. The Smokes have one other added bonus, or I like to think it is a bonus. The Appalachians are home to 158 different species of tree, more than anywhere else in North America. Us hill folk are proud of the Smokies and Blue Ridge in general.
On a sadder note, I have to move to Denver area next year for my job. So I guess I'll get to the the Rocky Mountains soon enough. I hate to give up the Smokies :'( . They do seem to have a lot of great campgrounds out that way. The posted trip pictures on here make the Rockies out to be a wonderful place to go camping. ( Wait let me get the camping drull of my face ). As long as we can continue to live in the hills we are don't mind. We are hill folk after all. he he he. :D