We don't leave any heating on while it's in storage. I lift all the cushions and leave all the cupboards open. We are away this week- end and it took about an hour to get warm enough to take our fleeces off.
------------- Started with a motorbike and tent.......my gallery, my life.
We like issym,do not leave any heating on when our caravan is in storage.We do as issmy does,lift the cushions and open the cupboard doors,but we also place four damp traps available for around a pound each from ASDA and TESCO etc, plus two bowls of salt to absorb atmospheric moisture.Then we just check up on a regular basis.
------------- If the moon reflects the suns light,why does it not reflect the suns heat?
Heating will simply create more condensation and moisture traps or salt are pointless. Caravans are designed with ventilation to allow air to circulate.
Unless you completely seal the (necessary) ventilators and make all other gaps completely airtight moisture traps will collect moisture but can never collect all of the moisture in the winter air coming into the van.
Just leave it to do what the designers planned - ventilate.
Quote: Originally posted by millermicm on 13/12/2014
Heating will simply create more condensation and moisture traps or salt are pointless. Caravans are designed with ventilation to allow air to circulate.
Unless you completely seal the (necessary) ventilators and make all other gaps completely airtight moisture traps will collect moisture but can never collect all of the moisture in the winter air coming into the van.
Just leave it to do what the designers planned - ventilate.
Thanks folks. V.useful. I've drained off all H2O via a Floe thingy ( v. easy) and done all else that one should for winter. Van lives outside house , so we pop in most days.
My thought re fan heater is that it creates air movement thro the designed ventilation orifices.
It's our intention to use 'van during the winter ( we did in previous Compass, with the useful extra of inboard tank ).
Having installed the 2 x AA battery-powered gizmo to maintain the time / settings in the Alde control panel( you'd think they'd fit it as standard in a £25k. 'van !)we should be fine.
Apart from the Aquaroll freezing? Again, why doesn't someone invent summat to warm the water AND to transmit the volume to an LED screen ( stand the Aquaroll on bathroom scales and fit a gizmo to do this? 1 litre = 1 kilo )
£500 to fit / retrofit an onboard tank. I can see we could fit / have fitted a Truma thingy to permit intake from inside ..... but where would one put a sensible sized / shaped container?)
Quote: Originally posted by Taylor56 on 13/12/2014
Quote: Originally posted by millermicm on 13/12/2014Heating will simply create more condensation and moisture traps or salt are pointless. Caravans are designed with ventilation to allow air to circulate.
Unless you completely seal the (necessary) ventilators and make all other gaps completely airtight moisture traps will collect moisture but can never collect all of the moisture in the winter air coming into the van.
Just leave it to do what the designers planned - ventilate.
Totally agree
Our 'van must be a one-off then. Its regularly heated when its really cold - and obviously also when we are in it, but ive never seen any condensation.
Think about it. Leave any sort of fabrics in an unheated structure over winter, and they are bound to absorb moisture out of the air. Cardboard is a classic illustration.
Leave a box in your garage over winter, see if its 'soft' or not at the end. Your cushions are absorbing this moisture that softens the cardboard.
Get a bit of heat on - it costs nowt, and you dont have to sit in a fleece an hour when you next start using it!
no gas allowed in most storage yards and if you read most terms and conditions they usually request that the bottles are removed, although most people don't, and I have yet to see a storage yard come with ehu to eah caravan,
as for the water thing, well our £25000 caravan has a water level on it, and no need to have any form of heater in that as its got an onboard tank, if its that cold and you worry about the pump freezing overnight then just remove it and have a 2 liter bottle filled and the kettle for the morning, although I have heard of people using a fish tank heater in the aqua roll but most just do as I explained above
if you are lucky enough to have the van at home, then just put the heating on a day or so before using it to get things totally warmed thr, its a good idea to have every locker and cupboard open as its amazing just how much cold air they hold, but remember the caravan will be cold when you turn up on site due to the air being force thr the air vents when being driven to a site, just with the fabrics being warmed up beforehand shouldn't take as long to get rewarmed again that's the only difference
Quote: Originally posted by Mick S. on 13/12/2014
Think about it. Leave any sort of fabrics in an unheated structure over winter, and they are bound to absorb moisture out of the air. Cardboard is a classic illustration.
Leave a box in your garage over winter, see if its 'soft' or not at the end. Your cushions are absorbing this moisture that softens the cardboard.
Get a bit of heat on - it costs nowt, and you dont have to sit in a fleece an hour when you next start using it!
You clearly have a basic lack of understanding of chemistry. Some materials absorb moisture, many others do not. To compare cushions to cardboard is ludicrous.
Equally, where do you get your heating for free from? At 12p/kw, heating costs soon add up, especially when it is completely unnecessary.
Yes, in frequent threads such as these some fail to understand that cold air is often less damp than warm air, cold does not necessarily equate to high humidity & that the dampest air will be in a caravan that is occupied not empty.
Also interior condensation will not harm a waterproof caravan, it might come & go, leaving blinds open will allow sunshine to warm interior. The harm will come from water ingress getting into structure from failed exterior seals which is a separate issue.
If there is excess condensation in winter then it could be caused by water ingress & this needs to be checked out. Heating/dehumidifying a leaking caravan is bailing the boat, not fixing the leak.
Most farmer's Hay and Straw Barns are open on one side or a side and an end to keep the contents dry. Now while I am not suggesting that you remove one side of your caravan, if this keeps their stuff dry, the more ventilation you have, the drier your contents will be.
We put a dehumidifier into our van when we return from the last trip of the season. This dries out all the bedding. We then vacuum pack the bedding, switch off the dehumidifier and that does not go back on until about 3 days before we head of on the first trip of the new season.
Our bedding (and the rest of the van) is all toasty dry and warm.
We have an old van that is prone to damp so we take special care of it in that department.
With newer (and therefore drier) vans, you could probably do away with the dehumidifier bit.
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Topic: heating in storage
if this keeps their stuff dry, the more ventilation you have, the drier your contents will be. 
