Condensation

[Simon Audi]

Hi have a 2022 Transit Connect - used for my Dogs

I have a roof vent (80M3 per hour)

I transit my 4 St Bernards in the van for 10 minutes - walk 2 (30 minutes) then swap over and walk the second 2 (30 minutes) then drive home 10 minutes

After around 3 or 4 days the inside of the van (roof) is soaking.

Anyone have any good suggestions?

Anyone tried fitting Insulation?

Anyone have a Ply Roof Liner?

The Larger Fans (800M3/H) - use 7A so my concern is the battery would go Flat for the hour the van is parked (with fan running) and no engine running... So hesitant to increase fan size - also fitting issues due to their size and the ribbed roof on the Connect.


HELP!

[metalworker0]

There are a couple of posts here over the last twelve months ..cause not found.

Read them , i answered a lot, brought up every cause and cure i can think of ..

That's about it ..

Only to add from past experience of every vehicle i ever had ..was a leaky heater matrix is top of the list.

and connects don't like being parked facing uphill .

all the best.mark

[Simon Audi]

Hi - The cause of the Condensation - is the dogs breathing... Hot wet air inside and cold metal skin = Condensation.

Just looking for Good Insulation kits / advise - or some other suggestions....

Contacts for Ply Roof Lining...

THANKS

[metalworker0]

ok - recent thread here talking about insulation

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=225156

hope it helps


all the best.mark

[Simon Audi]

Thanks - I had read that one after your previous post - and think the recycled plastic bottle is a good idea in behind the ply paneling on the side - to minimise condensation points - but for the roof - I need to find a liner and can not find any of the normal ply lining kits for the Connect who sell roof panels.

My thoughts were to place sound deadening mats over everything - then the bottle insulation - then the ply liners.... that way I get sound and noise insulation (noise is not really an issue - but if your doing it - may as well do it as well)

THANKS

[Simon Audi]

So to provide an update here

I basically stripped out all the ply paneling and covers on arches and got back to a shell

Made a ply lining for the roof (2 pieces)

Fitted Dodo Sound Deadening panels over the roof and all side panels

Then fitted 10mm closed cell self adhesive foam rubber over all panels

Then fitted 38mm recycled bottle insulation on the roof and in main panels

Then fitted the 10mm closed cell foam on back of all the ply paneling

Then refitted the roof and side ply with longer screws

Been 3 weeks now and MUCH less condensation - just the exposed panels in the rear and doors with some condensation.

Yesterday van had heavy frost - loaded up dogs - went for walk and came back - still heavy frost on the entire van - so the insulation is obviously working - as normally the dog heat inside would have melted the frost on the doors and roof and side panels... only place melted was rear doors and the rear light pillars. (where I see condensation and no Insulation)

Still running 2 Aero 360 dehumidifiers and the small electric roof fan... but that previously was not enough.

[Altransit]

Good feedback, thanks for posting back

[Transit-man-van]

Not sure why people are saying insulation. That has a negligible effect on condensation. Only effect would be indirect in terms of keeping heat in which in turn can hold more moisture.

Look into vanlife forums. They/we are most versed in dealing with it living in the van 24/7.

I have been living in my van since last summer and condensation is a plague I am dealing with daily which only ramped up many fold through winter.

Still haven't tamed it yet but heat and ventilation are the two keys everyone says.

Still dealing with bad mould issues.

Work in progress.

Last night is the first night I ran 100mm pc fan exhausting all night so see how that goes.

[metalworker0]

Pointers
The air that contains the most moisture is the warmest air ...the warmest air is always uppermost - so bleeding a proportion of it out at the highest spot can be done .
insulation - air condenses on cold surfaces...insulation will stop this ..but you cant insulate the windows....so will condense there instead.

bleeding air out ......well that's your heating gone.

Dehumidifiers - well forget any form of fridge compressor type electric one as it will run your battery down in hours.

There are small 12 volt ones that are a piezoelectric, don't use much power ..i bought one once and put it to the test in a steamy bathroom........right after i had run the bath ,.despite hardly being able to to see 6 feet with the steam ...it only milked out of it about 50cc in 1 hour - still said 100 percent humidity on a gauge i had in there .

Most of these piezoelectric ones have a mains transformer that is 230 volts / 12 volts ...so you'll be buying one with a car socket on it .

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=piezo ... humidifier

Then find somewhere high up under the roof of the van to install it.

note. non of them work very well below 15 degrees c. and my failed test above .

BTW ...the very nature of dry air, means that the moment you open a door ..the air will be instantly replaced with whatever moisture content there is outside...so all efforts will be lost .

all the best.mark