Winter Storage - Ventilation

Max123

Max123

Well-Known Member
Looking for some advice. I've got an Aluminum CC that I store outside. The boat has a new cover, but I'm concerned about high humidity and temperature fluctuation that could damage the electronic (or come back in the spring and everything has a fine coating of mould). I check on the boat periodically and have noted that when the temperature is even slightly warm, it really heats up under the cover and causes a lot of condensation on the cold metal. The boat is stored in a yard at the marina, and I don't have access to power.

I want to add some ventilation, and was considering rigging up a supply fan connected to a solar panel. I don't care if the fan only works when the sun is out - just that it works sometimes. I was looking online, and you can get a basic solar panel/fan setup - but was thinking that I might build it myself using a bilge blower fan rigged up with a duct to the outside.

Most of the small bilge blowers are rated at 4amps (4A x 12V = 48W), so I suspect a 50W solar panel would be fine. However, if I go for a larger panel (75-100w), does that cause an issue where I'll burn out the fan motor? Is it worth spending extra on a blower fan rated for continuous duty? Also, is it fine to just wire the panel directly to the fan, or should I install an in-line fuse?

Just curious if anyone has done this, so I can learn and avoid obvious mistakes.

Cheers
 
Ventilation is critical through the winter. I'd get a 100 watt panel, a 12 volt battery and a low draw fan. The bilge blower is overkill. With that set-up you likely don't need a charge controller.

We don't see a lot of sun in the winter months so your panel will put out maybe 10 or 20 watts during the average day. That defines the draw of the fan. Find something 2 amps or less. Put the fan at one end and have a vent at the other end. That way you get gentle cross ventilation to carry moisture away.
 
Foxsea said:
Ventilation is critical through the winter. I'd get a 100 watt panel, a 12 volt battery and a low draw fan. The bilge blower is overkill. With that set-up you likely don't need a charge controller.

We don't see a lot of sun in the winter months so your panel will put out maybe 10 or 20 watts during the average day. That defines the draw of the fan. Find something 2 amps or less. Put the fan at one end and have a vent at the other end. That way you get gentle cross ventilation to carry moisture away.
Click to expand...
I have a larger computer fan that blows under my cover. I got it from our it guy. Plugs into the wall you could probably get something similar.
 
I'm going to give it a shot. See if I can grab a cheap 3" bilge blower, scrounge up a solar panel and see if it will work just for the fun of it. I don't want to add a battery into the mix as I'd need a charge controller, which is getting too complicated and expensive. Simple, simple - sun is out, fan turns on. If it runs for a few hours a week, I'd consider that a win. I'll report back if/when I finish.
 
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