On Dec 11, 3:42*pm, Andy wrote:
Last year for the first time since I bought my gilder I discovered
what cold, humid, Northern California winter air can do to the
untreated steel parts on my glider. *This year I was determined to
keep corrosion at bay and bought a dehumidifier to put in the
trailer. *I also bought one of those radio-remote temperature and
humidity sensors to put inside the trailer to keep track of the
effectiveness of my efforts.

My Cobra trailer is pretty well sealed except for a gap between the
tailgate and the fiberglass top. I positioned the dehumidifier on the
trailer floor between the tailboom and the wing and sealed the air
gap. I checked after the first week and discovered the dehumidifier's
water receptacle was about 1/3 full. The past couple of days have been
rainy and cool - low 50s and 77% humidity this morning. Inside the
trailer it's a few degrees warmer and the really good news is the
humidity is 22%.

I'll probably do a couple of experiments in the coming weeks to see
how long it takes to get the humidity down and how long it takes to
drift back up to ambient levels with the dehumidifier of. I know that
not everyone keeps their trailer near 110v power outlets and my
dehumidifier is 330 watts, so batteries with an inverter and/or solar
cells are not an option for continuous operation, but maybe it would
work if you could get things dry in a burst and let the trailer sit
for a period of time before giving it another burst.

Here's the dehumidifier I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

9B

I did some similar experiments a while ago. The big issue is the daily
condensation cycle. All our gliders are sopping wet inside the
trailers many mornings. I saw daily 100% humidities. Inside a hangar
can be worse than outside, since the solar vent no longer works. Also
hangars here in the midwest often have a very cold concrete floor.
Then, you get warm humid spring days, and it's just a moisture
magnet.

I found the "mighty dry" dehumidifier and cut a hole in the bottom of
the trailer to release the water. It worked great while I had a 110V
supply. Alas, I now have to park away from power.

A dehumidifier isn't a great idea where in freezes in the winter. You
can also put a 40 w bulb in, or better (what I use) a bilge heater
from your local boat store. This is a 40w heater designed to address
similar humidity problems in boats. It keeps the glider just slightly
warmer than ambient and seems to help a lot with the condensation
issue.

The world is still waiting for a good humidity solution for trailers
parked away from power.

John Cochrane BB