Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It feels like Christmas season

The cold in Denver seems to enhance the holiday spirit.  There is still snow on the ground from the storm over a week ago.  Every store I walk into is playing the requisite Christmas music.  It just feels like Christmas this season.
My friend in town, who is also acting as my local mailing address, has told me that I have received several gifts already.  Thank you in advance to those who have sent me presents.  Now I have something else to look forward to this Christmas.
My latest cold weather challenge is condensation. The bus has it's own climate system. Moisture from my breath, my pet's breath, wet snow tracked onto the bus and cooking cover the ceiling and windows with condensation.  Then it will freeze as the temperature drops at night.  Then I turn on the heat, it melts the condensation which drips down.
The condensation gathers at the ribs because the I-beam supports conduct the cold from the outside.  No way to insulate that part without losing valuable head space.

It has stepped beyond being pesky to actually creating an issue.  It dripped onto the keyboard of my full-sized laptop and caused several keys to stop working.  Fortunately, I have my backup netbook, that I am currently using.   I thought about getting a dehumidifier to see if it helps.  First problem, nobody sells them here.  Walmart carries humidifiers only.   I guess the dry air of Colorado doesn't warrant carrying something like this.  So I searched online and was surprised at how expensive they are.  I am regretting not getting the $10 one I saw at Goodwill a few years ago.  I am not going to invest over $100 for something that may not work or requires too much electricity to be effective.   So I just bring out my towel and wipe up as much as I can.  The trick is that the water evaporates out of the towel and gets back on the ceiling.  All I do is delay the process of getting dripped on by a couple of hours.   I just have to be cautious watching movies on my laptop late at night.
Good news, I am becoming acclimated to the cold.  Once I suffer through temperature on the negative side of zero, temperature in the teens and twenties isn't nearly so bad.   My bus starts regularly, with a few shots of starting fluid.  The air brakes haven't had any more issues since I last de-iced them.  (Although I plan on getting some anti-freeze stuff to put in the air lines, just for insurance)
I am enjoying myself and feel like I am tapping into an inner strength that has long been dormant.  I have to suppress the urge to mock the cars that pass me on the road with their fancy heat and fog-free windshields.

4 comments:

  1. Here's one for $65 that uses 86 watts, and removes 4 gallons of water per day with 2 quart holding capacity: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sunpentown+-+SD-652+Dehumidifier/3933116.p?id=1218443199582&skuId=3933116

    I think it would be worth the investment and risk that it might not solve the problem.

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  2. Thanks! That is an awesome find! It looks like a web only deal so I will have to work out the logistics of getting it to me in Denver.

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  3. We have the same problem in big trucks, cheapest solution is to leave a window cracked till you can get the dehumidifier, lose some heat but won't have mildew.

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  4. You need more heat, and to keep the air exchanging with fresh air outside to control the humidity, otherwise, as the air reaches saturation, the moisture will condensate out of it on all smooth, colder surfaces.

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