Tent condensation

[BurbanAZ]

We have had an OZ tent now for years and love it. We use it a bunch and it's great when it's warm or cool. When it starts to get cold though we have a horrible problem with insane amounts of condensation. We have a tent heater so at first we thought it was the heater causing it. The last few snow trips though we haven't used the heater and still had insane amounts of condensation. It will literally build up so much that is just starts dripping and then we wake up in wet sleeping bags and everything in the tent is wet. We have the big rear vent open and the 2 vents in the front open too. The vents being open help slightly but it's still a big problem. We also tried a dehumidifier thing but that made no difference.

Anyone else have this issue or any ideas on how to fix it?

 

[IdaSHO]

you still need more ventilation.

 

[Christophe Noel]

It's really just about dew point and ventilation. You're just not moving enough air throughout the tent. It's really about tent design more than anything.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

not bashing the Oz tent but having just spent a 3 day trip using one, I have a couple of observations. First night was steady rain and the tent was perfect. easy to set up, heavy floor that was not going to soak through from the outside. Didn't notice any real condensation problems. Night #2, the interior was soaking wet when we set it up. Granted we had to pack it up wet and it was on the roof rack (in its bag) all day in the rain, so that may have been a big issue. A towel and Large micro cloth was needed to get the drips to stop. Ran a heater but that didn't seem to help; don't know if it made it worse or not. In the AM we had below freezing weather and ice all over the outside of the tent but the Inside still dry so I'm not thinking that condensation was the initial issue. Packing up the cold tent was tough to get it into the bag, but with two of us kneeling on it, we finally got it. Night #3. The rain had stopped but the inside of the tent had wet and had some ice when we set it up. I'm guessing the wet tent, sealed up in the bag, allowed the moisture to collect on the tent's interior surfaces. It wasn't as bad as the night before, but the towel was still needed. In the AM, again freezing temps, the tent was still dry inside and again, tough to get it into the bag. The cold really affects the tent's flexibility. As with all tents it should be opened at home to throughly dry before packing away, but it's not my tent so I don't know how it was when that was done. In the end it was a good tent, but with all tents, when packed away wet, that moisture will be on both the inside and the outside the next time you set it up. I didn't think the condensation was an issue for us; just multiple days/nights of rain.

 

[krax]

Which windows and vents did you have open on those three nights?

I've got my heart set on an RV-5, but I could see ventilation being an issue inherent to the design.

 

[Ripper]

We had all of the vents, windows closed. As for care after a trip. It gets aired out within one to two days after a trip, and the entire tent is cleaned with a mild soap and water mix in a spray bottle. About two small drops of dish soap in a large spray bottle of hot water. The very last day of the trip, we had a good sunrise and I was able to leave the tent in the sun prior to pack up, and that made a huge difference in packing the tent, especially solo.

 

[BurbanAZ]

Yea I really like everything else about the tent. I like the set up and take down and after having it for a few years how I have that down. The condensation thing though is really starting to annoy me. I have a hunt in the snow coming up and I'm so tired of dealing with the condensation I'm just going to bring my small north face 2man tent.

I heard the rain fly sometimes helps, has anyone tried that.

 

[eviioiive]

Different tent but I hang a USB fan in one of my windows and it solves the problem.... though it doesn't help stay warm

 

[BurbanAZ]

Different tent but I hang a USB fan in one of my windows and it solves the problem.... though it doesn't help stay warm

Yea I thought about that. I know a tent isn't really to keep u warm but I'd rather not push cold air around in there. Maybe I'll give it a shot though on a really low speed. Might help too if I set up the fan so it's blowing out the tent instead of blowing into the tent

 

[Victorian]

We are also getting tons of condensation in our RTT. Little bit in the summer but tons in the off season. Like all single wall tents, there will be condensation issues in wet and cold climates. You can't avoid that. Take a cold drink out of the fridge, put in on the counter and watch. The same principle is happening in a tent. "traditional" ground tents with outertent construction prevent the inner tent from getting soaked. You still get condensation on the fly but the inner tent catches most of it before it lands on you. It's the nature of the beast, no matter how much money you spend on your RTT or ground tent. I came to the conclusion that the best way to camp in colder climates, is under the ARB awning with our MSR ground tent.

 

[Utah KJ]

Has anyone tried something like this to deal with the water?
http://www.damprid.com/

 

[Happy Joe]

I 'm not certain that I understand some younger folks, the rules about tents are nearly as old as mankind;
Waterproof tent material will almost always have condensation issues.
Since people exhale up to a quart of water per night, poorly ventilated tents should be expected to have some issues.
The best tent materials should be breathable.
When wet a breathable material should not be touched; it breaks the surface tension and will create a leak (until it fully dries out).
Folding a tent wet should be expected to result in leaks (until it fully dries out) because it is now touching itself, basically everywhere.
Storing a wet/damp tent will likely kill it due to mildew growth.

Tarps are a good thing and help keep (especially old) tents dry (its why many tents come with a rainfly).

Enjoy!

 

[Rezarf <><]

Condensation happens because of air flow and internal/external differences in temperature affecting dew point.

You gotta move air through any tent or your breath (vapor) will accumulate enough moisture to cause lot of moisture on the inside of a tent. I read an article that a human can produce as much as 2 pints of water vapor at night... Multiply by a few people, add high humidity and you're gonna get wet.

Simply put, you gotta create airflow or you will have condensation. The Oz tent has a lot of great features and convenience, however by design its not going to have great airflow once it is buttoned up for rain.

Mountaineering tents have a nice open gap between the tent and rain fly to create some "dead" air space and the ability to circulate some air, single wall designs inherently battle moisture due to the external/internal temperature differences. Most backpacking style tents have vents high on the tent body to move air while not bringing the chill of fresh air "low" where the occupants are sleeping.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong its just the nature of a single wall tent, and atmospheric conditions working against you. Fwiw, an Absorber or similar product would be a valuable addition to absorb extra water and dry out quick.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

There is some really good information here, and just a couple of misapprehensions. To put it all together:

1. Any single-wall tent will condense more than a double-wall tent, for a couple of reasons. Chief is the sharp temperature gradient between the interior and exterior&#8212;the cold glass mentioned earlier. Also, most tents that employ a separate, waterproof fly use a breathable material for the inside canopy, and that canopy can absorb and disperse interior moisture into the space between the canopy and fly.

2. Reducing the temperature gradient will reduce condensation. If you want a warm tent when it's cold outside, you'll have condensation.

3. Flow-through ventilation that allows outside air to enter low, and interior air to exit high&#8212;the 'chimney effect'&#8212;will also reduce condensation. You need this air movement to evacuate the humid air you create with respiration and insensate perspiration. Dome tents with no high vents are notoriously bad condensers. My old Marmot Taku, although a single-wall design, produced very little condensation because of its effective low-to-high venting. The sloped rear wall of an Oztent should help here, if you open the low rear window and vent at the top of the door.

 

[BurbanAZ]

It was never really a big deal for us before because we would just have as many vents as possible open. It would be freezing in the tent but we were in our sleeping bags so it didn't matter. We have an 8 month old now so we have been trying to keep it warmer in the tent for him. We have a mr buddy propane heater that we have had a few years and that works fine but seems to go through propane fast and it says not to sleep with it on so I'm hesitant to try and keep the tent warmer when we're sleeping. I don't need it warm in the tent but just not really really cold with our son now. I know we obviously could just not go on trips when it's really cold, which isn't has to do since we live in AZ. If just not really going on our winter trips is our only option so be it but if there is a way to keep the tent warmer we'd rather do that.

I was thinking maybe using an electric heater with a fan built in might solve both problems. The fan would keep warm air circulating so maybe the tent would be a little warmer and the moving air might keep the condensation down. I think electric heater draw a bunch of power though so I'm not sure if there is a smaller more efficient one that I could try. I have a dual batter set up with an aux batter and solar panels but right now just have a smaller 600 watt inverter so I'm not sure if I could get something small that would work with my power set up now.