DIY drysuit dryer, 2024, with heat?

[EricUnderwater]

I would like to build a custom drysuit dryer hanger.

My question is: Should I incorporate heating? Options that look promising include:

Shoe dryers
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Windshield heaters
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The reason I feel like heat may be useful is that my suit will ideally hang outside on deck during the BC Canadian winter

I have seen the threads:

DIY drysuit drier blower motor?

I have finally made the big switch over to diving dry. My first big challenge it that the Florida heat creates quite a bit of dampness in the suit from perspiration. Not a huge issue during the Dive, but I find my suit is not drying out as quick as I would like, and I hate to lay an expensive...

scubaboard.com

And

Drying boots of flooded drysuit - solutions?

Hi guys, This thread is to share what solutions work when it comes to dry a drysuit which good flooded, and that has neoprene boots integrated in the suit. So: => It's not about the bit of condensation or sweat which we all get in our drysuit when water is cold. I am talking about a real flood...

scubaboard.com

 

[davehicks]

This is all you need for $30 USD. And a place to hang the suit while the fan blows on it for 12-24 hours.

It may take a long time to dry outside in a BC winter and may never get dry, but I use to do it in Seattle. Let it drip off outside, but bring it inside to dry fully under the fan.

 

[EricUnderwater]

Thanks for the reply, I think you missed the point. I'm looking for something to dry the inside overnight. I know about the big hanger with the fan built in.

 

[Whitrzac]

The uk hangers with fans in them are amazing.

 

[Badger7]

and depending on the suit, heat may soften the adhesive affixing the seam seal tape and zipper.

If you want to blow room temperature air into the suit, it will dry out pretty quick, but hot air sounds like a bad idea, like leaving it in dIrect sun to dry can cause leaks.

 

[davehicks]

Thanks for the reply, I think you missed the point. I'm looking for something to dry the inside overnight. I know about the big hanger with the fan built in.

Turn it inside out to dry the inside if its >really wet<. If it's a proper dry suit, the inside only rarely gets wet enough to require the inside out treatment.

Normally, it you hang it with the zipper open and the fan blowing, the inside will full dry as well in 24 hours.

 

[mr_v]

The reason I feel like heat may be useful is that my suit will ideally hang outside on deck during the BC Canadian winter

That's the key phrase that makes me wonder whether your idea will do more harm than good. You'll have cold air on the outside, heat on the inside warming up the fabric and the seams. What will happen to the glue and the seams?

 

[stretchthepenn]

The reason I feel like heat may be useful is that my suit will ideally hang outside on deck during the BC Canadian winter

Color me skeptical. I dunno if hanging the suit outside in winter is a good idea.

But to your main point, I've built a cheap, effective drying unit for my rebreather that might work for your needs. It blows warm air with no add-on mods necessary.

The setup consists of a 5-gallon bucket, a vacuum head that fits atop it, some 1" koi pond/irrigation hose, a few irrigation tees/elbows, and a timer.

The build is dirt-simple:
1. The vacuum head goes on the bucket.
2. The vacuum hose plugs into the exhaust port.
3. A tee plugs into the vacuum hose.
4. Two lengths of 1" irrigation hose fit onto the T's crossbars.
5. Two elbows go on the 1" hoses.
6. The elbows plug into the rebreather's counterlungs.
7. The timer runs the unit a half-hour at a time.

As the vacuum head runs, its electric motor heats the air and blows warm air. This setup easily runs a half-hour at a time for 24 hours-plus without burning out. And the total cost for parts was somewhere shy of $50.

Leave off the elbows and either use long lengths of 1" hose or add two rigid pipes for stuffing into your drysuit's legs, and I think you might have a cheap and easy solution.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Or could you hang it on

Turn it inside out to dry the inside if its >really wet<. If it's a proper dry suit, the inside only rarely gets wet enough to require the inside out treatment.

Normally, it you hang it with the zipper open and the fan blowing, the inside will full dry as well in 24 hours.

This. Alternatively, you can hang it in a room with a running dehumidifier which will dry out the undergarments too.

 

[davehicks]

Or could you hang it on

This. Alternatively, you can hang it in a room with a running dehumidifier which will dry out the undergarments too.

True.

I don't have a dehumidifier but my undergarments still dry overnight hanging in the same room as the fan.