To Desiccant or not to Desiccant - That is the Question

[oldschoolskier]

@Dave Marshak not sure about your HVAC, but in my house it performs no different than your Dry Guy device for drying. BTW the vent is not close to the air return.

If there is a smell and it’s carried thru the house, it could be the user and maybe a bath is in order (Sorry that was too big of an opening).

 

[James]

How does taking the liners out of the boot help dry out the inside of the liner?

It gets rid of the impermeable layer covering the liner. Allows the outside of the liner to dry and allows more water vapor to get out the tongue area. Plus allows the shell to dry on the inside.

 

[Wolfski]

I pull the liners and place them upside down till morning, never had a wet boot in the morning.

 

[jmills115]

How does taking the liners out of the boot help dry out the inside of the liner? Interestingly, my boots never get wet between the shell and the liner. It is all between the foot and the liner.

I take my liners out of my boots to take my boots off so I just place my liners so that they get the warm air from the vent. If I'm going skiing the next day, I just put the shells and the liners, separately, into the heated boot bag.

I’m not sure it does help but my $7 dryer doesn’t hold a boot very well .

 

[T-Square]

I got a Chinook dryer about 15 years ago. Works great. http://www.chinookbootdryer.com/Chinook_P100.html

Of course it was about $75 a lot less than $159 than they ask for now.

 

[Ogg]

This thread is inspiring me to try to build a better boot dryer on the cheap. My current one works ok for my work and snow boots but is a bit lacking in drying my ski boots. USB powered fans, a few dollars in PVC fittings and some creativity will most likely work better for me. I will post my results here.

 

[1chris5]

We used an electric throw this season that worked pretty well. Put the blanket on top of boots as too small to fully wrap and just left it on for hours. Does the job and can also set gloves etc on top. Not perfect solution but works good enough.

 

[Ogg]

Using the USB fans @pais alto recommended I was inspired by @Karl B's design, so I knocked these together for less than $40. They definitely flow more air than my Dryguy Washington but I wish had gotten more powerful fans and I may ultimately swap them fir bigger 115v models. I'll test them out next weekend.

 

[Dave Marshak]

...I knocked these together for less than $40. They definitely flow more air than my Dryguy Washington but I wish had gotten more powerful fans and I may ultimately swap them fir bigger 115v models. I'll test them out next weekend.

I'm not sure more powerful fans are the answer. I would try raising the fan above the boot cuff to allow air to escape more easily, and maybe extending the tubes in an L shape to get up closer to the toes. You really don't need a lot of air flow but you do want some circulation throughout the whole shoe. ALso. I like to put them on a timer so that they run every night when I can't hear them.

dm

 

[Dave Marshak]

Maybe I'll try just dropping the fans from a couple of my bricked laptops into my boots without any other hardware. That would make a free drier small enough to fit in my carry on.

dm

 

[Karl B]

Looking at the pic of them in the boots, I agree with @Dave Marshak that the tubes are too short. You need room at the top of the cuff for exhaust flow. Dave is also correct in that you want the flow into the toe box of the boot. Try a slightly smaller diameter tube and you will find that air speed will increase as well. Good luck!

 

[Ogg]

Actually they don’t fit tight in the boots so plenty of air flows out around them. I was concerned it might be an issue but it shouldn’t be. As far as extending it further into the toes, I have extra parts for that if I find it necessary and also straight tubes to make them work for gloves.
If the fans were stronger I’d put something to diffuse the airflow but as is it will cause too much restriction.

 

[Ogg]

Maybe I'll try just dropping the fans from a couple of my bricked laptops into my boots without any other hardware. That would make a free drier small enough to fit in my carry on.

dm

I thought about just sticking the fans in the top of my boots but I rarely take the simple solution if I think I can do better, which I'm sure I did.
Your idea of using your old laptop fans is great but it's not quite going to be free since you need a way to power them.

 

[James]

This one uses usb powered fans. $44

http://www.drymyboots.com/index.html

 

[Dave Petersen]

These work great and are easy to pack.

 

[James]

^ The tnt sticks with detonator cord! Leave them in the boots going though security for carry on. Might be interesting.

 

[Dave Petersen]

^ The tnt sticks with detonator cord! Leave them in the boots going though security for carry on. Might be interesting.

Never thought about it but you’re right!

 

[PTskier]

Ogg's fans look interesting...they need to be set up so the damp air exiting the boots is not drawn back into the fan's intake.

 

[Ogg]

Ogg's fans look interesting...they need to be set up so the damp air exiting the boots is not drawn back into the fan's intake.

The exiting air is flowing out to the sides because of the flange so it's not getting drawn back in by the fan. If anything it's sucking less moisture back in than my Dryguy that draws air from the sides instead of the top.