DRIPPING WET ! With Condensation.

[SteveIsGreen]

Over the Weekend I took my first long trip in my Zs EV. This was not my first long trip in an Electric Car, as I did Crawley to West Wales many times in a 24kWh Leaf with an 80 mile range before. So living on the edge is not new to me.

So this trip was from Cralwey (Near Gatwick Airport) To Telford for a two day event. Left on the Friday with a full charge and drove up the M1 then the M6 rather than the M40. Only because I wanted to visit the multi bays at Rugby Services. (And very nice set up too I say) Had no problems and the time in Telford went really well.

Had a top up to 80% on Saturday night at an Insavolt and that was a breeze. (Gotta love an Insavolt, we don't have many in my area, I hope they install more)
On the Sunday night our event had ended and made our way back to the car to start our journey home. The car now had 100mls of rage in it, and we had a planned stop for a charge 77mls into the trip that would leave about 23mls left. All planned and thought out.

Got to the car to find it full of condensation. All the window and the sunroof were DRIPPING WET!

This was, of course, due the the massive drop in temperature from the day before. So although it was not cold enough for me to want the heating on. I had to use it to clear the windows. On full it went until the windows had cleared and we began the first leg of the 180ish miles homes.

I tried to only use the heater when needed but the condensation just kept returning a minutes after turning it off. After a while into the journey I adjusting the fan speed and turn the heat down to suit the condensation to be kept at bay.

Then came the problem that comes with running the heater for a long time. My Range dropped faster than Usain Bolt can ran the 1000 meters
I made it to my first planned charger OK with 9mls rather than the 23mls range left and then had to stop an extra time to compensate for the extra energy used for the heater.


To my point....
NOT bothered about the extra charging or having to use the heater. This is the life!
I'd like your views on how much and WHY the ZS Ev and other EV's, (I also have a Kona Ev in the household and owned a Leaf in the past and they do the same) have SO MUCH condensation?
I drove ICE vehicles from some 30 years before my Leaf in 2016 and never remember the condensation being this bad? Not even in the old baggers of my youth? (Of which I had many)
Going to look into buying one of the many gadgets to solve this problem so hopefully I can reduce or stop the condensation.

So Questions for you...
1. Does your car get BAD condensation?
2. Any clever bods know why it's so bad on EV's?
3. Have you got a good solution?

 

[JCFlippen]

I think you will find many comments in other threads on this subject. I use the aircon all year around and have done on all my cars over the years. I’ve not had condensation on the panoramic roof interior.
My ideal setting to remove and keep condensation at bay in my ZS EV is to have heater on one blob and fan on 2 blobs with air directed at the screen. Do not use interior recycling.
I do have a silica gel pack on the dashboard but not convinced it is doing much.

 

[Alan]

Mine also has a condensation problem, its fairly common on the ZS EV, I find having the hvac on one blob of power and the temp in between cold and hot pointed at the screen helps, also sometimes turning off the re-circulation can help. I don't get condensation on the pano roof, just the windows.

 

[meangreen]

I have a Leaf 30kWh and have always suffered this problem. Only a few times the dripping wet but misting windows a lot. I tried one of the dehumidifier bags and helps a little. Rain X Anti Fog worked but under really bad conditions more likely to drip. I might apply some more this winter but in two minds...

 

[Lovemyev]

Over the Weekend I took my first long trip in my Zs EV. This was not my first long trip in an Electric Car, as I did Crawley to West Wales many times in a 24kWh Leaf with an 80 mile range before. So living on the edge is not new to me.

So this trip was from Cralwey (Near Gatwick Airport) To Telford for a two day event. Left on the Friday with a full charge and drove up the M1 then the M6 rather than the M40. Only because I wanted to visit the multi bays at Rugby Services. (And very nice set up too I say) Had no problems and the time in Telford went really well.

Had a top up to 80% on Saturday night at an Insavolt and that was a breeze. (Gotta love an Insavolt, we don't have many in my area, I hope they install more)
On the Sunday night our event had ended and made our way back to the car to start our journey home. The car now had 100mls of rage in it, and we had a planned stop for a charge 77mls into the trip that would leave about 23mls left. All planned and thought out.

Got to the car to find it full of condensation. All the window and the sunroof were DRIPPING WET!

This was, of course, due the the massive drop in temperature from the day before. So although it was not cold enough for me to want the heating on. I had to use it to clear the windows. On full it went until the windows had cleared and we began the first leg of the 180ish miles homes.

I tried to only use the heater when needed but the condensation just kept returning a minutes after turning it off. After a while into the journey I adjusting the fan speed and turn the heat down to suit the condensation to be kept at bay.

Then came the problem that comes with running the heater for a long time. My Range dropped faster than Usain Bolt can ran the 1000 meters
I made it to my first planned charger OK with 9mls rather than the 23mls range left and then had to stop an extra time to compensate for the extra energy used for the heater.


To my point....
NOT bothered about the extra charging or having to use the heater. This is the life!
I'd like your views on how much and WHY the ZS Ev and other EV's, (I also have a Kona Ev in the household and owned a Leaf in the past and they do the same) have SO MUCH condensation?
I drove ICE vehicles from some 30 years before my Leaf in 2016 and never remember the condensation being this bad? Not even in the old baggers of my youth? (Of which I had many)
Going to look into buying one of the many gadgets to solve this problem so hopefully I can reduce or stop the condensation.

So Questions for you...
1. Does your car get BAD condensation?
2. Any clever bods know why it's so bad on EV's?
3. Have you got a good solution?

I have generally found that in ICE cars, there is always appears to be some residual heat ( wasted some my say ) present from the ICE.
Either waste heat transfer from the ICE or even the exhaust system, therefore the car remains aired for long time periods.
Due to this, when it is cold the EV cools down very quickly when the heater is not running.
Having a sun roof just increases the glass space that needs heating as well.
As others have said, I have noticed that when you have the heater on ( to move any condensation ) when you turn OFF the HVAC it automatically defaults back to the recirculation mode.
This will cause the car to start misting up again within minutes !.
If you turn off the HVAC - instantly release the recirc button straight away.
This will allow air to flow though the vents and help keep the condensation at bay.
This air is not heated of course, like it would / could be in an ICE car.
Using the HVAC to provide heat is expensive on the range, we all know this of course, but sometimes it’s just unavoidable at times.
If we where not overly concerned about the effects on the range, then we would just leave the HVAC running I guess ?.
This would eliminate the misting up problem but is likely to require more stops for juice.
This is where the bigger pack, with more redundancy helps with this situation.
Or the inclusion of a heat pump would help ?.
The heating system in the ZS EV ( like a lot of EV’s ) is a lot like a electric fan heater that is used in the home.
Okay while it is running, but as soon as you turn it OFF - The temperature in the room or the car will starts to drop almost instantly.
The biggest drain on the range, is when you require high heat when the ambient temperature is really low, as the cabin warms up, the demand for heat can be reduced and the effective range loss is then less of course.
Improvements can be made with bags that absorb moisture, but it’s something you have to live with unfortunately in the winter time.
I guess the same could be said in the summer, when the A/C is running !.
But I have found that cooling the car uses less energy from the battery than when requesting high heat demands.

 

[Kithmo]

I don't have a condensation problem with mine. I use the car every day for short journeys, using HVAC as needed, recirc always off except when defrosting, then off as soon as it's melted.
I think the two 1kg and two 0.5kg dehumidifier bags I have in the car are the main reason, they soak up moisture very well. The main thing with dehumidifier bags is to keep them fresh by microwaving them often. I find the 1kg bags last about 4-5 weeks and the 0.5kg ones about 3-4 weeks before they need a refresh.
Another thing that helps is to run the heater on full heat with AC for a while now and then to dry any residual dampness.

 

[Maylandmale]

Hi all
I only time I have a problem with condensation is when I get in the car after being outside in the rain and get in with wet clothes, otherwise its OK. If I have the heating on one red section and the fan on two and the drivers window open about 10mm it works OK, I had wind deflectors fitted so the rain never can in.

 

[BruceT]

I don't have a condensation problem with mine. I use the car every day for short journeys, using HVAC as needed, recirc always off except when defrosting, then off as soon as it's melted.
I think the two 1kg and two 0.5kg dehumidifier bags I have in the car are the main reason, they soak up moisture very well. The main thing with dehumidifier bags is to keep them fresh by microwaving them often. I find the 1kg bags last about 4-5 weeks and the 0.5kg ones about 3-4 weeks before they need a refresh.
Another thing that helps is to run the heater on full heat with AC for a while now and then to dry any residual dampness.

I have a couple of small dehumidifiers too, the ones you put in the microwave to refresh. I even used to use them in my ICE cars, I tend to drive with the car cold inside so it can get a bit misted up, but these take the edge off.

@Kithmo out of interest what ones have you got? where did you get them? they seem much bigger than mine.

 

[Paulj]

As others have said, I have noticed that when you have the heater on ( to move any condensation ) when you turn OFF the HVAC it automatically defaults back to the recirculation mode.
This will cause the car to start misting up again within minutes !.
If you turn off the HVAC - instantly release the recirc button straight away.
This will allow air to flow though the vents and help keep the condensation at bay.
This air is not heated of course, like it would / could be in an ICE car.
Using the HVAC to provide heat is expensive on the range, we all know this of course, but sometimes it’s just unavoidable at times.

I tend to agree with these comments. The problem lies in the recirculation mode. I have this with other (ICE) cars too, some of which also default to recirc. mode for some reason. If the recirc can be overridden, as above, I believe the minor condensation will go away, as for the OPs problem, maybe leaving the windows open a crack, all around when parked, to get some fresh air inside might just fix the problem? Do let us know how you get on though.

 

[Julian Gabe]

I don't have the condensation problem but I am careful to always have a little air coming in all the time unless in a traffic jam etc. DSO I set the air to screen and feet and have either 1,2 or 3 bars of red on the temp. and the fan on one. If I see any window having a little condensation I simply open the roof to allow new air in quickly to get rid of damp air. Been ok so far. I've also given up with trying to be hyper efficient for range and just set the heat on as above, drive in normal mode and set cruise control to 70 on motorways! Then I charge when necessary.( If I'm running out though everything goes off and I creep around at 50 until I'm at the charger!)

 

[Ray1]

My ZS EV often had considerable condensation on all windows, which is annoying when wanting to jump in the car and go somewhere quickly as I had to wait to demist for several minutes. I then bought a couple of reusable silica gel pads from eBay 2 x CAR DEHUMIDIFIER BAG REUSABLE SILICA GEL PAD MOISTURE DAMP ABSORBER 5054667810668 | eBay for £7.99 the pair. The difference is amazing, I can now just jump in the car and drive with no wasted time and importantly, energy. Best £7.99 I have spent on car accessories ever!

 

[Lovemyev]

My ZS EV often had considerable condensation on all windows, which is annoying when wanting to jump in the car and go somewhere quickly as I had to wait to demist for several minutes.

If you urgently need a quick de-mist, when you have booted up the car, hit the instant de-mist button on the left hand side of the control panel under the info unit.
It has a image of a windscreen on the button.
Pressing this will provide high fan speed and HVAC to the windscreen area.
It will clear in a very short time.

 

[Kithmo]

I have a couple of small dehumidifiers too, the ones you put in the microwave to refresh. I even used to use them in my ICE cars, I tend to drive with the car cold inside so it can get a bit misted up, but these take the edge off.

@Kithmo out of interest what ones have you got? where did you get them? they seem much bigger than mine.

these are the 1kg ones (I think you might get them a bit cheaper if you google)
Amazon product ASIN B077K8BJW4

and the smaller ones look like these but are bigger, 500g:
Amazon product ASIN B089WD6F6K

 

[Kithmo]

If you urgently need a quick de-mist, when you have booted up the car, hit the instant de-mist button on the left hand side of the control panel under the info unit.
It has a image of a windscreen on the button.
Pressing this will provide high fan speed and HVAC to the windscreen area.
It will clear in a very short time.

I only realised today that pressing the demist button when the HVAC is actually turned off, puts the heated rear window on as well, I don't think it does if the HVAC is already on with HRW off.

 

[Lovemyev]

I only realised today that pressing the demist button when the HVAC is actually turned off, puts the heated rear window on as well, I don't think it does if the HVAC is already on with HRW off.

I guess it must defrost the door mirrors at the same time then ?.

 

[Tim Falkiner]

My ZS EV often had considerable condensation on all windows, which is annoying when wanting to jump in the car and go somewhere quickly as I had to wait to demist for several minutes. I then bought a couple of reusable silica gel pads from eBay 2 x CAR DEHUMIDIFIER BAG REUSABLE SILICA GEL PAD MOISTURE DAMP ABSORBER 5054667810668 | eBay for £7.99 the pair. The difference is amazing, I can now just jump in the car and drive with no wasted time and importantly, energy. Best £7.99 I have spent on car accessories ever!

I think damp absorbers are a good idea. And one must ask where the moisture comes from? You can have a lot of moisture inside a car without the car feeling damp. Check if one has a lot of blankets or other fabrics in the boot which might retain moisture though feeling dry. Maybe replace floor mats with rubber mats.

 

[Adi6phil]

Last winter i left quite a damning thread regarding my shocking condensation problem, BUT last winter the car was new to me and my first ev and i was freezing my nuts off trying to squeeze every mile of range possible . ie only using the heater when absolutely necessary etc.this year the newness has worn off and i leave the heater on most of the time and usually start my journey in N and drop to Eco when the cabin is nice and toasty .i never use AC in cold months as i never did with my ICE cars .yes the range has dropped and i have to charge more often ,but the bottom line is that i now have no real problem with condensation ..so i now believe its down to driver choices with hvac settings and not the cars fault

 

[BruceT]

..so i now believe its down to driver choices with hvac settings and not the cars fault

I think you are 100% correct, but not ONLY the drivers choices, it's the way we have to drive any EV. The massive difference is that with an ICE you have all the heat you could ever need, free.

 

[Whiskery]

In my ICE I have always driven 100%of the time with the AC on (summer and winter). It dries the air inside the cabin therefore have never had condensation issues. Moreover, the refrigerant has a lubricant in it which keeps the AC system seals in good condition.

I would be interested to learn how the aircon system is driven in an EV - battery powered or some form of PTU.

Also if the cabin heating system is drawn from the main electric motor cooling or the battery.

I hadn't thought of these 'complications' before reading this thread!

As you can guess, I am new to EVs?

 

[Edoc16]

I don't have a condensation problem with mine. I use the car every day for short journeys, using HVAC as needed, recirc always off except when defrosting, then off as soon as it's melted.
I think the two 1kg and two 0.5kg dehumidifier bags I have in the car are the main reason, they soak up moisture very well. The main thing with dehumidifier bags is to keep them fresh by microwaving them often. I find the 1kg bags last about 4-5 weeks and the 0.5kg ones about 3-4 weeks before they need a refresh.
Another thing that helps is to run the heater on full heat with AC for a while now and then to dry any residual dampness.

Like you Kithmo I rarely have the recirc on unless I'm in heavy slow moving traffic where all these nasty ice cars are contaminating my air !
I don't get condensation very often thankfully