Seago Ecodry dehumidifier

Specifications
Type: Desiccant, dimensions: 487 x 320 x 200mm, tank capacity 2l, continuous drain facility, weight 6kg, power consumption 660W, drying capacity 7l/day, noise level 49dB

While I very much like the small size and light weight of Seago’s Ecodry unit I did have one niggle out of the box as the supplied drain hose was stiff and set in a coil the way it had been shipped. Try as I might, it wouldn’t straighten out and I had to boil the kettle to soften it up. That might not sound a big deal, but on a cold boat in the middle of winter it would bug me – a flexible neoprene tube would be far better. Then again, Seago competitor Meaco plays the sustainability card here, saying that many hoses never get used so they don’t supply one. You pays your money…

The Seago Ecodry is a closely-specced rival to the Meaco DD8L and it’s equally versatile and (hose notwithstanding) simple to use. The only adjustment we made to the default setting was to up the fan to full power to match what we did with the DD8L. One feature the Seago unit has over the DD8L is a louvre that can be set to swing in order to waft the dry air it produces around. The conditions on the day of our trial started wet, dried later, then got damp again overnight. The starting RH was 76% and the temperature 8.5°C. Within an hour of starting, our overhead sensors measured the air exiting the unit at 40% RH and 16.8°C; the Seago Ecodry was clearly doing its job.

During the day, the temperature steadily rose and remained mild for the duration of our 24-hour test period. While the Ecodry succeeded in lowering the RH to 59%, the persistent overnight damp caused it to rise once more and by the end of our trial the Ecodry was working its socks off to maintain an RH figure in the low 60s. As witness to how hard the machine was trying, when we came to turn it off at the end of our test the sensor above the louvre was showing an RH of 32%, the dryest output figure we recorded of all the dehumidifiers we tested. It also extracted more water than any other unit; 6.4l, not far from its claimed maximum 7l/day capacity.

Verdict: Another boaters’ favourite, the Seago Ecodry gave a sterling performance and represents excellent value for money. Easy to use and extremely portable, there’s not much not to like about it – except for that drain hose.