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View Full Version : Condensation in OZtent (and other tents)



mojo
25th March 2009, 11:23 AM
G'day all,

I've been fairly keen on buying an Oztent for a while now, and had a good look at one at the 4WD show in brissie the other day. They look the goods.

The only complaint I've found about them (other than the pack up size which I'm not concerned about) is internal condensation when camping in the cold. A few have mentioned very bad condensation in their Oztent during winter Simpson crossings, which is hopefully where we'd be using it later this year.

Have any on the board with an Oztent experienced this problem? One comment I read made it sound like a shower in the tent when the sun came up and hit it in the morning.

I don't recall ever having this issue in any of our dome tents, although maybe we haven't been camping in temp's cold enough for condensation to be a problem...

inside
25th March 2009, 11:31 AM
I've had this problem with mine in mildly cold conditions. The fly should help solve the problem and also keep it a bit cooler in the sun.

marting
25th March 2009, 11:35 AM
Hi
Haven't noticed this problem with ours, although the coldest we have camped in so far with it has been 6 deg. We always have the rear window open with the flap pegged out to prevent rain etc coming in the open window. This may help it breathe and prevent condensation build up.?
Otherwise I would highly recommend their tents; they are robust, waterproof and extremely easy to put up. My only complaint would be the pack-up size but even this isn't really an issue with a roof rack.
Cheers

Grumbles
25th March 2009, 02:50 PM
Hello Mojo. All tents will form interior condensation in cold weather. The more bodies in the tent the more heat there will be and then the more condensation there will be. The trick to preventing this is to have some form of ventilation and allow the air to circulate. Leave a window [or two]open and you should be right.

dmdigital
25th March 2009, 05:32 PM
Hello Mojo. All tents will form interior condensation in cold weather. The more bodies in the tent the more heat there will be and then the more condensation there will be. The trick to preventing this is to have some form of ventilation and allow the air to circulate. Leave a window [or two]open and you should be right.
What he said.

Both our Black Wolf tent and Kimberley Kamper will condensate on the inside at night given the right conditions. It's worse when it freezes to the roof as happened the first night we used the Kimberley. Just made sure that from then on we had a little more ventilation and problem was solved.

The ho har's
25th March 2009, 06:31 PM
yes we have been rained on before inside the tent:eek:....Oz tents have a fly that you buy separately and this will prevent condensation in the tent.........BTW we always have the back flap open and one at least door flap open....we have very cosy sleeping bags:D..........so it comes down to how cold it is outside not ventilation



Mrs ho har:angel:

mojo
26th March 2009, 02:23 PM
Thanks for the info and opinions.

Have to think about this I reckon - having to use a fly when it's cold makes the arguement for buying an Oztent a little less pursuasive ... although most of our camping is done in warmer areas ... hmmmmmm, decisions decisons :confused:

PhilipA
26th March 2009, 03:13 PM
Just a few general comments

Any tent will give a shower if below freezing as the frost seals the tent and doesn't allow the vapour to exit.

I have found that cheapo dome tents are very good in this regard as the inner is usually mesh. The condensation tends to form on the inside of the outer skin and drips onto the outside of the mesh. These generally run away rather than falling.
Generally the larger the interior volume the fewer drips.

My Campomatic camper trailer has a high roof and we have never had drips even in pouring rain.

So my advice is to buy an Oztent bigger than you think you need. They are so big and awkward anyway, that I do not think the extra diameter would be a problem.
Regards Philip A

Disco_ute84
26th March 2009, 03:21 PM
I have had the condensation build up in mine once or twice. (It was cold and we had it compleatly sealed up.) When i woke up i just quickly ran a towel over it.... Problem solved.

Cheers,
Tim

waynep
27th March 2009, 07:01 AM
I think ventilation is important. Our Southern Cross Tourer tent has vent holes at the top and we always leave the side flaps open at the bottom, we rarely have a problem with condensation. But there's only two of us in there so proabably doesn't steam up as much.

inside
27th March 2009, 10:14 AM
The reason you get condensation is because the inside of the tent is warmer than the outside. Ventilation would only work if you make the inside temperature the same as the outside. If it's 10 degrees outside I would much prefer it to be warmer in the tent and deal with some condensation, or get a fly.

DiscoDan
27th March 2009, 10:47 AM
My old southern cross touring (93 vintage) did get some condensation in it when we were touring the high country (05), mind you it was June and there was snow around. However we were warm as toast inside (5 of us) so I reckon this is better than some water drops. We just wiped most the water away,

For the record, my mate camper trailer with 2 of them didn't have condensation but it was way colder inside.

I don't believe condensation to be a major issue, speed of set up is more my concern.

stevo68
27th March 2009, 06:38 PM
I have very mild condensation in mine.....and thats with myself and 3 children in the tent. I will be looking to get the fly not so much because of that, but moreso for reducing heat and potential rain issues. That said, I highly rate the Oztent, it has made camping, especially set up and take down a much more pleasant experience.

Regards

Stevo

The ho har's
27th March 2009, 07:01 PM
we have learn't not to touch the roof and there is no real prop.... if you touch the roof then it will start dripping:(


Mrs ho har:angel:

The ho har's
27th March 2009, 09:02 PM
Perhaps you need a foofer valve.


cheeky **** for a new member aren't you:p


Mrs ho har:angel:

The ho har's
27th March 2009, 09:39 PM
I know i should show respect but ''smartarse'' is my default setting.:blush:



:thumbsdown:




















seriously



:Rolling:

Mrs ho har:angel:

The Mutt
28th March 2009, 06:36 AM
Friends of ours use OZ tents all the time, she complains about everything but has never complained about condensation, my mate does leave enough window open a bit for ventilation. We use a Shippe Shape and tend to leave the windows down about a third the way, we never get condensation inside no matter how hard or often we try.:D
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Glenn

Captain_Rightfoot
28th March 2009, 07:30 AM
I don't think it would matter what type of tent you have. If it's cold outside and you have a tent full of bodies pumping out warm moist air you'll get condensation. You've got the choice, ventilate (keeps the inside and outside the same temp, and allows the moist air out), or close it up and have it warmer inside, but have condensation. I'd rather the first option.