AIR FLOW
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Pretty much everyone knows that warm air rises ... not quite as many people know that condensation forms when warmer air comes in contact with a cold surface. A good example is while taking a hot shower your bathroom mirror fogs up. Just like installing a bathroom exhaust fan will eliminate or significantly reduce this problem, installing vents in your container will do exactly the same thing. In your container warmer air, created by sun exposure on your container, even when it is very cold outside, will rise and come in contact with your much colder ceiling which causes condensation. This problem is more severe in high humidity climates where the air contains more moisture.
To combat excessive heat and moisture within a container, adequate venting needs to be installed and strategically located to passively create airflow throughout the container.
To accomplish this, install a minimum of two vents, one up high to exhaust the hot air and one down low to replace the exhausted hot air with cooler air. This "passive" action occurs naturally without the use of any mechanical assistance such as an electric exhaust fan. Install the first vent as low as possible on the exterior side wall of the container that is shaded from afternoon sun, and the other vent as high as possible on the opposite exterior side wall. You can install your vents at any point on the wall you desire to meet your specific needs. Just remember to use the same number of vents up high to exhaust the warmer air as you have low to bring in cooler air. Below is a recommended location sheet with diagrams showing recommended placement of your vents for your particular conditions. |
ROOF VENTILATION
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Though we do not recommend installing any sort of vent on the container’s roof, due to the high likelihood of water leaks, if your container already has some sort of roof ventilation such as a wind turbine or exhaust fan, simply install 2 Con-Vents® low, on the side shaded from afternoon sun, to bring in cooler air while the roof mounted vent exhausts the warmer air.
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HAVE DENTS ?
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Each of the rib mount Con-Vents® are pre-bent to conform to the factory bends of the wall corrugations. However if you're installing the vent on a severely dented area, you will need to fill in the gap between the vent and the dent with silicone.
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PAINTING VENTS
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Con-Vents® are galvanized coated to resist rust, but for additional protection, or if you would like your vent to match the color of your container, you can paint the vents.
First, wipe the surface down with white vinegar, let it sit for a couple of hours, cover with a primer coat, and then paint your vent. It is recommended that you avoid using dark colors since doing so will simply cause the sun to heat up your vent, which for obvious reasons is undesirable. |
AVOIDING DAMAGE TO LOUVERS
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When you install the door mount vent, we recommend you install them as high as possible on the flat area of the door. Installing them too low could subject the louvers to damage from opening and closing the doors.
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HOW MANY VENTS DO I NEED?
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We recommend installing a minimum of two (2) vents, as described above and shown below, for a 20’ container and four (4) vents for a 40’. Keep in mind that darker colored containers, such as the common dark red color, will cause a container to reach much higher inside temperatures, due to sun exposure, than lighter colored containers such as the light gray ones.
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SUGGESTED VENT LOCATIONS
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NOTES: Container color is a huge factor in how much heat is generated within your container from sun exposure. Used containers come in a variety of colors including dark red, orange, blue, green, yellow, and light gray. The darker colors, particularly dark red, will cause your container to get much hotter from sun exposure than for example the light gray colored containers. So you may need to install more vents on a darker colored container than a lighter colored one.
If you are willing and able to invest a little more time and money into your container, and make it a whole lot cooler and comfortable inside, we highly recommend the following procedures:
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