Dehumidifier woes

mancich · Post by **mancich** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:10 pm

Has anyone else had to frequently replace (every 2-3 years) their dehumidifier?

Mine is in the basement (which is not overly humid). I run it between mid June and September. I shut it off by late September when it starts to get cool. I'm on my third dehumidier in 6 years. Tried Several well known brand names, and a now with a 70 pint Danny model that we just received from Amazon.

I'm diligent about cleaning the filters and run it so that a hose drops the water into my A/C air handler condensate pump. I don't know what it is,but it seems they don't make 'em like they used to. At $200 to $250, it is annoying.

Anyone had good luck with a particular brand?

delamer · Post by **delamer** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:16 pm

We've had basically the same experience; they only last for a few years.

TT · Post by TT » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:26 pm

My first dehumidifier lasted about 12-15 years. My second one lasted about 5-6 years. My third died in the first 90 days and refunded under warranty. My current one just started season 3. Most appliance reliability has declined significantly.

ERISA Stone · Post by **ERISA Stone** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:34 pm

Has anybody installed a "permanent" unit like Aprilaire? My $200 unit just quit on me after 4 years and I'm looking at alternatives.

Woodshark · Post by **Woodshark** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:49 pm

I'm fairly sure that Aprilaire is humidifer, not a de-humidifer.

amd2135 · Post by **amd2135** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:03 pm

They all seem to be made by Midea, Gree and TCL. Maybe there's one or two others.

My current one is a "Frigidaire" (Midea) that I got as a free replacement for a recalled "Frigidaire" unit. It has no warranty and I don't expect it to last for more than a few years.

Action items:

Don't spend more for a brand name. There is no brand name.
Check cpsc.gov to ensure your dehumidifier won't burn your home down. Gree and Midea have had massive recalls recently. Dozens of "brands" are affected.

hille141 · Post by **hille141** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:06 pm

Yup, this is exactly my experience. They only last a couple years.

A dehumidifier is the one and only thing I recommend buying the extended warranty on. I bought a 4 year warranty for $33. Got another year left on it yet. Hope it breaks before then!

ERISA Stone · Post by **ERISA Stone** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:17 pm

Woodshark wrote:I'm fairly sure that Aprilaire is humidifer, not a de-humidifer.

Here's an Aprilaire de-humidifier https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-p ... model-1830

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:33 pm

Yes (I've had to replace).
No (no luck with a particular brand).

Good news is that each time my utility gives me a rebate (providing it's an Energy Star model). Last time I got both a utility rebate on the replacement (because it was Energy Star compliant), and a partial refund from the company who manufactured the unit I was replacing (because it was a fire hazard...........)

Our usage is the same as yours (essentially late spring through early fall). Turn it on in the morning for an hour or so to bring the humidity down to 50%, and the same in the evening. Frustrating that a reliable unit can't be manufactured.

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:43 pm

I used to run mine 7x24, so none of them last.

I plug it on a timer and give it some time off, so far it (4th Danby) has held up on the 3rd year.

YMMV. GL.

rgs92 · Post by **rgs92** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:53 pm

The Aprilaire 1850F 95 Pint Dehumidifier for about $1260 is another.
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/aprila ... fiers.html

I use the Santa Fe Classic and like it a lot. It has performed well for several years and can keep a large very damp non-climate-controlled basement bone dry if you like.
http://www.sylvane.com/santa-fe-dehumid ... ier%202014

These units do raise the temperature of the room a few degrees (proportional to the dryness level that choose on the humidistat control).
The Santa Fe is fairly quiet also. It takes a filter that costs a few dollars that you can vacuum out or just replace every month or so depending on how dusty the area is.

It's much better than those familiar little cheap units that always seem to break or not perform well. I went through a few of those before giving up on them. And then they are hard to get rid of when they break. I really dislike those things.

NYC_Guy · Post by **NYC_Guy** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:58 pm

I use the Sante Fe Classic. Going strong after 9 years.

http://www.santa-fe-products.com

3feetpete · Post by **3feetpete** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:26 pm

I have one by Friedrich that has run for several years without problem. The tank has a hose connection on it so you have the option to set it up high and gravity drain into a sink instead of having to empty the tank. That's the way I have it set up. They also have modes with built in drain pumps.

mancich · Post by **mancich** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:06 am

thanks for all the replies. I did review the recall site and it appears my Danby model is not on it, thankfully.
https://www.recallrtr.com/dehumidifier

Swansea · Post by **Swansea** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:06 am

I have a Kenmore unit from Sears. It is at least 5 years old and runs fine. I never even change the filter. I run it from May through Sept.

jharkin · Post by **jharkin** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:19 am

Same problem here.. We "had" an old old unit from the 90s that was noisy and a power hog so I replaced it thinking I would lower the bill and reduce the noise. New unit was a well reviewed Frigidaire.

Bad move, as you have noticed the new ones seem to die every 2-4 years. The sealed system leaks refrigerant and they ice up. Ive had 2 replace under warranty and sadly this is now one item that against my better judgement I will get the extended warranty on.

Seems to be part of the general trend of declining reliability in appliances.

bluebolt · Post by **bluebolt** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:49 am

I bought a Frigidaire from Amazon a little over 2 years ago. Bought the extended warranty based on stories like these, but it is going strong so far.

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:50 am

My first Kenmore lasted about 9 years or so. Since then I've gone through about five dehumidifiers all of which were returned or replaced under warranty very quickly until this last one which has now lasted two or three years.

It is a Frigidaire but other Frigidaire units were among those replaced.

I don't buy extended warranties as a rule but I made an exception in this case due to the massive unreliability of these units.

I have two years left on the warranty so we shall see.

keystone · Post by **keystone** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:56 am

Timely thread for me.

My wife recently informed me that our 50 pint Frigidaire stopped working after about 4 years of seasonal use. I was a little annoyed that it needed to be replaced, but after reading a lot of reviews it seems like 4 years is about the average life expectancy. I just replaced it with an updated Frigidaire.

queso · Post by **queso** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:10 am

I currently own 5 dehumidifiers: 2 LGs, 2 Frigidaires and 1 industrial crawl space unit that I think is a Sante Fe, but I haven't crawled back there recently to verify and I can't remember for sure. The LGs I have found to be less reliable than the Frigidaires so when these die I'll keep buying Frigidaires unless I find something more reliable. The LGs also have an inferior system for attaching a drain hose that is prone to coming unhooked. That isn't as catastrophic as it sounds, but it does cause the unit to then use the attached condensate bucket which fills pretty quickly and needs to be dumped a couple times a day. The Frigidaire hose/drain system is much more well designed and doesn't have this issue.

TylerDavis · Post by **TylerDavis** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:22 am

I purchased my dehumidifier from Bed Bath and Beyond because they have a reputation for a very liberal refund policy. When it fails, I plan to test out that theory

hand · Post by **hand** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:33 am

I have a Santa Fe Compact 2 which I've been happy with for the last 2 years.

Payback vs. "disposable" grade dehumidifiers is several years into the future, so difficult to provide conclusive judgement, but feels and operates like the level of quality I paid for, and I have no reason to disbelieve the efficiency of the unit vs. cheaper models.

Hang kit puts the dehumidifier nicely out of the way between the basement celling joists.

I would absolutely purchase again as life is too short to deal with cheaply made junk in your home.

TnGuy · Post by **TnGuy** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:49 am

Both I and my neighbor have each been using this model by Friedrich for three years now - and they are still going strong. Where we live we run them continuously from the beginning of May until the end of October.

David

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:59 am

Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.

EagertoLearnMore · Post by **EagertoLearnMore** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:16 am

We are still using a Kenmore manufactured in 2001. Funny story -- believing this unit would not last we purchased a brand new one. Being a Boglehead we continued to use the old one. Then the new one was recalled for fire hazards as it was manufactured by Midea. We got the replacement but will continue to use the old one. How do we know there are not fire hazards with the replacement models?

Yes, I agree that the newer appliances just do not last very long. I clean the filter on the Kenmore and wash out the container even though it drains into a drain. So the machine has been well maintained. Not looking forward to using the new one. Wow - that is a strange commentary on the reliability of new products.

hand · Post by **hand** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:20 am

Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.

See Chapter 2, Lesson 3 "Humidity" from the EPA:
https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-course-chapter-2

"Indoor relative humidity (RH) should be kept below 60 percent -- ideally between 30 percent and 50 percent, if possible."

I target for just under 50%.

queso · Post by **queso** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:52 am

Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.

50-55. If I try to go lower the units run too frequently. On some units that equates to a setpoint of 50 and some others 45 since, as you point out, they aren't all that accurate.

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:10 am

hand wrote:
Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.
See Chapter 2, Lesson 3 "Humidity" from the EPA:
https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-course-chapter-2

"Indoor relative humidity (RH) should be kept below 60 percent -- ideally between 30 percent and 50 percent, if possible."

I target for just under 50%.

And "queso" states:

50-55. If I try to go lower the units run too frequently. On some units that equates to a setpoint of 50 and some others 45 since, as you point out, they aren't all that accurate.

I've read the EPA guidelines and others as well, was mostly just curious as to what our own members do.

As I say, 50 to 55 (and definitely under 60% RH) works. Once I get down to about 50 (and anything under) the machine never seems to pause for more than a minute or two before beginning the entire cycle all over again. (Which of course uses up a lot of energy.)

Oddly enough, on my unit to keep the room somewhere between 50 to 55% RH, I have to set it at 55 or 60% RH. I fluctuate between those two settings depending on what my separate hygrometer tells me.

TnGuy · Post by **TnGuy** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:19 am

I set ours on 45% humidity.

David

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:24 am

TnGuy wrote:I set ours on 45% humidity.

David

That would be essentially setting mine to run continuously (until sometime in the fall). I will admit that it is somewhat more comfortable, especially when lifting weights, when it's at or below 50% RH.

bluebolt · Post by **bluebolt** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:33 am

queso wrote:
Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.
50-55. If I try to go lower the units run too frequently. On some units that equates to a setpoint of 50 and some others 45 since, as you point out, they aren't all that accurate.

I set my unit to 55% which results in a standalone hygrometer measurement on the other side of the basement of around 50%. Any lower and it runs nearly continuously.

pennstater2005 · Post by **pennstater2005** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:09 am

Second season for a small Danny unit. I usually don't buy extended warranties but after reading about all the failures I did on this from Home Depot. Was only an extra $19 and gave me four years of coverage.

Spirit Rider · Post by **Spirit Rider** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:54 am

I have an LG unit that is about 10 years old. It is relatively quiet. I set it at 45% and it does run with a fairly high duty cycle in humid weather.

wfrobinette · Post by **wfrobinette** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:48 am

TT wrote:My first dehumidifier lasted about 12-15 years. My second one lasted about 5-6 years. My third died in the first 90 days and refunded under warranty. My current one just started season 3. Most appliance reliability has declined significantly.

Same experience with about everything these days. Higher prices lower quality.

jharkin · Post by **jharkin** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 11:12 am

queso wrote:
Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.
50-55. If I try to go lower the units run too frequently. On some units that equates to a setpoint of 50 and some others 45 since, as you point out, they aren't all that accurate.

Same here. I use a separate digital hygrometer also and adjust. I tried the high end of the EPA recommendations - 60% and found I get a musty smell at that level. Aim for 40-45 and it just never turns off. So 50-55 seems a happy medium.

Funny thing is the jinx is alive and well. Yesterday I answer this thread and last night I notice the basement smells musty... unit was set on 55 but wasn't cycling on for some reason and the remote meter showed 67% humidity... Turned it down to 45 and fingers crossed. Hope its not time to buy one again

Indexboss · Post by **Indexboss** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 1:19 pm

My house (or I should say my brother's I rent at) has a commercial unit connected to the furnace system. It drains into a sink. It is very effective. It seems most portable ones are throw-a-ways and they last about 3 years. The installed unit has had some minor issues but were repaired.

TylerDavis · Post by **TylerDavis** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 2:09 pm

Indexboss wrote:My house (or I should say my brother's I rent at) has a commercial unit connected to the furnace system. It drains into a sink. It is very effective. It seems most portable ones are throw-a-ways and they last about 3 years. The installed unit has had some minor issues but were repaired.

Is that a de-humidifier, or a humidifier? If it's running the A/C compressor, isn't that the same as central A/C?

I have a humidifier on my furnace, but bypass it in the summer months of course.

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 2:10 pm

jharkin wrote:
queso wrote:
Blues wrote:Out of curiosity, at what relative humidity do you folks try to keep the area served by the dehumidifier?

I don't measure the RH from the unit as it is notoriously unreliable in that regard. I measure with a standalone hygrometer mounted elsewhere in the room.

I find that I need to adjust the unit's settings up or down every so often to compensate as they are not accurate.

Generally, I try to keep the RH between 50 and 55%.
50-55. If I try to go lower the units run too frequently. On some units that equates to a setpoint of 50 and some others 45 since, as you point out, they aren't all that accurate.

Same here. I use a separate digital hygrometer also and adjust. I tried the high end of the EPA recommendations - 60% and found I get a musty smell at that level. Aim for 40-45 and it just never turns off. So 50-55 seems a happy medium.

Funny thing is the jinx is alive and well. Yesterday I answer this thread and last night I notice the basement smells musty... unit was set on 55 but wasn't cycling on for some reason and the remote meter showed 67% humidity... Turned it down to 45 and fingers crossed. Hope its not time to buy one again

I've been down this road. If you notice it's only running on the fan and not cycling, shut it off and unplug it from the wall for a few minutes. Five minutes is enough. Then plug it in, turn it back on and either set it to run constantly or a sufficiently low setting to get the compressor to turn on.

If it's going to work that will do it. If not, time to call the manufacturer. Frigidaire, for instance, has a five year warranty on the compressor.

AlwaysBeClimbing · Post by **AlwaysBeClimbing** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:23 pm

I'll be shopping for one soon, really no choice but to get one or be fighting mold all the time. Winters here get indoor humidity up past 70%, since I tightened up my house(air sealing). Sure I could just leave the windows open, but then all the expensive heated air goes out the window. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I was set on Fridgidaire due to reviews, but read more reviews and that brand doesn't look so hot after all. So, I figure I'll get a cheap one with a year warranty(hopefully), and depend on the credit card warranty doubler feature to get me to at least two years. It'll be cheaper than wasting a boatload of expensive heated air going the window method.

jharkin · Post by **jharkin** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 4:29 pm

Blues wrote:
I've been down this road. If you notice it's only running on the fan and not cycling, shut it off and unplug it from the wall for a few minutes. Five minutes is enough. Then plug it in, turn it back on and either set it to run constantly or a sufficiently low setting to get the compressor to turn on.

If it's going to work that will do it. If not, time to call the manufacturer. Frigidaire, for instance, has a five year warranty on the compressor.

Oh Ive been down that road with Frigidaire... twice

Usually I know the system has leaked because the coil ices up... not this time. So far no joy getting it to kick on so it looks like its time yet again

Indexboss · Post by **Indexboss** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:00 pm

TylerDavis wrote:
Indexboss wrote:My house (or I should say my brother's I rent at) has a commercial unit connected to the furnace system. It drains into a sink. It is very effective. It seems most portable ones are throw-a-ways and they last about 3 years. The installed unit has had some minor issues but were repaired.
Is that a de-humidifier, or a humidifier? If it's running the A/C compressor, isn't that the same as central A/C?

I have a humidifier on my furnace, but bypass it in the summer months of course.

As of now there is no Central air. The house has a massive basement that is damp without a dehumidifier. The unit runs year round with the fan from the furnace.

whodidntante · Post by **whodidntante** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:37 pm

I've been fortunate. Two units total in 13 years. Current one is working fine for the moment.

papiper · Post by **papiper** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:15 am

Mine only last about two years. Spouse is very sensitive to musty smells, so I keep the semi-finished basement at 40%. One unit hanging over a sink runs almost continuously.

Longtermgrowth · Post by **Longtermgrowth** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:02 pm

I have found that all of these cheaper, easy to obtain dehumidifiers (ie found in retail stores) internal dehumidistat will short cycle the unit because of the moisture left on the coils after it cycles off. They may also have a fairly low humidity swing on/off trigger point.

Decided to get an external dehumidifer controller with a stated 4-6% swing, mounted it as far as the cord length lets me from the dehumidifier, and have been pleased with it over the years on a 70 pint frigidaire. The frigidaire has lasted about 8 years so far *knock on wood*. It will go many hours without cycling, and run for at least 45 mins when it does thanks to the external controller.

Bengineer · Post by **Bengineer** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:34 pm

Longtermgrowth wrote:I have found that all of these cheaper, easy to obtain dehumidifiers (ie found in retail stores) internal dehumidistat will short cycle the unit because of the moisture left on the coils after it cycles off. They may also have a fairly low humidity swing on/off trigger point.

Decided to get an external dehumidifer controller with a stated 4-6% swing, mounted it as far as the cord length lets me from the dehumidifier, and have been pleased with it over the years on a 70 pint frigidaire. The frigidaire has lasted about 8 years so far *knock on wood*. It will go many hours without cycling, and run for at least 45 mins when it does thanks to the external controller.

I'm going to be in the market for a dehumidifier soon. I'm interested in the controller. It does make sense that a sensor on the unit would see lower humidity quicker than at a distance. Brand / Cost of the controller you use? I presume you set the dehumidifer at "min" or "always on", and let the controller do the on-off.

Houe · Post by **Houe** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:46 pm

Run the dehum for a week to get the space dry. If the dehumidifier still runs continuously or nearly continuously the unit is probably undersized. But you don't want to short cycle the unit either.

EagertoLearnMore · Post by **EagertoLearnMore** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:55 pm

I went to Costco today and they are selling 70 pint Whirlpool dehumidifiers for $159. Many people were buying them.

Longtermgrowth · Post by **Longtermgrowth** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:31 am

Bengineer wrote: I'm going to be in the market for a dehumidifier soon. I'm interested in the controller. It does make sense that a sensor on the unit would see lower humidity quicker than at a distance. Brand / Cost of the controller you use? I presume you set the dehumidifer at "min" or "always on", and let the controller do the on-off.

It has been discontinued with limited availability at larger prices than I paid for it, but let me go look again at the box and model number...: Honeywell H46E1013. I believe it was in the mid $30 dollar range when still widely available. When looking at the premium dehumidifiers, some recommended an external dehumidistat that were a different model, and if I remember correctly, had a 7% swing along with being more pricey. Maybe with some searching you could come across those at possibly a cheaper price than the discontinued model I have, if they too haven't been discontinued.

I set the dehumidifier to always on and high fan speed. It has a feature built into it that it will return to my settings in a power failure, which would also apply to when the external controller cuts power to it.

DippityDoo · Post by **DippityDoo** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 3:36 am

Bengineer wrote:I'm interested in the controller.

Hi, Bengineer. For the last 15 months I've been using a Dayton brand dehumidifier control plug purchased from Amazon. I've been extremely pleased with it. It seems accurate when checked against a hygrometer. The only thing I don't like is that the display isn't backlit. But it works like a champ. Unlike the new Frigidaire 50 pint dehumidifier I got it for. The control plug is still going strong but the Frigidaire died at 13 months (one month after the warranty expired, of course). Luckily I bought the extended warranty so am now on my 2nd dehumidifier with the Dayton controller. I strongly recommend the Dayton plug. But the Frigidaire not so much.

Longtermgrowth · Post by **Longtermgrowth** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 4:34 am

DippityDoo wrote:I strongly recommend the Dayton plug.

Looked it up and the price isn't too bad. The specs I find on it say that it has a "Differential +/- 1 RH %", which I'm thinking would be equivalent to a 2% swing going by what I was saying earlier. That would be the only thing discouraging me, since I want the larger humidity swing to have the unit cycle less.