WAY OT: Dehumidifiers

[JDNewbie]

In a very lame attempt to keep this tractor related, lets say I keep all of my tractor manuals in my office in basement. I run a dehumidifier for good measure. Lived here for 11 years and I've gone through 5 dehumidifiers.

There was an old Montgomery Wards model in the basement when I moved in I plugged in and ran for a summer or two. It ices up now, but I don't think it can be charged.

Bought a Whirlpool. Lasted 4 summers.

Bought a GE. Lasted 3 summers.

Bought a Hisense at the end of May. Biggest I could find thinking maybe a larger one would run less and last longer, but it only made it 5 months.

In each case, the compressors still seem to work, but the electronic controls will not let them run and do their jobs. Parts are unavailable and it doesn't make sense to me to spend $100 to repair 2-3 year old appliance I can replace for $200.

Do you run one? What kind? Any tips or tricks to making them last? I run a hose to the floor drain and keep the air filters clean. Folks here seem to know a little bit about nearly everything, so I though I would ask what works for you!

 

[fastfarmall]

I got a block basement, i gave up on Dehumidifiers , i had about the same luck, i bought two, small to average squirrel cage fan, run them 24-7.That one has run for at least 10 years, Mold cant grew on moving air, keeps it dry.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I bought a used Hisense at a flea market for 15 bucks about three years ago and I'm still using it. The only issue I had was on one occasion the float on the reservoir didn't work and it kept running when it got full. Ran a trail of water across the floor.

 

[Janicholson]

H0me brand, LG brand, and Frigidaire seem Ok. I have a H0me unit and use it 4 months/year in MN basement. can remove 50 pints/day, but never has needed to. It has a humidistat and can be
set for the intended humidity. Probably was ~200$ it is 6 years old and still going. Jim

 

[redtom]

My old one probably ran 10 years. Now they only last 2-3 yrs. Its the only thing I buy an extended warranty for. Used that once-got a $200 plus unit for free when it failed. They will not fix them.

 

[Bob M]

I've got an ancient Sears Coldspot that's been soldiering on for 40+ years. Aside from the control knob it contains not a bit of plastic. Sadly one can no longer find a dehumidifier so robustly built

I remove the enclosure to blow out the coils and oil the fan every year or two. Otherwise it just sits in the basement doing it's job about 8 months every year.

 

[fixerupper]

I dont know the brand offhand but I run a smaller one I was given for free in the wood shop. It just keeps running constantly 24-7 summer after summer. The dehumidifier I run in the basement is 4 years old and has kept going so far. The basement dehumidifier cycles on and off, the woodshop dehumidifier never shuts off for five months straight.

 

[wore out]

Pitch your newer ones with electronic controls in the dumpster and find an older one with mechanical controls.

Clean the coils once in a while, and oil the fan motor from time to time and it will outlast you.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I've gone through almost half a dozen dehumidifiers in our house over the past twenty-five years. I've tried several brands, but none of them seem to last.

 

[Mike M]

I can't find any that last either. Some don't even work right out of the box ! I think it is related to the compressors all had made in china on them. Seem to leak the Freon out so then they don't work right. Only ones I had luck with were the old ones with fake wood grain cabinets. Getting hard to find them as they are getting very old by now. I pick them up when I can find one for sale that works.

 

[Vicinalvictor]

Your dehumidifier is icing because there is not enough humidity in the air for it to work properly. Unplug
it for a few days, or when it rains again, then plug it back in and watch it work as it should.

 

[jacksun65]

We had two did the same thing took them apart and cleaned them and they worked again.

 

[buickanddeere]

Read the fine print on the label . Some dehumidifiers are rated to operate at low temps without freezing the evaporator coils .
Could not imagine using a Dehumidier that does not run the condensate to a drain .
Most dehumidifier failures are dry dirty
sleeve bearings in the air fan .