Dehumidifiers

[Judson Green]

I'm looking to replace the old, but working (and landlord provided so i didn't shell out any cash for it) dehumidifier with one that is more energy efficient and will work in cooler temperatures. So I went looking on Amazon and I see that there is a lot of different makes, some names Ive never heard of. Not sure if it matters but my basement shop is ~3500 cu. ft. and reasonable well sealed. I do have a sump crock in one corner and that kinda sucks but not much i can do about it.

So what do you got? Happy with it? Hows your energy bill?

[Stan Calow]

After burning through two Kenmores in a short time, I have a Frigidaire that seems to be working fine for three years. Don't know energy usage. Check Consumer Reports. Seems like the big box stores have a lot of Chinese brands with bad reps. I have nearby sump too, but with forced air furnace, dehumidifier pretty much doesn't ever run through the winter.

[Patrick Walsh]

I recently was told of a wall mount unit that direct vents outside. It is supposed to be the bees knees i guess. Im a home builder and recently a house the company i work for ran into a mildew problem ina finished basment. The mold removal guys told us about the unit.

As far as i know to date one is being installed in this house. I think the coast is a few grand installed. I guess it is crazy energy efficient. If you leve a slight air gap under the door to the rest of your house it is strong enough to do a whole house depending on the size. I was told my 1000sq ft shop and then 1500sq ft house would be taken care of no problem.

i can get more info on it if you like.

[Scott DelPorte]

I seem to burn through dehumidifies in my shop. I keep the humidity between 40% and 45% all year round, so during the summer they run quite a bit, and after about a year they stop working. I try a different brand each time hoping it will be better.

In an older dehumidifier thread someone mentioned Oasis brand as a "commercial grade" unit, so I checked them out. They were more expensive than the ones I had been buying, but supposedly had better components (compressor, motor, etc.) so I tried one. The case is all metal and it is built like a tank compared to the other ones I had been buying. Its also quieter. It has simpler manual controls, but it controls the humidity level much better and you dont need to reset it if you unplug it. I have only had it about 6 months, so I cant say if it is holding up better or not. One thing different about it that it only runs about 1/4 as much as the others did while keeping the humidity level the same.

[Jim Koepke]

My problem with a dehumidifier is in the colder weather the condenser freezes over. When this happens they can start to run continuously. I shut mine off when that happens. During the cold months it can take a long time to thaw.

jtk

[Jim Huelskoetter]

When running the dehumidifiers in a shop, you should clean the coil regularly. That might extend the compressor life substantially.

[Mel Fulks]

I've only had one and the directions said it would not work in a space under 70 degrees

[Roger Feeley]

I remember my parents having a de-humidifier in our basement growing up. Almost 45 years later, when I helped my mom close down that house, that same unit was down there working just fine. I'm sure it wasn't very energy efficient but I have to wonder how much energy it takes to construct a new unit every few years....

[Harry Hagan]

I purchase the Whynter brand from Costco because it's better than other brands I've used and also Costco has a great return policy.

The Whynter brand will defrost if it starts to freeze-up and has some other nice features too. I would recommend it to friend if they purchase from Costco.

http://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?storeId=10301&catalogId=10701&langId=-1&refine=&keyword=dehumidifier


(http://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?storeId=10301&catalogId=10701&langId=-1&refine=&keyword=dehumidifier)