Dehumidifer that lasts > 2 years

[Mike S.]

For years we have been using portable dehumidifiers in the basement between May and September. This weekend I fired up the current one only to note a return to the common pattern: the compressor runs but there is no hot air exhaust or condensation because the tubing has corroded and allowed the refrigerant to escape.

Over the last 10 years we've had perhaps 5 such units down there, making the average lifespan ~ 2 years. Reading online reviews from actual customers, it seems that for everything manufactured after the millennium this is the usual pattern. And they all die in the same way.

We have usually been buying the most accessible brands; LG or the LG-manufactured Kenmore units sold at Sears. Once Sears replaced a unit when their repair depot deemed it to be beyond repair.

It occurred to me that perhaps we're buying the wrong brand. Web sites that review these units seem to recommend Fridigaire, Danby, GE, or Whirlpool. But then I read reviews from actual owners, and there are similar complaints. Now most units are warranted for only a year, and the cost of an extended warranty pretty much could be better spent on simply buying a new unit every 2 years.

Are there ANY 70-pint portable dehumidifiers that last beyond 2 years, or at least have a longer factory warranty?

[trader4]

A friend of mine had a Sears made by LG. The fan quit working when it was about 3 years old. Since it was just the fan and not knowing the sorry track record with these units, we spent $40 on a new fan and I put it in. It lasted less than a year. Still not having learned our lesson, we ordered another one. That one smoked on start-up. And no, there isn't any fancy electronics or anything that could account for it. It's just a two speed AC motor with

3 leads. Finally looking online, there were countless reports going back many years of the same kind of fan failure. It shows that Sears and LG just don't have any QC and don't give a damn.

He bought a new humdifier about 3 years ago, don't remember what it was, but it was not Sears or LG. As part of the negotiation, the store manager agreed to match the low online price we had found, if we would take the extended 3 year warranty for about $40 extra. Normally, think these are a waste, but for dehumidifiers, at the right price, I think they are a good idea. So, he bought it. About two years in, it failed. He took it back to the store. They didn't have that model anymore, but had a slightly higher capacity model for $25 more. So, he paid the $25 and got a brand new one.

That was about 2 years ago. It's still working. Think it's a Frigidaire, but I can check for you. But don't know that it really means much, because it's only been running a year or two.... Like you, I've yet to hear of one company that folks say last. But if I were you, I'd price out the extended warranty on anything you buy. For these, it could be a good idea.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Since they sold a warranty, they should have to make good one way or another I'd think. I'd have bitched about spending more money. I bought the extended coverage in good faith, they should make me whole.

[trader4]

They did have an option of leaving the broken one for repair, but it was unclear how long that would take. With the new one, without the $25 additional, he would have been made arguably, better than whole.

[Mike S.]

Thanks for the additional data points. Whatever we do, the next unit will probably not be LG/Sears. Have really resisted the idea of paying for an extended warranty, but perhaps this is one of those products where it makes sense.

Will see what can be had at Lowes or Home Depot. Even Wal-Mart has a decent selection in their ship-to-store arrangement.

[passerby]

I don't know about *all* manufacturers but my 3 years old 60 pint Frigidaire looks and performs just the way it was when I bought it, so there's definitely no 2 year preset time bomb in them. I would seriously suspect the way the dehum is kept off season from Sept. to May to have something to do with the extra corrosion, most especially after you've gone through 5 of them. How are they kept? Do you put them back in the box by any chance? You'd drain it for storage, I presume? What's the humidity level over winter, anyway?

[Mike S.]

They're kept on the floor of the same basement room as the summer months, just not run. I generally turn the dehumidifer off for the season once the baseline humidity drops below 50%. During the winter, hot air from the furnace is vented into the room, and the humidity is generally 25 - 35%.

[Hench]

I have no idea what you mean by 70-pint but I have a 30 litre Danby from Costco/Price Club Canada that is in it's 5th year. I drain directly to a floor drain so I don't empty a holding tank every day.

With the unit I keep the basement at 40% relative humidity. It's energy factor is 1.80 L per KW-hr and it does about 30 L of water a day. I ask it to do alot, and it's been pretty good. Has a timer and a remote control (which we actually use sometimes) and draws about 6.5 amps with compressor on.

Costco/Proce Club had by far the best price on Danby units at the time

[passerby]

70 pint is the same size as 30 liter as far as humidifier sizes go (70 pint = 33.1L)

I think you are exactly right, 40% relative humidity is asking a lot of dehumidifier, and probably unnecessary. Anything below 50% starts drying things up (furniture, books, rugs etc.) and increases static electricity - not good for electronics. 55% RH sounds like an ideal setting to me - not yet damp but not drying either. Also happens to be the default on the one I have now. By the way, I'm not sure how accurate the electronics hygrometers are in these things. I think they are +-5%

[passerby]

Mine is kept in the *exact same* environment, and not a sign of corrosion (yet).

Corrosive air, thanks to Chinese drywall? Here is how FL recommends to evaluate one's home for signs of drywall-associated corrosion:

Other types of corrosive air: ocean nearby? Electrostatic filter or any other air ionizing device? Some kind of a processing industrial facility nearby (petrochemical plant, paper mill, steel mill etc.) haven't yet moved to China? Doing something ... ahem ... chemical at home? :) Don't know, sounds like some sort of an environmental factor to me.

[trader4]

That's a good one. You have a 30 liter one but you have no idea what he means by a 70 pint one......

[Nate Nagel]

Agreed all around, not sure why you would want to dehumidify down to

40%, I would try to keep humidity in the 45-55% range - when using the dehumidifier aim for 55% and when using a humidifier in winter aim for 45%.

In my last house I double checked the humidity with a couple different hygrometers arranged around the house and just tweaked the various appliances to get everything where I wanted it (when using the humidifier I also sometimes had to accept less humidity than ideal if it was cold outside to avoid condensation on windows.) I did find that the humidity setting on my dehumidifier was off by 5% or more, and of course the humidistat for the furnace mounted humidifier did not have any kind of a direct reading.

nate

[Mike S.]

Could be, thanks for pointing that out.

Thing is, in my situation the dehumidifier would be the only object in the entire basement that is corroding.

[trader4]

I just checked the dehumidifier that my friend bought about 2 years ago. It's an Amana, D970EP. Can't tell you much other than it's been working fine for 2 years. One difference between it and a Sears/LG is that the Sears/LG had a feature where you could have it on all the time, on

4 hours, off 4, on 6 hours, off 6. The Amana has a timer, but I thnk it will only turn it off in 1-24 hours from the time you leave it on. Or vice versa turn it on 1-24 hours later if it's currently off.

[Mike S.]

Thanks, I'll add that brand to the list under consideration.

[Mike Lalonde]

Our Sears dehumidifier has been working for the last 7 years in our business... running pretty much constantly in the basement. Must be some extreme environment to corrode the tubing.

Mike Lalonde Sudbury, Ontario

[Mike S.]

Dunno, as I indicated in my previous post.

There is a 3 year old water heater nearby (in the unfinished portion of the basement) on which the new copper pipes are still bright and shiny.

The room where the dehumidifier operates has hundreds of CD's, CD-ROMs, and DVD's - some over 20 years old - and none of the reflective layers show even the slightest hint of corrosion or discoloration; yes, I've checked.

[clare]

The old electrohome must have been 30 years old when I replaced it last year - still working fine but the fan was getting noisy - replaced it with a 3 year old GE.