OK...
does anyone make a decent dehumidifier anymore? I bought two LG's last year, one for the basement and one for the garage, the one in the garage is already dead. Only other brand that I saw on the shelf was Frigidaire and I actually returned one of those because it ran constantly.
...is there anything out there, or am I stuck with replacing one a year?
nate
What is actually dead on it?
I think all the freon leaked out. It sounds loud, runs all the time, and no water is collecting in the bucket.
nate
They are made in china, what did you expect, keep trying buying,eventualy you will get a good one.
well, I kind of expected shit, but I was buying in sort of a hurry to keep the car from mildewing and the tools from rusting. I wouldn't mind paying a little more to get a quality product, if I knew what to buy and where to buy it.
nate
Warranty?
It's an LG, if what I read online is any indication (trying to do pre-purchase research on a fridge) it's easier just to write it off.
nate
I have a pair of Whirlpool dehumidifiers in my basement, somewhere around eight or nine years old, and still going strong. No complaints.
Perhaps you should give the manufacturer a chance to make good on the warranty before you bash them. I've had no issues getting acceptable warranty repairs on most every but my Chevy truck, and in that case their warranty fraud just cost them a $50k+ sale.
One year I bought a sears, its was fine. Next year I got another sears but it was completly different and obviously made by a different co, it failed in 1 month and Sears gave me a new unit. I think they are all of unknown quality now made by someone somewhere. Take what you have back for repair and consider a longer extra warranty next time. If its within maybe 6 months Sears will just give you a new one. I just looked at Consumer Reports and no reliability rating is given, Id say shop name brand and extra warranty-replacement policy. Its obvious they sell junk and know it, if you see the exact same model sold now, well you know what you can do with that defective one.
I bought a Whirlpool that was still made in the US last year but I think production has since moved to CHina. Look for one that still has a 5 year refrigeration unit warranty. That is your only hope for a decent product.
the large Kenmore is particularly bad.
I've got two dehumidifiers, a Hampton Bay branded unit, and a Maytag branded unit. The Maytag is ~6yr old and the HB ~10yr. The HB doesn't seem to indicate where it was made, the Maytag is "made in PRC" a.k.a. China. Based on the near identical labeling, it appears both were made by the same OEM. Both still work fine, one I use occasionally in the house such as when I've cleaned the carpets, and the other is in my shop and runs regularly.
You can check warranty info on your LG unit on the lge.com site.
My LG went kaputt too, so did my new LG Blu Ray player, both in the
13th month.
Unfortunately, I tried to follow up on your suggestion, and Whirlpool apparently doesn't make them anymore - or at least doesn't admit to it on their web site...
nate
There are several good dehumidifiers. They are called air conditioners. You open a vent at the far end of the basement, you have an inch opening under the basement door, for the air to make it to the air return.
It's amaz> OK...
Ummm... could you show me where the air conditioner is in my garage? it'd be awful nice to turn it on in the summer!
nate
Michael B wrote:
I'll *try* but based on product reviews, generally what happens is that you have to ship the unit to a service center at your expense and then they deny your claim. I think I spent $170 for each of them, and they're not light.
I did just pick up another Frigidaire at Lowe's today, and while appearing identical (and I believe, although not sure, having the same part number) as the one that I bought and returned last year) it actually appears to function correctly (shuts off after reaching set humidity and also when bucket is removed,) and as a bonus it's not particularly quieter than the LG's but the noise it makes is much more pleasant - compressor is very quiet, most of the noise is from the air movement due to the very powerful fan.
Now the humidistat on both LGs were very pessimistic - I had it set at
70% RH to maintain 55% RH as measured by a hygrometer... the Frigidaire, although it's not settled in, shut off being set at 50% RH while the hygrometer four feet above it read 60%... how hard is it to make an accurate humidistat? (I know, I know, consumer-grade stuff. But I shouldn't have to buy hygrometers just to calibrate an expensive appliance that has a built in humidistat.)nate
F/U: now I know why the LG in the garage is "dead." Apparently whatever happens inside of it to defrost it and/or keep it from operating when it gets too cold is not working. Also apparently despite the fact that I turned it off the last time I was in the garage it turned itself back on again today - we must have had a brief power outage. Anyway I found it sitting there churning away with the display reading "HI" and when I unplugged it and moved a box that was sitting on top of it I found ice on top of the unit.
Guess I got a backup dehumidifier, if it works again when it thaws out. just have to be careful not to use it in the garage if it's too cold out. Not very useful... (a lot of the time it gets humid around here before the weather turns hot; e.g. right now. It's maybe 70 degrees out, but a good 20 degrees colder in the garage because it's been much cooler recently - and very humid too as it rained for 4-5 days straight earlier this week. Right now I have the door and window in the garage open to help warm it up...)
nate
Might still be a warranty issue, or an easy fix depending on the model. I thought I saw freezeup protection in the feature list on the LGe site.
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