Dehumidifier with hose connection that actually works ("LG" brand from HD doesn't)

I just bought an "LG" dehumidifier from The Home Depot (yeah, yeah, I know, buying from HD is always a mistake). The box claimed that it had a threaded hose connection, but when I opened it up, I discovered that what it has instead is a disconnected plastic pipe, about nine inches long, with threads at one end and narrower at the other end.

To use a hose, you're supposed to (a) punch out the cut-out in the back of the dehumidifier about a foot from the bottom, (b) screw the plastic pipe into a hose, (c) insert the pipe into the cut-out hole in the back far enough for the other end to enclose the plastic pipe that the water drips out of, and (d) "lock" the pipe into place with a couple of plastic tabs sticking out of it.

Of course, it doesn't work, for many reasons, including:

  • The plastic tabs are just barely enough to hold the pipe in place when a hose is attached to it and putting weight on it. You have to get everything Exactly Right to get it to stay, and even the slightest jostle can dislodge it. Furthermore, it's obvious that over time, the plastic tabs will mold to the position they're wedged into and thus stop applying pressure, at which point they'll completely stop holding the pipe in place.

  • The pipe is horizontal, which means that you need to tilt the humidifier slightly backwards to have any chance at all of water running into the hose, as opposed to running into the pipe and immediately running back out into the bucket beneath the water outlet.

  • The pipe attaches right where the water drips out, not at the bottom of the bucket, which means that there's no water pressure to force the water into the hose. As a result, it doesn't actually go into the hose; it instead drips back out into the bucket or (worse) finds some other avenue of escape and runs all over the floor.

  • The instructions claim that the hose should be kept completely flat but do not explain how exactly you're supposed to do that when the pipe is inserted into the back of the dehumidifier about a foot off of the ground.

I don't think the dehumidifier has a manufacturing defect; I just think it's yet another example of a shoddy manufacturer attempting to graft a "feature" onto a product without caring that the design they've come up with won't actually work. If I had to guess, I'd guess that the hose connection method was poorly grafted onto an already finished dehumidifier design in the cheapest possible way.

I've seen Usenet postings suggesting that I install a bulkhead hose fitting near the bottom of the bucket and run a hose from there. I'm sure I could do that, but I'd rather just buy a dehumidifier which has a proper hose draining design. Can anybody recommend one?

Reply to
Jonathan Kamens
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Sears models are also currently made by LG. Other names may be as well.

To be fair, there wouldn't be any "water pressure" if the outlet was at the bucket bottom either, for the simple reason that if the water's immediately going out the tube, it's not collecting anywhere to create any pressure via pascal's law and gravity.

I believe they put the outlet higher up rather than at the bucket bottom so that the humdifier could be used with a hose while sitting on the floor. If the outlet was at the bottom of the bucket, you would have to have the unit up higher to make room for the hose underneath. Also if the outlet was on the side of the bucket, some quantity of water would remain in the bucket at all times, leading to stagnant water, bacteria, mold problems, re-evaporating back into the air thereby reducing efficiency, etc.

Reply to
Fred

Mine is built like that and it hasn't gotten dislodged. You don't have to worry about the plastic fingers holding it in place wearing out in time because the crap dehumidifiers won't last long enuf for that to happen. A good dehumidifier cost $500 a decade ago. The current crop cost $200. If they last 3 years you are lucky. That is why they eliminated the 5 year refrigeration system warranty.

Reply to
Art

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