Question About Dehumidifier Longevity

[clemke]

Hello All

Is there any rule of thumb to consider when deciding whether to repair or replace a dehumidifier? The unit in question is a stand-alone Sears Kenmore 65 pints per 24 hour dehumidifier that was purchased new, and has been in use in an unfinished basement for three years. A drain hose is connected so that it can run as necessary. We just set the humidistat and leave it on 24/7 Sometimes it runs very little (heating season), in the summer it may run much more (we live in Wisconsin).

The unit has just quit working. It is not totally dead. I can set the humidistat to the lowest setting, the unit will then run for about 90 seconds then shut off as if the correct humidity level has been reached. Possibly a bad humidistat?

Anyway - if you have experience repairing this type of unit, or have had a dehumidifier repaired, I'd like your opinion on whether a repair is cost effective and typically long-lasting. Or am I dealing with an appliance that is better replaced than repaired? I haven't taken it in for an estimate yet. I was just wondering if three years of service was the norm and that it might be time for a new dehumidier.

Thanks in advance for any ideas on this.

[FDR]

We had a smaller Sears dehumidifier and on it's 3rd year it started making rattling noises. It was still under their protection plan so we had it fixed. Somethig was wrong with the fan. It lasted for a few more months and then rattled again. By then the service agreement was up and I didn't fix it. So in my case, 3 years seems to be the lifespan.

[Art]

Most Sears units come with a 5 year warranty parts and labor for the refrigeration system. I brought my 2 year old unit in because it turned on but was not condensing anything and they gave me a new one.