Santa Sf dehumidifier

Time to junk it. Lots of experiences here with people who only get a few years out of these. You can't DIY unless you have gear to solder/braze to attach fittings, vacuum pump, refrigerant, gauges, etc. Even if I had that, I'd probably junk it anyway, not worth the trouble. And then you'd likely need parts, what do they cost? They don't lose refrigerant unless something is shot, eg the coils are leaking. Also, while I almost never buy an extended warranty, I would look into that for the new one. I bought on, got the extended warranty and in the third year it died, so it was covered, got a new one.

Wow, didn't know that. That could change the equation. But maybe it shows that even the ones that cost 10x don't last either. Wonder how big it is, what capacity? If it really costs that much, I'd call around to some local refrigeration repair guys, see what they think.

Interesting idea, but I think there are some potential issues. Like I think at least some of these, they may direct the water to the outside fan to increase the heat removal and to get rid of the water. If they don't do that, then it should work. How optimal it is compared to the dehumidifier, who knows. Dehumidifier may target slower air flow, lower temps to remove more water, but overall I think it would probably work OK.

It also has a 6-year warranty from the manufacturer.

Well, I hope it's still under warranty. IDK what capacity it is, but you could buy a new $175 unit every year for 6 years and still come out ahead. And they seem to last more like two to four.

No. A room AC in normal usage sends the water it condenses on the cool inside coil to a pan at the bottom. It runs to the outside of the house. Many of them are made so the fan on the outside coil throws the water on the hot outside coil. There it helps cool the coil and refrigerent in it. Then it evaportes to the outside air. Water that is not picked up drains to the outside.

My toughts was to put it totally inside the basement, put a hole in the collection pan and let the water go to a bucket that is then empted.

Being in a closed room either one will slightly raise the temperature and also you must drain the water some how.

Yes - they dehumidify the air INSIDE and exhaust the humidity to the OUTSIDE. Makes it so the A/C doesn't drip on someone's head outside.

Most AC's have a lot more power than a simple dehumidifier. Could be expensive to run.