Premature dehumidifier failure

November 18, 2014 at 09:18 PM · What scale are you talking about? A case dehumidifier, room dehumidifier, or whole-house dehumidifier?

November 18, 2014 at 09:33 PM · Room dehumidifiers -- yes they fail too much. These days I suppose we're supposed to consider our home appliances to be disposable items because fixing costs as much as replacing.

November 18, 2014 at 09:50 PM · John, the one I had been recommending failed too after three years. That was a surprise, because in the past, room dehumidifiers had been lasting for fifteen years or more.

Now I'm recommending a Frigidaire model. I only have one season with this, but at least it comes with a 5 year "sealed system" warranty (versus two years for the GE).

The problem seems to be refrigerant loss, probably due to corrosion of thin aluminum parts on the newer, more efficient designs. I don't know yet what can be done to extend the life.

November 18, 2014 at 11:57 PM · Yes, we also go through humidifiers every couple of years. They all seem to be junk, or the moisture just ends up soaking the floor right around the unit.

Just on the chance it's your water: have you tried bottled water instead of tap? Stuff can build up inside them.

November 19, 2014 at 02:46 AM · Sorry I wasn't more clear. The question was about room dehumidifiers. I asked it now because I just put away my dehumidifier (after one season) and hooked up my humidifier. Thank you, David, for your input.

November 19, 2014 at 03:42 AM · No issues with my Whirlpool. It has been many years and it still works as it did on the first day.

November 19, 2014 at 12:37 PM · I wish I knew how to help more. While I've read hundreds of customer reviews, these are almost always from people who recently bought one, so they contain no meaningful long-term reliability data.

Reliability information from older units doesn't seem to apply, because most of the manufacturers have completely redesigned their dehumidifiers to make them more energy efficient, or to get an "Energy Star" rating.

Some credit card companies will double the length of the manufacturers warranty when products are purchased with their card, so that might be one strategy, until the manufacturers get their act together (hopefully) on these newer designs.

For the more technically oriented:

The failures I've read about don't seem to be limited to any particular brand, and are almost always due to partial loss of of the refrigerant charge (as mine have been). They can be recharged, but there is no easy way to do it (there is no charging port); almost nobody will take the job on; and it would probably cost more than a new unit. What I've noticed is that the heat exchangers seem to be much thinner and more complex than on the older units (probably for better heat transfer to make them more energy efficient). That means more seams to potentially fail, and greater susceptibility to corrosion perforation.

November 19, 2014 at 03:48 PM · essentially a dehumidifier is a reverse air conditioner, so one should expect to spend a similar amount of money. The ones mostly sold by appliance stores are not very robust. I purchased the following fantech about 4 years ago and its still going.

http://m.globalindustrial.com/m/p/hvac/dehumidifiers/commercial/dehumidifier-steel-101-pints?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CPrMi5iBh8ICFYo-MgodKlYAMw&gclsrc=aw.ds

November 21, 2014 at 04:26 PM · John Cadd, enclosures built of such materials will reduce humidity swings over a short period of time, like a week, but will be completely inadequate for climates where we need to humidify or dehumidify for longer periods, such as weeks or months in a row.

December 16, 2014 at 01:32 AM · "John we came to an abrupt halt on this one.I thought the "Green " idea with clay might interest you . I`m surprised you want a DE humidifier .I thought lack of humidity was more a problem over there in the winter."

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Mr. Cadd, if you re-read the original post, I believe you'll find that he is talking about putting his dehumidifier away for the winter.

Over here in The Colonies, we sometimes need to use a humidifier in the winter, and a dehumidifier in the summer. ;-)

December 17, 2014 at 01:46 AM · I guess fridges and air conditioners are just made better. I've decided to turn it (my room dehumidifier) on and run it at least once per month during the winter, just like I do with my car's air conditioner - maybe that will make it last a bit longer. As for Thomas Midgeley .Jr., I guess he'll go to wherever Frederick Winslow Taylor went - to that special place that is reserved for engineers and efficiency experts.

December 19, 2014 at 10:41 AM · No need in Michigan, because the indoor relative humidity when it's this cold outside (around freezing right now) will typically be much much lower than outside.

I've been ADDING moisture for several weeks already.

December 19, 2014 at 04:30 PM · I've also been adding moisture to my practice room for several weeks. At the Community Music School in East Lansing, where I rehearse with a small ensemble, my calibrated hygrometer measured 26% humidity two weeks ago. That is what my house would be like if I didn't humidify in the heating season. You don't even need to tighten your bow: the dryness there does it for you. As for why I mentioned the original time and motion man a few posts back, I began reading "The One Best Way" several years ago and took an immediate dislike to the man.

December 19, 2014 at 05:19 PM · Mr. Cadd, haven't you started a bit early on that bottle of "Christmas Cheer"? ;-)

It's difficult to make sense of what you are saying.

Did you have a question about humidity, or about humidification or de-humidification?

December 19, 2014 at 09:49 PM · "If you want advertise this forum as an agressive unfriendly place go ahead. Just be honest about it .We don`t all wear lead boots and carry clubs with spikes."

________________

If I had a hankering to advertize this forum, I'd say that it's a pretty darned good forum, most substantially marred by one or two posters.

You can do as you wish regarding your fantasies about lead boots and spikes. ;-)

December 20, 2014 at 03:10 PM · That's why it's recommended that one actually measure indoor humidity with a hygrometer, rather than trying to derive this from the outdoor humidity shown by weather stations. The outdoor humidity doesn't tell you much about what's going on indoors, unless you normally keep all your windows open. ;-)

For example, several local measuring stations are reporting outdoor humidity ranging from 75 to 84 percent at the moment. Yet, I need to use a humidifier to keep the inside level from falling below 40%.

That's quite normal for this location, at this time of year.

None of it is that difficult, because there are so many moisture-control devices these days which will automatically turn on and off as needed, or which can easily be made to function that way.

There's even a broad selection of bathroom exhaust fans which turn on automatically when moisture levels get too high, if moisture from bathing and showering happens to be of particular concern.

However, I don't use the bathroom exhaust fan in the winter. Instead, I let the moisture from showering contribute needed moisture to the rest of the house. With a forced-air heating system, it's circulated to the rest of the house rather quickly.

December 27, 2014 at 10:13 PM · Would you like to share what you discovered, and elaborate on how different heating methods affect the indoor humidity?

If you would be willing, this might present an opportunity to do some valuable myth-busting. :-)

January 11, 2015 at 05:55 PM · to address the OP's original question; sadly, there's little one can do to prevent failure of these appliances; seemingly most home appliance devices built in the last decade tend toward failure within 5-6 years. My grandmother had a refrigerator that ran perfectly well for over 40 years, and we have a gas clothes dryer that has been running well for about 30 years. More recent purchases have been somewhat disappointing.

Cleaning of filters and refrigeration coils will help longevity, but care must be taken not to damage the heat-exchanger fins.

Now to addres the question of home heating systems: the most common systems are forced hot air, or hot water radiator. Steam radiator systems are not unknown, but are noisy, of antiquated design, and pose the problem of dealing with live steam in the event of a mishap.

Forced hot air, and heat pumps, rely on ductwork to deliver warmed air to various rooms. Forced air has provision for introducing moisture into the heated air to compensate for the drying effects, but this option is not universal. I've not used forced hot air in any of my homes, though I've experienced it. My central AC system has a heat pump capability, although my primary heating is via a boiler and cast-iron baseboard radiators.

I've found that the heat pump does not provide the same level of comfort that the boiler system does; blowing warm air around fails to adequately warm the various walls and floors. This thermal mass effect, which is more easily achieved through the hot water radiators, creates a greater level of comfort overall without the drying tendencies of forced air. Also, heat pumps become inefficient at temperatures approaching freezing; below freezing, supplemental electric heat is required.

I can't speak to the efectiveness of forced-air with self-contained humidification, but supplementing the heat pump with several evaporative humidifiers was helpful in maintaining sufficient indoor relative humidity to prevent damage to musical instruments.

The hot water radiator system, coupled with evaporative humidifiers, permits me to maintain a relative humidity of nearly 40% in winter, except when temperatures are well below freezing. Recent temps in the vicinity of 15-20 degrees F have my systems struggling to reach 35%.

I find I pump several gallons per day into the air through these humidifiers. While close proximity may subject one to a slightly cool draft, the general respiratory comfort from the humidification is excellent.

My rule of thumb is to begin humidification as soon as it is necessary to turn on the heating system. If I delay, I get loosened pegs and the occasional broken gut string.

Despite fears of diseases brought on by evaporative humidification, I've experienced none of this despited decades of use. A bit of bacteriostat in the water prevents nasty organisms from growing, seemingly.

For those doomed to using fireplaces and such, I have great sympathy. I discontinued use of a fireplace due to the simultaneous roasting and freezing of any organism facing the fire; cooked on one side, cold behind. Then too, most of the heat, and the hot air generally, goes up the flue. Wooden instruments exposed to this will suffer and die. Stories of hanging fiddles inbathrooms over tubs of water are apocryphal, but believable. Nice acoustics in a smallish tiled bath, I find, but not the best of practice areas, especially when the facilities are needed for others. Crowded and noisome, and aesthetically unpleasant as well. I personally feel that my audience ought to remain fully clothed.