Legal Bill

I use a dehumidifier in my house on the Cape. Two years ago I bought a new one and it failed within a year. the store replaced it under warranty and the new one failed this week. The mode of failure is not known but the symptom is ice-up. After I thaw the unit out and plug it in it just ices up again. This happens at temperatures above 65 degrees. The filters were ot dirty on either unit. After thawing them our and restarting them they just ice up again.

I suppose I could be doing something wrong, but the old dehumidifier worked for years before it failed. So my question is, can any of you recommend a dehumidifier that I can expect to last for a few years? The Frigidaire seems to get good reviews, but the testing and the comments are not directed at longevity. And one of the "cons" in the review below is that it freezes up.


5 Best Dehumidifiers - Oct. 2017 - BestReviews

I'm not going to say money is no object, but I will say I'm willing to spend more for a reliable unit with a reasonable life expectancy.

jukngene

Consumer Reports Ratings:OVERALL SCORE
83
Add to CompareFrigidaireFAD704DWD
Recommended
Price: $270.00
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OVERALL SCORE
80
Add to CompareDanbyDDR60A3GP
Recommended
Price: $240.00
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OVERALL SCORE
79
Add to CompareSunpentownSD-61E
Price: $220.00
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OVERALL SCORE
79
Add to CompareWhynterRPD-702WP
Price: $250.00
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OVERALL SCORE
77
Add to CompareHoneywellDH70W1
Price: $230.00
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OVERALL SCORE
77
Add to CompareGEADEL70LR (Home Depot)
Price: $270.00
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OVERALL SCORE
77
Add to CompareGEADEW70LR (Walmart)1
Similar to tested model:
GE ADEL70LR (Home Depot)
Price: $200.00
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OVERALL SCORE
76
Add to CompareDeLonghiDD70PE
Price: $350.00
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OVERALL SCORE
75
Add to CompareIdylisWDH-1670EAP-1 (Lowe's)
Price: $250.00
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jukngene

^As with all of their recommendations, take them with a grain of salt. The user reviews, on the other hand, are very negative about the Frigidaire, for instance, saying it failed numerous times after running only a year.

Legal Bill

Thanks Gene. That is exactly what I'm experiencing with a different brand. Makes me wonder if they are all built in the same factory in China.

Scooterboy

I bought ours from The Home Depot about 5 years ago and it is still going strong. When I bought it I bought the best one they had. I skipped over the cheap ones knowing you get what you pay for.

Legal Bill

Maybe i just get one and buy the extended warranty??

Fokker

The Fridgidaire 70 pint is excellent. The noise that is listed as a con is very low fan noise and not something I would list as a con unless you plan to have it running in the room with you and you want absolute silence. I have been running it continuously in the garage this past monsoon season to keep the humidity down and I've had no icing issues. It shuts itself off automatically when full if using the reservoir, and has an option to run continuously with a hose attachment (which is where they mention freezing). We had about 60-80% humidity during the worst of monsoon and it would leave the garage feeling bone dry after it filled up the tank (~2 hours); the garage it was in was maybe 28' x 20'. The unit has a timer so you could set it up to let the unit rest for periods.


I don't have a subscription to Consumer Reports, so they're hiding the results on the link above, but the unit picture is different from the one I purchased (linked).

Legal Bill

I use the hose to a discharge pump that shoots the water into a washingmachine drain. so I put it on autopilot and let it do its thinkg. maybe i need to manually shut it off from time to time, but the whole idea of the discharge pump was to be able to let it run itself at a certain humidity setting.

Fokker

You can do that with the Frigidaire I linked (and in the comparison). You program what humidity level you want and it will run until that is achieved, which will keep it cycling off and on (unless it's in somewhere the humidity can replenish itself rapidly). I grew up in Houston which caused me to develop a high sensitivity to humidity. I despise the last two months of summer here, hence why I would let it run until full.

jukngene

I just ordered today, based pretty much on the owner reviews and the overall specs. We'll see. My cheapo that I purchased at Lowes sounds like a jackhammer and barely works.