Eric:
Not sure I can help a lot here. I checked my consumer reports on-line--they haven't done a specific rating on models, though their May 2007 review does mention a Delongi model that has the advantage of being able to pump the condensed water to a different area through a hose--i.e. to a drain somewhere, which would have the advantage of not having to always drain the bucket reservoir. I've had a Westinghouse simple unit in the basement for several years, and still seems to work fine. Other than that, no specific brand reccs. Hope this helps.
Jim
I remember as a kid my parents had a Sears that ran year round for about 15 years. But that was before everything was made in Mexico and China. I've never had good luck with ANYTHING Daewoo.
I would look into Sears or Craftsman. You'll get a better warranty.(and probably a better product)
I'm not sure what your conditions are like down there, but we have run a couple of de-humidifiers. The first was a Sears. It lasted a while, but one year I turned it on and it wouldn't run the chillers. I figured it had lost its refrigerant. Recharging one of these things, particularly an old one with Freon, would have cost more than a new one. We picked up another Kenmore/Sears unit and it's run fine for the last few years.
Last year was pretty hot. One problem with de-humidifiers is that they are really just refrigerators, so they actually generate heat in one place (the room) to cool another (the collection coils.) On a hot day, this adds to the heat problem in the room. Instead, I took an old window air conditioner and mounted it in the basement window. This solves two problems - first, the heat is discharged outside and the room actually gets cooler, and second, the excess water is taken out and drips out the bottom of the AC unit outside - no emptying necessary.
This venerable old trooper was bought in 1973. It's a Sears. I had the compressor motor replaced about 15 years ago. Man, they just don't make 'em like they used to...
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Michael Click Here to view my photos at RailPictures.Net!
My Photos at RRPictures.Net: Click Here
[Corrected]
Eric,
We just bought our 3rd dehumidifier in 8 years. The first two were Sears (Amana Kenmore): Nice looking models but poorly designed and noisy. They lasted 5 and 3 years, respectively. The fan on the 2nd unit had to be replaced after a year. (And, of course, THAT part wasn't covered under the warranty.) Needless to say, I'm not all that keen on Sears dehumidifiers.
In late May, when our 2nd Amana Kenmore dehumidifier unit kept whining, groaning, and blaring at us from the other side of the basement, I punted on the thought of getting yet another Amana Kenmore and cruised the Internet in search of a good quality humidifier. I found the following site:
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com
It had reviews, information and prices on a number of manufacturer's dehumidifiers. After making some comparisons, we opted for the DANBY Silhouette Low Temperature 58-pint dehumidifier (Model DDR586R). We chose it for it's good ratings and the fact that it was the quietest* model they had ever tested. (*Since we use our basement a lot, this was important to us.)
Other than a couple of minor things, we have been VERY pleased with the Danby so far. One, the remote that came with the unit for some reason didn't work at all. After determining that it wasn't the batteries, I contacted Danby by e-mail. Danby quickly (2 days) shipped us a new one - no charge.
Also, the manual didn't completely explain how the drain hose option worked. (Danby forgot to mention that the drain plug cap gets moved from the back of the unit to the threaded stem that drains into the bucket; thereby bypassing the bucket.) After another e-mail to Danby, the solution was verified.
Anyway, the Danby DDR586R is VERY quiet (50dBA) and keeps our basement nicely regulated at 50% humidity. It will dehumidify up to 1,200 sq. ft area. between 30-70% humidity, down to ~43 degrees. Let me add that our basement is 60 years old and only slightly damp (i.e. musty) year round.
Eric, I hope that's a help. The Allergy Buyer Club link above has a number of dehumidifiers that should fit your situation. And the site makes it really easy to compare models and brands. On a final note, I was actually able to buy our Danby online from Costco (where we are members) for only $199 and it was delivered directly to our house with NO shipping costs.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have a Simplicity made by Danby which is reliable and is relatively quiet. I also have a Fedder model with greater capacity, but it is noisy. Previously we had a Sears model that ran well...don't recall the model, and we unloaded it unwittingly before we moved to Vancouver Island.
I would recommend Sears, Fedder, Westinghouse, or Danby, not necessarily in that order. I have had good results with all of them. Take them on approval if you can...you may find they will drive you out of the basement when they run.
tstage wrote: We just bought our 3rd dehumidifier in 8 years. The first two were Sears (Amana): Nice looking models but poorly designed and noisy.
Amana is not, and to my knowledge never has been, made by Sears. The Sears brand of appliances is Kenmore. Until a few years ago, Amana was owned by Raytheon, the Patriot Missile people. (I work for Raytheon, by the way.) Why, you may ask, did a big defense contractor like Raytheon own an appliance company? Well, it had us rocket scientists baffled, too. We've got an Amana fridge and stove at home, because we got a great employee discount on them, but to me they are middle-of-the-road at best in terms of features and product quality.
As a side note, the same mentality that got us in the appliance business (and the book publishing business, too) also almost got us in the train business. We had a non-defense product called PRT, or Personal Rapid Transit. The idea was to run a small, light-weight rail vehicle that would hold 4-8 people. It was designed as a point-to-point service, sort of like a taxicab on tracks. Part of the allure of the system was that it was very light, and the track system could be installed by bolting it on to buildings at the second story level, getting it out of the way of surface traffic without tunneling underground at great expense.
To my knowledge, the rail loop for the prototype is still rusting away in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
MisterBeasley wrote: tstage wrote: We just bought our 3rd dehumidifier in 8 years. The first two were Sears (Amana): Nice looking models but poorly designed and noisy. Amana is not, and to my knowledge never has been, made by Sears. The Sears brand of appliances is Kenmore.
Amana is not, and to my knowledge never has been, made by Sears. The Sears brand of appliances is Kenmore.
Thanks, MB. You are correct. They were Amanas Kenmores. I was trying to remember the brand and Amana was the first one that came to mind. I've made the correction in my post. Thanks for catching/correcting my error.
Off topic:
Sears (Kenmore) doesn't make anything. Just like craftsman, they are manufactured by a second party. Most of craftsman power tools are made by ryobi. Most appliances are made by either whirlpool or haire (sp). There are acceptions of couse.
Whichever brand you decide to purchase, make sure you clean it and oil the fan motor each season. It only takes a few minutes and will extend the life of the dehumidifier. Our first one lasted about 20 years. Our second one is still going strong after 7 years.
It also helps to seal the basement floor (if the basement is not too damp). This helps control both moisture and dust (a big plus for the train room). I used Rustoleum epoxy basement sealer (the tan with the flecks in it). It really brightened up the basement and elimated a lot of dust in our 100 year old house.
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
99575K21
I also have a condensate pump that the dehumidifier drains water into. The pump has a float that periodically empties the water out. There are no floor drains in the cellar. I bought the pump from http://www.mcmaster.com/ This company has a lot of useful material.
Search the site for 99575K21
The cost is $56.74. It is 120vac powered with 20 feet of 3/8" vinyl tubing with plastic check valve. Maybe twice a year I pour water with bleach in it to clean out the slime.The cost is $56.74. It is 120vac powered with 20 feet of 3/8" vinyl tubing with plastic check valve.
This link shows a photo of one another company sells one but more expensive than McMaster-Carr.
http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/dehumidifier-condensate-pump-with-tubing.html
Saves a lot of walking. Essentially trouble free.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
fiatfan wrote:... It also helps to seal the basement floor (if the basement is not too damp)...Tom
...
It also helps to seal the basement floor (if the basement is not too damp)...
Tom, this is the real biggie, along with a generally air-tight room. If it is humid outside, and you are trying to dry a garage, expect to have at least two dehumidifiers running constantly and to have to cut a check to the utility company for an extra $200 at year's end.
But the biggie, by far, is your astute observation about the floor. If it is a cement pad, or something else that is stable but also porous, ditto my above comment. How do I know? I am living it as we read. We finished our basement, including commercial short pile carpet, 15 months ago. The outer and inner walls of the jumble block had been painted and sealed (ish), but we had added poly to the outer framing as a vapour barrier. What we didn't do was to seal the cement pad.
The result is a concerto of two different dehumidiers, me emptying the reservoirs most daily, etc, ad nauseum.
Careful on sealing the walls and floor of your basement... if you trap the vapor inside the walls, this can lead to problems with weakening of the concrete (esp. if concrete prior to WWII) as well as drainage elsewhere.... Just a caution.... I have an old 1920's home that when I removed the sealer when making a wine cellar, I found A TON of MOISTURE in the walls that had rotted some of the wood (luckily not the framing to the foundation!)... in only 2 days, it had all evaporated...
Just a word of caution... here is a good link...
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/pdfs/db/35017.pdf
Brian
jbloch wrote: . . . model that has the advantage of being able to pump the condensed water to a different area through a hose--i.e. to a drain somewhere, which would have the advantage of not having to always drain the bucket reservoir. . .
. . . model that has the advantage of being able to pump the condensed water to a different area through a hose--i.e. to a drain somewhere, which would have the advantage of not having to always drain the bucket reservoir. . .
Having a pump would be unusual but that's not the only way to get out of draining the bucket. Most units either have a separate discharge tube or a nozzle in the bucket that is flashed over with plastic. In either case you can screw on a length of old garden hose cut to length and run it into a floor drain.
KL
secondhandmodeler wrote: Off topic:Sears (Kenmore) doesn't make anything. Just like craftsman, they are manufactured by a second party. Most of craftsman power tools are made by ryobi. Most appliances are made by either whirlpool or haire (sp). There are acceptions of couse.
I have a brown dehumidifier with a Kenmore label that has been in service over 20 years. Of course now I'll go downstairs in the morning and it won't be working.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
jbinkley60 wrote: I have a brown dehumidifier with a Kenmore label that has been in service over 20 years. Of course now I'll go downstairs in the morning and it won't be working.
That sounds like my old one. When it stopped cooling the coils, I put it outside for the trash a couple of days early. It vanished. Hopefully, some Heat & Vent type with the equipment to do re-charges on his own picked it up and fixed it. When I went down to the basement, I realized I still had the cover plate and knobs, so I put those out the next week. Yeah, those vanished, too, so I hope someone made good use of this thing.
I have used Sear's Kenmore Dehumidifiers for over 40 years. We are on our 2nd one now. The first did not fail, it was given to one of our sons, and it still is running.
If you want to see ratings on the Best buys, and frequency of repair records, go to Consumer Reports on their web site. They not only test all brands and run them through their paces for a variety of tests, but people like you and I send in their ratings on repairs each year, so there are "thousands" of ratings by unbiased people.
To cut down operating cost, seal your basement floor and walls with a good product that is painted on, then insulate the walls. I also used a commercial grade carpet for the floor that is rated for garages and wet locations. This will further prevent moiture from entering the room. Fans are also a good idea to "move" the air and prevent stagnant air.
MrBeasley......I also worked for Raytheon back in 1958 and '59 in the Commercial Division in Waltham on the day shift, and OT each day on the Sparrow and Hawk missile program. I worked in QC and tested the 1st radar ranges....remember those ?
grayfox1119 wrote: MrBeasley......I also worked for Raytheon back in 1958 and '59 in the Commercial Division in Waltham on the day shift, and OT each day on the Sparrow and Hawk missile program. I worked in QC and tested the 1st radar ranges....remember those ?
We have one of the first radar ranges in the lobby of our building on permanent display. It's about the size of a washing machine, and probably a good deal heavier. For those who don't remember the term, a "radar range" is what we now call a microwave oven.
Getting a bit off-topic here, but I'm at the Woburn facility now. One nice "benefit" is the proximity of the commuter rail line. Sometimes I get to hear a whistle when I go outside at lunchtime, and I can see the trains at the station from the windows on the other side of the building. Of course, like the rest of the commuter rail system here, it's just another radial spoke going into the city, and doesn't do any good at all if you don't either live or work in Boston itself.
Before that, I was at the old Bedford facility. It's just a bit south of the old Reformatory Branch right-of-way from the B&M. Back when I worked there, I could mountain-bike to work on old roadbeds - first the Bedford & Billerica narrow-gauge and then the B&M line.