Selecting a LARGE dehumidifier for the shop? Any recommendations?

diyengineer253 · Oct 12, 2015

I'm on the 2nd home depot dehumidifier, 70 pint LG unit. the first died a couple years back. looking to get a industrial unit, makes a MASSIVE difference by having one, even if its a smaller unit. The shop is sealed up pretty well, around 4500 sq feet. The 70 pinter holds its own and works well (keep digital gauges around the shop, usually around 40-50%, wood stays at 4%-5%). Looking to get something long term installed. Unsure of brands, etc. I have a large Modine 400,000 btu propane heater that will keep the shop heated during winter. Anyone have recommendations? Brand, etc?

Would it be wise to keep buying these as they die? (4.8 out of 5 star reviews on home depot and amazon):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-70-Pint-Dehumidifier-with-Built-in-Pump-ENERGY-STAR-APEL70LT/205843987

Or jump into one of these:
http://www.sylvane.com/ebac-cd60.html

TDegenhart · Oct 12, 2015

How did the first one die? Dehumidifiers are simple, sealed units. About the only thing to go wrong is the fan. Leakage is almost unheard of anymore.

Tom

adama · Oct 12, 2015

I have just a small home style one in my shop its done 9 years ish so far. Can't see how spending more on a industrial one really helps. I do only kinda turn in once in a while, but it seams to do enough to make a real and very worth while difference. In total in probably pulls only about 4-5 bucket fulls of moisture a year out of my single garage shop, but thats enough to mean zero rust issues with no rust prevention measures at all. Would replace it in a heart beat too when it meats it natural demise, its already saved its cost in wd40 and similar products several times over.

Honestly though i would just be buying another home grade one, you can buy 4 home grade ones for the cost of that one, is it really going to live 4x longer? Theres a lot to be said for buying secound hand ones too, have some friends that bought them from car boots etc, dirt cheap and in the typical home they get used a few times and thats it!

Milland · Oct 12, 2015

I have a fairly "leaky" 6000sf building that has four Frigidaire 70pint dehumidifiers scattered around it. They do an acceptable job of keeping the humidify quite reasonable in the building, but during the warm/hot summer months the AC seems to do more to keep humidity down. I'd avoid the HD units, I don't think the price premium over the household grade versions is worth it. No pumps, so I get some exercise emptying the buckets once a day or so.

On my units I tape either a small furnace filter or a sheet of 1/4" filter foam over the intakes, it saves having to clean the (not terribly efficient) internal filters and it's easier to see when the external filters need changing. Can get a pretty impressive buildup of dust in some locations...

CarbideBob · Oct 12, 2015

So 40 years a shop manager/owner.......I like cheap ones. A guess would be 8-10 years life normal.
But one 70 pint unit won't keep 5000 square dry and will run continuous here. Two and they get a break.
Try to check cycle times. Anything that never turns off gets unhappy, just ask an air compressor.
Where you live and how good the building is sealed must make a difference.
They tell me it rains a lot out there.
Are they also drying fresh cut timber? Where I evap coolant they work harder so I have more cheapies sitting there.
Bob

wheels17 · Oct 12, 2015

Boy, I wish I was getting the life you guys are. I have a 1000 square foot basement that gets damp, but not wet.

I had an old metal boxed one I got from my father-in-law when he passed away, and it lasted 15 years after we got it. Since then, it's one after another.
LG- Lasted about 2 years-coil frosts over indicating loss of coolant
Maytag-Lasted 3 years-coil frosts over indicating loss of coolant
SPT-Lasted 3 years-coil frosts over indicating loss of coolant
Frigidaire-on it's second year, but seems very inefficient.

Local repair place wants $80 to look at a defective one, plus repair costs, so repairs don't seem worth it. A friend of mine has an industrial one in his basement that even quotes the kw/pint for moisture removal. Don't recall the name of the manufacturer.

If you guys have a favorite among the consumer models, I'd love to hear about it.

Chip Chester · Oct 12, 2015

Your heat plant is separating the hydro from the carbon at a prodigious rate, making your dehumidifier work hard even in the winter. (I'm assuming you would have called it a furnace if it was one...)

If you have a relationship with an HVAC guy, ask him which one would be worth him fixing if it broke.

Chip

Chip

tommy1010 · Oct 12, 2015

I have a Desert Aire dehumidifier in my indoor pool room. The pool is 16x32, room is 1500 square feet. Pool kept at 86 degrees year round. We usually close up the room to the outside air in September and reopen it in June if the weather permits. Keep a pool cover on when not in use so humidity is kept lower and the dehumidifier runs less. Water extracted from the air is piped and returned to the pool. Anyway that unit is going on 24 years old and still works fine. It was $4500.00 just for the unit when new. Electrical usage is 3.8KW/hr. Duct work channels the dry warm air to the outside walls and windows. Yes an industrial unit costs more but they do they job. I would recommend a Desert Aire unit for use in any shop.

www.desert-aire.com

wheels17 · Oct 12, 2015

@Chip Chester, the dehumidifier only runs in the spring, summer, and fall. In the winter, the basement dries out. The heat unit is a sealed condensing unit which discharges all the water made by combustion outside the house.

I hadn't thought of asking an HVAC guy, just appliance repair places. I'll have to give that a try.

diyengineer253 · Oct 12, 2015

Thank you for all the feedback! I'll do some more research.

Edster · Oct 12, 2015

I have B (polyethylene) from this page.

McMaster-Carr

It's a Drieaz DrizAir 1200. It works very well. The price from McMaster is also pretty good.

Dri-Eaz Products | DrizAir® 1200

I need it during the winter and early spring. The machines running mist collectors and the vibratory polisher add quite a bit of humidity to the air. It's so bad in the winter that the doors and windows are dripping with condensation. In the summer the airconditioning removes the humidity.

They come in handy at home for drying carpets after they are cleaned. I've also used mine to dry the shop floor after we cleaned and etched it before painting.

Here's a parts breakdown.

http://www.drieaz.com/_DEC/tsg_wd.aspx?wdid=10113

Btw, the discharge water is great to make coolant.

adama · Oct 13, 2015

I think one of the things to take from this thread, a dehumidifier won't make up for a roof with no sides or a pond like basment!

Torpedoheat · Oct 13, 2015

I have 2 in my basement. One of them is way old and still works great. I do have to empty the bucket.
The other one is a few years old and it has a fitting where I can attach a drain hose for the water.
I attached a regular water feed line like on the washing machine and put a fitting over the drain.
The drain is shut because of possible mice. The one that has the hose to drain is the way to go.
If you forget about it does not matter.

TH

Milland · Aug 21, 2020

Mooore is less. Reported.

Bondo · Aug 21, 2020

I have 4 home owner units in my 2500 sq foot shop. Work well. Way cheaper then 1 large one.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

DanielG · Aug 21, 2020

Friedrich makes nice units. Here's the one I bought years ago. Still running strong

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BF6PIYQ/

JP Machining · Aug 21, 2020

I have one larger one, starting to make fan noises. My current thought is for what a new one costs and what a mini split ac costs, and being I'm already paying for the elec to run dehumidifier, I may as well get some cold air out of it too. Or atleast the office gets cold air and whole shop gets dryer air.

mjr6550 · Aug 26, 2020

I have installed two ducted dehumidifiers. Both were around 100 pints a day or a bit more.One is probably 10 years old. No problems, but that model is not made anymore. The other i think was an Aprilaire. I helped someone install that one several years ago. I believe it works fine. I have seen quite a few Santa Fe units installed. They are not ducted. Maybe 120 pints per day. The food ones are about $1000 to $1500. They should last far longer than the cheap ones, but you can buy quite a few cheap ones for the price of a good one.

Rob F. · Aug 27, 2020

mjr6550 said:
I have installed two ducted dehumidifiers. Both were around 100 pints a day or a bit more.One is probably 10 years old. No problems, but that model is not made anymore. The other i think was an Aprilaire. I helped someone install that one several years ago. I believe it works fine. I have seen quite a few Santa Fe units installed. They are not ducted. Maybe 120 pints per day. The food ones are about $1000 to $1500. They should last far longer than the cheap ones, but you can buy quite a few cheap ones for the price of a good one.

Are they so much more because they need FDA rating to be used around food?

josephk · Aug 27, 2020

Honeywells are $1200-1800 depending on size.
https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en...le-home-dehumidification-system-dr120a3000-u/

Selecting a LARGE dehumidifier for the shop? Any recommendations?

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