Dehumidifier quit, can I fix it?

[macgyver37]

I have had a good sized LG dehumidifier I use in my shop for app 5 years now and it has worked flawlessly until this spring. I plugged it in this spring and it ran, but I noticed the next day that there wasn't any water out of the hose in the floor drain like usual. Kinda ignored it until lately and I am now wanting to figure out what I can do with it.
Unit runs and seems to be all in working order, compressor kicks on and stays on, but even after letting it run overnight a few days ago, it had not produced any moisture. I had taken it apart and cleaned it every year and it is clean, other than that I don't know what to do with it.
Is there a chance it has lost some freon?
I didn't see any taps to hook up guages, not that I know much about AC stuff. I'd rather not have to buy another one if I can fix this one.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[jkwilson]

They are generally disposable, and 5 years is an extraordinary life from one in my experience.

 

[zcar751]

Take it to a refrigerator repair service and they can fix it.

 

[Bobdog]

Anything can be fixed, if you throw enough money at it.

Call an appliance guy that does window a/c units and home refrigerators.

 

[thool]

Check the front front fan that blows air through the coils toward the back. I had one that had frozen bearings.

Another thing to check is the ambient temperature. They don't work below a certain temperature, which is somewhere around 60F.

 

[domain]

They will throw an error code if fan is stopped, and if any of the three sensors are faulty. That is a sealed system failure. The only way that is worth fixing is if you do it yourself. WIth epa regs, not likely. Charge it up

 

[macgyver37]

It is plenty warm enough in the shop, no issue there.

The fan is working just fine and it is moving plenty of air.

No error codes.

The compressor is running and it gets warm to the touch.

 

[hangfirew8]

I didn't see any taps to hook up guages, not that I know much about AC stuff. I'd rather not have to buy another one if I can fix this one.

You won't. You will find a crimped hose where it was filled and sealed off at the factory.

I tried to get my HVAC guy to look at mine and he wouldn't touch it. Take it to county recycling and leave it in the A/C pile and get yourself a new one. I hate it, but that's they way they are made.

 

[TLCObsession]

It is plenty warm enough in the shop, no issue there.

The fan is working just fine and it is moving plenty of air.

No error codes.

The compressor is running and it gets warm to the touch.

Is one coil getting hot and the other cold?

 

[Milton Shaw]

The current crop of dehumidifiers are disposable. When I worked at GE they would not even schedule a service call on them, they would just send another one under warranty. If it retails for about a $100 then you can bet GE didn't pay much more than half that in China.
Throw it away and get a new one.

 

[coljar]

The one I use in my basement I bought at Monkey Wards 32 years ago and the only thing I've replaced on it was the fan motor. I know it's probably not very efficient, but it works great.

 

[macgyver37]

If I could find an old one, I buy it, but haven't seen any yet.

I have asked a guy I know if he would look at it, but have not heard back from him. I am leaning towards the new one, yay.

TLC - I have not dug into it to see if one coil is getting hot or cold. I do not think it is getting cold. What is supposed to be happening? I assume the coil with the catch pan under it is supposed to get cold.

 

[jkwilson]

TLC - I have not dug into it to see if one coil is getting hot or cold. I do not think it is getting cold. What is supposed to be happening? I assume the coil with the catch pan under it is supposed to get cold.

It is basically a small air conditioner. Air moves slowly across the cold side causing water to condense. Controlled by a humidistat rather than a thermostat.

 

[G_P]

Check the condenser. It may be packed full of dust and debris and not allowing much if any air to pass through it. My father just bought a new one for his basement and I helped install it. Opened up the old one and it was jammed full. Blew it out with air and it works great again.

 

[TLCObsession]

TLC - I have not dug into it to see if one coil is getting hot or cold. I do not think it is getting cold. What is supposed to be happening? I assume the coil with the catch pan under it is supposed to get cold.

It is basically a small air conditioner. Air moves slowly across the cold side causing water to condense. Controlled by a humidistat rather than a thermostat.

Check the condenser. It may be packed full of dust and debris and not allowing much if any air to pass through it. My father just bought a new one for his basement and I helped install it. Opened up the old one and it was jammed full. Blew it out with air and it works great again.

All correct!

With an AC the air blows across the cold and the air blows across the hot and gets dumped outside.

In the dehu, the moist air gets blown across the cold coil, water condenses and then in a quality unit the air gets blown across the warm coil where it gets warm and is blown out. If you are in a shop with sawdust you will clog the coils.

You can combat this by putting a pleated filter across the air intake once you clean it.