Dehumidifier with Longevity, Whole House.

[Fav Onefour]

Looking for other member's input and experience with issue free longevity on ducted whole house dehumidifiers.

I'm in hot/cold midwest climate with periods of high humidity during summer. I'm running Geo heat pumps in a couple of my buildings. The Geo systems are fantastic with cooling, but the sizing for heat makes them less productive at removing humidity. Dehumidifiers are a part of life even without Geo in our region.

I'm going to focus on the main house setup.
The house Geo runs with a N coil evap. in a standard plenum. The whole home is forced air. I'm also running a multi zone setup through a Honeywell HZ432 central control. (I mentioned the Honeywell controller because I'm also wondering if tying in the dehumidifier would be desired?)
I tried a couple of stand alone floor units that just couldn't do the job. One issue was trying to keep air moving to those units. Fan circulation settings helped some. The best lifespan was about two years.
I went to a whole house ducted dehumidifier about ten years back. The first unit did a fantastic job of managing RH for about two years before it failed. It was recharged and ran for about a year. I installed an Ultra-Aire unit that also ran well for almost two years. That unit was recharged and ran about half a season each time. It was then sent in for a factory rebuild and ran almost two seasons before failing. Their customer support was decent while the unit was under warranty. It is now past warranty and has failed again. I don't feel like spending big bucks to repair this thing with the past history of longevity.

These ducted whole house units do a fantastic job of controlling the humidity until they fail. But, they fail way too fast. Lifespan in my experience is close to the throw away floor units.
I have been diligent with filter changing and cleaning on the whole house units and floor junkers. They need and receive more maintenance than the other HVAC components and yet they are still failing.

The ducted units are not cheap. They do a great job of managing the humidity in my situation. I would like to find something that will do the job and have a decent lifespan.

 

[danski0224]

I believe that the Aprilaire units have a 5 year warranty, but they exclude DIY installs and "unauthorized" purchases.

 

[Jeepster04]

Parents have had a Santa Fe going on 5 years, no issues yet.

 

[fitter30]

Using a Honeywell for 7 years no problems. Zoro.com sells dehumidifiers. Google coupons for Zoro

 

[Fav Onefour]

I believe that the Aprilaire units have a 5 year warranty, but they exclude DIY installs and "unauthorized" purchases.

I do like some of their mid sized units. I've found that quite a few of the main brands seem to be at 5 yr warranty now.
I joked with my wife that I'd buy from a company that actually had enough faith to offer a 10yr warranty. We have 16 HVAC systems in our properties. We tend to buy stuff that we hope will last.
Longevity and simplicity are big in my world. I do some of the basic service like part swaps etc. on my stuff, but I prefer not. There are only so many hours in a day.

Using a Honeywell for 7 years no problems. Zoro.com sells dehumidifiers. Google coupons for Zoro

I looked at their stuff because of the integration. I'm glad to hear from someone that has been running one awhile. It's always tough to tell when reading reviews etc. because no one really does long term use reviews.

 

[mike93lx]

I believe that the Aprilaire units have a 5 year warranty, but they exclude DIY installs and "unauthorized" purchases.

I've seen this claim but didn't see anything in the manual for my aprilaire unit

 

[danski0224]

I've seen this claim but didn't see anything in the manual for my aprilaire unit

I believe it's in the installation manual.

 

[mike93lx]

I believe it's in the installation manual.

I looked again. They exclude any damage arising from it not being installed by a pro, so they could claim that is the issue, although with something that "installs" as simply as a crawl space dehumidifier and is easy to properly maintain, it would be a BS cop out in most cases

 

[danski0224]

More than 1 review online about Aprilaire not honoring the warranty as a result of DIY installation.

 

[mike93lx]

More than 1 review online about Aprilaire not honoring the warranty as a result of DIY installation.

Oh, I believe it.

 

[Fav Onefour]

There is a reason for the DIY exception. If you install with poor or negative airflow across the evap it will fail early. It's relatively common for DIYers to just plumb in airflow without dampers or controllers to manage airflow.

That exception isn't a brand issue. Granted, many of these things are built in the same facilities with different labels, but quite a few have that DIY language in their warranty.

Funny thing about pro installations. I've had to fix plenty of those over the years. I can't deal with hackers that do what's needed just to pass inspections. Inspectors don't look at static pressure etc. on these systems.

I'm gonna have to curb my thoughts about that whole topic. I could go on a real rant just with the stuff I've found and fixed.

 

[mike93lx]

There is a reason for the DIY exception. If you install with poor or negative airflow across the evap it will fail early. It's relatively common for DIYers to just plumb in airflow without dampers or controllers to manage airflow.

That exception isn't a brand issue. Granted, many of these things are built in the same facilities with different labels, but quite a few have that DIY language in their warranty.

Funny thing about pro installations. I've had to fix plenty of those over the years. I can't deal with hackers that do what's needed just to pass inspections. Inspectors don't look at static pressure etc. on these systems.

I'm gonna have to curb my thoughts about that whole topic. I could go on a real rant just with the stuff I've found and fixed.

Yeah, that's fair. I'm hung up on crawl space installs, which are pretty simple

 

[kwoody51]

OP- did you find a solution?

I, like you, tried to find a reliable solution in Sante Fe dehumidifier. I can get no more than 3 years and sometimes only 1 year without issues. The EVAP coils keep leaking.

They will send me replacement parts, under warranty, but I have to find a tech willing to do the replacement which is a pain as no one works on dehumidifiers.

Trying to find something that will work for 5+ years without worry.

 

[Fav Onefour]

OP- did you find a solution?

I, like you, tried to find a reliable solution in Sante Fe dehumidifier. I can get no more than 3 years and sometimes only 1 year without issues. The EVAP coils keep leaking.

They will send me replacement parts, under warranty, but I have to find a tech willing to do the replacement which is a pain as no one works on dehumidifiers.

Trying to find something that will work for 5+ years without worry.

I have not found a simple long term solution. I do have a bit of a work around.
I've given up on two of my whole house setups because I couldn't justify the cost vs. longevity. Both of those were replaced with stand alone units running into drains. I put the stand alone units near high cross airflow and manage the venting for summer humidity.

One unit sits behind a full louvered door going into the Mechanical room. I put a louvered register into the HVAC return that I open in summer and close during dry season. I run the HVAC system on circulate during summer to keep air moving around the dehumidifier.

The second unit is standing in an open doorway. The building has a two zone - two floor HVAC system running a shared return. The doorway is a transition point between the two zones and near a large return opening. It receives air flow whenever each zone calls.

I have been able to manage humidity with the standing units if I start and leave them running before levels get high. Floor drains are super helpful. Staying ahead of the humidity and managing airflow has allowed me to get by with one good standing unit per building space.

I also had to manage my wife. She is used to opening all the windows at night. That was their AC when she was growing up. It doesn't do the system any favors to open windows at night if outdoor humidity is higher. The standing dehumidifiers can't catch up when levels get too high.

I have one whole house unit still operating. The outflow is ducted into the HVAC return plenum and I run the system on circulate. That unit gets a lot of airflow. I clean the prefilter and replace filters quite often. Much faster than normal HVAC system filters. It has enough capacity to catch up if humidity levels are elevated from opening windows.

I will say that the AC works dang well with better humidity levels.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Go to www.supplyhouse.com and check the selection of dehumidifiers from various manufacturers.
i have installed a few of these whole house Aprilaire units and the only one that failed (within six months) was at my house and Aprilaire sent me a new one through Supply House……… It's been going great for over 10 years now and the old defective one sits in my basement in case I need some parts.

 

[Recoveryman]

I have been running an Oasis brand (D-165) unit in our basement for about 6 years with no problems. I bought another for the shop when the old one out there, gave up. they arent cheap, but do a good job. Just checked on prices on them, like everything else, they went up, now about $850.00.

P.S. they are made in Poland.

Recoveryman

 

[kwoody51]

I have not found a simple long term solution. I do have a bit of a work around.
I've given up on two of my whole house setups because I couldn't justify the cost vs. longevity. Both of those were replaced with stand alone units running into drains. I put the stand alone units near high cross airflow and manage the venting for summer humidity.

One unit sits behind a full louvered door going into the Mechanical room. I put a louvered register into the HVAC return that I open in summer and close during dry season. I run the HVAC system on circulate during summer to keep air moving around the dehumidifier.

The second unit is standing in an open doorway. The building has a two zone - two floor HVAC system running a shared return. The doorway is a transition point between the two zones and near a large return opening. It receives air flow whenever each zone calls.

I have been able to manage humidity with the standing units if I start and leave them running before levels get high. Floor drains are super helpful. Staying ahead of the humidity and managing airflow has allowed me to get by with one good standing unit per building space.

I also had to manage my wife. She is used to opening all the windows at night. That was their AC when she was growing up. It doesn't do the system any favors to open windows at night if outdoor humidity is higher. The standing dehumidifiers can't catch up when levels get too high.

I have one whole house unit still operating. The outflow is ducted into the HVAC return plenum and I run the system on circulate. That unit gets a lot of airflow. I clean the prefilter and replace filters quite often. Much faster than normal HVAC system filters. It has enough capacity to catch up if humidity levels are elevated from opening windows.

I will say that the AC works dang well with better humidity levels.

What brand stand alone units are you using?

I was/ am using a stand alone Sante Fe classic after my Sante Fe impact XT had 3 coils replace. Now the classic is done and I’m tired of having it repaired.

 

[Fav Onefour]

I have two Frigidaire/Electrolux 50 pt units. The first one was purchased based on simplicity, airflow needs, and buyers guide. It outlasted another brand we purchased later. The durability was my reasoning for purchasing the second.
I did have one of the first Frigidaire units throw a board error after about three months. The whole unit was replaced and the new one has been good. I have to admit their replacement policy was decent. I'm still surprised it was a board error and not coil or other component leak.
I picked up a basic Sylvania 50 pt years ago and use that thing during remodeling projects. I have not seen that brand around lately. Not sure if they quit doing dehumidifiers. Bummer deal if that's the case. It's a runner. It does not move much air though. I use another fan to move air around with that unit.

I don't really have a brand preference. I look for simple units with drains and easy to clean screens. Airflow is also a consideration with some of my locations. Those Frigidaire units draw through a large screen in back and use squirrel cage fan that blows air out the top left. They move a lot of air. I can angle one in a doorway and it will pull from side and exit to the next room.
There is a big difference in how air is moved around with various brands.

Pump units in my experience have failed early no matter the brand.

I try to stick with basic mid size units on the room models. 80 pt units have similar dimensions to the 40-50 pt units. I have a feeling the higher capacity is a jamb packed case.
I use that quirky reasoning with a lot of my purchases. We can buy five different hp rated tractors with the exact same frame and nearly identical drive train. We have seen more problems with the highest hp units. The mid hp range units seem to go and go with less fuss.

 

[Fav Onefour]

I have been running an Oasis brand (D-165) unit in our basement for about 6 years with no problems. I bought another for the shop when the old one out there, gave up. they arent cheap, but do a good job. Just checked on prices on them, like everything else, they went up, now about $850.00.

P.S. they are made in Poland.

Recoveryman

I'd not hear of that brand. They look interesting with simple design. I'm a little surprised the price is up in that range and no marketing. Generally that means the money is going into quality product or company pockets. I don't mind paying for quality. I do mind paying for marketing and greedy paws.