£0.43 Fix for Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier

Lard

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My junior model failed last night. Not a complete power loss though. It tries to start, the fan pumps out air, then after 15 seconds the red warning light flashes and it goes through it's shut down process

Pain as it has worked well since I got it

A Google search for this issue brought me here! I have exactly this issue. I have stripped and de-dusted the machine with an airline but no change, powers on, fan spins up then after a short while the warning light flashes and eventually it stops (buttons unresponsive).

I don't notice any hot air being blown out so am wondering if either the heating element is dead or the heater fan? Anyone made any progress with this?
 

KAL

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Great post Simon. We've got one and so far it's been excellent. Hope it stays that way but if not, your post is what this forum should be all about. Thanks!
 

smb

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My junior model failed last night. Not a complete power loss though. It tries to start, the fan pumps out air, then after 15 seconds the red warning light flashes and it goes through it's shut down process

Pain as it has worked well since I got it

Wondering if you had any success with this issue as ours at home has developed exactly the same fault. Any pointers gratefully received.

Steve
 

smb

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Sorry to hear that. I did a complete strip down, vacuum and reassembly, after which it works fine. Surprising (not) how much muck gets past the filter.

Not sure what the fault was due to my blitzkreig approach, but at a guess I'd say shite around the humidity sensor which lives wrapped in gauze in a little cage at the base of the rear filter. If it goes again I might investigate attacking it from the rear rather that a complete strip down..

Steve
 

pagoda

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An excellent thread. The moral of which is, I think, don't be afraid to investigate.
Many modern (and not quite so new) devices are assumed to be dead the first time they fail to perform. Surprisingly many have simple solutions. Dehumidifiers included. I had an electric lawnmower declared dead. Not a whiff of motion. Checked fuses, bypassed several safety cut out switches- no go. Latterly found a shredded drive belt- caused by a seized bearing on the main shaft- after removing about 12 or 14 screws. Looked up the visible number and replace the bearing for just over £3, and £5 for the drive belt. Not an remotely new mower but it works again. Basic systematic checks on faults will save you a fortune. Most of these items are not considered replaceable, but turn out no great problem once you get past the hidden screws. Boat stuff is no different in this respect. Learn to strip things down !
 

Asbjørn

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Wondering if you had any success with this issue as ours at home has developed exactly the same fault. Any pointers gratefully received.

Steve

I have the same issue with mine. I opened it up and noticed the dessicant wheel was not spinning, it's motor was not working. After taking the motor apart and greasing it I got it to work, but the motor was noisy. Thinking I had fixed it I took the dehumidifier back out to my boat and plugged it in, now the motor is stuck again. Looking for a new motor.
 

daviddb

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Really useful thread - much appreciated.

Our Meacii get pretty heavy usage what with one thing and another. I 'm always mildly flabbered by how much carp gets past the admittedly crude filter. Bit of a Meaco fanboy all the same.

Just a thought but is the physics of the beast that the exhausted air is also desalinated? That is the salt in the air rests in solution in the discharged water? And so should not be emptied onto the memsahib's house plants. Not when under observation anyhow.
yrs ever
David
(grey &breezy in Pembrokeshire)
 

RogerW

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Can anyone help with some advice on taking one of these apart to clean. I have undone all the screws I can find but the thing is still stuck and any more force seems to be in danger of splitting the case. Any suggestions please?
 

Henry IX

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I have the same issue with mine. I opened it up and noticed the dessicant wheel was not spinning, it's motor was not working. After taking the motor apart and greasing it I got it to work, but the motor was noisy. Thinking I had fixed it I took the dehumidifier back out to my boat and plugged it in, now the motor is stuck again. Looking for a new motor.
Thanks for many usefull hints concerning disassembly and repair of a Meaco DD8L dehumidifier, especially those of Simondjuk, rubbishman and Angus.
After 2 years operation without problems my unit started normally and shut down after a few seconds, showing « error « on the display. After opening the body I noticed the drive of the the dessicant wheel was not working. I removed the synchronous motor, unplugged the wires in the control panel and connected them to 240 VAC (!). The motor hummed but did not move. So I opened the motor housing, carefully straightening out the 4 tiny flaps on the front by means of a side cutter. The box houses 5 gears which were completely sticked by viscous grease. I took a picture (!), removed them one by one and cleaned them with dissolvant. The same I did with the rotor behind the gearbox. After reassembling, putting a drop of oil on the axes und closing the gearbox the motor ran again.
I hope this report will help those facing similar problems.
Henry from Switzerland
 

mangocrazy

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I stumbled across this thread by the power of Google, and thanks to the encouragement contained within I had a go at fixing my dead Meaco DD8L. Mine would power up OK, go through it's pre-flight checks and then give up (it might have posted an error message, but it was so long ago that I last tried it, I've forgotten). Thanks to the people who told me how to get inside the damn thing. I thought I was going to break the case on several occasions, but it opened up fine in the end. Once inside I found that the fan blade was incredibly stiff to turn. I'd suspected the problem was fan-related as the device gave up about the time the fan would normally spin up. I undid the nut holding the fan onto the motor shaft and pulled the fan off. To my surprise it came off fairly easily once I'd gripped it firmly 180 degrees apart and pulled.

With the fan off and the motor shaft revealed, I started dropping small amounts of Plus-Gas (penetrating fluid, wonderful stuff) and turning the shaft back and forth. It loosened up quite quickly to the point I could spin it, release the shaft and it continued turning for half a revolution or so. I wiped off the Plus-Gas and reached for some light oil (I used 5w motorcycle fork oil because it was the lightest oil I had). I dribbled a small amount around the shaft and kept on turning the shaft back and forth as before, then left it to soak in while I cleaned up the fan.

Like everything else inside the DD8L, it was caked in dirt and dust. Filtration really wasn't at the top of the designer's agenda, was it? But after cleaning what I could and reassembling it (amazingly enough, with no screws left over), it hummed into life as soon as power was applied. Hope this helps.
 

Keejteej

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Hiya, just seen this post whilst searching out a fix for my meaco DD8L. Am no electrically knowledgable, but the issue is that the machine works for say 10 minutes, then trips the house fuse box. I have replaced the 13amp plug, I directly connect it to the mains but no joy. Would the issues you are describing with the internal fuses mean it trips the house fuse if they have failed?

Am currently in process of trying to strip it down, so thanks for the 4 screws under the strip post! lol I have done that, plus all screws I can find...do the 2 halves on each side of the blue strip just pull apart now? They still seem to be held by something :(

Thanks very much for any info :)

Salv
 

Maeco4Now

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Hi, I'm new here, registered a minute ago.

I have a Maeco DD8L, it's running since more than three years, day and night. But now I would like to clean it thoroughly, tighten screws etc and add some drops of crease/oil.

How can I take the machine apart? Obviously I don't want to take it apart completely but I would like to reach the fan and other moving parts. Your advise is very much appreciated.
 

ghostlymoron

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I have an ancient domestic dehumidifier at home. Every few years it becomes noisy which I cure by dismantling, removing the motor and applying a few drops of good old 3 in 1 oil to the front and rear bearings. This has done the trick so far and cures it for a few years.
Mine is a condensing type where the moisture is condensed on a cooling coil. The cooled liquid runs down into a holder for disposal and any contaminants are still held in solution so i would imagine the condensate would be salty in a marine environment and not suitable for topping up batteries. (probably wouldnt do pot plants any harm though.)
 

Scubadoo

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Hiya, just seen this post whilst searching out a fix for my meaco DD8L. Am no electrically knowledgable, but the issue is that the machine works for say 10 minutes, then trips the house fuse box. I have replaced the 13amp plug, I directly connect it to the mains but no joy. Would the issues you are describing with the internal fuses mean it trips the house fuse if they have failed?

Am currently in process of trying to strip it down, so thanks for the 4 screws under the strip post! lol I have done that, plus all screws I can find...do the 2 halves on each side of the blue strip just pull apart now? They still seem to be held by something :(

Thanks very much for any info :)

Salv

The sides just pulls apart once you have removed all the casing screws, it is held together by plastic type clips which come apart by carefully going along with a flat blade screw driver.
 
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