£0.43 Fix for Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier

[DipperToo]

Why? Can't you get spare heater unit?

I understand Meaco are not too helpful if you want to buy spares.
Also, the desiccant wheel was damaged as it seems that the heater filament came away from the ceramic spacer and got trapped between the spacer and the wheel while in operation. Not sure how that happened as the unit was operating unattended.
I may try to get a new element if I can find out where from ,if not Meaco, as I think the main internal unit is the same as used by several vendors.
I did find this..
Edit; THESE DO NOT WORK OR FIT CORRECTLY
https://www.4delonghi.co.uk/heating...ssy/product.pl?pid=1633882&path=606394,606421
and also the same here
https://www.espares.co.uk/product/e...ShwJ9bpAzD3yuVw66MpSeQmgsHL5kMghoCJ-YQAvD_BwE

and guess I use the existing temperature sensor that is fixed on the Meaco one.
Edit; THESE DO NOT WORK OR FIT CORRECTLY

 

[Halo]

I had another issue with mine, when the tube was fitted for constant drain, the water collector was still filling up and eventually shut the machine down due to being full. Reading the manual (I know), revealed that making a small hole in the top of the drain tube will avert this problem, although in my defence, the manual did not explain the symptoms well.
Angus[/QUOTE]


Sorry if I am being a bit thick here but do you mean drill a hole in the flexible hose that pushes onto the drain spigot and goes to drain ?

If so is this to stop an airlock ?

 

[Garry & June 'Friendship']

Very interesting thread but I am amazed nobody has yet mentioned another simple fix for these otherwise excellent machines...It seems everyone is trying to repair and fix the problems without addressing whats causing it in the first place.a lot of problems it suffers from can be directly related to the poor main filter on the front of the machine...basically it doesn't fit that brilliantly and as a result doesn't filter that effectively...this leads to dirt ingress and clogging....this can lead to shutdowns....the answer is to add extra initial filtration....this is achieved very simply and cheaply buy purchasing Henry hoover bags off ebay...they are large square filter bags and what you have to do is separate the sheets of filter paper...cut a whole side of the bag away and then peel the layers apart, between the layers you will find a layer of filter medium...once you have one of the layers you stick this over the whole front filter element using insulation tape or whatever you need to make a neat job...I cover both the the main filter and the two small ones at the top.....this fix still allows the machine to breath and function but filters out completely all the dust that would otherwise be drawn in to the machine and what causes all the problems...when this filter becomes dirty just peel it off and fit another layer retrieved from the bags...after having problems with dirt and shutting down in the first 12 mths, we applied this fix and it has since run flawlessly all winter, every winter for the last 4 years...

 

[DipperToo]

An update - the DeLonghi heating element is marginally bigger than the Meaco one and it fouls the desiccant wheel SO DOES NOT FIT. It cannot be made to fit or work.
I have edited my previous post and links.
If anyone knows where to get an original Meaco heater element, please let us know!

 

[Eastcoast15]

Hi guys
I put the dehumidifier on my boat last weekend but I have misplaced the hose. Grateful for the internal diameter so that I can buy a pvc replacement to take this weekend. Thanks

 

[jimaslan]

Hi there. My meaco dd8l flashing the medium speed fan for a while (1-2 sec) and right after that flashing the check light and non any button react anymore until unplugged from electricity. Anyone who have similar behavior of his dd8l? Thank you
PS. i Thoroughly cleaned the zeolith from dust and filter too of course but the problem remains

 

[AC23]

Any idea what the smaller fuse is,there appear to be 2 thermal fuses each side and small red one on mine is defunct! TIA.

 

[ianniow]

Thanks to the helpful instructions here managed to get mine apart and fix the block that was causing water to leak from it so I took some photos that might help, you can see the puncture holes for the four screws. Plus the the extra bit revealing the extra button.

There are four screw for the base (Feet) and the the four screws in the water tank housing.

Then as has been said before "unclick" down the sides to get the front panel off.

This should give you access to the fan and other motors. I needed to get to the other side so had to undo four more screws.
This one just above the blue wire.


Now with the other side off

This was actually after I had cleaned the "Crud" blocking the tube poking out the bottom.
I had to remove this bit too

Here is the blockage


Not sure how helpful this is.
My floor is now dry and and it is all working correctly although the top looks a bit off a mess.

 

[ashtead]

Apologies if I have missed but is there a reason why these might work to fill tank but not with tube attached. I recently recovered ours from loft and after being told it didn't work last year tried in our shed and soon filled tank so leaving aside random theories between sheds and boats does the tube in some fashion impact performance? I. Am assuming tube is clear of course.

 

[bigwow]

Tube bypasses the tank to be a remote drain.

 

[ashtead]

Yes I gather it acts as a bypass into say a sink but why doesn't it work if filling the tank works?

 

[bigwow]

No idea, the tube fits on the end of the nozzle that fills the tank

 

[gregcope]

They have to be dead flat otherwise there is an internal overflow that is very sensitive to being at the right angle. If angled slightly towards that overflow, water will go into the tank and fill it.

 

[ashtead]

Thanks will look at levels . I had thought some other issue with tube but will preserve in finding a solution.

 

[PeterBoater]

There needs to be a small hole in the top of the hose just after it leaves the dehumidifier. Make sure that the hole stays open.

 

[ashtead]

Thanks PeterBoater I don't recall seeing a small hole but will check this when back at the shed . It works with the internal tank but seems to fill quite quickly .

 

[PeterBoater]

In answer to post #62, yes, I think it's to prevent an airlock. make sure that the hole remains open, ie remove a small piece of material rather than just make a hole. I marked the hole with a biro circle to check that the hole is at the top after removing and refitting the hose. Also check that the whole length of the hose runs downhill. For post #76, you have to make the hole yourself.

 

[Leighb]

I agree about the dead level bit, have had to sort this out a few times, totally unaware of the little hole though. I lost the original bit of hose and just fitted another bit of the correct size and it works just fine as long as there is no tilt.

 

[voyager35]

Hi my meaco DD8L has died
on striping down i have found a broken fuse/resistor? that is fastened next to the two large thermal fuses. This one is very on thin black wiring l with a small red component in the middle of it.
Does anyone know what it is and where i can get a replacement

 

[skiffy]

My Meaco DD8L dehumidifier suddenly stopped working. Completely dead. The fuse in the plug was good so knowing that Meaco charge £70 for a repair, which I wasn't about to spend on a well used dehumidifier, I thought I'd open it up and take a look.

I started by looking at the control panel which houses a glass fuse, this too was good. I then decided to do some basic testing as the thing not having a glimmer of life in it suggested a fairly fundamental issue. On probing the incoming terminals, only two were live, one marked 'L' to which (predictably enough) is attached the live core of the mains flex and the adjacent terminal marked 'TC'. Nearby is a terminal marked 'TC1', which on looking at the back of the board is clearly the supply to the unprotected side of the glass fuse holder, the protected side of which powers the rest of the board. This terminal was at 0 volts, but obviously needed to be at 230 volts for the machine to show any signs of live. 'TC' to 'TC1' tested open circuit.

Tracing the wires down through the unit, which did involve dismantling just about all of it, there are two thermal fuses in the 'TC' - 'TC1' circuit. One was fine, the other was open circuit. I bridged the fuse to test, and the machine worked. Replacement fuses are £0.43 plus P&P from the UK or £3.84 for 5 with free P&P from an eBay seller in Taiwan.

These dehumidifiers, whilst very effective, have a bit of a reputation for failing. The two thermal fuse in question are mounted one each side of the heater element and only rated a 99 centigrade, so it seems quite possible that a modest overheat from a build up of dust or the inlet grille being briefly obstructed could easily cause one to trip. I understand that Meaco generally blame failures on the filter not being cleaned regularly enough. Whilst I suspect that dust inside the machine was the cause of mine stopping working, since the filter was clean but there was plenty of dust inside the machine, it appears it's more a design issue than a lack of maintenance. The filter is after all nothing more than a coarse gauze.

Either way, at 43 pence and about an hour to strip, clean and rebuild once every two years if it lasts as long on its second fuse as it did on its first, I can live with it.

FYI the fuse you need is SF96E and to be clear it is accessed from the rear of the unit and requires removal of the each”layer” including the silver heater itself it’s then hidden in a plastic sleeve joining the red and blue wires together. When I have the parts I will post photos, hopefully this will save others from stripping back to get the part number then putting it back together whilst you wait for the part to come. The fuse can be bought on amazon for something like £5 for 5.