£0.43 Fix for Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier

[Lomax]

I'm also trying to repair a Meaco DD8L Junior which has gone completely dead (no LEDs, no beeps, no fan or motor action). Mine actually has four melt fuses; I first found two green 133° (SEFUSE SF 129E) attached to the back of the heater element enclosure, but both these measured ok so I kept looking and found two brown 99° (SEFUSE SF 96E) fuses on the other side of the desiccator wheel. I had to totally disassemble the unit to get to these, and was dismayed to find that they were also intact. I now have a big pile of parts and no idea what else to look for. Any ideas?

 

[Lomax]

Since I wasn't able to locate any fault (all four thermal fuses are intact, both temperature sensors (the things that look like Zener diodes) work as they should, and the heating element measures ~330 Ohms, which seems about right) I thought I might as well put the thing back together and see if I can find any faults on the control board. But now I don't remember how the 99 degree heat fuses (and accompanying temp sensor) were positioned in the compartment behind the desiccator wheel! I usually take pictures when I disassemble stuff, but this time I was too annoyed(!) to bother. Anyone know how these should be fitted? There doesn't seem to be enough room in the pie slice shaped compartment!

Edit: I think I figured it out, see second picture...

 

[Lomax]

I have now reassembled the dehumidifier, and have done some probing on the control PCB:

• The 1.6A fuse (circled in red in photo) is intact (I had already measured this before disassembly)
• I get continuity on the thermal fuse chain, connected between TC1 and TC (confirming yet again that the thermal fuses are indeed intact)
• The -5V and -12V rails are operating and within tolerance (why negative rails? no idea!)
• There are no signs of life of any kind, even if leads are wiggled or components tapped

It looks like I might need a new control board, unless anyone has any other suggestions?

 

[Lomax]

I don't know if this has been mentioned here before, but Meaco's dehumidifiers are really just rebadged You Long products - Meaco of course don't make anything themselves; they just pocket the difference!

 

[Lomax]

Meaco will sell me a new control board for £36 - but before I jump in, does anyone see any reason why I shouldn't?

 

[Chris Llanwnda]

I’ve got 2 meaco juniors to keep my old stone farmhouse dry. One has run almost continually and faultlessly for 2 years but, yesterday it switched into airing mode? (Bottom 2 lights). I wanted to move it so powered it down And emptied it. Now when I switch on the wall plug, it Fires up, the bottom 2 lights come on for about a second then go out mid the error light comes on . All switches are unresponsive. and the cooling fan is running. If I leave it, it eventually turns itself off. I have opened it up, stripped it down, checked everything suggested in this thread, found nothing obviously wrong, also found it was clean and dust free inside, reassembled it but the fault persists. my other one continues Toruń perfectly (touch wood). Any ideas? Chris

 

[Grebehome1]

I’ve got 2 meaco juniors to keep my old stone farmhouse dry. One has run almost continually and faultlessly for 2 years but, yesterday it switched into airing mode? (Bottom 2 lights). I wanted to move it so powered it down And emptied it. Now when I switch on the wall plug, it Fires up, the bottom 2 lights come on for about a second then go out mid the error light comes on . All switches are unresponsive. and the cooling fan is running. If I leave it, it eventually turns itself off. I have opened it up, stripped it down, checked everything suggested in this thread, found nothing obviously wrong, also found it was clean and dust free inside, reassembled it but the fault persists. my other one continues Toruń perfectly (touch wood). Any ideas? Chris

Hi Chris,

Did you get anywhere with this issue? I've had exactly the same situation.

From what I can find here (https://www.lakeland.co.uk/content/documents/25128_Meaco_Dehumidifier_Troubleshooting_guide.pdf) the fan wheel is wobbling.

I've opened it up, and as you experienced, it's clean and there's no obvious melting or other broken parts.

What I did notice was that the fan motor had made contact with the desiccant plate (the large sodium chloride disc) but it had only barely touched it. However, that does make sense that the whole fan section is wobbling and would cause a safety shut down.

I am thinking that the fan blade itself has misshaped due to heat. So, maybe I can reshape it or secure the fan blade section so it doesn't wobble as much?

The unit has never gotten hot in any way and it's just a slight wobble, but obviously set off the sensors.

What are you thinking and have you had any further luck?

Any other comments or ideas would really help. It's a great little unit and I definitely want to fix it (Meaco don't repair or provides spares any more).

Cheers,

G.

 

[Chris Llanwnda]

Hi G. I‘ve banished it to the back of my workshop until I find the time to have another look. No sign of fan wobbling though.
chris

 

[Grebehome1]

Hi G. I‘ve banished it to the back of my workshop until I find the time to have another look. No sign of fan wobbling though.
chris

Thanks Chris.

Such a weird and consistent problem. Considering Meaco list it as an issue you'd hope there's been some way to resolve it. Oh well, if I work it out I'll let you know.

Cheers,

G.

 

[Grebehome1]

Hi G. I‘ve banished it to the back of my workshop until I find the time to have another look. No sign of fan wobbling though.
chris

Quick update, I may have figured it out.

Took everything apart again today and ran the dehumidifier with the cover off and held the unit to stabilise it. It didn't shut off (although the tank full light came on, maybe as a result of the cover being off).

I took off the fan again and closely examined it, but no signs of a issue or any warping. Also, the motor doesn't appear to have been misshaped or the axel (for lack of a better work) bent.

AND THEN I NOTICED....the washer that goes behind the fan wheel was cracked and broken, maybe causing a slight misalignment and the wobble.

If this is the fix, I'm pretty pleased with myself. Now I just need to find a replacement or hammer it back into shape....

 

[Lomax]

And an update from me: I never bothered with the new control board, since I wasn't 100% sure that it would revive my completely dead DDL8 Junior. I picked up a second hand machine (same model) on eBay instead, for £130 delivered (which seems to be the going rate) and will keep my old unit for spares... Turns out my second-hand replacement has a fault as well; it never shuts off, even when humidity level goes below 50%. Suspect the humidity sensor, and may try swapping with the one from my old unit, but since they're such a pain to disassemble I haven't got round to it yet... The way the weather has been lately I can't say it's much of an issue!

 

[RJD393]

Thanks for the update - I am struggling with the same problem - no sign of life but all fuses seem OK - think I’ll have to bite the bullet ?

 

[Grebehome1]

Hey Lomax,

I've found they're a lot less of a faff than I first experience, once you work out how to "pop" the side clips. Just go easier than you think and realise it won't actually break.

As for the fan wheel, I think it misshaped due to the heat but in the process I have messed up the threads on the motor and can't get the bolt off, for now. Now that's been a faff.

Have to say it really has helped my flat, as in the limited use I've had of it the flat is already dryer and heats easier. But, I'd love to have this fixed and usable from time to time.

If anyone has tips on fixing the threads on a bolt I'd be closer to the end goal...what a faff!

 

[moleg]

Hi, did you buy a motor for our Meaco dd8l?
I can't find it anywhere.

 

[PeterBoater]

Hi, did you buy a motor for our Meaco dd8l?
I can't find it anywhere.

It looks the same as a microwave turntable motor. If you google 'microwave turntable motor' and go to Images, there are loads but you will have to find one with the same rpm and same shape output shaft. I found one for a Sharp microwave that looks right.

 

[Momac]

I guess there must be thousands of Meaco dd8L's on boats as they have been regularly recommended on this forum and that led me to buy one.
My dd8L seems to be working okay this year . It has had three previous winters of use.
I guess with any electrical appliance there are going to be some that fail early and others that go on for years longer than might be anticipated.
What would be the expectation of service life for a dd8l that is used on a boat perhaps 4 or 5 months of the year ?

 

[PeterBoater]

I guess there must be thousands of Meaco dd8L's on boats as they have been regularly recommended on this forum and that led me to buy one.
My dd8L seems to be working okay this year . It has had three previous winters of use.
I guess with any electrical appliance there are going to be some that fail early and others that go on for years longer than might be anticipated.
What would be the expectation of service life for a dd8l that is used on a boat perhaps 4 or 5 months of the year ?

Mine has been running for seven years, as you say, for four or five months of the year. I set it to lowest fan speed and highest humidity (ie lowest rate of water extraction). It's important not to use a timeswitch, as it doesn't like being switched off 'at the mains' as it were, without the opportunity to go into its own shutdown cycle. When switching it off with its own on/off switch, leave it connected for a while to let it go through the shutdown cycle if it needs to. Incidentally, the switch settings and markings for speed and humidity are far from intuitive, so read the manual.

 

[Momac]

Mine has been running for seven years, as you say, for four or five months of the year. I set it to lowest fan speed and highest humidity (ie lowest rate of water extraction). It's important not to use a timeswitch, as it doesn't like being switched off 'at the mains' as it were, without the opportunity to go into its own shutdown cycle. When switching it off with its own on/off switch, leave it connected for a while to let it go through the shutdown cycle if it needs to. Incidentally, the switch settings and markings for speed and humidity are far from intuitive, so read the manual.

I only use the built in timer and its plugged in and shore power connected full time at the moment.
I have it on the 50% RH setting

 

[siman007]

We have had our Meaco dd8l for a few years now - it started failing intermittently (mostly turning off after a few minutes of operation). Finally took it apart and discovered that (what I think is a ) temperature sensor or a fuse on the heater had water in it and the component had corroded. I'm assuming that once it heated up a bit it lost connection and caused the fault.
Does anybody know what this is (and where I can get another one Thank you!

 

[SaltIre]

Welcome to the forum. I can't help, but I do like your thumbnail pictures.