Dehumidifier Recommendations?

[gandy]

Hi,

We're looking for a mains powered dehumidifier, a heat pump not desiccant type. Any recommendations? Would like reasonably powerful, but portable and running from a normal power outlet. Up till now we've used an Ebac 980 (I think called "Homedry", but the label's fallen off long ago). That's recently stopped working, and Ebac no longer repair that model. So we need a replacement, and also given this current response I need to think twice about whether to replace with another Ebac. In the past they've had an efficient repair service, I don't know if that's still the case or whether it's just that our unit is just too old.

Our old unit was 430W, rated at 15L/d (at 90%/32deg), 3.5L tank. (edit, sorry. Would also like adjustable humidity stat, I was surprised to see that some don't have this. Also hot gas defrost so it can work down to low temperatures)

Any comments or recommendations would be welcome.

Tony S

 

[abraxus]

As far as I'm aware, the only ones with hot gas defrost are Mitsubishi.

http://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/mits...6-litre-per-day-capacity-hot-gas-defrost.html

 

[jwilson]

Not sure why you don't want a dessicant type - the Meaco ones are very good at drying, and work just as well at low temperatures. AFAIK no Ebacs have hot gas defrost, as and when the ones I have got in several places die I'm replacing the old Ebacs with Meacos. Avoid the XM - mine bought for the boat died just after 12 month warranty expired and I've heard similar stories from others.

 

[Yngmar]

If low temperature operation is a requirement, why not a desiccant type? Quite happy with mine (EcoAir DD122 MK5 Classic). Has a humidistat (just a few settings though, no % selection) and you can plumb a hose in to drain externally.

 

[sailorman]

Not sure why you don't want a dessicant type - the Meaco ones are very good at drying, and work just as well at low temperatures. AFAIK no Ebacs have hot gas defrost, as and when the ones I have got in several places die I'm replacing the old Ebacs with Meacos. Avoid the XM - mine bought for the boat died just after 12 month warranty expired and I've heard similar stories from others.

My Ebac has given some 10 yrs of faultless service, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for

 

[DannyB]

My Meaco has worked well throughout several winters now, thoroughly recommended.

 

[gandy]

My Ebac has given some 10 yrs of faultless service, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for

Thanks for all the comments. I prefer the heat pump type as they use less power, and I already have a desiccant one available in any case. I wasn't aware that Ebac don't include hot gas defrost any more, that's quite surprising as normally that's required for operation below 15 deg, and they quote a range down to 5 deg. Maybe different terminology? Our original Ebay from around 20 years ago did, as did the Homedry 980 that Ebac replaced it with after a repair issue. I must say that I've been really happy with Ebac up to now, but now I think of it the failed unit must be over 10 years old so maybe not so surprising that they won't or can't repair it.

 

[sjdtuk]

Anoher vote for the Meaco.

I have a compressor type ( without the heater ) but no longer use it.
The Meaco is just as effective, works at low temp but best of all weighs nothing and is very easy to store on board.

 

[Channel Sailor]

Want he said. My spinning disk desiccant type works really well though the winter. Seems to be cheap to run as well.

 

[gasdave]

We use a Meaco DD8L (£160) as reviewed in one of the mags last year. Works very well, has reservoir or external drain option and a range of settings to suit most circumstances. Makes a huge difference to on board condensation when we wake up in the morning over winter - the bit of heat it puts out also helps comfort levels.

 

[DipperToo]

We use a Meaco DD8L (£160) as reviewed in one of the mags last year. Works very well, has reservoir or external drain option and a range of settings to suit most circumstances. Makes a huge difference to on board condensation when we wake up in the morning over winter - the bit of heat it puts out also helps comfort levels.

and the meaco turns itself off when the correct humidity level is reached, and then every 30 mins starts the fan (without the heating elements) and rechecks the humidity levels - this helps to keep the power consumption to a very reasonable level. As the manual states...

In the three modes that are controlled by the relative humidity stat (Maximum/Normal/Minimum) when the
target relative humidity has been reached the dehumidifier will stop drying the air and will then run the fan
for 5 minutes to make sure that the relative humidity is stable. When this happens no more water will be
collected, this is perfectly normal. The fan then goes to sleep for 30 minutes after which it will wake up
and sample the air so that the dehumidifier knows when to start collecting water again, but if the relative
humidity remains below the target then the fan will go to sleep again for another 30 minutes. When the
relative humidity rises again the dehumidifier will automatically start to collect water again

 

[dgadee]

We use a Meaco DD8L (£160) as reviewed in one of the mags last year. Works very well, has reservoir or external drain option and a range of settings to suit most circumstances. Makes a huge difference to on board condensation when we wake up in the morning over winter - the bit of heat it puts out also helps comfort levels.

+1 I gave a loan of it to a friend and will have to get it back for the winter or buy another. Impressive machine.

 

[gandy]

Thanks for all the comments, it sounds like desiccant models have moved on. The one I have is an "Xdry", really strongly recommended at the time. My gripes with it are that it doesn't dry below around 70% (still runs but you can feel the air's not coming out warmer), there's no humidity setting (only "high/low/auto"). I've ruled out Ebac in any case, as all their current models have electronic controls that automatically choose the target humidity level. Meaco seem to be the make to go for. Calorex do what looks like a possible model and I know their stuff is decent quality.

This Meaco DD8L model, did anyone find any reference that says what temperature/RH the quoted 8L per day is measured at? When we bought the Ebac everyone showed graphs for collection across a range of conditions, so you could really compare models under the expected conditions.

 

[Mikenda]

I bought a EcoAir DD122 last Autumn. Great mprovement from my old compressor type. Make sure you get one that can be controlled by a timer, I run mine 40% of the day. Some types have to be manually switched on after a power cut.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00474K8SY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

 

[gandy]

I'm not sure I get the need for a timer, except for one-off runs like drying clothing. If the device has a proper humidity stat it should switch on and off as needed.

 

[DipperToo]

and one more important point - the Meaco will resume at the previous settings unlike some that simply turn off should there be a power interruption (like someone borrowing your shore power for an hour or two!) and not auto restart.

 

[jwilson]

and one more important point - the Meaco will resume at the previous settings unlike some that simply turn off should there be a power interruption (like someone borrowing your shore power for an hour or two!) and not auto restart.

Agreed - when I used an compressor Ebac on the boat I had to also run a heater to keep the temperature up in case it got too cold and iced up. Also any power interruption would reset it to a low setting.

The gas defrost compressor XM worked OK-ish for one winter, then died the next winter. I replaced it with a Meaco which is superior to both in every way in terms of performance. How long they will keep going I don't know, but the oldest one i have is now 3 years old. I run mine flat out for 2-3 days when the boat first comes ashore, then turn it down to a lower maintenance humidistat setting.

 

[markhomer]

Nother vote for maeco , wish id bought one earlier , far better than condensing ones ive previously used and much cheaper to run overall , £70 for a full scottish winter

 

[gandy]

The Meaco guy sent me a link to this page with actual figures at 10 degrees ... http://blog.meaco.com/my-dehumidifier-is-bigger-than-your-dehumidifier-no-its-not/
The only thing it didn't take account of is power consumption, although their "8 litre" collects 2.5 times as much water as their "20 litre" compressor model, it uses more than 2.5 times as much power so according to those figures, compressor is still ahead at 10 degrees.

 

[PeterBoater]

and one more important point - the Meaco will resume at the previous settings unlike some that simply turn off should there be a power interruption (like someone borrowing your shore power for an hour or two!) and not auto restart.

That's true, except that last winter my marina had a power surge/spike associated with a cut and when the power came back on the Meaco reset to laundry dry and max motor speed for a week or more until my next visit, instead of the lowest (minimum dryness and speed) that I had left it on. Cost a fortune. I might try a surge limiter next winter (that I think has started today!)

It's been mentioned before, but it's worth emphasising that dessicant versions should not be run on a timeswitch, as they need to go through a shutdown cycle. I think the odd power cut is OK but regular time switching ruins them.