Official Luthiers Forum!

My dehumidifier has quit working after only 1 1/2 seasons (bought it in Aug 09). It is a GE: AHR65LM Dehumidifier. It worked well till it died, had a humidistat that I could set and also connected to a drain hose that I piped out of the shop. I paid $218 for it. I also kept it cleaned out, i.e. removing the covers to blow out the coils, etc., so it is not clogged or dirty coils.

I need a replacement and would like to see what others are using in their small shops (my shop is 12 x 21 and is relatively weather tight). I've probably got a few weeks, my shop is sitting at 55% right now which is a bit high but I want to get it back to 45/50% pretty soon.

I would like to get something that would last longer with similar features and similar size but maybe that is too much to ask around this price point.

What are you using, how long has it been in your shop, and would you replace it with the same unit if it failed?

Thanks folks, I would like to get something on order this weekend.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

My LG is still going strong after 4 years of pretty constant use too. I did have a problem with it early on, but it was repaired under warranty. Since then it's been great, knock on wood. The LG has a 5 year warranty too. Or, at lest it did when I bought mine.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I have one thats 3-4 yrs old and have just changed the filter , never cleaned and works fine ! YOU shouldnt have cleaned it !

Simple fact is , doesnt matter what we buy , occasionaly we get a bad one that doesnt last like it should .

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I have a 70 pint frigidare model that's been chugging away for the past few years. I had a Kenmore before that which lasted around 8 years.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I have a 50 pint Frigidare that's been running happily for a year in a fairly large room. It doesn't quite have the capacity it should for this room so it runs constantly....but it keeps up. It helps a lot to constantly circulate the air with an auxillary fan.

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I have a GoldStar. A cheapo from Home Depot. 3rd year now....still going strong. But noisey.

Michael

60 pint LG lasted 3 years. Just put in a 50 pint Frigidaire . I think the dust may not be the best thing for them.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
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I had a Danby from Costco .. lasted years, but was certainly clogged up and I couldnt get it clean .. so I bought a new Danby from Costco last week for 179 .. I like it better because I can get to the coil without taking whole cover apart .. jsut remove the cheapo filter it has and they are right there to blow off with the compressor ... it also has the digital readout, 2 speed fan, and can be set to 30 %, although it never gets the shop to that ... it reads 37 and my good hygro reads 42 right now. thats good enough.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks for the info. Best I can tell the compressor in mine has failed. Making funny sounds. I'm thankful it broke down now while the humidity is still relatively low so spending a week to get a new one is not a big deal.

I will look at the brands mentioned, pick one and hope for the best. Part of the price to pay, I suppose, to be able to work in the shop all summer and I'm ok with that.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've had several years on my Solius and it has never been cleaned, just dusted.

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Egad!!! You're supposed to clean them???
My Sears unit has been going about 10 months a year for 11 years with no maintenance at all. Still works great.
It is in the "assembly" room where very little sanding is done. I guess it would have died years ago, otherwise.

I had a dehumidifier I bought used and lasted 5 years without a problem, except having to oil the fan motor once in a while. It was pretty old when I got it for 60 bucks, I think it was Kenmore. Had to sell when I moved my shop. Now I have a 35 pint Kenmore for a 150 sq.ft. shop. No problem yet. It's pretty rainy here in Southeast Alaska so it works a lot, but keeps the room a 40- 45% constantly. My shop is in a basement and it would be really damp without it... It is automatic so it will shut off if the humidity is low enough.

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Luis Fernandez de Cordoba
www.guitarrasfdc.com

I ordered a Solius 70 pt unit. We'll see how it does. Thanks for all the input

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So the joke's on me!
The dehumidifier I'm replacing is a GE unit so I decided to get something different hoping it might be better quality. I just received the Soleus unit yesterday; took it down to the shop and unpacked it and surprise! It looks exactly like the GE unit except it does seem to have an upgraded control panel. Otherwise identical plastic and everything. At least it was easy to hook it up to the outside drain. The GE panel was a bit cheesy so maybe the Soleus is built with some better parts. We'll see.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"