Basement Dehumidifier Freeze/Frost UP ?
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Topic: Basement Dehumidifier Freeze/Frost UP ?
Posted By: Dave H
Subject: Basement Dehumidifier Freeze/Frost UP ?
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 12:22pm
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De Humidifier is rated to work down to 40 degrees F. basement temp runs around 65. Humidity wants to creep to 53% and smells like a basement at that So this dehumidifier worked great for the first 1 1/2 years, then recently started icing up starting at the lower portion of the cols. I have taken the filter out/off and cleaned the coils with cleaner and water. It looks like you could eat off them. It iced right up on the lower half of the coils right off the bat today. I am leaning toward the thing being toast due to getting low on refrigerant. What do you all think? thanx
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Replies:
Posted By: festus51
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 1:01pm
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Sounds like low freon to me too. ------------- We the unwilling Led by the unqualified Doing the impossible for the Ungrateful |
Posted By: jaybmiller
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 2:10pm
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air flow !! Is the fan spinning PDQ ?? I've had to tar apart the fan and get 20-30-40 years of 'cruddy-dust-gunk' out of them, 2 drops of oil, then they spin like new. ------------- 3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112 Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor) Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water |
Posted By: Dave H
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 5:58pm
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fan runs fine and freely on all three speeds. It is clean as a whistle also. |
Posted By: JW in MO
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 8:05pm
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As stated above, air flow is usually the culprit, I have one with a filter. Make sure the coils are clean and not obstructing air flow. Most suck air through the coils, make sure the fan is not sucking air around or bypassing the coil. Make sure all panels or baffles are in place. Locate the beginning of the coil, there should be a very small tube that is welded into the end of the larger tubing. Turn it on, if you see ice forming on the small tubing say an inch or so before the bigger tubing, it's a refrigerant issue. If it's like mine the coils are aluminum and darn near impossible to repair, I've done it, but I've failed doing it also. ------------- Maximum use of available resources! |
Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2023 at 6:33pm
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The coils need only get a few degrees colder than ambient to condense the air dry... but insufficient airflow will cause frosting. Being in a naturally cold location will cause it, too. A low state of refrigerant charge will cause it, too, but they're generally such small systems, with fully hermetically sealed compressors, that they can't leak without some sort of damage. There is USUALLY a defrost cycle for modern electronic ones... and that portion is controlled by an electronic module that also does all the operating settings on the control console. Those modules can (and do) fail... leaving an otherwise perfectly good unit inoperative. IF yours isn't doing a defrost cycle, but will run, put it on a timer that'll run it for say... 22 hours, then off for two hours... it'll usually continue to work satisfactorily after that. ------------- Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest. |
Posted By: Dave H
Date Posted: 27 Sep 2023 at 9:45am
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I think you may have hit it Dave. This hing just keeps chugging away after frosting up. |