Hey folks! I have been on CT for some time and this is my first post here.

I'm a carpenter/builder by trade. I work for a GC, but I've moved into service/property management. I'll be spending more time on this sub forum and just wanted to say Hi....

My clients are owners of vacation properties. I coordinate whatever comes up along with opening, closing, surveillance and routine maintenance. We have an ongoing problem I hope you all can help me with... dehumidifiers....

All of my clients run these units most of the year in their basements. The majority drain directly via a hose. The most common complaint/question, across the board, is dehumidifiers not draining properly. I've shortened hoses, elevated for better gravity, cleaned hoses etc... and I haven't been able to solve the problem and it always seems to be erratic.

Can anyone tell me what causes this? What % should I set? I keep them at 55%.... What is the basic maintenance I should do? I haven't done much research yet, I thought I would check with CT first....

Seth

A common problem with HOME dehus. Basically they are worthess after 2-3 weeks unless filter is cleaned or replaced monthly. For vacation home clients I would purchase a small used commercial unit. You can pick up 100's of Drieaz 110 or 1200 models on ebay for $400-600 each. Also 55% RH is a great level to GROW mold...get it down to 40% or less which a commercial unit can do.

Fremont is da man.

I get a little confused. A 40% setting is less humidity than a 60% setting?

I know it's a silly question, but I want to confirm that the %setting on the unit is the end result, not the amount of moisture being removed. Honestly, I was thinking 75% meant the thing was working it's a$$ off.

Yes the %RH selector on the unit is the dehu output. Most non commercial units won't work well below about 40% RH. Most of the commercial units will work below that.

When a dehu doesn't have enough moisture it will cause the water to freeze on the coils. Most units will then shut down and do a hot gas bypass to defrost and then turn back on.

HO units aren't meant to be run for long periods of time to remove large amounts of moisture. Look into one of the dehu's that Fremont suggested.

There are also "LGR" type dehu's. They are meant to be used when "low grains" are desired. Grains are amount of moisture in the air.

Mbryan is correct. The LGR (low grain refridgerant) is the preferred equipment of us restoration companies (Ins. Co's pay nearly double) thus the reason for the 2 models suggested and also those older machines can run 1000's of hours without the need for a refridgerant recharge.

Yeah, I get that a lot...