Lazy Dehumidifier

[Aeon]

I have a 2 yr old Maytag dehumid.  It will not work unless the room temp reaches the mid 70's.  The fan will run constantly, but the compressor never starts.  Conditions are consistanly 60-65 degrees and 70-80 percent humidity (in my basement).  I borrowed a couple of other dehumidifiers  and they worked great.  I brought  the Maytag to repair shop and it ran great.  Runs fine  upstairs in my house too.  Repair guy said nothing wrong with it and charged me a $50 "customer education" fee.  Please help.  It's getting soggy around here:(

[Guest ahammer48]

Hello

 

???? Just want to B sure but U did say that if U move the problem unit upstairs it works just fine?? If thats the case then it should work fine downstairs(basement) A dehumidifier dosen't work off of temperature, only humidity. Are U sure that when U moved it the Overflow cut-off switch didn't get stuck.

Most units have a switch that stops the unit when the holding tank gets full, so it dosen't overflow. I'd check that its not loose. Are U sure that the humidity level in the basement is that high? Like I said, if it works upstairs and worked fine in the repair shop, it should work fine in the basement.

It sounds to me like the unit is satisfied in the basement. Have U turned it to full dehumidification while its in the basement & has it worked then?

Hope this helps:)

[Aeon]

Thanks for responding.

Yes,  it works fine upstairs, but not in the cooler basement.  Yes I have set it to full dehumidification, also the overflow switch is fine.  I contacted Maytag.  Here is what they said, "Dehumidifiers will not operate below 65 degrees.  At that cool of a temperature,  the evaporator coil will start to frost and turn the compressor off, therefore not allowing the compressor to operate long enough to collect the moisture from the air."

I'm heating my basement today to see if indeed the dehumidifier will operate when the temp is around 70. 

[Guest ahammer48]

Hello

Please let me know how U make out. Very curious:)

[nickfixit]

If you heat the basement, the heating process will likely remove the humidity. If you have forced air heat, it will dry the place out far better than the dehumidifier.

"Dehumidifiers will not operate below 65 degrees.  At that cool of a temperature,  the evaporator coil will start to frost and turn the compressor off, therefore not allowing the compressor to operate long enough to collect the moisture from the air."

They are absolutely correct. If you need to dry a cold wet area, you need heat. Also, remember it is coldest at floor, try setting the unit up on something to get it off the cold floor.

Nick 

[Aeon]

I tried heating the basement with a small space heater, but could only get it to the high 60s.  Humidifier still didn't work.  I brought it upstairs and it worked fine.  I guess the temp is the issue here.  I noticed that Home Depot is selling a unit made by LG that they say is a low temp humidifier.  Not sure how low "low temp" is, but I'm going to look into it.  I'll report back here with what I find out.