Dehumidifier?

[d_icemand]

Anyone use one and how well does it work? Any recommendations on brand names? My downstairs area is really humid/damp from the fish tank.

dave

 

[frenchie]

i have an LG dehumidifier i got from lowes works great comes on every 2 or 4 hours and will shutoff when humidity is were i got it set to.

 

[chadscamaro]

Keep in mind they also will cause more evaporation from your tank as they remove water

 

[Nanook]

AND, they add a fair amount of heat.

 

[chadscamaro]

Thats another problem. If you enclose them in a small fish room they do produce a good amount of heat as Nook said.

 

[TWINPEAKS]

I use one and it does put out a fair amount of heat.If I did it over I would either get a portable A/C unit for there which can be used as a dehumidifier or A/C unit and they exhaust outside.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

DO NOT buy a Frigidare. I bought one of those. It never shuts off no matter what you set it to. My only option is to use the timer it has for 2 or 4 hours. My old one turns on and off as it needs to.
+1 on the heat. My old one is in the fish room and it keeps the 150 around 84 with the basement door open, the exhaust fan on, and another fan blowing in. Oh, and I have a vent from the house AC that blowes in there when the house gets warm.
Some people use a small AC unit to keep the room cool and pull the humidity out. If you can make the dehumidifier blow the heat someplace else, you would be good too.

 

[saltyguy51]

There are some combination units out there (air conditioner/dehumidifier) that I want to get next summer. Like said they put the heat out the back and the cost about the same to run as a small A/C so you mine as well have a A/C unit and the portables are on wheels so you can move them around and the have a flexible hose to exhaust the heated air.

 

[d_icemand]

With winter coming up, the heat should be helpful. I plan on putting the unit downstairs living area (that has a bedroom attached) where the tank is located. My tank gets up to 81 at the most and I have a heater for the nights already running, otherwise my tank will drop below 78. So heat for most of the year should not be a problem.

The reason I ask, the wife and I noticed the carpet and other stuff was kinda damp/moist compared to our upstairs living area (where we spend most of the time). My parents are coming to visit and the downstairs just has that damp basement feel recently. Plus I am upgrading tanks from the 65 to a 120 in a month or so and that will only increase exposed water surface. I dont have problem adding more top off water.

Also the purpose of this thread was to get personal opinions on units of what to buy and what to stay away from. Consumer reports has a list, but when I go to websites and check customer reviews, there are a lot of mixed reviews on performance and noise level. For 200+ bucks, I wanted to get a good unit.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

You want one that you an let drain in a sump hole and set the humidity and let it run. Again, not the frigidare.....

 

[TWINPEAKS]

I've had my GE/Goldstar since April and its been repaired twice under warrenty,the repair shop tells me there are not good dehumidifiers out there anymore.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I don't know what my old opne is, but it runs like a clock.....

 

[logiktest]

I use a portable Kenmore unit. It has served well for a long, long time now. Keep it away from the tank though, to protect it from heat.