Large room dehumidiers Pros & cons of size of tank &??

[AcousticDreams]

Southern California has Changed humidity in the last two years! Use to be that the house stayed 35% to 50% humidity throughout the year. Actually, I would have to use a humidifier during the summer.

Tons of rain in South California now. And the humidity in the house will jump up some weeks to 62-67%.
Getting ready to record. And my guitars sound best between 40 to 50%. So I need to take the big plunge and buy a large room dehumidifier.

While I am only recording in an area that covers 1000 sq feet( as large living room with open wall connecting to den and kitchen. I have read that buying a larger 4500 sq foot dehumidifier will actually save you money electricity wise. As it removes water faster than smaller units. Thus less electricity used. Faster water removal will also come in handy on days I want to record.

Help me understand the pros and cons of how these units work. Especially Tank size & pumps. Are they a separate function? Pump used for hose drain? I have no need or want for hose drain. Will gladly dump water for the days it is too humid.

Brand recommendations? MIdea, GE, Yaugfey, Waykar, and a few others have good reviews. But i can not trust google to find great reviews...as mostly sponsored sites come up.

[Quickstep192]

You might be surprised how much water a dehumidifier can remove. As a result, the tank can fill quickly. And, when the tank is full it will shut the unit off and it will stop dehumidifying. So, a unit with a bigger tank will be better if you don’t want to use the drain.

It will initially take the dehumidifier a while to remove humidity not just from the air, but from other things in the room like furniture and flooring. For that reason, it’s best to let the dehumidifier reach the humidity you want and leave it there, rather than subject it to cycles of humidification and dehumidification.

[Lillis]

I’ve had a large Clevast brand dehumidifier I got off Amazon about 2 1/2 years ago. It’s been running virtually non stop and often fills the 1.6 gallon tank twice a day. It’s been dead reliable and it’s reasonably quiet. My humidity stays between 40-55%. I highly recommend getting one with a tank well over a gallon if you can.

Now I’m off to clean the filter

[canehorn]

I’ve had a very good experience with the Midea Cube 50. I’m in the dfw area and generally have either humidifiers or dehumidifier running all year to maintain 45-55% humidity. Oddly enough, I sometimes have both running as my guitar room is generally wetter than where I keep a couple guitars by my AV equipment (that I presume sucks some moisture out of the air.). It’s not quiet so I’ve stashed the dehumidifier in a far corner but it is still effective. Nice to have WiFi controls on it as well. It’s heavy to dump the water so I set it to alert me when 3/4s full. It has a continuous hose option but not practical where I have it located. When both running I have the benefit of using the clean dehumidifier water in the humidifier.

[jmhill]

I live in a country where humidity in winter can reach the low teens and summer can reach near 90%. So needless to say, in summer I have to run a dehumidifier, even when the air conditioner is running.

I would definitely say go for a larger unit (more sq ft). One of the issues I've noticed when I had a smaller unit was that while it did remove humidity well, it would run almost non stop which would make the room hotter.

If you can, try to find one with a humidity % setting as opposed to one that just either is on or off. Worth the extra $$$ IMO.

Like you mentioned, I believe the pump is just used with the drain hose to push the water out.

Pros:
Bigger tank size, usually, equates to larger sq ft the dehumidifier can handle, but not always.
quickly remove humidity without having it run constantly. Peace of mind.

Cons:
Smaller tanks...more trips to the sink =)
Quite heavy. Manually having to dump water (unless you hook up a hose to a nearby sink or drain). Cleaning the tank (if you dont, mold will easily grow) Can be spendy $$$$
Can be really noisy while running. Although most newer models are much quieter.

As far brands, I only have experience with Midea since they sell in my country and are readily availably at "Home Depot/Lowes" type stores here and don't cost an arm and a leg.

I believe my model (which is a different model number than the States) is most similar to the Midea 50 pint cube model (4,500 sq. ft.). Althought I think mine can handle a bit less sq. ft. I will have had mine for 5 years this coming summer and have not had any issues. Just some basic cleaning of the intake filters is all it takes to keep it ticking.

In the summer it will turn on roughly every 3 hours or so for 10-25 min, depending on the humidity% for the day (July-Sept here is very swampy so around that time it runs more often. Maybe 30-40min every 3 hours). I will usually dump the water every 2-3 days regardless of how much is in it, just to make sure mold doesn't start to grow.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jmhill

I live in a country where humidity in winter can reach the low teens and summer can reach near 90%. So needless to say, in summer I have to run a dehumidifier, even when the air conditioner is running.

I would definitely say go for a larger unit (more sq ft). One of the issues I've noticed when I had a smaller unit was that while it did remove humidity well, it would run almost non stop which would make the room hotter.

If you can, try to find one with a humidity % setting as opposed to one that just either is on or off. Worth the extra $$$ IMO.

Like you mentioned, I believe the pump is just used with the drain hose to push the water out.

Pros:
Bigger tank size, usually, equates to larger sq ft the dehumidifier can handle, but not always.
quickly remove humidity without having it run constantly. Peace of mind.

Cons:
Smaller tanks...more trips to the sink =)
Quite heavy. Manually having to dump water (unless you hook up a hose to a nearby sink or drain). Cleaning the tank (if you dont, mold will easily grow) Can be spendy $$$$
Can be really noisy while running. Although most newer models are much quieter.

As far brands, I only have experience with Midea since they sell in my country and are readily availably at "Home Depot/Lowes" type stores here and don't cost an arm and a leg.

I believe my model (which is a different model number than the States) is most similar to the Midea 50 pint cube model (4,500 sq. ft.). Althought I think mine can handle a bit less sq. ft. I will have had mine for 5 years this coming summer and have not had any issues. Just some basic cleaning of the intake filters is all it takes to keep it ticking.

In the summer it will turn on roughly every 3 hours or so for 10-25 min, depending on the humidity% for the day (July-Sept here is very swampy so around that time it runs more often. Maybe 30-40min every 3 hours). I will usually dump the water every 2-3 days regardless of how much is in it, just to make sure mold doesn't start to grow.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

Thanks you so much jmhill, really helpful reply!

Your report of how your dehumidifier turns on and off & how long it runs, was quite enlightening. I have no experience with these units, so your detailed explanation helped to take out the mystery of operation.

In fact this info is very encouraging, as I assume I will get quick results like you do in California atmosphere, which is generally even less problematic. Today , and in the last several weeks are one of those rare days when the humidity is up to 84% on the outside and 61% on the inside. A turn on of the house heater and I reduced the humidity to 56%(which is nearing an acceptable range) still my absolute target goal would be 42% for recording.

I hear good things about Midea. Constantly gets good reviews, especially the cube that you own. It is down to two brands right now, Homeland & Midea are both very highly rated on Amazon.

I think the only remaining question I have is if there is a switch/setting for the pump? In other words, if I buy a unit with a pump (drain hose) & a tank, is there a way to make sure that the pump does not turn on. That only the Tank fills up? Don't want water coming out on the floor.

[AcousticDreams]

I called Midea customer support just now and learned a little more.

50 pint units means that it can withdraw from the air 50 pints of water in one day. However...that does not mean that the tank will hold that much. In fact, many of the 50 pints units only have a 1.6 gallon tank.

And this is the reason why the Midea Cube has gained so much popularity. The tank is much bigger. "Up to 3X larger water tank allows Midea Cube operates up to 3X longer than a conventional dehumidifier. " Unfortunately...that still doesn't tell me how big the tank really is. 3x bigger as compared to what? ha ha...looks like I will be calling them back or email that question.

You can also purchase models with a Pump or without. For those with the pump & hose...a button selector will assign your unit to work with the pump or just tank. For myself...I will choose a model with just tank and save some money.