Recommendation fir dehumidifier? ? ?

[Tractionengines]

Alright, I'm asking the mind hive of TRF... What is a decent dehumidifier to buy?

Over the last 30 tears I can't seem to get one that lasts over 3-4 years, with the average being 2 years... even for "commercial units".

None available have service ports, their all made as cheaply as possible. They seem to loose refrigerant, then it's done. I did have a HVAC buddy cut the seals off and charge one, but it only lasted 1 more summer.

Sure there are CRAZY expensive units for clean rooms, etc. But at that cost the return on investment will be like never. I just want something that lasts 10 years like an appliance should. (Maybe even 5 would get me going.)

 

[Sandy H.]

We did a sealed crawl space with a dehumidifer 10-ish years ago and we are on the second unit, so not a dissimilar experience to yours. One thing the installer said was to shut it off during the winter. Not sure if that applies to your situation, but here (NC) it is very humid 6-8 months of the year, but not too bad during the winter. Our crawl space humidity didn't change much once we turned it off in November-March, except on rainy days.

Good luck and I hope someone shares a great solution. These things aren't cheap and are a pain to install in tight spaces. . .

 

[SolarYellow]

I can't figure out why whole-house dehumidifiers aren't standard throughout the SE US. Tried like heck to get a system installed a few years ago and couldn't find a contractor who would actually quote me on an installation of anything but the cheapest possible option.