Sears dehumidifer problems

[Mike S.]

[I've cross posted this to what seemed to be the most appropriate places;
no flames please]


I have a 4-year old Kenmore 65-pint dehumidifer which sits in a basement
room containing electronics, etc. and I keep the relative humidity below
50%. It has functioned well until I turned it on for this summer season
(in the winter, hot air from the furnace keeps the room dry as a bone).
Nothing has changed in the room, or the basement, which would affect the
ease with which humidity could leak back into the room.

I keep a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the room (double-checked for
accuracy with another unit elsewhere in the house). The problem seems to
be the (digital) humidistat (which has a range of 40 - 60%) which now
seems to be about 10 - 15% too high. As a result, even with the dehumidifer
set at 40%, the steady-state humidity in the room barely goes below 50%.

I checked the warranty and it only applies to the sealed components
(condenser, compressor, etc) so I opened the unit and found no evidence of a
humidistat adjustment or trimmer. The humidity sensor is mounted on the
inner frame of the unit, within the stream of air flow between back to
front, next to the sides of the coils. When it has stopped running at an
ambient humidity of 50% (even though set to 40%) it restarts again when I
blow moist air from my mouth at the sensor.

It looks to be sourced from LG, and browsing in stores I see newer units
which allow set points down to 30% relative humidity, as well as low
temperature operation. I'm toying with the idea of simply replacing the
unit, but wonder if it's worth the expense of having a non-warranty
failure repaired - or the hassle of ordering a replacement sensor and
trying it myself.

Any thoughts?

 

[GregS]

[I've cross posted this to what seemed to be the most appropriate places;
no flames please]


I have a 4-year old Kenmore 65-pint dehumidifer which sits in a basement
room containing electronics, etc. and I keep the relative humidity below
50%. It has functioned well until I turned it on for this summer season
(in the winter, hot air from the furnace keeps the room dry as a bone).
Nothing has changed in the room, or the basement, which would affect the
ease with which humidity could leak back into the room.

I keep a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the room (double-checked for
accuracy with another unit elsewhere in the house). The problem seems to
be the (digital) humidistat (which has a range of 40 - 60%) which now
seems to be about 10 - 15% too high. As a result, even with the dehumidifer
set at 40%, the steady-state humidity in the room barely goes below 50%.

I checked the warranty and it only applies to the sealed components
(condenser, compressor, etc) so I opened the unit and found no evidence of a
humidistat adjustment or trimmer. The humidity sensor is mounted on the
inner frame of the unit, within the stream of air flow between back to
front, next to the sides of the coils. When it has stopped running at an
ambient humidity of 50% (even though set to 40%) it restarts again when I
blow moist air from my mouth at the sensor.

It looks to be sourced from LG, and browsing in stores I see newer units
which allow set points down to 30% relative humidity, as well as low
temperature operation. I'm toying with the idea of simply replacing the
unit, but wonder if it's worth the expense of having a non-warranty
failure repaired - or the hassle of ordering a replacement sensor and
trying it myself.

Any thoughts

My first thought is to rewire the unit with a remote humidstat.
The control really does not work all that well mounted
internally. Its kind of like a feedback system, since water
collected in the unit, evaporates and affects the internal
humidstat. I don't know whats more cost effective
as far a solutions. Try replacing the sensor???

greg

 

[Mike S.]

[I've cross posted this to what seemed to be the most appropriate places;
no flames please]


I have a 4-year old Kenmore 65-pint dehumidifer which sits in a basement
room containing electronics, etc. and I keep the relative humidity below
50%. It has functioned well until I turned it on for this summer season
(in the winter, hot air from the furnace keeps the room dry as a bone).
Nothing has changed in the room, or the basement, which would affect the
ease with which humidity could leak back into the room.

I keep a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the room (double-checked for
accuracy with another unit elsewhere in the house). The problem seems to
be the (digital) humidistat (which has a range of 40 - 60%) which now
seems to be about 10 - 15% too high. As a result, even with the dehumidifer
set at 40%, the steady-state humidity in the room barely goes below 50%.

I checked the warranty and it only applies to the sealed components
(condenser, compressor, etc) so I opened the unit and found no evidence of a
humidistat adjustment or trimmer. The humidity sensor is mounted on the
inner frame of the unit, within the stream of air flow between back to
front, next to the sides of the coils. When it has stopped running at an
ambient humidity of 50% (even though set to 40%) it restarts again when I
blow moist air from my mouth at the sensor.

It looks to be sourced from LG, and browsing in stores I see newer units
which allow set points down to 30% relative humidity, as well as low
temperature operation. I'm toying with the idea of simply replacing the
unit, but wonder if it's worth the expense of having a non-warranty
failure repaired - or the hassle of ordering a replacement sensor and
trying it myself.

Any thoughts

My first thought is to rewire the unit with a remote humidstat.
The control really does not work all that well mounted
internally. Its kind of like a feedback system, since water
collected in the unit, evaporates and affects the internal
humidstat. I don't know whats more cost effective
as far a solutions. Try replacing the sensor???

I thought of the placement of the sensor itself; however, I wonder about
its viability since this _used_ to work relatively accurately, and the
room and the basement it's in have not changed.

 

[Jerry G.]

The fault can be the humidity sensor, control board, or that the
cooling is a little weak due to some of the gas leaking out (bad
seals), or the lack of proper pressure from the condensor.

The service rep for your machine can test for the faults, and service
them. If you have an extended warrenty, this should all be covered.


Jerry G.
======

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

The fault can be the humidity sensor, control board, or that the
cooling is a little weak due to some of the gas leaking out (bad
seals), or the lack of proper pressure from the condensor.

The service rep for your machine can test for the faults, and service
them. If you have an extended warrenty, this should all be covered.

A couple tests to determine if it is a sensor problem or a loss of coolant
(which may be under your warranty) would be

1. After it's been running for a 15 minutes or so, are the evaporator coils
(the cold ones) more or less uniformly cold without ice? If they are,
then the sealed system is working fine. If only part of the coil is
cold and/or there is ice, then it's low on coolant.

2. If you set the humidistat at 50 percent, does it maintain 50 percent, or
would it then be around 60 percent? In the latter case, it's a sensor
problem.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

[I've cross posted this to what seemed to be the most appropriate places;
no flames please]


I have a 4-year old Kenmore 65-pint dehumidifer which sits in a basement
room containing electronics, etc. and I keep the relative humidity below
50%. It has functioned well until I turned it on for this summer season
(in the winter, hot air from the furnace keeps the room dry as a bone).
Nothing has changed in the room, or the basement, which would affect the
ease with which humidity could leak back into the room.

I keep a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the room (double-checked for
accuracy with another unit elsewhere in the house). The problem seems to
be the (digital) humidistat (which has a range of 40 - 60%) which now
seems to be about 10 - 15% too high. As a result, even with the dehumidifer
set at 40%, the steady-state humidity in the room barely goes below 50%.

I checked the warranty and it only applies to the sealed components
(condenser, compressor, etc) so I opened the unit and found no evidence of a
humidistat adjustment or trimmer. The humidity sensor is mounted on the
inner frame of the unit, within the stream of air flow between back to
front, next to the sides of the coils. When it has stopped running at an
ambient humidity of 50% (even though set to 40%) it restarts again when I
blow moist air from my mouth at the sensor.

It looks to be sourced from LG, and browsing in stores I see newer units
which allow set points down to 30% relative humidity, as well as low
temperature operation. I'm toying with the idea of simply replacing the
unit, but wonder if it's worth the expense of having a non-warranty
failure repaired - or the hassle of ordering a replacement sensor and
trying it myself.

Any thoughts?

 

[[email protected]]

Given their cost of a new unit and the rip off sears service price your
much better off replacing the unit

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

Given their cost of a new unit and the rip off sears service price your
much better off replacing the unit

Heck, and I always thought this was a repair newsgroup. Seras isn't the
only option for repair.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[Mike S.]

A couple tests to determine if it is a sensor problem or a loss of coolant
(which may be under your warranty) would be

1. After it's been running for a 15 minutes or so, are the evaporator coils
(the cold ones) more or less uniformly cold without ice? If they are,
then the sealed system is working fine. If only part of the coil is
cold and/or there is ice, then it's low on coolant.

OK. After running a few minutes, the center coils are definitely cooler
than the ones towards the top and bottom of the evaporator.

2. If you set the humidistat at 50 percent, does it maintain 50 percent, or
would it then be around 60 percent? In the latter case, it's a sensor
problem.

The unit consistently maintains a steady-state humidity 10 - 15% higher
than the set point.

 

[Mike S.]

Heck, and I always thought this was a repair newsgroup. Seras isn't the
only option for repair.

I looked up the unit in the parts database and found that I can order a
replacement sensor assembly for $21. I will replace that first, and if
there is still a coolant issue once the humidistat issue is resolved, will
bring it in for warranty service (since the warranty only covers the
sealed coolant assembly).

 

[GregS]

OK. After running a few minutes, the center coils are definitely cooler
than the ones towards the top and bottom of the evaporator.


The unit consistently maintains a steady-state humidity 10 - 15% higher
than the set point.

If the unit shuts off, they you still have reserve capacity.
I have one unit I have had for many years. It just started to show
signs of loosing freon. The last parts of the coil starts freezing.
Its still working though. Watching the moisture build up on
the coils will show if its basically working.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

OK. After running a few minutes, the center coils are definitely cooler
than the ones towards the top and bottom of the evaporator.

Probably not significant as long as no not cold-at-all or frozen coils.

The unit consistently maintains a steady-state humidity 10 - 15% higher
than the set point.

OK, that does sound like a sensor problem. There really should be some
way of adjusting the humidistat. You can also probably just buy an
aftermarket humisistat and mount it in there somehow. It should just
be a switch that turns the thing on when the humidity goes above the
set-point.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

I looked up the unit in the parts database and found that I can order a
replacement sensor assembly for $21. I will replace that first, and if
there is still a coolant issue once the humidistat issue is resolved, will
bring it in for warranty service (since the warranty only covers the
sealed coolant assembly).

Sounds like a plan. But do take another look at the humidistat. There
may be some magic screw you have overlooked.

It's quite possible for these things to shift calibration. It's probably
just a strip of a plastic-like material (used to be human hair but I don't
think they use that anymore!) that changes length depending on humidity.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

If the unit shuts off, they you still have reserve capacity.
I have one unit I have had for many years. It just started to show
signs of loosing freon. The last parts of the coil starts freezing.
Its still working though. Watching the moisture build up on
the coils will show if its basically working.

Good point:

3. If unit shuts off without reaching humidity set-point, not a cooling
problem.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
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[Mike S.]

Sounds like a plan. But do take another look at the humidistat. There
may be some magic screw you have overlooked.

It's quite possible for these things to shift calibration. It's probably
just a strip of a plastic-like material (used to be human hair but I don't
think they use that anymore!) that changes length depending on humidity.

The humidity setting is via a digital touch panel in front. I don't see
any way to tweak the adjustment as the sensor assembly is simply attached
by a long cable to the back of the PC board on the control panel.

 

[[email protected]]

Sounds like a plan. But do take another look at the humidistat. There
may be some magic screw you have overlooked.

It's quite possible for these things to shift calibration. It's probably
just a strip of a plastic-like material (used to be human hair but I don't
think they use that anymore!) that changes length depending on humidity.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

somone suggested taking it in for service they charge so much thats a
loser. I repair machines for a living but some new stuff today is so
cheap and parts so expensive if available at all your just better off
replacing it

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

The humidity setting is via a digital touch panel in front. I don't see
any way to tweak the adjustment as the sensor assembly is simply attached
by a long cable to the back of the PC board on the control panel.

What's in the sensor assembly? If it changes resistance or something like
that perhaps it could be faked out.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[Mike S.]

What's in the sensor assembly? If it changes resistance or something like
that perhaps it could be faked out.

I haven't removed or opened it. It's a small white box with a grating in
front, sort of looks like those little piezo sound transducers. Has a
3-pin connector on the bottom. Will look more closely when I open the case
to install the replacement.

 

[T o d d P a t t i s t]

If only part of the coil is
cold and/or there is ice, then it's low on coolant.

Why does ice indicate low coolant?

 

[GregS]

Why does ice indicate low coolant?

Its evaporating too much or too fast. The part that would normally start
to freeze when opperating nornally, is past the coils. When there is too much freon,
there is not enough evaporation.


greg

 

[[email protected]]

Its evaporating too much or too fast. The part that would normally start
to freeze when opperating nornally, is past the coils. When there is too much freon,
there is not enough evaporation.


greg

a friend who works for sears reported getting may dehumidifers back and
finding the digital control boards failed often.

see the store they might just give you a new one if its the bad model...