Whirlpool Dehumidifier

[peterh770]

I have a 40 qt WP dehumidifier that is about 2 years old. Recently, it is not pulling the moisture out the way it used to, and when I turn it off, it makes a popping and crackling noise. Before I try taking it apart (which it looks like it is not meant to do), does anyone have any ideas what is wrong?

 

[gregm]

uuummm, yea .........

means you need a new one ........... hahahahah, (ducks and runs)

 

[toggleswitch]

Ditto mine.

The freeze protection thermotat in the coil cycles the compressor WAY more than it used to, even in mid-summer.

I'm gonna give the coils a good cleaning to ensure that the airflow is not blocked. Save that, I think mine is just aging.

Is yours perhaps cycling and not drying for that reason?

 

[gansky1]

I believe there was a run of these WP dehumids that had a bad wiring harness causing some of these types of problems. I have one in the shed about the same age that has a similar electrical issue as well but haven't ordered the new harness for it.

 

[toggleswitch]

Tks Greg!

 

[veg-o-matic]

I know they recalled some WP machines a few years back; we have some at work and I remember them sitting in the hall waiting for service. Might want to check into that.

veg

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The noise you hear must be ice melting. It shouldn't freeze, it could be the thermostat, but I bet it needs a good cleaning.
You would clean it just like a window air conditioner. Remove the cover, cover electrical parts with aluminum foil, soak the coils with Fantastik or 409 spray cleaner, then blow it out with the garden hose.

Ken D.

 

[jmm63]

Funny this topic should come up, I've had nothing but problems with my WP dehumidifier I bought about a year ago. It was so loud and noisey and squeeky I couldn't stand to use it. Had it serviced twice last year, then stopped using it for the winter, and then serviced again 2 weeks ago. Still not right. Hate to say it, but I bought a new one at Lowes, switched the units and returned the defective one. After this many repairs on something new, I figure its Whirlpool's problem now! The new one is working like a charm though..so far!!

 

[Cybrvanr]

Check and see if there's any airflow coming out the front. You should feel some warm air coming out the front. If not, then chances are, your coil has frozen up. One of the biggest reasons this occurs is lack of airflow. It's sort of a vicious cycle that starts when the coils get a bit dusty and dirty. When that occurs, the evaporator coil gets below freezing. This restricts the airflow even more, resulting in an even lower coil temperature, and thus, more ice. More ice means less airflow, and thus, it continues until the compressor overheats due to high head pressure, and shuts down.

If you use this thing a lot, I highly recommend taking it apart, and giving the coils a good scrub-down. I've picked up numerous de-humidifers out of trash bins that were supposedly bad, but only had excessive amounts of dirt in them keeping them from operating properly.

 

[toggleswitch]

Cleaned the coils.
Nada.
Decided to move the sensor away from touching the evaporator.

Now it works ok. I figure if it frosts enough it will touch the thermostatic senor bulb, and initiate a de-ice period.

As a safetly measure, I added a 1.5 house *siesta* for the unit (by adding additional *trippers/triggers* to the timer that controls it) in the middle of its 10 pm to 10am run schedule.

Let's see what happens by morning.

It was more dangerous before, in my opinion, by cycling on and off in less than three minutes which was putting the compressor into overload cut-out as it was trying to start with pressure in the system- a big no-no.

 

[cycla-fabric]

Dehumidifier Cleaner

I grew up with a sears dehumidifier in our rec room. After a few years the coils needed cleaning so the unit was taken apart and cleaned. After doing that job, an air conditioner filter was placed on the intake side, and that put an end to dirty coils to clean, just a filter to clean or replace at the end of the season. Why manufacture's don't do this when they build the product, beats me. If you think about it, its an ac unit doing the reverse and a filter is supplied on a ac unit. Just my two cents!