I have a Friedrich 40 Pt. dehumidifier. It is just over 2 years old. I
believe it is made in China by LG. I only use it 6 months out of the year.
Lately it hasn't been removing much moisture from the air, even though the
compressor still runs. It used to remove half a bucket's worth a day, and
now I'm lucky if I see 1.5 inches of water on bottom of bucket per day.
This is with the unit on a timer to run continuously 1.25 hours and then off
for 45 minutes (and repeated over and over again throughout the day).
Reason I've been using a timer, is because this unit's dehumidistat kept
cycling it on and off for every two minutes due to the way they design it.

I removed the front cover and coils look clean. Filter is clean. Seems
that the bottom part of coil has tendency to freeze up if running
continuously for say an hour. This didn't seem to happen in the past.
Wondering if this unit has been leaking freon. I'm noticing that the bottom
of the inside of the bucket is turning an orange color. Is the oil that
gets mixed in with freon orange in color or is the orange substance
something else?

This unit has a 5 year warranty on just the "sealed refrigerant system" I'm
considering bringing it in for repair before the unit becomes totally
useless. The warranty covers parts and labor but not "diagnostics". If the
diagnostics are less than $75 I suppose this is worth fixing. I only paid
around $150 including tax.

J.

" wrote in message
news:KYTji.376$Y_3.29@trnddc04...
I have a Friedrich 40 Pt. dehumidifier. It is just over 2 years old. I
believe it is made in China by LG. I only use it 6 months out of the year.
Lately it hasn't been removing much moisture from the air, even though the
compressor still runs. It used to remove half a bucket's worth a day, and
now I'm lucky if I see 1.5 inches of water on bottom of bucket per day.
This is with the unit on a timer to run continuously 1.25 hours and then
off for 45 minutes (and repeated over and over again throughout the day).
Reason I've been using a timer, is because this unit's dehumidistat kept
cycling it on and off for every two minutes due to the way they design it.

I removed the front cover and coils look clean. Filter is clean. Seems
that the bottom part of coil has tendency to freeze up if running
continuously for say an hour. This didn't seem to happen in the past.
Wondering if this unit has been leaking freon. I'm noticing that the
bottom of the inside of the bucket is turning an orange color. Is the
oil that gets mixed in with freon orange in color or is the orange
substance something else?

This unit has a 5 year warranty on just the "sealed refrigerant system"
I'm considering bringing it in for repair before the unit becomes totally
useless. The warranty covers parts and labor but not "diagnostics". If
the diagnostics are less than $75 I suppose this is worth fixing. I only
paid around $150 including tax.

It might have leaked some of its refrigerant. Your take on the economics
are good. The 5 year warranty is mostly useless, based on the initial cost
and replacement cost.

On Sat, 07 Jul 2007 21:54:50 GMT, "
wrote:

I have a Friedrich 40 Pt. dehumidifier. It is just over 2 years old. I
believe it is made in China by LG. I only use it 6 months out of the year.
Lately it hasn't been removing much moisture from the air, even though the
compressor still runs. It used to remove half a bucket's worth a day, and
now I'm lucky if I see 1.5 inches of water on bottom of bucket per day.
This is with the unit on a timer to run continuously 1.25 hours and then off
for 45 minutes (and repeated over and over again throughout the day).

This indicates a lack of cooling.

Reason I've been using a timer, is because this unit's dehumidistat kept
cycling it on and off for every two minutes due to the way they design it.

I removed the front cover and coils look clean. Filter is clean. Seems
that the bottom part of coil has tendency to freeze up if running
continuously for say an hour. This didn't seem to happen in the past.

Freezing up usually indicates a lack of refrigerant.

Wondering if this unit has been leaking freon. I'm noticing that the bottom
of the inside of the bucket is turning an orange color. Is the oil that
gets mixed in with freon orange in color or is the orange substance
something else?

This unit has a 5 year warranty on just the "sealed refrigerant system" I'm
considering bringing it in for repair before the unit becomes totally
useless. The warranty covers parts and labor but not "diagnostics". If the
diagnostics are less than $75 I suppose this is worth fixing. I only paid
around $150 including tax.

J.

Take it in and see whether it's worth the cost for a repair that may
only last 2 years (probably no better than the original).

John

John writes:

On Sat, 07 Jul 2007 21:54:50 GMT, "
wrote:

I have a Friedrich 40 Pt. dehumidifier. It is just over 2 years old. I
believe it is made in China by LG. I only use it 6 months out of the year.
Lately it hasn't been removing much moisture from the air, even though the
compressor still runs. It used to remove half a bucket's worth a day, and
now I'm lucky if I see 1.5 inches of water on bottom of bucket per day.
This is with the unit on a timer to run continuously 1.25 hours and then off
for 45 minutes (and repeated over and over again throughout the day).

This indicates a lack of cooling.

Reason I've been using a timer, is because this unit's dehumidistat kept
cycling it on and off for every two minutes due to the way they design it.

I removed the front cover and coils look clean. Filter is clean. Seems
that the bottom part of coil has tendency to freeze up if running
continuously for say an hour. This didn't seem to happen in the past.

Freezing up usually indicates a lack of refrigerant.

Wondering if this unit has been leaking freon. I'm noticing that the bottom
of the inside of the bucket is turning an orange color. Is the oil that
gets mixed in with freon orange in color or is the orange substance
something else?

This unit has a 5 year warranty on just the "sealed refrigerant system" I'm
considering bringing it in for repair before the unit becomes totally
useless. The warranty covers parts and labor but not "diagnostics". If the
diagnostics are less than $75 I suppose this is worth fixing. I only paid
around $150 including tax.

J.

Take it in and see whether it's worth the cost for a repair that may
only last 2 years (probably no better than the original).

The unit should have been hermetically sealed. If it went bad in 2 years,
there probably has been a leak since it was built. So, if they do refill
it without finding the leak, will fail again in 2 years. A competent
refrigeration service place should be able to find the leak.

--- 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'll find out about getting this repaired. If I need a new one, is there a
better band that hopefully isn't made by LG?

BTW, do you think the orange colored substance I'm finding at bottom of the
water bucket is from the oil that was mixed in with the freon, or do you
think that is something else? Other than that I'm not seeing any oil
anywhere.

Thanks,

J.


Take it in and see whether it's worth the cost for a repair that may
only last 2 years (probably no better than the original).

The unit should have been hermetically sealed. If it went bad in 2 years,
there probably has been a leak since it was built. So, if they do refill
it without finding the leak, will fail again in 2 years. A competent
refrigeration service place should be able to find the leak.

--- 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.

" writes:

I have a Friedrich 40 Pt. dehumidifier. It is just over 2 years old. I
believe it is made in China by LG. I only use it 6 months out of the year.

I have two 50 pint Comfort Aire D50A2 units. They are full of FSP part
numbers which makes me think Whirlpool. And the 800-253-1301 on the label
rings through to the Whirlpool No-Help line. Despite that, they deny any
relationship.

Another label has "Heat Controller, Inc" of Jackson MI.
www.heatcontroller.com I suppose I should call them.

Both failed the same way; the crimped-togther 0.01HP Emerson Electric
motor seized, the coils iced over, and the compressor Klixon overload
eventualy roached itself.

In one case, the 5 cent plastic fan hub cracked off the shaft as well.

I freed up the one motor & drilled a hole into the back bearing cap.
I lubed up both bearings and it now blows up a storm.

I found the part #'s on some appliance repair site.

Their [aprox] prices:
$46 for the motor
$36 for the PoS fan blade
$36 for the Klixon.

I need the overloads at the least. I can find another fan.
Electronicsurplus.com has some Klixons, but I can't decode the trip
curve of them. I may just buy 'em. [Hell of a statement for an overload,
right?]

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433