I have a Hunter dehum. circa 1988. Lately, except for the warmest of days,
the coils freeze up. Is this a sign that the thing is losing its freon? I
am looking for an excuse to replace it with a more energy-efficient model.

Thanks.

Low freon, or reduced air flow.

Some models have a temp sensor that shuts off the compressor if the
coil starts to ice.

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Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Buck Turgidson" wrote in message
news:meetg.18974$f76.14818@dukeread06...
I have a Hunter dehum. circa 1988. Lately, except for the warmest of
days,
the coils freeze up. Is this a sign that the thing is losing its
freon? I
am looking for an excuse to replace it with a more energy-efficient
model.

Thanks.

Buck,

The most common cause: A unit that is nearly 20 years
old and has never been cleaned. Dirty fins=reduced air
flow=icing. Google should help you locate many references
to sites telling how to clean the unit. It is extremely easy.

Second most common cause: Low refrigerant due to a leak.
This is often a cheap and easy problem to fix IF you have the
equipment and knowledge to do the repair. However, paying
a pro to fix it is going to be a waste of money. You certainly
own an R-12 unit, and the retail cost of having the Freon-12
installed is a great down payment on a new unit. Add in the
service call/bench charge, labor charge, piercing valve(s), and
brazing the leak and you have a lot of money spent on fixing
a unit that is 2 decades old. Plus, you are going to owe the
tech money even if the repair is more than you decide to spend.

You may have found your excuse to buy a new unit. They
aren't really all that expensive.

Good luck,
Gideon