Troubleshooting dehumidifier - Santa Fe Advanced 90

Boon

Hi all,

The dehumidifer in my crawlspace doesn't dehumidify. Honestly, I never ran it enough to know if/when it might've stopped working. In the last 9 years I maybe ran it for a total of 20 hours. Not sure how old it is.

The manual doesn't have troubleshooting for the following scenario:

• Fan runs,
• compressor gets hot to the touch,
• capacitor tests ok (46.3µF) according to its rating,
• coils don't freeze
• unit doesn't trip on thermal overload,
• put a thermometer against the coils, fins, capillary tube, that bulb-looking thing, and nothing reads above/below room temp.
• humidistat turns unit on/off at about the right position on the dial according to a humidity sensor I have.

I assume there is no refrigerant. The blue coil looks sus.

Anything I can try? Is this something any tech would/could service?

EDIT: I just noticed I can probably remove that rating plate. I wonder if there is diagnostic anything behind there. I'll go check that now. Eh, nothing back there except maybe a capacitor for the fan motor

Appreciate any guidance,

David

EBEBRATT-Ed

I agree it may have lost its charge. Any AC tech with R410A (which is a common refrigerant) can charge it and leak test it. The leak may or may not be repairable. Probably going to have to install a line tap valve to make sure it is empty and then braze in a couple of Schrader access valves.

mattmia2

welcome to my collection of 4 dehumidifiers since 2010 from which the refrigerant has escaped.

mattmia2

is it still under warranty? if it has refrigerant in it and the compressor is actually pumping(though possible for the compressor to run but fail to pump, a fairly uncommon failure mode), you should hear it flowing and you should hear it equalize if you turn it off suddenly after it has been running for a bit(you should hear the liquid being released from the capillary tube from the high side to the low side for maybe 10 seconds to a minute or so after the compressor stops).

Boon

I definitely don’t hear anything flowing or equalizing. Almost certainly out of warranty - bought the house almost 9 years ago and it came with the house.

I’d love to use it to teach myself about refrigeration, as if I need something else to do. At least I can’t break it.

mattmia2

you could always add an access fitting to the low side with flare fittings, add some metal leak type stop leak and evacuate it and charge it and see how that goes. according to the epa you need a part 608 certification to buy r410a.

GGross

On that note if the goal is to learn, the 608 certification is not terribly difficult to obtain, and the large study book for it has some good info and would make a decent reference to use in conjunction with forums like this etc

EBEBRATT-Ed

Then you need gauges, vac pump and a recovery machine and tank. harbor freight has some cheap stuff, also Vevor.

mattmia2

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904439#Comment_1904439

i think the current manufacturing processes have eliminated the need for a recovery machine…

GGross

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904446#Comment_1904446

it's all de minimis when you are the manufacturer 😁

GW

same here- I added ref. I don’t recall needing to add a tap fitting. I just charged it to general super heat numbers

when it lost its charge again, I just got rid of it. Too much hassle taken those things apart.

I don’t recall if I tried pressure Testing, looking for the leak. I think I did and the leak was buried inside the coil.

Now I just buy the cheap Chinese import stuff. I’m not spending that kind of money again on a name brand appliance, and getting five or six years out of it.

pecmsg

At 15 years that system had a good run. Most are 7 1/2 - 10 years average life.