Dehumidifier icing up question

[skijay]

I always find more solutions to problems not ski related on this forum, so I am going to ask my appliance question here.

My dehumidifier's coil looks like this after 2 hours of running. It only freezes in this section. My humidity has increased from 50% to 60% in a week. The unit is on a 4 hour on / off cycle and after it is off and the ice has melted and it is the on cycle, it will turn on and I can see the water dripping into the bucket (as it should). After it has iced up no more water drips.

From what I have found on the web, it is either low on refrigerant and / or bad compressor.



Anybody want to confirm???

Also is LG and GoldStar the same company?

 

[Mildcat]

Could also be a bad fan motor. If there's not enough air flowing through the condenser it can freeze up like that. Take the rear cover off and check to see it the fan is working. LG is from when Lucky bought Goldstar and became LG.

I just replaced the motor on my LG last week, it wasn't freezing just making a horrible noise. I bought it as a recon, the a-hole who reconditioned it put a motor for a 45 pint model into a 65 pint model.

If you need parts I found this company had the best prices. http://www.encompassparts.com/lgconsumer/

 

[Glenn]

I have a split system in the house (separate heat and a/c) so you'll have to excuse my question if it sounds stupid.

Is that dehumidifier separate from the A/C system? Usually, in an A/C system, a frozen coil means the system is a bit low on freon.

 

[billski]

I have a split system in the house (separate heat and a/c) so you'll have to excuse my question if it sounds stupid.

Is that dehumidifier separate from the A/C system? Usually, in an A/C system, a frozen coil means the system is a bit low on freon.

Yes, it has nothing to do with your a/c system. a/c does have the effect of being a dehumidifier however. they are most often stand-alone units. I run one in my basement.

Fancy-pants expensive forced hot air systems have a humidifier option.

 

[Puck it]

It is the compressor from my experience with a stand alone unit.

 

[Talisman]

Better quality dehumidifiers have controls that prevent frozen coils. Your issue could be as simple as a bad controller. Check simple stuff like the filter being blocked, the outlet voltage or changing the duty cycle from 4 hours to 2 hours.

For the price of a decent stand alone dehumdifer it isn't worth changing a refrigerant charge or swapping out a compressor.

 

[skijay]

I thought LG was "better quality". The coils are clean and there is nothing blocking airflow. The extended warranty company set up a tech to come out on Thursday. Let's see if the $19.88 was worth it.

 

[ctenidae]

Check to make sure it's not actually an ice maker.
I've had that happen. Caused a hell of a mess.


/standard pointless post.

 

[Mildcat]

Check to make sure it's not actually an ice maker.
I've had that happen. Caused a hell of a mess.


/standard pointless post.

An icemaker that takes water out of the air to make the ice! You better hurry up and patent that!

 

[skijay]

They came out to look at it on Thursday. It is the compressor. They ordered the parts. When I asked about the refrigerant and replacing it, they said they do that as they have a portable machine to evacuate and refill. Thursday's service call was $136. The parts are $104 and they will charge another $136 to come out. I called a local appliance shop to price a refill of the refrigerant and the cost is $100. So in other words the extended warranty company is going to spend $476 to fix an appliance that cost $175. This makes a lot of sense.

 

[Geoff]

You think the appliance shop gets $136 from the warranty company to make a house call? I'll bet there is a fixed fee schedule just like for cars.

 

[skijay]

I do not know if they get reimbursed from the warranty company for the full amount or not, but that is the amount that is on the invoice. Perhaps it is a marketing ploy to show the consumer how much it would cost if this was out of pocket so the next time you by an appliance you will purchase another extended warranty.