I’m 36 and I was staring at our dehumidifier, which has been wondrous, realizing I had no idea how it worked. This was such an easy and fantastic explanation. Thanks!
Just want to take a moment to appreciate the ease at which you completed that hand-drawn circuit at 2:25 to reconnect to the original arrow. Spot on. I would have missed completely.
You do such an incredible job explaining this!!! I have been meaning to look this up for a long time. It’s amazing what a game changer it is to have one in your home!! Patty
Great video. Just a correction: the air coming out on the other side is actually hotter then the intake, that is because of the latent heat from within the humidity that is being absorbed into the evaporator coil. So if you have 70°F being pulled you can have 75° blowing out on the other side (all depends on the latent heat). Great work. Thank you
you're right, actually right now I'm using one old style using paragon timer that each 8 minutes turn on a normally closed solenoid valve that pass the gas from the coil to evaporator and fan is behind the evaporator. hence passes the air from room through the a mesh at the back of device firs. so eliminate the dust, then pass the condensed coil then pass via evaporator and finally comes out of dehumidifier back to room.
Great video. A deeper dive would be nice. What does the capacitor do? And what are the other parts? Explaining the signals going into the controller and out would be interesting.
Thank you, Zach. I'm now educated on how A/C and dehumidifiers work. The next thing I need to know is how to choose a humidifier for a 700' condo in south Florida!
So what you're saying is, I can buy a box reverse cycle air-conditioner and turn it into a dehumidifier when needed and back to a reverse cycle air-conditioner when heating or cooling is needed... Great! Thanks for this video to explain all this :)
know the thermal exchane principle already. But cannot figure out the exact engineering arrangement until watching this video. Thanks for you detailed explanation.
Excellent explanation! I'm working on a water generator unit with Solar and Wind power... this is helpful. I would replace the refrigerant with a peltier module to do the "cooling" part and save all that compressor issue. Still working on it...
The freon after it has gone through the cold coil then is dumped into the compressor can where it absorbs the heat from the compressor motor, when it is running. When it is off the compressor gets rather warm. The issue with the newer cheap dehumidifiers is that the compressor is all sealed up, no ventilation to allow for convective cooling. Unlike a refrigerator, chest freezer, window air conditioner, portable air conditioner, water coolers or central air conditioner where the compressor is out in the open allowing for convective cooling. I have a GE brand dehumidifier & I notice the room getting quite warm as it lowers the humidity level. Which is why it was shipped back to Amazon from another customer.
Awesome video. I have the same dehumidfier but mine is frosting up around the evaporating coil 2-3x the size of the coil and the ice melts but does not drain in the bowl, just goes straight down and leaks under the unit. Once again awesome video. Subscribed!!!
Not sure about your background, are you a prof or an engineer? this is a high quality explanation done elegantly and many people would be benefitted. Thank you! Also, I have a question, my dehumidifier is 5 year old and recently I noticed - it runs fine but its not making the air dry and so very less water, if any is collecting. is it time to buy a new one? or I should try to tweak anything? what's the top thing inside I should take a look? appreciate your response when you get a chance. Again, thanks for the video.
I wish the exhaust temperatures were the same! I have yet to fine a dehumidifier the has the same entry temperature as them exit temperature. If you find one let me know!
Awesom job explaining how a dehumidifier works. Last one we had stopped working, we moved, and I had to repurchase another one to help keep basement humidity low. Since we've had hot days and been running our heat pump, the humidity has jumped to 65'ish%. Would rather have it between 45-55%. Wasn't expecting the heat from the dehumidifier to warm our comfortable 69°/70° room to 77°! Unit has a Set setting, along with Continuous and Max. How is the exhaust (warm/cold) going to be during each of those settings? Which will keep humidity set at a specific % and limit heat? Thanks, in advance. Loved that you included a real-like example of the frosting of the coils and the melting of the ice.
wow somebody actually describes the process well most people get it completely wrong .I see so many people thinking the compressor puts out cold freon liquid rather than hot gas the only thing i would add is the heat from compressor actually makes air warmer coming out then when it went in through the condensing coil getting rid of the compressor heat
In fact, every single hose portable air conditioners is practically a dehumidifier because the hot coil and the cold coil are just beside each other blow the hot humid air and more effective to remove condensation and not cooling the room.
Nice video Zack thanks for showing the internal workings. I noticed my machine it seems to be dripping the parts at the edges for the copper coil winds around. Is that normal? I mean the part that's not covered by the aluminum fins. Also I noticed something strange in my collection bucket the water that comes out has this sort of blackish grayish residue when I pour out the water. I cleaned the bucket but it seems to be coming from the inside of the machine because I can see it on top of the drip tray where the hole is. It wipes off relatively easily with a paper towel and it almost seems more of like a sort of a graphite than it does actually seem like mold but I guess it could be some type of mold. I've had a few other dehumidifiers and they don't seem to have the same problem that this one does so I guess I need to open it up and give it sort of a deep cleaning but I'm not really mechanically inclined so I'm a little hesitant to get too far into it. I'm ready to open it up the next time the bucket is full and see if I can get some extra gunk out behind behind beyond what the filter is
Actually in addition to the compressor getting hot, the air coming out of the dehumidifier is about 10-15°F warmer than ambient temperature due to the release of latent heat. Evaporation absorbs latent heat energy, thus cooling things down. Therefore condensation, which is the opposite and what ends up dripping in the tank, releases it, thereby causing the temperature of a small room to rise significantly when running a dehumidifier. The effect on sensible heat energy (temperature) by the release of latent heat energy is about 970 BTU/lb of water collected in the tank. The heat produced by the compressor, and less so the fans is about 3400 BTU/kWh. If a dehumidifier removes 1 lb of water in one hour and pulls 400 W. (That’s 0.4 kWh). 3400 X 0.4. So there’s about 1,360 BTU of sensible heat from the compressor and fans and 970 BTU from latent heat release. In this case 41% of the sensible heat produced is actually from latent heat release.
Ive always wanted to make an air-conditioner out of one of these just for fun just to see if it can be done. Place the warm coil on one side of a wall with a fan blowing out, and place the cool side on the other side of the wall with a fan blowing in, with a drainage tube for water of course. Seems feasible.
@@ZachFields Im building a travel camper and dont really want to install an ac unit in the roof and dont really want a mini split (although that may end up being the best solution), but Id really like to build my own sort of heatpump with reversing valve using a fridge compressor or something smaller. I know they sell smaller compressors. But I could grab a vehicle fan shroud and an electric automotive fan for both exhausting the hot side, and another one to act as the blower for the cold side. I mostly just think it would be a fun project but I dont have any hvac experience so Im intimidated
Very good explanation So if I have a dehumidifier and I bypass the air after it passes over the cooling coil and force back into the room And if I add an additional fan to draw outside air over the hot coil , and then exhaust it back outside , I would then cool the room and have an a/c ?
I have an idea, take the air conditioning unit from a old car. Run three fans on it. One for the compressor and hot coil. To blow heat. Separated by a insulated wall that holds another fan system to blow cold air/ keep drinks cold. Separate the drink compartment from the cold coil to allow the dehumidifier to act as a water generator for the car... this gives several benefits, a mild heat source when engine is off, cold storage, and water collection for the house... add a charge controller onto the orginal battery and run that to another seperate 12v marine battery with a decent reserve capacity. Or an entire battery bank if you want to go the extra mile. Add in a wind turbine to your car system and boom mobile power and water generator for simply running your car as you would anyhow (food delivery and commercial industries are missing out!!). Total cost would be miniscule. As low as 20 for the charge controller, 160 per battery, 50 for the inverter, 30-50 for the coils, and 0-150 for the air conditioning unit... another side note consider running the water reservoir to the underneath the hood, thermosyphoning the water for extra heat and hot water on the go. Plus water running under the hood will be smart to run alongside the heat system coils. Allowing additional cooling to the engine compartment and increased free heat and hot water to the system
Then why dose my dehumidifier in my grow room make the room so hot when I turn the lights out and need cool temps and low humidity the dehumidifier makes the room to hot and if I vent the hot air out of room with a hose it makes the humidity go up to high like it's not even on just a constant struggle to keep humidity down and temps down because dehumidifier is so hot
Fantastic video mate. Can a dehumidifier placed in the hallway work for multiple rooms whose rooms are open and connected to the hallway? Will it work that way? Assuming the four or five connected rooms are ranging from 8 to 16 sq.m and it can dehumidify multiple rooms at the same, how large a dehumidifier do I need?
I have a 70 pint Honeywell TP70AWKN. It is located in my basement with a temperature of 70 degrees. The Dehumidifier is set at 50 degrees. Sometimes it will go down to 45 for 3 minutes, and then shutoff. The level will go to 55 and then start back up. Other times it will run for days and stay at 46-49 degrees with cool air out the top. Then it will at some point start operating the way it should again. Is this normal ?
Thanks you for your nice video, I have this kind of unit and wonder how the defrost mode kick in ? - cos I have look inside and there is only one PT sensor for checking the temp. when it get to cold, is the sensor both for shout of compressor when it get to cold AND for detecting that it need defrost ? - I have a woods model 10
Great explanation. Me being novice and wanting to learn it leads me to a questions. Is there not a way to cool the air without using a compressor, bc there is heat made by compressor as well as it increased the temp of "coolant" to 200degrees in the example. Does it have to be liquid in order to disperse the coolant at a cold temperature? Is there no way to have a coolant that sits below room temp in a natural state and cycle that in front of the coils/fan to cool the air? Another question would be. Are there any systems that r designed in such a way that the would essentially put the Warn-Liquid compressor coil 'under' the Liquid misting cooling coil, which would drizzle the icey cold water, over the Warm coils to lower the temperature a tad, but keep coolant a liquid, but utilize the off-heat better. I know it sounds like the ramblings of a madman but my mind wanders when it's trying to figure things out.
Doo you think we can make some tweaks in this design to make it work like an AC. As dehumidifier are comparatively cheaper than AC. Its is compact and easy in mobility.
If I open up a dehumidifier would I be able to separate and add fans for each coil? and one of those fans is exhausting heat outside? take off the plastic split and insulate each coil and add fans, and the cool side would still dehumidify the air while cooling it? I have a $300 dehumidifier I got for $20. I need another air conditioner though.
How do small dehumidifiers work then? Ive taken one apart and theres no compressor or coils. Just some sensors, computer parts, a fan and a metal plate
Perhaps it only uses the cooling to condense the water onto the plate? Similar to the cold water bottle reference in the video. Or maybe it's one of those thermoelectric generators that produces a temperature difference on either side of a metal to condense the water? I'm no expert but I think you raised a great point.
Do you have a video how to fix a dehumidifier? Mines not collecting water, the compressor gets warm, the fan works, the coilers arent getting that cold tho, would say just room temp... is the refrigerant possibly not in the unit anymore? Possibly leaked out from being cheaply made lol...
excellent video. I am trying to figure out an efficient dehumidifier heater system for a wood drying kiln-like device. To do that, I will need a flow of dry warm air, the temp of which is determined by the moisture content of the wood inside the dryer. I need to control the temperature so as to hold the humidity constant. That way, at any instant I am removing from the air exactly the amount of water that was released from the wood. I am trying to create a solution that will allow me to dry lumber sawn from logs in the absolute minimum time possible. I intend to establish this minimum by experiment. I will draw the water out at increasing rates until the wood starts to crack or check, then back it off a little. My intention is to sell the electronics, heater, and dehumidifier as a stand-alone unit, allowing the user to construct a wood kiln of any size, all the way from a multi-room warehouse-sized unit that can dry truckloads of wood to a small unit for drying individual pieces of firewood.
This is a really great explanation. So this gives me an idea; maybe you could weigh in on it? In RVs and Vanlife, how to heat during the winter is often a tough decision. One of the heaters is a catalytic heater that uses propane. This has the advantage of being quiet, safe(ish), and energy efficient. The major drawback is that a byproduct of the process creates moisture, and in a smaller space this can get pretty uncomfortable. The solution is to provide enough outside air exchange to let fresh air in and moist air out, but obviously that's an inefficiency. So my question: based on how a dehumidifier works, does this mean I could essentially duct cold air from outside the RV through a pipe with fins and then back out again, and it would dehumidify the air? Or even have some kind of antifreeze stored outsidepiped through a copper baseboard contraption? Since this would also cool the RV a little, would this be less efficient than exchanging air?
@razordu30 Brilliant idea! I've run into this same scenario on short weekend car camping trips. A few things that come to mind with this setup is that there would need to be a high exchange rate of air moving through that duct (as you mentioned), but also a high air flow across the inside coil. My guess would be that in order for this to work, the temps outside would have to be well below freezing. The thing about a dehumidifier is that there is no net thermal gain or loss across the coils. There is a net thermal gain in heat from the motor. With the setup you mentioned there IS a net loss in temp. That said, however, the only energy consumption is that of a few fans. Again, the lower the outside temperature the more efficient it would be but also the greater the need. There would be some bugs to work out, but you may well be onto something here. When running those catalytic heaters, is there a need for fresh air exchange to replenish oxygen?
My humidifier coils don't get hot or cold and will not collect any water.. the works and capacitor is brand new.. I can feel the compressor turn on but it gets really hot .. does it need a refrigerant recharge ..?? Or is my compressor bad .. ??
Great video. I have the fan working and air blowing but the compressor not heating up and checked the capacitor which as no power. The capacitor has 4.7uf 380vac. Will 6uf 400vac work?
I think it's due to the fact that the hot air is expelled outside and not inside like a portable dehumidifier. I have, but don't use, a portable AC, and wondered the exact same thing. AC and Dehumidifier seemed like the same thing.
So I technically you could make a 12v-24v dehumidifier by just swapping out the compressor for a boat refrigerator compressor. My goal is to design one that uses the least energy but pumps out the most water so it can run from solar power. So I guess it would have to turn off after icing at 3 quarters of the way for the most water without damage. The knowledge of what the internals do is extremely helpful. With some solid state fans it could run with very little electricity in a slim case too.
I'm curious, when you see a "commercial dehumidifier" that is say 1700$, and it is rated for up to 18 gallons per day, is that price largely because of the niche market? I see also a '150 pint [~22 gal] (under 95°F,90%RH condition) removal per day' unit rated for 7000sqft, it is 300$ (and also uses a compressor). I assume this is essentially the same core mechanical process in both units, just different packaging. Is there any difference in the refrigerants used in modern systems?
Great video and explanation. Thank you. I've been holding on buying a dehumidifier beacause I don't know how it works. Is there a leak of refrigerant gas concern of dehumidifiers? If it can leak in some cases, how to check for a gas leak. I read the gas is toxic to humans breathing? Does it create and generate ozone? Is there anything I would be cautious considering buying one? Thank you so much.
@Melissa Phan A dehumidifier operates off of the same exact system that a window air conditioner, freezer, refrigerator, car air conditioner, and whole-house HVAC system all use, just that the parts are assembled in a different order. You want to make sure you size it right (not too big OR too small) for the space you're in. Other than that, I wouldn't have any hesitations of safety, assuming you live with other modern conveniences listed above.
I’m 36 and I was staring at our dehumidifier, which has been wondrous, realizing I had no idea how it worked. This was such an easy and fantastic explanation. Thanks!
That diagram and explainer of the heat pump cycle is probably the best and most concise I've ever seen. Nice work.
I agree completely
This is the best explanation of how an AC and a dehumidifier works that I've seen to date. Thank you for helping me to finally get the process.
Could not believe how is clear your explanations, thank you.
Just want to take a moment to appreciate the ease at which you completed that hand-drawn circuit at 2:25 to reconnect to the original arrow. Spot on. I would have missed completely.
You do such an incredible job explaining this!!! I have been meaning to look this up for a long time. It’s amazing what a game changer it is to have one in your home!!
Patty
You are gifted at explaining how things work. Keep up the good work. Coming from a Hvac technician.
Great video and explanations I personally just purchased my first dehumidifying unit didn't know how it works this video was very helpful
Great video. Just a correction: the air coming out on the other side is actually hotter then the intake, that is because of the latent heat from within the humidity that is being absorbed into the evaporator coil. So if you have 70°F being pulled you can have 75° blowing out on the other side (all depends on the latent heat). Great work. Thank you
More actually. Any watts you put into the system also produces heat. So a 600w dehum will produce for example 610w of sensible heat.
@@bentosan correct. I was just talking about the latent heat alone, besides for the wattage of the unit.
you're right, actually right now I'm using one old style using paragon timer that each 8 minutes turn on a normally closed solenoid valve that pass the gas from the coil to evaporator and fan is behind the evaporator. hence passes the air from room through the a mesh at the back of device firs. so eliminate the dust, then pass the condensed coil then pass via evaporator and finally comes out of dehumidifier back to room.
Great video. A deeper dive would be nice. What does the capacitor do? And what are the other parts? Explaining the signals going into the controller and out would be interesting.
Thank you, Zach. I'm now educated on how A/C and dehumidifiers work. The next thing I need to know is how to choose a humidifier for a 700' condo in south Florida!
Best explanation of how dehumidifiers work on the Internet I found. Nice job and thanks for spreading your knowledge sir.
Couldn't have asked for a better explanation than this! Thanks!
So what you're saying is, I can buy a box reverse cycle air-conditioner and turn it into a dehumidifier when needed and back to a reverse cycle air-conditioner when heating or cooling is needed... Great! Thanks for this video to explain all this :)
Wow. Just wow. This was amazingly produced. I’m in awe. Amazing job.
I have always wanted to know how one of these works. Thank you!
Thanks for the educational video. Never owned one of these but now that I understand it's basic functions, I'm going to buy one now.
Dude this video is amazing! Thank you so much, I work with these all day and you really helped me out.
Subscribed!
Wow, Simple enough to understand and yet still thorough to have a grasp of the underlying principles and processes. Amazing explanation!
This was a very informative video. It was straight to the point and thorough enough to understand the principles of dehumidifiers. Thank you
know the thermal exchane principle already. But cannot figure out the exact engineering arrangement until watching this video. Thanks for you detailed explanation.
The explanation of the A/C system was very good.
Excellent explanation! I'm working on a water generator unit with Solar and Wind power... this is helpful. I would replace the refrigerant with a peltier module to do the "cooling" part and save all that compressor issue. Still working on it...
Great explanation for how this works! Other videos made it overly complicated. Thank you.
Superbly instructional video on dehumidifiers!
Good explanation, thank you!
The freon after it has gone through the cold coil then is dumped into the compressor can where it absorbs the heat from the compressor motor, when it is running. When it is off the compressor gets rather warm.
The issue with the newer cheap dehumidifiers is that the compressor is all sealed up, no ventilation to allow for convective cooling. Unlike a refrigerator, chest freezer, window air conditioner, portable air conditioner, water coolers or central air conditioner where the compressor is out in the open allowing for convective cooling.
I have a GE brand dehumidifier & I notice the room getting quite warm as it lowers the humidity level. Which is why it was shipped back to Amazon from another customer.
Awesome video. I have the same dehumidfier but mine is frosting up around the evaporating coil 2-3x the size of the coil and the ice melts but does not drain in the bowl, just goes straight down and leaks under the unit. Once again awesome video. Subscribed!!!
Perfect explanation. Answer all the questions I have.
Zach you are so awesome! I thought I would try to fix this dehumifier before I threw it out and you helped me fix it! Thanks so much!
You're welcome!!
Great explanation. Love it.
Quick and simple, thank you so much.
Keep the good work :)
Excellent explanation. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Best explantation ever. Thank you very much!!!
💯% I used to wonder why dehumidifiers don't cool the room until today
Amazing video, very helpful and clear the concept Thanks
Not sure about your background, are you a prof or an engineer? this is a high quality explanation done elegantly and many people would be benefitted. Thank you!
Also, I have a question, my dehumidifier is 5 year old and recently I noticed - it runs fine but its not making the air dry and so very less water, if any is collecting. is it time to buy a new one? or I should try to tweak anything? what's the top thing inside I should take a look? appreciate your response when you get a chance.
Again, thanks for the video.
Explained clearly.... thanks.
Great breakdown of how the system works!
I wish the exhaust temperatures were the same! I have yet to fine a dehumidifier the has the same entry temperature as them exit temperature. If you find one let me know!
Awesom job explaining how a dehumidifier works. Last one we had stopped working, we moved, and I had to repurchase another one to help keep basement humidity low. Since we've had hot days and been running our heat pump, the humidity has jumped to 65'ish%. Would rather have it between 45-55%. Wasn't expecting the heat from the dehumidifier to warm our comfortable 69°/70° room to 77°! Unit has a Set setting, along with Continuous and Max. How is the exhaust (warm/cold) going to be during each of those settings? Which will keep humidity set at a specific % and limit heat? Thanks, in advance. Loved that you included a real-like example of the frosting of the coils and the melting of the ice.
Excellent! Thanks for the great explanation and drawing.
thank you man,, explains so well,
Pretty cool Zach, thanks for the explanation!
This is a great video. Thank you!
Great! Thanks man. You just motivated me to learn new stuff. Please keep doing this
Thats explain it much better than my instructor.
wow somebody actually describes the process well most people get it completely wrong .I see so many people thinking the compressor puts out cold freon liquid rather than hot gas
the only thing i would add is the heat from compressor actually makes air warmer coming out then when it went in through the condensing coil getting rid of the compressor heat
You are a great teacher
This is such a good explanation, thank you for this video
In fact, every single hose portable air conditioners is practically a dehumidifier because the hot coil and the cold coil are just beside each other blow the hot humid air and more effective to remove condensation and not cooling the room.
Great explanation, if I say so myself.
Awesome explanation 👏
Thank you so much Zach I love this video and your explanation I want to build it from scratch with an arduino
Nice video Zack thanks for showing the internal workings. I noticed my machine it seems to be dripping the parts at the edges for the copper coil winds around. Is that normal? I mean the part that's not covered by the aluminum fins. Also I noticed something strange in my collection bucket the water that comes out has this sort of blackish grayish residue when I pour out the water. I cleaned the bucket but it seems to be coming from the inside of the machine because I can see it on top of the drip tray where the hole is. It wipes off relatively easily with a paper towel and it almost seems more of like a sort of a graphite than it does actually seem like mold but I guess it could be some type of mold. I've had a few other dehumidifiers and they don't seem to have the same problem that this one does so I guess I need to open it up and give it sort of a deep cleaning but I'm not really mechanically inclined so I'm a little hesitant to get too far into it. I'm ready to open it up the next time the bucket is full and see if I can get some extra gunk out behind behind beyond what the filter is
Excellent, you should be a teacher. Am 70 yrs. old, auto-mechanic 40 years.
Great explanation! Thanks for the helpful video.
well explained thanks
How hot does the compressor usually get? The one I had was almost too hot to touch after running for 2 hours, was wondering if thats normal
GJ keeping your face atraight when you said "but down in the bottom its puttin it out"
Actually in addition to the compressor getting hot, the air coming out of the dehumidifier is about 10-15°F warmer than ambient temperature due to the release of latent heat. Evaporation absorbs latent heat energy, thus cooling things down. Therefore condensation, which is the opposite and what ends up dripping in the tank, releases it, thereby causing the temperature of a small room to rise significantly when running a dehumidifier.
The effect on sensible heat energy (temperature) by the release of latent heat energy is about 970 BTU/lb of water collected in the tank. The heat produced by the compressor, and less so the fans is about 3400 BTU/kWh. If a dehumidifier removes 1 lb of water in one hour and pulls 400 W. (That’s 0.4 kWh). 3400 X 0.4. So there’s about 1,360 BTU of sensible heat from the compressor and fans and 970 BTU from latent heat release. In this case 41% of the sensible heat produced is actually from latent heat release.
That’s that warm air that’s coming out of your dehumidifier coming off the compressor.
Tip: Apply a thin coating of silane (not saline) to the coils - not fins, but coils - to reduce corrosion, and premature failure.
Ive always wanted to make an air-conditioner out of one of these just for fun just to see if it can be done. Place the warm coil on one side of a wall with a fan blowing out, and place the cool side on the other side of the wall with a fan blowing in, with a drainage tube for water of course. Seems feasible.
That would be cool!
@@ZachFields Im building a travel camper and dont really want to install an ac unit in the roof and dont really want a mini split (although that may end up being the best solution), but Id really like to build my own sort of heatpump with reversing valve using a fridge compressor or something smaller. I know they sell smaller compressors. But I could grab a vehicle fan shroud and an electric automotive fan for both exhausting the hot side, and another one to act as the blower for the cold side. I mostly just think it would be a fun project but I dont have any hvac experience so Im intimidated
This deserves a sub and thumbs up 🎉
Cool beans! That was a good explaination. Thank you!
Good job sir. Keep it up. Enjoyed the video
Very good explanation
So if I have a dehumidifier and I bypass the air after it passes over the cooling coil and force back into the room
And if I add an additional fan to draw outside air over the hot coil , and then exhaust it back outside , I would then cool the room and have an a/c ?
I have an idea, take the air conditioning unit from a old car. Run three fans on it. One for the compressor and hot coil. To blow heat. Separated by a insulated wall that holds another fan system to blow cold air/ keep drinks cold. Separate the drink compartment from the cold coil to allow the dehumidifier to act as a water generator for the car... this gives several benefits, a mild heat source when engine is off, cold storage, and water collection for the house... add a charge controller onto the orginal battery and run that to another seperate 12v marine battery with a decent reserve capacity. Or an entire battery bank if you want to go the extra mile. Add in a wind turbine to your car system and boom mobile power and water generator for simply running your car as you would anyhow (food delivery and commercial industries are missing out!!). Total cost would be miniscule. As low as 20 for the charge controller, 160 per battery, 50 for the inverter, 30-50 for the coils, and 0-150 for the air conditioning unit... another side note consider running the water reservoir to the underneath the hood, thermosyphoning the water for extra heat and hot water on the go. Plus water running under the hood will be smart to run alongside the heat system coils. Allowing additional cooling to the engine compartment and increased free heat and hot water to the system
Then why dose my dehumidifier in my grow room make the room so hot when I turn the lights out and need cool temps and low humidity the dehumidifier makes the room to hot and if I vent the hot air out of room with a hose it makes the humidity go up to high like it's not even on just a constant struggle to keep humidity down and temps down because dehumidifier is so hot
Fantastic video mate. Can a dehumidifier placed in the hallway work for multiple rooms whose rooms are open and connected to the hallway? Will it work that way? Assuming the four or five connected rooms are ranging from 8 to 16 sq.m and it can dehumidify multiple rooms at the same, how large a dehumidifier do I need?
Amazing!! Thanks Bro!!
thx for the vid, helped me a lot
I have a 70 pint Honeywell TP70AWKN. It is located in my basement with a temperature of 70 degrees. The Dehumidifier is set at 50 degrees. Sometimes it will go down to 45 for 3 minutes, and then shutoff. The level will go to 55 and then start back up. Other times it will run for days and stay at 46-49 degrees with cool air out the top. Then it will at some point start operating the way it should again. Is this normal ?
Thanks you for your nice video, I have this kind of unit and wonder how the defrost mode kick in ? - cos I have look inside and there is only one PT sensor for checking the temp. when it get to cold, is the sensor both for shout of compressor when it get to cold AND for detecting that it need defrost ? - I have a woods model 10
Great video. Thanks. But how do you clean the gunk out that collects in between the two coils?
Great explanation.
Me being novice and wanting to learn it leads me to a questions.
Is there not a way to cool the air without using a compressor, bc there is heat made by compressor as well as it increased the temp of "coolant" to 200degrees in the example.
Does it have to be liquid in order to disperse the coolant at a cold temperature?
Is there no way to have a coolant that sits below room temp in a natural state and cycle that in front of the coils/fan to cool the air?
Another question would be.
Are there any systems that r designed in such a way that the would essentially put the Warn-Liquid compressor coil 'under' the Liquid misting cooling coil, which would drizzle the icey cold water, over the Warm coils to lower the temperature a tad, but keep coolant a liquid, but utilize the off-heat better. I know it sounds like the ramblings of a madman but my mind wanders when it's trying to figure things out.
Great explanation, thanks!
Doo you think we can make some tweaks in this design to make it work like an AC. As dehumidifier are comparatively cheaper than AC. Its is compact and easy in mobility.
Probably more information in this one video and all of TH-cam it may be all of the Internet to help people understand how a Dehumidifier works.
If I open up a dehumidifier would I be able to separate and add fans for each coil? and one of those fans is exhausting heat outside? take off the plastic split and insulate each coil and add fans, and the cool side would still dehumidify the air while cooling it? I have a $300 dehumidifier I got for $20. I need another air conditioner though.
great video! My question is; why does my AC cool my room faster on the dehumidifier setting as opposed to temp?
How do small dehumidifiers work then? Ive taken one apart and theres no compressor or coils. Just some sensors, computer parts, a fan and a metal plate
Perhaps it only uses the cooling to condense the water onto the plate? Similar to the cold water bottle reference in the video. Or maybe it's one of those thermoelectric generators that produces a temperature difference on either side of a metal to condense the water?
I'm no expert but I think you raised a great point.
Great video, thank you
Thanks for this information
Awesome. Thank you.
Do you have a video how to fix a dehumidifier? Mines not collecting water, the compressor gets warm, the fan works, the coilers arent getting that cold tho, would say just room temp... is the refrigerant possibly not in the unit anymore? Possibly leaked out from being cheaply made lol...
excellent video. I am trying to figure out an efficient dehumidifier heater system for a wood drying kiln-like device. To do that, I will need a flow of dry warm air, the temp of which is determined by the moisture content of the wood inside the dryer. I need to control the temperature so as to hold the humidity constant. That way, at any instant I am removing from the air exactly the amount of water that was released from the wood.
I am trying to create a solution that will allow me to dry lumber sawn from logs in the absolute minimum time possible. I intend to establish this minimum by experiment. I will draw the water out at increasing rates until the wood starts to crack or check, then back it off a little.
My intention is to sell the electronics, heater, and dehumidifier as a stand-alone unit, allowing the user to construct a wood kiln of any size, all the way from a multi-room warehouse-sized unit that can dry truckloads of wood to a small unit for drying individual pieces of firewood.
This is a really great explanation. So this gives me an idea; maybe you could weigh in on it?
In RVs and Vanlife, how to heat during the winter is often a tough decision. One of the heaters is a catalytic heater that uses propane. This has the advantage of being quiet, safe(ish), and energy efficient. The major drawback is that a byproduct of the process creates moisture, and in a smaller space this can get pretty uncomfortable. The solution is to provide enough outside air exchange to let fresh air in and moist air out, but obviously that's an inefficiency.
So my question: based on how a dehumidifier works, does this mean I could essentially duct cold air from outside the RV through a pipe with fins and then back out again, and it would dehumidify the air? Or even have some kind of antifreeze stored outsidepiped through a copper baseboard contraption? Since this would also cool the RV a little, would this be less efficient than exchanging air?
@razordu30
Brilliant idea! I've run into this same scenario on short weekend car camping trips. A few things that come to mind with this setup is that there would need to be a high exchange rate of air moving through that duct (as you mentioned), but also a high air flow across the inside coil. My guess would be that in order for this to work, the temps outside would have to be well below freezing.
The thing about a dehumidifier is that there is no net thermal gain or loss across the coils. There is a net thermal gain in heat from the motor. With the setup you mentioned there IS a net loss in temp. That said, however, the only energy consumption is that of a few fans. Again, the lower the outside temperature the more efficient it would be but also the greater the need.
There would be some bugs to work out, but you may well be onto something here. When running those catalytic heaters, is there a need for fresh air exchange to replenish oxygen?
My humidifier coils don't get hot or cold and will not collect any water.. the works and capacitor is brand new.. I can feel the compressor turn on but it gets really hot .. does it need a refrigerant recharge ..?? Or is my compressor bad .. ??
Great video. I have the fan working and air blowing but the compressor not heating up and checked the capacitor which as no power. The capacitor has 4.7uf 380vac. Will 6uf 400vac work?
Excellent. Thanks!
When I add a drain hose to drain the water as opposed to have the water fall into the bucket, what causes the water to drain into the hose
Excellent video!!!
How come when I set my air conditioner today humidification then it spits out cold air?
I think it's due to the fact that the hot air is expelled outside and not inside like a portable dehumidifier. I have, but don't use, a portable AC, and wondered the exact same thing. AC and Dehumidifier seemed like the same thing.
You got a subscriber 👍❤
So I technically you could make a 12v-24v dehumidifier by just swapping out the compressor for a boat refrigerator compressor. My goal is to design one that uses the least energy but pumps out the most water so it can run from solar power. So I guess it would have to turn off after icing at 3 quarters of the way for the most water without damage. The knowledge of what the internals do is extremely helpful. With some solid state fans it could run with very little electricity in a slim case too.
I'm curious, when you see a "commercial dehumidifier" that is say 1700$, and it is rated for up to 18 gallons per day, is that price largely because of the niche market? I see also a '150 pint [~22 gal] (under 95°F,90%RH condition) removal per day' unit rated for 7000sqft, it is 300$ (and also uses a compressor). I assume this is essentially the same core mechanical process in both units, just different packaging. Is there any difference in the refrigerants used in modern systems?
Very helpful.
very good video thank you
Great video and explanation. Thank you. I've been holding on buying a dehumidifier beacause I don't know how it works. Is there a leak of refrigerant gas concern of dehumidifiers? If it can leak in some cases, how to check for a gas leak. I read the gas is toxic to humans breathing? Does it create and generate ozone? Is there anything I would be cautious considering buying one? Thank you so much.
@Melissa Phan
A dehumidifier operates off of the same exact system that a window air conditioner, freezer, refrigerator, car air conditioner, and whole-house HVAC system all use, just that the parts are assembled in a different order. You want to make sure you size it right (not too big OR too small) for the space you're in. Other than that, I wouldn't have any hesitations of safety, assuming you live with other modern conveniences listed above.