Give me the skinny on dehumidifiers???

Please.

I'm going to buy a dehumidifier today as I believe my levels are a bit high for 6th week of flower and I'll for sure need in my drying closet if I ever make it that far.

What are my targets for humidity?
Anything to look for or avoid in a brand, I was gonna hit up Lowes or HD.

Thanks a lot

Mine has a pump so I am not emptying a bucket , Not sure where you are but Maynards has lower prices than both those places

Make sure you get a 50 pint or bigger they are much more efficient than the 30 pint units even though they draw more power they work less to lower rh.

As @Herb & Suds mentioned, a way to drain it, mine has a hose attachment which I run directly into my sump pump reservoir so I don't have to empty a bucket. The other nice feature is a built-in digital hygrometer, just set it to a desired RH level and it comes on as needed. I set mine to 55%.

GroErr said:

As @Herb & Suds mentioned, a way to drain it, mine has a hose attachment which I run directly into my sump pump reservoir so I don't have to empty a bucket. The other nice feature is a built-in digital hygrometer, just set it to a desired RH level and it comes on as needed. I set mine to 55%.

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Hey thanks guys. Wouldn't draining into your sump dilute your res? Does distilled water have a known ph?

a "sump" is a drain in a basement, a sump pump keeps your basement from slowly flooding from groundwater..they're saying just run it straight down the drain so you don't have to keep emptying the bucket

WaterDog said:

Hey thanks guys. Wouldn't draining into your sump dilute your res? Does distilled water have a known ph?

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@Roger A. Shrubber explained it, it's just basically a pit that collects water (like when it rains heavy, spring thaws) from around the footings of the house. A sump-pump goes on automatically when the water gets to a certain level and pumps the water outside and away from the house. I forget sometimes that different regions use terms that many have never heard of. Like Roger said, you just need somewhere to drain the water generated by the dehumidifier to use the automatic drain feature and avoid manually emptying the bucket.

With a built in pump mine pumps up one level to a mop sink

Roger A. Shrubber said:

a "sump" is a drain in a basement, a sump pump keeps your basement from slowly flooding from groundwater..they're saying just run it straight down the drain so you don't have to keep emptying the bucket

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Ah Ok thanks. Went with a GE 50 liter hoping I can set it (55%) and forget it.

Thanks guys

I had the GE 50 and I gave it to my sister when I got the Frigidaire 70.. The Frigidaire is way better fwiw

WaterDog said:

Ah Ok thanks. Went with a GE 50 liter hoping I can set it (55%) and forget it.

Thanks guys

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Keep an eye on your temps. Dehumidifiers will add heat as they remove moisture. I have an old Sears dehumidifier from about '72. It's heavy, noisy, puts out a lot of heat and sucks electricity like I owned a power plant but it sure keeps things dry.

PigKiller said:

Keep an eye on your temps. Dehumidifiers will add heat as they remove moisture. I have an old Sears dehumidifier from about '72. It's heavy, noisy, puts out a lot of heat and sucks electricity like I owned a power plant but it sure keeps things dry.

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Good point, they all generate heat, mine is new and high efficiency but still generates heat. I manage that by putting it on a timer that only comes on during lights off. That's when the RH spikes and I never have issues maintaining RH below 55% during lights on anyhow as the heat/lights burn it off.

blowincherrypie said:

I had the GE 50 and I gave it to my sister when I got the Frigidaire 70.. The Frigidaire is way better fwiw

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Why? Cause I can get it cheaper. even the 70 cheaper than I found at HD

The Frigidaire was quieter and seemed to suck the water out quicker/better. It was also listed as more efficient for the draw at the plug. I got mine last summer off amazon but heres a recent review of the same model.

http://www.dehumidifierbuyersguide.com/frigidaire-ffad7033r1-review/

The tank does fill up quick as shit but you can hose it to the drain or have it drain into a larger bucket.

Thanks man I'll pick that one up tomor then Im gonna set it to drain in a 5 gallon bucket I believe that will be easiest method.

PigKiller said:

Keep an eye on your temps. Dehumidifiers will add heat as they remove moisture. I have an old Sears dehumidifier from about '72. It's heavy, noisy, puts out a lot of heat and sucks electricity like I owned a power plant but it sure keeps things dry.

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I was just running a killowatt meter on one of my 70s and they run at 620watts when compressor is running and 65watts when just fan running. I couldn't believe I am using 1240 watts just for deweys.

How much money do you want to spend?
If you have a decent budget look for a unit from Quest.
Otherwise, take the best warranty you can get, as an ordinary house dehumidifier will take a beating.
I'm actually waiting on mine to come back today from an in warranty repair.

ANC said:

How much money do you want to spend?
If you have a decent budget look for a unit from Quest.
Otherwise, take the best warranty you can get, as an ordinary house dehumidifier will take a beating.
I'm actually waiting on mine to come back today from an in warranty repair.

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wow I'm sure those are nice machines but outside of my budget, I went with a Frigidaire 70 pint for $150 out the door.

When should I be running this thing and at what desired range. Bedroom with central AC but running stand alone AC as well. I read somewhere 55% is that during both light cycles?

WaterDog said:

wow I'm sure those are nice machines but outside of my budget, I went with a Frigidaire 70 pint for $150 out the door.

When should I be running this thing and at what desired range. Bedroom with central AC but running stand alone AC as well. I read somewhere 55% is that during both light cycles?

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Good 70 pints are the most efficient. You should be running it 24/7. For veg you want 75% and for flower you want 50%, ideally those are just optimums.

New Age United said:

Good 70 pints are the most efficient. You should be running it 24/7. For veg you want 75% and for flower you want 50%, ideally those are just optimums.

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I think his issue was for drying after chop