This DeLonghi DD45P Dehumidifier is so far advanced over other dehumidifiers I have owned over the past 15 to 20 years, it is like a newly invented appliance for 2010.
It's the pump stupid! Why haven't all dehumidifiers been designed with automatic pumps from the get-go? Did appliance designers think that a homeowner would gladly trade a dry basement for the chore of emptying a bucket of water every day?
The initial set-up was relatively easy after I read the instructions twice. The controls are understandable and fairly intuitive.
This is a smart dehumidifier compared to the older manual dumbbells I have owned. The display reads your room temperature. The unit can be set on auto, to run until it brings the humidity level in percent numbers down to a level you decide. It can be set to run for a selected time period or just run continuously at one of its two different speeds, high and not quite as high. It has delayed start and delayed stop if desired. If you choose to not pump the condensate to a nearby drain or out the window, don't turn on the pump, and it will fill its built-in bucket instead. All this and energy star rated to boot.
The pump works well. The supplied condensate hose, which is 3/8" OD clear vinyl, runs up a corner wall in my basement about 8ft, then about 8ft more along the ceiling of my adjoining laundry room, and 4ft down into a laundry tub. I did have to add 8ft more hose to make the distance, but the pump handles it all very nicely. I bought this model for the pump and I consider this purchase as one of my better moves. It has been running 24/7 for about 6 weeks, and I just forget its there. My fingers are crossed.
The only negative features (in my opinion) are that the hose for the pump comes out the front of the unit near the base and the tiny wheels don't lift the unit high enough up off the floor to run the condensate hose under the unit towards the back so its not so visible. DeLonghi DD45P 45-Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier with Patented Pump
My current DeLonghi (40 pt) has gone on the fritz so I bought the newest model DD45P. The sensors on the old one (6 years old) have gone wacko, and the defroster (heater coil) seems constantly engaged, thereby pumping out super heated air... not good during the summer months here in the Northeast where 90 degrees+ has become the norm. The new DeLonghi arrived last week and has a more compact design than the old one, seems to be performing well, however, the 2 speed fan is problematic to me. DeLonghi should have stayed with the 3 speed fan as on the older models; that would REALLY have improved the "quiet" factor. Also the 24 hour timer feature is laughable... please, for this price, let me program more than one block of time. I love the pump, however, as an owner of a previous model who has taken the old one apart, be warned that what is growing inside the older unit has got to be unhealthy!!!! Yuk! If only replacement parts were made available at a reasonable price, my old one could be kept working! I need 2 for my large basement area, so I think I will be buying an additional one of a different brand to see if it performs any more efficiently and lasts longer!
The unit itself works great, except...
When I was researching dehumidifiers, the description of the DD45P said it has a 24-hour timer. I was under the assumption that I could program it, for example, to run for 8 hours, stop for 8 hours, run for 8, stop for 8, etc. In other words once I programmed it would maintain that cycle continuously until I turned off or changed the timer. My previous LG dehumidifier worked that way; I could program a continuous cycle. But not the DD45P. The program works for just once cycle; you have to reprogram it at the end of the cycle if you want it on timer again. And that's not the worst. You program it to start when the unit is in off mode; enter the number of hours after which you want the unit to turn on. However, to enter the number of hours after which you want it to turn off, you must wait until the unit turns on. You can only enter minimum increments of 1/2 hour for both on and off. So here's the scenario: Go down to the basement (where most people keep their dehumidifier), program it to start in 1/2 hour, go back upstairs, go back downstairs 1/2 hour later to program the turn off time. Repeat this daily or multiple times during the day if that's what you want. Of course you can run it without a timer; it then runs 24/7. But for energy-saving purposes a continuous timer would be nice.
The unit is very effective at removing moisture from the air. But the fan continues to run after the desired humidity is achieved. This in my mind is not very energy efficient. Also,the unit has a timer which you can only program the run time i.e. (turn the unit on. program the length of time you would like it to run and then it shuts off.It will not turn on again until you manually turn it on). I think a clock that you could program the on/off times would be a better feature.
Our old dehumidifier finally gave out and I selected this unit based on it's features. It seems quite powerful and quickly reduces the humidity level however there were a few features that were not quite clear from the online documentation. The old dehumidifier would get down to the selected level of humidity and then shut off but come back on as needed whenever the humidity level rose. This unit will run the fan the entire time which I find to be noisy and a waste of electric. The only way around this is to use the timer function which allows you to set a the amount of time the unit will run (i.e. 2 hours). This doesn't really seem ideal either since the humidity level could still be quite high when time runs out. Given the drawbacks, I still like the unit in that it really pulls out the humidity and I also like the pump feature which eliminates the need to manually empty the holding tank. - Efficient - Dehumidifier Review - Best Of The Best - Basement Dehumidifier'
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