Dehumidifier Freezing up

handy man88 · 05-27-2007, 09:27 PM

Please don't tell me there's probably a leak in the refrigerant. It's hot a 5 year parts and labor warranty though, Maytag.

mrtech · 05-28-2007, 12:18 AM

If the evaporator coil is clean and the filter is clean............................................. ...........it's probably low.............................on................ .freon.
Sorry- I had to say it!

handy man88 · 05-28-2007, 12:38 AM

I think the coil is probably dirty. Will open it up and clean it. Any specific besides just brushing it off? Any chemicals needed? I cleaned the filter a few weeks ago and it was very dirty. Has been running non stop for a long time in an unfinished basement.

mrtech · 05-28-2007, 11:24 AM

If it's a flat fin coil, brushing it may work. You can use a flashlight on the opposite side and see if you can see the light shine thru the coil - if you can't see the light well, you'll have to wash it outside using dishwater soap, being careful not to get any motors or electric controls wet. Do the other coil at this same time.
If it's a spine fin coil (looks like big metal hairs sticking out in all directions) -you'll have to wash it and don't use a lot of pressure as to bend all of the fins.
Let it dry well, before use.

handy man88 · 05-28-2007, 05:19 PM

Thanks for your help.

handy man88 · 06-05-2007, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtech

If it's a flat fin coil, brushing it may work. You can use a flashlight on the opposite side and see if you can see the light shine thru the coil - if you can't see the light well, you'll have to wash it outside using dishwater soap, being careful not to get any motors or electric controls wet. Do the other coil at this same time.
If it's a spine fin coil (looks like big metal hairs sticking out in all directions) -you'll have to wash it and don't use a lot of pressure as to bend all of the fins.
Let it dry well, before use.

Took a look inside. Fins are relatively clean. Cleaned out the lines to the water routing. Turned it on, and the fins did not freeze up, although some of the coils had some frost, but did not see any overfreeze. Water dripping off the fans looked normal. Fan sounds normal. Buttoned it up and started it again. Hope it was just an anomaly.

RippySkippy · 06-06-2007, 08:21 AM

I have one that when the temperature and humidity are "just right" it'll freeze up. Put a small fan in behind it (closest to the coils and moving air the same direction as the unit, and it works again...sometimes I think it doesn't pull enough air across the coil....

handy man88 · 06-06-2007, 09:24 AM

Once it freezes up, I think what you need to do is just let it thaw out. Otherwise, it's constantly building up ice. I find it strange that mine froze up. It's supposed to be rated for cold basements down to 42F. I mean, it's been working fine for 3.5 years now, so one freeze is not a big deal. It's a Fedders brand with a Maytag sticker over it.

The fan ran fine, so it should pull enough air. Big reason for potential air restricition is a dirty filter and/or dirty fins. If it freezes up, that also will block air flow.