Customer Reviews

Danby Premiere DDR6009REE 60 Pint Capacity Dehumidifier with 2 Fan Speeds, Electronic Controls, Adjustable Humidity Settings,

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

We purchased this unit for a very wet basement in a old house (read: standing water during spring snow melt and heavy rains). After making major drainage improvements in the basement (perimeter drain pipe and sump pump), we wanted to further dry it out so we could store things down there without worrying about mold and mildew. This unit does a very good job at lowering the humidity. After only a short while of use, there is a noticeable difference. The unit is easy to set up and very easy to use.

There is only one MAJOR drawback. The unit does not shut off when the desired humidity level is reached. Ever. The condenser does turn off, but the fan runs indefinitely. There is a timer that the user can set to have it turn off after some specified number of hours, but how useful is that?? One of the features we liked was the EnergyStar rating -- however, we just received our highest electric bill in the 10 years we've been i this house after having the unit running for the last month. Coincidence?? The $100 unit we purchased several years ago, although it didn't remove moisture too well, even was able to cycle on and off based on changes in humidity. This is a major disappointment!

We purchased this brand because a previous model was a Consumer Reports "Best Buy". When we tried to purchase that model on line, the web site said it had been discontinued and that this model was equivalent. Well, I guess that teaches me to trust the manufacturer's word. I would be very surprised if this model received good reviews from Consumer Reports given this issue.

Overall, I am very pleased with the efficiency of the unit to remove humidity, to not freeze up. I have had problems with other units freezing up. This unit is extremely quiet which is a blessing. Some other issues explained below, although remedied, are troubling.

I purchased this unit in May of 2009. I first noticed that the fan apparently runs 24/7 whether or not it is calling for the compressor to dehumidify. I emailed Danby and waited a week. No response. I emailed again and was told that yes, the fan runs continuously but uses little power and helps keep the area constant. Then after the continuous drain working fine for a couple of weeks, I found the container filling and having to be emptied. I checked the connection, it was fine. I emailed support and heard nothing for over two weeks. I emailed again, and the email bounced back. I then tried calling 800 support number off and on for two days, and it was busy. I then called the main number and talked to someone who told me to call 800 support. I explained I could not get through and was connected to someone's voice mail. She emailed me and told me there was a problem with this unit, and that a fix would be mailed to me. I waited almost two weeks, no mailed fix received. I then called and left a voice mail again, and got an email that another set would be mailed to me. Today, three weeks later I did receive the fix kit. I can't help but wonder why, if I registered my unit, they did not send out notification of the problem. Outside of this issue, I have been pleased with it's performance.

We bought model DDR3008EE in 6/08 . It worked well at first, but in Fall 2008 ate a lot of power, and its anti-icing function appeared to stop working. We didn't use it over the winter. We turned it on in 7/09 and found its coils would not cool. Other than the fan blowing air, it was totally non-functional. A local shop confirmed that the coolant had leaked out. It took many calls to Danby just to finally get a human being instead of a machine. The man told me Danby couldn't help us as the 1 year warranty had run out. We paid $242 for this piece of junk. We won't ever buy a Danby product again.

1. Ordered item was delivered beyond stated delivery time on the Confirmation sheet.
The dehumidifier was ordered 06.11.2010, delivery time supposed to be 06.23.2010
By 06.30.2010 it has not arrived yet, and we did not get any delayed delivery notification. We called amazon
customer service and were told then that it will be delivered on 07.01.2010, which it was.

2. We read the manual and proceed to run the dehumidifier. It won't run. We had to call the DANBY company. We
were told then that the humidistat has to be set at 40. This information should be printed in the manual.

3. We ran the machine on continuous, the water collection bucket became full, the water run over and the machine
did not shut off by itself. We foud the floor wet around the dehumidifier. We called DANBY company again for
explanation. we still did not know why the shut off switch did not work. Also were told that there is a 2nd
smaller bucket in the machine. After we remove the big bucket, when we shake the machine we feel that there is
water in there swishing. We could not locate the 2nd bucket on the dehumidifier.

Poor workmanship and poor manual, it has to explicit

I read the reviews of others, and decided nothing really bad was said. Most complaints are what is written in the owners manual and dealt with how it was designed. After trying 2 other brands that were ^&^*^ right out of the box I am extremely happy with Danby. My temperature gauge/humidy measurement were exactly what the dehumidifer read. It works as promised. My smelly basement had no smell in less then one day. I do use the remote since, as is written, the fan is always on, so I use the remote to turn it off instead of going down the stairs. I even threw out the box - meaning this is a keeper.

Danby dehumidifier 2-year warranty is a joke. Warranty requires customer to take unit to "authorized dealer." In my town of 100,000, no one will repair it. The "authorized dealer" 30 miles (one-way) will no longer repair Danbys because he says they will not pay him enough for the labor involved. The next "authorized dealer" they suggested would require a 4-hour round trip drive plus another 4 hours to pick it up or around $70 to have it shipped. Taking to a dealer would cost me around $100 for a repair under warranty, plus my time in driving--for a $200 unit. Shipping would also be time consuming and costly.

In 6 years, I have had 5 70 pt. dehumidifiers for an 800 sf area of my house (not basement)--Maytag, Fedders, EdgeStar, Danby, and now SPT, which I've had 1 month. So far, none has lasted more than a year and some less. Under warranty, all require customer to either take in or ship. It is silly to read reviews of satisfaction from customers who have only had a unit under a year. Yeah, they all work great for a month or a few, but then fail with no way to get repair that is cost effective. So, before buying any dehumidifier, you should find out details for repair because it WILL need repair.

Why is it that other appliances like microwaves, dish washers, clothes washer and dryers, refrigerators--all last for years and are easy to get repaired--but NOT dehumidifiers. WHY???

It seems they are just throwaway items, like toothbrushes.

One of the things I noticed when comparing dehumidifiers is they apparently don't make them like they used to. The main complaint seems to be that they fail within a year or so, while the older ones seemingly went on and on for years. I can't speak to that--we've only had this one for about a month--but it's done an amazing job during that month! We're in a house that's about a century old, with a damp, damp basement, about a hundred years' worth of odd smells down there, and humidity that runs in the 70-80 percent range when left alone. This unit got that down to 40 percent in about a day, and has maintained it there since. The smells have receded into the background and in general, it's a whole lot more comfortable being down there now.

Set up on this unit was a breeze--probably less than 20 minutes between opening the box up in the living room and having it up and running downstairs. We're using the hose option which, instead of storing the water it takes out of the air in a reservoir that has to be emptied periodically, runs it through a hose and into a floor drain. So it pretty much can (and has) run unattended until it's time to clean the filter.

I'll weigh in again after a year or so to update durability and maintenance, but so far, so good!

we bought 2 and one broke down, and had to buy another and it broke down

the fan runs and compressor won't start !

becareful with this brand ! so far out of 3, we have only one that works

big waste of money

This item was promptly received, was in excellent condition, and was easy to start up. It comes with a quick connect drain hose in case you decide to let it drain directly into a floor drain. The unit has easy to understand controls and the humidity level can quickly be set and I've found is accurate. A plus is that it can run all the way down to 41 degrees farenheit; so it is an excellent choice for homes that have cool basements.

When turned on, the fan runs constantly; however, this shouldn't be a concern to consumers since it assists in air circulation and yet the unit is still energy star certified.

I bought this dehumidifier because it is top rated on Consumer Reports. It was said to have better humidity reading accuracy than the model rated above it, not to mention it is considerably less expensive for the same pint capacity! I am very pleased with how well it is removing moisture. I would definitely recommend this unit to others.