I spent a night reviewing dehumidifiers at Consumer Reports, amazon, and elsewhere to understand what I should use for a damp basement after the 2010 east coast winter. I realized, finally, by plowing through all the hype, that the "70 pints" does not refer to the volume of the bucket, but the rate at which the dehumidifier can remove water vapor from the air: 70 pints per day, but the buckets are all the same, about 2 gallons. That needs to be made clearer in the review and advertising. For a block-wall basement, with French drains, in an area with high water table, or for any room where liquid water appears, you need the highest rate so the unit cycles on and off. Otherwise, you seriously waste power.
This unit (Frigidaire FAD704TDP) was not reviewed by Consumer Reports, but by others who were concerned with drying rates and noise. This unit is almost silent! It filled a 2-gal bucket in just a few hours in a 40x60 foot basement with no liquid water but with damp block foundation. Overnight, the difference was remarkable; in two days time, it was dry and liveable without further odors. It cycles in 1-3 hours, depending on rainfall, when set to 40% humidity, and I would suppose that higher or lower settings may be needed at other times of year.
I built a clear vinyl hose from parts at hardware store, and piped the water to the small sump attached to the house HVAC. The unit had to be placed on an 8" box (wooden), with casters to keep it from rolling off. Being able to see the hose water was important as grunge will appear; when not hosed out, this eventually blocked the hose and defeated the dehumidifier. The built-in air filter is not designed to remove mold spores to prevent this problem.
A very good product, confidently recommended.
