Customer Reviews

Frigidaire Dehumidifier, 70-Pint Capacity, FAD704TDP

5 star:		(277)
4 star:		(88)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

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.

I really liked this dehumidifier for the season and a half that it lasted. I used it in a basement and connected a drain hose for continuous operation. It had no trouble keeping my basement at 50 - 60% humidity and I really never had to do anything except check and clean the filter every few weeks. I felt the noise level was reasonable for a basement. The bucket was a little tricky to remove, but since I had it hooked up to a hose that didn't bother me too much.

Unfortunately it seems like no one can build a dehumidifier that lasts anymore. This one didn't fail completely, but it appeared that something went wrong with the humidistat or electronics. After the problems started the unit always displayed the humidity as 95% and ran continuously. I checked the hose and there was still plenty of moisture being removed so I think the compressor was still going strong. Since I had an extended warranty (I bought this from HH Gregg) I returned for repair but they decided it was too expensive to fix and now I must replace it. I may take a chance on another Frigidaire, or perhaps the Soleus 70 pint model.

I am giving this three stars because although it worked well at first, I think an appliance like this should last for 5 years at a minimum, and also if something does go wrong these should be repairable. That energy star rating means nothing if there are a stream of these headed to a landfill because they don't last.

UPDATE 06-02-2010: I decided to go with this unit as a replacement for my previous Frigidaire 70 pint unit. Just a warning, the unit I got looks slightly different... more like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Frigidaire-70-pint-Dehumidifier/dp/B001UH91OI/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1275532106&sr=1-20 I originally thought this might be old stock, but the date of manufacture was 3/10 so I must be mistaken. Hopefully my warranty will transfer because I have a feeling I will be going through this all again in a couple years.

I bought the 70pint version last year after my old dehumidifier died and I started getting mold and mildew in my basement. I have a 200 year old home with a basement approximately 5 feet below ground depth so fairly damp. This unit's been great so far and I love the fact you can set the humidity level (I keep at 50%). With all the rain we had in the northeast this past March it's been running steady for over 4 weeks but without issue. I have it drain direct to my sump.

I purchased this to replace the Haier HDN455 45-Pint Capacity Mechanical Control Dehumidifier that I purchased here about 2 years ago for $120. The Haier replaced a Soleus of the same capacity that did not work out of the box. As a result of poor longevity, I am avoiding both manufacturers and decided to give Frigidaire a try.

First off, this is a beautiful unit that is thoughtfully designed. Easy to get out of the box (just remove packing straps & lift the box) and extraordinarily intuitive to operate. I currently have it on CO (continuous operation) as recommended ... and after running 12 hours I can clearly notice a difference in my basement. Wow. Very impressive. I will change it to 50% or so in 3-4 days (again, as recommended).

There are a few features that are especially nice. It has a filter clean reminder light that goes on after 250 hours of operation. In addition, the water bucket has a built-in handle. It can be set up for continuous drain but it will return to bucket operation by simply removing the hose. Finally, a low fan speed setting is available and is QUIET.

However, there is room for improvement, imo. The electric cord is 6' but is far too short. The exhaust and drain are on the same side, which doesn't make sense -- they should be on opposite sides. A cheap, plastic hose is not included for continuous drain and installing a garden hose remnant is difficult (and with a brass coupling on a plastic thread, dangerous to snap off). Small changes to to this would have made this a 5* purchase for me. Nevetheless, I am happy with this dehumidifier, although it cost more than I intended to spend. It better lasts for YEARS ... if not, I will update.

This unit will be used in a high humidity basement / utility area, as recommended by the manufacturer. The 50-pint & 25-pint capacity models are recommended for living areas, not the 70-pint unit. If you are worried about heat or noise, select a model appropriate for a living area, not this one.

NOTE: The grill on this model is NOT as pictured, if that matters to you. See my uploaded image.

=================

Specs from Frigidaire's website:

Color: White
Energy Star®: Yes
Performance Certification: AHAM
Safety Certification: UL/CSA

Performance

Dehumidification (Pints/Day): 70
EEV (Liters per kW-Hour): 1.6
Electrical
Volts / Hertz: 115V / 60Hz
Amps (Cool): 6.7
Watts (Cool): 765 Watts
Horsepower (Cool): 1.03
Length of Power Cord: 6'
Plug Type (NEMA): 5-15P

Features

Controls: Electronic
Control Panel Location: Top Center
Fan Speeds (Fan): 2
Relative Humidity Range Manual: 35%-85%
Low Temperature Operation: Yes
Bucket Full Indication: Yes
Auto Shut-Off: Yes
Digital Humidity Readout: Yes
Continuous Drain Operation: Yes
Filter Check: Yes
24 Hour On/Off Timer: Yes
Air CFM (High): 277
Air CFM (Low): 218
Motor RPM (High): 1,500
Motor RPM (Low): 1,200
Air Discharge: Side
Noise Level dB (High): 55.9
Filter Type: Anti-Bact Mesh
Filter Access: Bottom Slide-Out
Bucket Style: Type 2
Container Capacity (Pints): 17.0
Dealer Front: Speaker Grill
Overlay Type: 192 4482 Electronic
Warranty: 1 yr full / 5 yr sealed system

Dimensions / Specifications

Refrigeration: R22
Charge (ozs): 9.53
Exterior Width: 15-3/8"
Exterior Depth: 13-3/8"
Exterior Height: 23-5/8"
Product Weight: 44 lbs
Shipping Weight: 49 lbs
UPC: 0-12505-27324-7

==============

UPDATE (April 2011): This unit FAILED in under 1 year. Thankfully, Fridigaire was good about replacement and made the necessary arrangement for me to take it back to a big box store. I'm not sure what I would do if that one ALSO fails, but at least it was replaced.

This worked wonderfully for six months, until it stopped pulling water from the air. I filed a claim with Frigidaire - the Electrolux/Frigidaire company refused to honor the warranty because they do not consider Amazon to be an authorized retailer.... Fortunately I had purchased a SquareTrade Warranty - this will be my last Frigidaire purchase - hopefully you won't get that far. What good is a warranty if the company won't honor it?

I live in south Florida year round, and when it comes around to April or May we are into air conditioner and humidity time again which usually runs well into October. I have a central air conditioner that does a good job of keeping the house cool, but it's expensive and a waste running it 24 hours a day. The problem is I have to keep the whole house cool for the 8 or 9 hours when I am only using the bedroom at night. I thought of a window AC for my bedroom and than turn off the central air at night, but the type windows I have will not accommodate a window AC properly.

My bedroom and bathroom are attached and can be closed off from the rest of the house. Now I put the dehumidifier in the bathroom with the door open , which in turn keeps the bedroom comfortable to sleep in at night without the central AC running on high all night. With the humidity down low the air just feels much cooler. I have a short tube attached to the humidifier and it automaticly drains it into my walk in shower. I did this last summer and my electric bill was down nearly 20%.

As I mentioned I drain the humidifier into my walk in shower, this of course eliminates ever having to empty the humidifier tank manually. If you don't have a convenient place to drain the tank as I do you might want to check this pump device out. Little Giant VCMA-15ULS Condensate Removal 1/50 HP Pump with Safety Switch

This is a very nice looking unit, with a neutral color which matches any decor. It is relitivly quite, about as much noise as a small window AC. If you are a lite sleeper it might be to noisy. But I have no problem sleeping with it. I was originally going to buy the 50 pint model, but for the small difference in price I decided to buy this one instead. This one should dehumidify an area much faster than the 50 pint model. It can be easily set for what % humidity you want, and even shows you what your present humidity is. They say 45 or 50% humidity is ideal, I prefer it a little lower than that. I have had this since last August and it has worked fine since than. No complaints. Amazon seems to be the best place to buy these, everywhere else I looked is 15% or so higher

These things work very similar to a AC except they don't cool the air. There main function is to remove water " moisture " out of the air, and they are generally better at it than an AC. Most are made to use indoors without using a window like a room AC unit. They have a large removable storage container to hold the water they collect out of your air. You can also drain them with a hose " as I do " if you have a place to run the hose that's lower than the unit. You must keep the area you are dehumidifying somewhat closed off or separated from the rest of the house, or you are just letting more humid air into the area you are trying to dry out.


It's just amazing how much water this dehumidifier sucks out of the air, you have to see it to believe it. This dehumidifier will pay for it self on my electric bill in 5 or 6 months. This is a very nice reasonably priced product that I would recommend.

I really like this unit. It has a display to let you know the current humidity level and turns itself off when the set point is reached. It is a little noisy but not as bad as my old Whirlpool. I would recommend this to anyone with a damp basement.

I unboxed the unit and turned it on without waiting the one hour as instructed in the users manual. It was shipped on its side. I ran it for four hours before I realized my mistake but seems to be working ok.

From a physical perspective, this appears to be a well built sturdy unit. However, I only got about 6 months of actual usage before it died. I only use it during the summer months. So, when I went to turn it back on this summer, it no longer functioned (unfortunately, by that time I owned it for 18 months and the manufacturer gives only 12 month full warranty). The fan continued to run but the cooling coils no longer got cold. There are many other dehumidifiers on the market. I would recommend trying another brand. Almost any other brand will likely be more reliable than this.

i had the 2005 equivalent of this model (70 pints). This one is quieter, has a much easier hose attachment for continuous drainage, and moved the controls from the front face to the top of the unit.

This is a 70 Pt.unit and it is very well built and easy to operate, I had it up and running in about 30 minutes. In a high humidity environment it will fill the tank in about 4 hours. The auto shut off and full tank warning light are great features. I will be using a small (Little Giant)condensate pump with the unit wich will eliminate the need to manually empty the tank (as soon as the correct hoses arrive). The unit has a built in male hose connection to run a discharge directly to a sump or to a condensate pump so, there is no need to cobble a makeshift hose connection. One important note about the hose connection though. I had planned to use an old hose that has an aftermarket repair end. There is not enough room in the unit for this type of connection. You must use a hose with a factoty female end. The shipping box had some recommended dehuminifier sizing tips that I did not see in any of the reviews - UTIL/BASEMENT 50 - 70 Pints,BATH/LIVING AREA 25 - 50 Pints, 2nd FLOOR 25 - 50 Pints. I should also mention that the unit allows you to program a number of operating parameters that allow you to customize the unit to suit your conditions. Overall, a good buy for the money.