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(More customer reviews)LG makes similar units under it's own label as well as others, including Sears and Comfort-Aire. When they work, they work great. But, overall, dehumidifiers fall into the category of "They don't make 'em like they used to." A service life of 10 - 20 yrs used to be common (I had a Sears that ran for 17 yrs). According to a service rep I spoke to, 3 yrs is now considered "good" (?!). Surf the net, and you'll find a zillion unhappy people who replaced 'ol reliable after one to two decades, and now find themselves replacing new fashion after one to two years.
One primary selling point of these units is the auto-restart feature. With the old analog controls (simple mechanical on/off switch), the unit would automatically come back on after a power outage. With many digital controls, the unit won't automatically come back on. You must manually push the start button (even if there's just a brief power glitch). I run the unit in my basement from ~June - Sept. If the unit is off for more than 4 hrs or so, the humidity rises to 80+%, so auto-restart is important for me.
I first bought the Sears version (2006, 50 pint unit). Died after 1 day. Exchanged it. Also died after 1 day. Got my money back. Bought a Comfort-Aire version (according to the sales rep, it's made of higher-grade components). Ran great for the first season. Two weeks into the second season, it died. Fortunately, there was still two weeks left in the 1-yr warranty period. There's an authorized service station close to me, so I dropped it off. Two weeks later, I got a call from an LG (not Comfort-Aire) service rep who told me they would ship me a replacement unit (free of charge). They shipped an LG branded unit. It had a 5-yr warranty, but my unit was covered only under the terms of the original Comfort-Aire 1-yr warranty, so the replacement unit essentially had no warranty coverage left. Ran well the first season and the second season. One month into the third season now, and it's died. From surfing the net, there doesn't appear to be any reliable brand. I've now resigned myself to settling for a service life of 1-2 yrs. So, I reluctantly bought the 65-pint LG unit at HD yesterday. *Buy the LG branded unit because it has a 5-yr parts and labor warranty.* The other labels have only a 1-yr warranty. If you live near an authorized repair station, you can bring it in as needed. That then works out to ~$50/yr; not too bad. If there is no station close by though, be warned that shipping may be pricey (unit weighs 54 lbs). Assuming it will hold up for at least one season, buy a second one a year later. That way you'll probably have one unit working (I hope), while the other one is being repaired (or replaced).
Other negs (relative to the good `ol units of yesteryear, but comparable to other current units): (1) Fan cannot be operated independently of the compressor. In my ancient Sears unit, I could run the fan constantly to circulate the air. If you don't, the compressor will cut on/off every 5 -10 min, which shortens the lifetime of the unit. I now run a separate fan. (2) Installing the hose adapter is tricky. Horrid engineering design. Once in, though, works OK. (3) Previous LG units displayed both the current humidity and the desired setpoint. The latest models display only the setpoint. This is no loss for me since I have a separate hygrometer. Also the reading right at the unit will always be lower than in the rest of the room. I set it at 40% to keep the basement between 60 - 70%. (4) LG units come in two temp ratings. The regular units are rated for operation only down to 65 deg F (fairly high in my opinion). If you use it in a basement, be sure to get the low-temp models (rated for operation down to 42 deg F). (5) If you use the bucket, it's clumsy to install/reinstall. There's a carry handle, but the manual cautions against lifting it solely by the handle when it's full (too flimsy, you need to carry the bucket with two hands, so the handle really is totally useless).
Noise level is about the same as a window AC. Fan has hi/lo switch. Quieter on lo. Compressor cuts on/off with a jolt. Rattles develop with age. OK in basement,can't hear it upstairs. No unit this size will be "whisper quiet", in case you're planning to put it in a living area.
Summary: (1) Check to see whether you have an authorized LG repair station close-by. Buy the LG unit for the 5-yr warranty and the auto-restart feature. Be sure to keep copies of your receipt. I talked to the tech at the repair station. Out-of-warranty repairs probably are not worth the $. Especially when they charge $50 or so just to look at it. Repair could end up costing as much as (or more than) a new unit. (2) If humidity control is important to prevent a moldy basement, have a second unit on hand. (3) When you first get it, run it non-stop for a week (set it for 35%). Most vendors will exchange it if it dies within a week (check on return shipping charges if you buy online though). HD has good prices and a very easy-going return policy. (4) If you need it only during the summer months, check it out in the spring to make sure it works properly before the start of the season. (5) Be wary of rave recent reviews. When they work, they work great. The big question is whether they still work after a year or two. I'm hoping that quality has improved. Mine is still alive after running overnight. Bucket-full cut-off switch worked OK; no water on the floor. I'll provide updates.
Note added 8/22/09. Lots of rain here this summer. Unit has been running non-stop and is still working fine.
Note added 10/3/09. Now that it's fall, I'm set to turnoff the unit for the season. We've had a lot of rain this season, and this unit's held up. So this is one good data point. I'll let everyone knows whether it works for a second season.
Note added 4/20/10. I've fired it up for a pre-season checkup. Glad to report it's been working OK for the past 4 days.
Note added 7/18/10. More good news to report. Very muggy summer so far. Unit has been running non-stop for the past 6 weeks. Still working fine. I'd be interested in reports from others who have purchased this unit.
Note added 10/8/10. It's been running non-stop all summer, but it has croaked: no longer condensing water. I'll wait until next spring before bringing it in for service. I hope LG will still honor the 5 yr warranty that came with my unit.
Note added 4/30/11. I contacted LG, and they told me my unit was still covered under warranty. They gave me a list of the three authorized repair centers closest to me. They were 50 - 75 miles away. I asked them about the shop I had used before (less than 10 miles away). They told me they were still authorized. Word of caution: On the LG website, you can type in your zipcode, and a list of the "nearest" authorized repair centers pop up. When I tried it (after my initial call), the three the service rep first referred me to popped up. When I typed in the zipcode of the repair center near me, the same three popped up, the local repair center didn't pop up. I don't know whether there's a problem with the LG database, or whether there are "preferred" repair centers. My advice: If the LG service website refers you to a repair center far, far away, call up some local repair centers and ask them whether they are authorized LG repair centers.
I dropped off my unit. The tech checked it out and diagnosed an unrepairable "system failure" several days later. LG shipped me a replacement within a week. This time I got a refurb. And a real dirty one at that. As part of the refurb, LG should have cleaned it at least. It's noiser than my previous unit. I've had it running for the last three days, and it works OK so far.
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