The cost of an appliance repair call will probably exceed the value of the portable dehumidifier. If you can't fix it, I suggest you purchase a new one instead.

Perhaps search the model number (which you didn't cite) at online parts diagrams which may help locate where is the bucket switch, which may help determine whether it's easily accessible for adjusting to the proper position, or replacing the switch if it's damaged.

Dadoes, good idea, I will look it up and see what I can find. I fear, however, that CharlesRoss is right, and I may as well buy a new one, and maybe keep this as a backup.

Good luck in your research. Buying a new appliance for a potentially-simple switch repair is similar to buying a new desk lamp because the bulb burned out, or a new car because the battery is bad.

bpath,

buy the same model, use the old one for spare parts. (if you are handy, able to fix things yourself)

Small appliance repair rarely ever works out because of labor. To compound matters even worse you call them to your home with gas over $4 a gallon and sometimes higher so there's more than labor to put you behind the 8 ball.

If you found an appliance repair place you could take this to? I think even that way you'd discover the cost may be at or close to what the unit costs brand new. A store front costs money too with high rents -- you pay those costs or the business doesn't survive.

Nearly everything is made in Mexico or China as labor is cheaper there, the con is everything breaks much easier now.

Can you just have this drain via gravity instead of emptying the bucket?

And sadly yes - repair, if even possible, would be more than a new one.

I got a Midea during Amazon prime last year and have really liked it - for what it's worth. It's an inverter dehumidifier and energy star rated

Austin, sadly this model is discontinued. It's too bad because it's not a bad-looking unit, easy to fill around, and easy to see the indicators from across the room. I suppose there's a comparison to the costs of getting it repaired, and driving to get a new one.

Janni, I could set it up with a hose I think, but the area where I want to place it is carpeted and not convenient to a drain.

It’s in the basement, and DH reminds me that we could move it closer to the sump pump closet and run a hose to the sump.

"DH reminds me that we could move it closer to the sump pump closet and run a hose to the sump."

That's usually the best way to go. These Chinese dehumidifier condensate pumps invariably crap out within a year!

@Austin Air Companie I agree with you. It is called planned obsolescence. They do not want them to last so that you have to buy a new one sooner, rather than later.

Overland Remodeling,

yes, and they don't want you taking it back to the store so they discontinue the model you bought too. Manufacturing has gotten quite crafty and sly.

This conundrum may start effecting your HVAC system in the next few years when the refrigerant phase out & banning regs start to take shape. Lots of crazy stuff. California goes first and their regs will likely be the worst of the bunch, unless someone sues or something.

The notion of planned obsolescence makes for entertaining debate. The reality is that product designers are sufficiently challenged to design products which consumers can afford and at prices that make them profitable to manufacture, distribute, and sell. That's a tall order with regular inflation and an even taller order when the cost of essential commodities like steel, aluminum, copper, plastic, energy, labor for manufacturing, and transportation are through the roof. Add to that the challenge of continually improving product performance and it's pretty hard to imagine there's enough time to think about designing obsolescence into a product.

I'll be the last one to promote an ASHRAE Conference as an exciting event, but if you attend one, seek out engineers from your favorite HVAC equipment manufacturer and ask them how much of their time is spent engineering obsolescence into their products. I suspect it will be a short discussion.

I was never a believer of the "planned obsolescence" conspiracy. If you buy a small appliance and it fails soon after the warranty expires, are you going to go back and buy a similar product from the same manufacturer? Small appliances are designed to be inexpensive because that is what consumers want, and thrown away when they stop working. The days of the small appliance repair shop are over.

If you want a more reliable dehumidifier you can buy a Santa Fe compact dehumidifier for $1300. It comes with a 6 year warranty and you are likely can buy replacement parts. It is 4-5 times the cost of what you can buy in Home Depot or Lowes. Most people decide it is not worth the extra cost.

Santa Fe Compact70 Dehumidifier

Charles Ross, thank you for the observation about the sump. Gee, and here I though I could ”drain it and forget it”, at least for a few days at a time.

This dehumidifier has been a great little workhorse for at least 15 years, moved around from house to house and room to room easily, and its current problem is entirely my fault. And really, it still works just fine. The problem is mine, having to monitor it much more frequently. And my fault, because I guess I did rather slam the bucket back into place, jarring some little doohickey spring out of whack. A few days later now and it auto-shuts-off occasionally, but not consistently, so I can’t rely on it, so it may as well not shut off at all.

Engineers don't plan obsolescence, actuaries do. A warranty is a type of insurance, a bet that nothing bad will happen. Actuaries calculate the periods very carefully so that the insurer is not overly burdened by payouts.

So, I’m going with hose draining to the sump. We are testing out now in a space that we can check often, and last night after about 12 hours of running we noticed some water in the bucket. Not much, maybe a quarter cup if that, but it wasn’t there in the first 6 hours of running. Most likely need to tighten the hose, but could it be moisture that condensed outside the hose? That is, it didn’t drip from the hose connection, but something else?

The condensate draining from the dehumidifier is cold. If you have sufficient condensate flow to cause the surface temperature of the hose to be less than the dewpoint temperature of the air you could get condensation on the surface of the hose. If you are able to measure the surface temp of the hose and the dewpoint temperature of the air in the space you can see if that's the case.

Hmm, I suppose I can use my Thermapen to measure the surface temp of the hose. How do you measure dewpoint temperature?

You can look for evidence of condensation on the hose. Alternatively, you can purchase a thermo-hygrometer which gives both wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures or a simple sling psychrometer like the kind you might have used in 5th grade science class (no batteries required.) Either is helpful if you find you need to dehumidify your basement.

Currently it is in my basement which is a glorious 65⁰. Could that temp cause the condensation?

What causes condensation to occur is when the temperature is less than the dewpoint temperature. With regard to your question about condensation, what matters is how the surface temperature of the hose compares with the dewpoint of the surrounding air. That said, the amount of condensation, if any, is likely to be small and probably not a concern.

Charles Ross, who knew that thermohygrometers with wet and dry bulb could be so useful! Here is a line from one I looked at on AMZ:

WIDELY USED: Used for HVAC, industry, agriculture, meteorology, medical, daily life, building engineer, paranormal investigator, in wine cellar, machine room, data storeroom and etc

(bolding mine) Might explain the things that go missing in the house, like the scissors, socks, keys…

And not a bad price, $26. Hand-held. Then there’s the pack of 12 that look like little digital timers for $14, just temp and humidity. Hmm. about a dollar each? Really?

Just to conclude this thread, here’s an update.

Bought a basic digital hygrometer at the hardware store, it doesn’t agree with my dial-type by a couple of percentage points. Close enough, I guess.

Attached a hose to the dehumidifier and it worked fine. But, to put the appliance where it needs to be, have the cord reach an outlet, and have the hose drain to an appropriate drain, was complicated.

So, we bought a new dehumidifier. In the past 15+ years, they have gone up in price but this one lets you set the desird humidity level. It’s still a pretty basic model.

It’s set up where it needs to be, and I will check it in a day, empty the bucket, and just go back to my routine of emptying the bucket every day or two.

The old dehumdifier still works, and the auto-shutoff works occasionally. So, we will use that one as needed if we can monitor it every few hours, depending on the humidity.

Thanks for all the advice!

A properly sized bath vent fan which runs during and for 20-30 minutes after a shower should keep mold from growing in a bathroom at a lower operating cost than a dehumidifier.