Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - is it normal for new dehumidifier to cycle on/off so frequently?

New Sears 70 pt. I have 80% humidity near brand new windows and 70 elsewhere. I've been running the thing 5 days straight. It turns on 2 minutes, then off for about 4 or so, even when running in continuous mode. then you can hear it drain the water to its tub. the thing only filled up maybe one time and with so much humidity here, i would have thought it would have to be emptied a few times a day, not once a week

my underlying problem (not worried right now since it's winter) is i have a cemented crawlspace with water leaking in from outside. no way to put a dehumidifier there unfortunately.

but right now all i care about is getting rid of the condensation on all my brand new windows and stopping the water on my windowsills from pooling yet another year.

so is it normal for the newer machines to just cycle on/off so much? i would think it's inefficent and it's quite annoying as well. (also it makes a big clunk every time it turns off)

Thats to high for sure Your clothes will be wet when you go outside. Its not wired in right or the humidistat is not working right . you could have it to close to the humidifierand not set right.

ED ;)

Being it's winter. is the coil froze up?

What is the temp in the area this is in?

Sounds like it's cycling on something like over load or compressor is overheating.

If this is pretty new, I'd take it back to sears.

another reason i think it's not working right is i found the specs for the dehumid:
Bucket Capacity 22.0 Pints
Pints per 24 Hrs. 70 pints/24 hr.

so wouldn't that mean it should fill up a few times a day if i have it on constantly?

hopefully the coil didn't freeze up as the room is 68

it's one week old and they only had 2 on the shelf but not sure i want to risk taking the other one home...unless they open it and run it for me :)

The short on and off is not right.. It should run all time if you set it to "continuous mode".

Did you see if there was frost on the coil?

i didnt check the coils but it's been off 2 days and is going back shortly...i've gotten it from various sources the short cycling is bad so i'm trying the maytag at home depot since the store is close

Let us know what you come out with.. I know Maytag has a unit that will work in low temp, that way you don't have to worry about coil frezzing up on you.

returned sears 70pt and they agreed it shouldn't cycle off after just 2 minutes being on

got a LOUD maytag from home depot so we shall see how that does...freezing isn't an issue as the unit is in my living space

so far it's running continuously, which is great...and it seems to 'click on' and get louder then turn off..and just let the fan run...but so far it's better than the sears!

a small update: the maytag reads 40% humidity and i doubt that's the case in here...my own gauge says 60 but i'm going to get a new one to ensure accuracy

also the thing seems to turn itself to hi fan at will...i prefer low...the manual doesn't address this change nor do other web sites ive researched so far

i'll let it go a few days and see what happens

You should be able to turn the fan on low? I don't work around these in the store.. When I am back to work on Friday, I'll take a close look for you.

What size unit did you get?

You should be able to turn the fan on low? I don't work around these in the store.. When I am back to work on Friday, I'll take a close look for you.

What size unit did you get?

maytag 65

nope the low fan speed was locked out..and just today the thing started short cycling...my wife did the following study:

on time/off time

1:31/1:34
140/142
145/149
151/154
159/201
205/207

and the first 2 days were so good...oh well, i'll return it over the weekend

is there any such things as a non digital unit? these electronics suck

First of all, I don't know where you are at. It's winter, and a person really don't need this in the winter.

So if the needs is not there, You will experince the short cycling.. A person shouldn't have to turn this on till it's about 60% humidty or higher in the home.

First of all, I don't know where you are at. It's winter, and a person really don't need this in the winter.

So if the needs is not there, You will experince the short cycling.. A person shouldn't have to turn this on till it's about 60% humidty or higher in the home.

my initial readings were 80% near the window and 70% in the middle of the room, that's why i bought a unit


ok, the solution the the short cycling is the air must have been hitting the kitchen cabinet and circling back to the unit

however, the bad news is even in a better location, it's still running continuously while saying it's 35% in here (my other meter says 60%)and i have it set at 50% now. the only way to get it to turn off is to power down and put it back on and so far it's been off for 5 minutes but in theory, unless it gets above 50% in here, it shouldn't turn on all night.

still, it not turning off bugs me so i guess it goes back as i can't be manually remembering to turn it off, that's why i paid money for it, to regulate itself lol

well i returned it....also it always stank when i ran it, even after cleaning out the bucket...

anyone have any good experiences with dehumidifiers working correctly? if i ever decide to get one again i'll probably get delonghi since a local store sells it and it would be easy to return...thats my number 1 criteria for a unit, ease of return