Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier Refurb and What's Inside...

[mccutter]

Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier Refurb and What's Inside...

This came across the screen on FBM the other day. I wasn't specifically looking for a dh but since I am storing a car for someone that has a interior water leak, maybe this would be a good way to dry it out... And $25 for a comparable $100 unit used seemed it would be worth a look-see, plus it was only about 10min away.

There was a little complication because the seller was in NH and the dh was at her mother's house so there was some back and forth for a day or two. When the window of opportunity opened up for both of us, I went and picked it up, being careful not to lay it on its side. It was running when I got there, as requested.

Back at the shop I proceeded to disassemble it for cleaning. There were about 30 screws that had to be removed for the various covers but fortunately all were the same size. For $25, I KNEW it was going to be dirty and I was not disappointed but also not disgusted, either. I'm sure the $100 units were equally dirty and many of them looked it... Overall, it was in decent shape for an 8yo unit.

Not much to explain other than there was evidence of cockroach poop sliding and some spider egg sacs as it had been stored on a back patio and maybe rained on once or twice. All that cleaned up easily although I didn't go too crazy on the circuit board so as not to damage it--if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I didn't want to totally strip it down especially to have to deal with the compressor, lines, evap and condensor. I DID separate the evaporator and condensor slightly to get a look inside and clean the drip tray of debris. The drain knob worked perfectly for holding the two apart. It wasn't really dirty at all between them but I had to see for myself. I used a plastic ruler to reach in and scrape the bottom of the drip pan.

Once back together, I turned it on, cleared the "clean filter" warning and let it run for about 5min. It was blowing out plenty hot on the top and had collected about a 1/2 pint of water in that time so I think it is a keeper. Now I just have to figure out a way to put it in a car which will require some sort of deflector on the top so it isn't blowing directly on the headliner.

[mccutter]

Some more pics...

[arizonian]

Out here we have no need for a dh EXCEPT in July and Aug. We call them Window AC, Central AC or Mini-split.

Nothing beats the feel of a room that's been dehumidified and slightly cooled.