Dri-Eaz and Santa Fe Dehumidifiers

[Treetroit City]

May have to look into one of those controllers after I get caught up.

I got a data logger which I love but I would love it even more if I could read it on my phone.

I don't currently have a screen shot of my humidity but here is a shot of my temps over a 24 hour period. Pretty cool.

I'll let you know about the Santa Fe when it arrives next week.

 

[LEDNewbie]

Sounds good, thanks! Where do you take your temp and humidity readings from? Just above the canopy like in my pic?

 

[Treetroit City]

Right now my logger sits on the floor so I'm sure the canopy temps are a little above what the logger is reading.

I'm not too concerned with where I'm getting my readings from. Got plenty of air movement so that just seems to be getting too picky for me.

I guess it would depend on what kind of controller I got as to where I would take readings. If it had remote sensor I'd hang the sensor at canopy height, if it was wall mount only well no choice there.

 

[RespectGreen]

I would've oversized it, I bought the phoenix 200 max for a 4k.... Always oversize incase of any extreme condition type problem or expansion.

Oh and if you're running open bulb it'd be smart to get whatever is reading your temps at canopy level and have more than 1.... I've got 3-4 at any given time in each 4k room.... Gotta think about hot spots, how the air/heat is distributing, always pay attention and have more than one reference to go by.

 

[LEDNewbie]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Santa Fe Classic!!!! I cancelled my Amazon order on the Frigidaire 70 pint. I really can't afford it but these dinky big box store units really are quite inefficient!!!!

I found a local seller selling the Compact for $999 or the Classic for $1490.... I think the Compact 2 would be just enough for my room but the Classic is quite a bit more efficient and I think the extra cost of the unit would pay for itself after a couple runs in electricity savings. Plus I know it wouldn't break a sweat in my room and I could get humidity down to whatever I like. I'm going to think about it for a day and then decide!!!

 

[Treetroit City]

Well in a perfect world of course I would have got the MaxDry but after building this room and thinking about things I still need, that $1000 difference was a big difference.

Of course after a few crops come in if I find the compact not up to the job, I'll upgrade.

Although I must say, after talking to many people I have no doubt the compact will have no problem in a 12x13 room.

The fact that I can hang it out of the way was a big selling point as well.

 

[ak-51]

The chart on their website says that the (Santa Fe) Impact XT is the most efficient one, but it has less total capacity than the Max Dry Dual XT.

Do all of these commercial-grade dehumidifiers run proprietary air filters?

I found it was cheaper to go to a site that would custom make filters than to buy the Santa Fe ones. It would be a lot easier though if they just used a common furnace filter size. Of course if I would quit running coco that would probably eliminate 95% of my air pollution right there and extend the filter life by a lot.

 

[LEDNewbie]

So third coast. You get your Santa Fe ? I won't be able to go and buy mine till Wednesday and hoping you get to run yours before then so I can hear what u think.

 

[Treetroit City]

Yeah man, it came early. Hooked it up last night so I'm gonna need a couple days to dial it in but when turned on low a constant stream off water is pouring out.

I'll be honest at first I set it at "normal"(4 o'clock in the 2nd pic) and when I went in at lights on it was 70% RH so I turned it to "constant on" and it dropped it down to 40% within a few minutes. Watered some plants and came back 2 hours later and it's sitting at 46-47%.

As long as it will stay at 47-50 I'm happy. I run perpetual so I need to keep it around 50.

So far I'm happy with it.

It's now hooked up draining into a 55 gallon barrel. If you got any more questions feel free to ask.

 

[Treetroit City]

The chart on their website says that the (Santa Fe) Impact XT is the most efficient one, but it has less total capacity than the Max Dry Dual XT.

Do all of these commercial-grade dehumidifiers run proprietary air filters?

I found it was cheaper to go to a site that would custom make filters than to buy the Santa Fe ones. It would be a lot easier though if they just used a common furnace filter size. Of course if I would quit running coco that would probably eliminate 95% of my air pollution right there and extend the filter life by a lot.

Dunno.

I can get a four pack for like 60 bucks so I'm not worried too much.

 

[LEDNewbie]

Very cool. Compared the dehumidifier it replaced whats the temperature of the air coming out of this unit? Same? Hotter? Cooler? Right now my 60 pint kicks out some pretty hot air. Hoping the Santa Fe will run cooler..... Thanks bud!!!

 

[ak-51]

It's now hooked up draining into a 55 gallon barrel.

Are you planning on rolling that basically distilled water into your grow? For a while I was doing that, then I realized it was mostly pointless since I was still using more than half tap water since I didn't have enough from the dehumidifier. Then I was just using the water from it for foliar sprays since it's sort of cleaner than tap. But I don't really do foliar sprays enough to make that worth it. Now I just have it going directly into the drain. I don't think there was enough utility in saving the water from it. Plus the coils and the water that runs out of it is a breeding ground for bacteria due to the heat and the fact that it's not chlorinated. I don't know if the bacteria is harmful to plants, but I don't think it's helpful to my drip lines. I prefer my res to be sterile.

 

[Treetroit City]

Certainly seems to run cooler. Funny thing is it uses the power as my cheapy. 5.6 amps.

 

[Treetroit City]

Are you planning on rolling that basically distilled water into your grow? For a while I was doing that, then I realized it was mostly pointless since I was still using more than half tap water since I didn't have enough from the dehumidifier. Then I was just using the water from it for foliar sprays since it's sort of cleaner than tap. But I don't really do foliar sprays enough to make that worth it. Now I just have it going directly into the drain. I don't think there was enough utility in saving the water from it. Plus the coils and the water that runs out of it is a breeding ground for bacteria due to the heat and the fact that it's not chlorinated. I don't know if the bacteria is harmful to plants, but I don't think it's helpful to my drip lines. I prefer my res to be sterile.

Absolutely I'm using it! I don't have water in my barn so I run 150 feet of hose from the house and pump 100 gallons of RO at a time.

I go through more condensate than I do RO. Plants love it.

Before this new unit I was getting about 7 gallons a day of condensate. 5 from my mini split and 2 from my cheap dehuey.

I'm guessing now I'll be getting maybe 10 gallons a day.

Next project is to put gutters on the barn and collect and use rain water.

 

[LEDNewbie]

Certainly seems to run cooler. Funny thing is it uses the power as my cheapy. 5.6 amps.

thats awesome if these units do indeed run cooler!!!

 

[otis33]

How used, would some one with knowledge say 2400hrs is on a drieaz 1200. I'm looking at one priced at 8-900$

 

[Veg N Out]

If it was maintained well, no biggie, but at that price, get a new one

 

[otis33]

If it was maintained well, no biggie, but at that price, get a new one

Thanks for the Quik reply, 500$ isn't chump change, but peace of mind opening something new out of the box is nice to have. What does maintaining one of these units involve?

 

[Tyga]

How used, would some one with knowledge say 2400hrs is on a drieaz 1200. I'm looking at one priced at 8-900$

Got my lgr1200 same hours for $300...

 

[Treetroit City]

How used, would some one with knowledge say 2400hrs is on a drieaz 1200. I'm looking at one priced at 8-900$

Do you need something portable? If not I see no reason to get a 1200 for that kind of money.

The 1200 has a rated capacity of 64 pints. Both of the Dri-Eaz CMC 100 or the Santa Fe Compact 2 are rated for 70 pints and both can be had for around $1000. Brand spanking new.

If it was the Dri-Eaz Evolution/292 I would consider it. While rated for 70 pints, it is a LGR, which the 1200 is not.

Now if you find one for $3-400 like Tyga, it might be a good deal.