Santa Fe Advance 2 Dehumidifier - New Model Customer Reviews

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We live in a 1500 sq. foot rancher with a large crawl space in Louisa Co. Va. Our crawl was moist to begin with when we moved in 2 yrs. ago and we ...Read complete review

We live in a 1500 sq. foot rancher with a large crawl space in Louisa Co. Va. Our crawl was moist to begin with when we moved in 2 yrs. ago and we had to have it treated for mold, as the house was vacant for quite a while.

The original vapor barrier did not cover the entire dirt floor AND our HVAC ductwork and handling unit is located in our crawl which was sweating constantly, causing not only moisture condensate but our insulation was falling as well. After trying to put down more 10mil vapor barrier, even taping it to the walls and sealing up the vents, we still had moisture issues.

We purchased a 70 pint Danby home dehumidifier as our neighbor told us they had the same problem and a little unit took care of their crawl just fine. However, not so for us. It worked well in the beginning, but ran constantly, had no humidistat, so we had to go under the house often to check on things and our electric bill went up $50-$75 a month!!!

We had gutters put on the house last year, thinking that would help and it didn't do as much as it needed to. There is no evidence of any standing water or leaks and our home sits on a slope-you would think a humid crawl wouldn't be such an issue. But, we have a very clay soil here in Louisa, and it does hold moisture well. So, this year we decided after much deliberation and comparing different dehumidifier brands to go ahead and spend the money on something that we could set and forget it, with an incredible reputation for longevity and reliablility.

We found that doing it ourselves was much more affordable then having a moisture company come in and provide us with crawlspace encapsulation and deumidifier- thousands less! Came UPS Freight-WONDERFUL COMPANY-prompt, professional delivery within the week of purchase-Shipping was FREE! Set up couldn't be easier. Here is how we did it- My wife and I placed the Santa Fe on concrete pavers we bought at Lowe's over our existing vapor barrier with 2ft clearance over top from the floor joists to the machine and leveled it with the bubble level provided on the machine.

Then, we slid the clear tubing provided, onto the barb nipple at the machine and secured it with an automotive hose clamp so it wouldn't leak. We bought a 2nd PVC barb nipple 5/8 inch to slide the clear tubing over at the end again securing it with a clamp and of course used PVC glue to attach that to 3/4" PVC pipe. We chiseled out a hole through the foundation block, which took some time, but well worth it, and ran the pvc thru that, down the slope of our natural yard grade to a small gravel pit to facillitate drainage.

We buried the pvc underground with the tip just out over the rock so we can see it draining. The machine was plugged into our 110 outlet and set it @ 45% for now to get the moisture under control. Took about 10 minutes before we started to see water come out through the tubing. It has ran all day and we anticipate it to keep going until it gets the humidity level under control(78% at start). Noise is not an issue-we cannot hear it in the house at all. The crawl is noticeably warmer and drier already!(My wife is thrilled!)

Wish the power cord was a little longer and the clear tubing as well, but that is all that we can say negative about this wonderful machine. Like I said, we have spent a good amount of time looking at all the brands on the market and this by far was the best bang for our hard earned dollars. Can't wait to see how the doors close up in the house and how the crawl feels and smells over the next week. Go ahead and spend the money now and save yourself the hassle of a smaller, less efficient unit. With what we have spent on electricity over the past year for the home unit in which the fan had run pretty much all the time, we could have had 50% of the cost saved up. Live and learn I guess.