Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier Customer Reviews

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

My wood % moisture was running at 22% every year before i installed my unit. I removed all floor insullation, installed 6mil plastic on ground and blocked vents with plywood. I set my unit to operate at 65 % humitidy. i bought 2 wireless humitidy/terperature units and i monitor the underside crawlspace from my den. i clean the filter once/year. my wood moisture % runs 11%. I would do it all again. I have had running for 3 years.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

After many nights of reviewing like items I bought this one. After installing it my crawlspace humidty drop from 84% to 61% in less then a week and still going down.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

I bought this appliance to address a humidity condensation problem in a finished part of my basement used for sleeping and play. Poor air circulation and high moisture levels created foul air and a cold moist carpet. There is terrific drainage around the foundation and no seepage but rather moisture from the humid outside air against a cold slab. Although we have not "installed" the appliance yet, it has reduced the humidity from 80% to 45% in the entire basement simply sitting in the room. Our intention is to slip it discreetly under the finished stairs with exposure for the inlet to draw in air from the room and hook the outlet to ductwork to exhaust the dry air back at ceiling level, improving the air circulation. The dehumidifier's compact size allows this usage design. Essentially the dehumidifier will run and drain in the unfinished room, conditioning and circulating the air in the adjoining finished space. Additional benefit to air quality in an adjoining crawlspace is also expected!

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

This makes #2. Got them for the size. Being used at my Storage Faciity for the Climate Controlled Units. I set them and leave them alone. They do what I need them to do.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

Unit arrived in good condition with all accessories and a clear manual. Unfortuantly, upon testing I found the digital humidistat read a consistant 23 points above the one I use to monotor the basement (verified by a lab unit I brought home from work as well). Much to their credit DriEaz responded to my email inquiry within an hour and by the end of the day had shipped a replacement sensor, which I received 36 hours later. After a simple replacement of the sensor the humidistat now reads within three points of my reference unit, fine for a home product. Kudos to Dri-Eaz for their excellent customer service (Sylvane was also very responsive on this issue).

I've since installed the unit in a basement mechanical room and ducted the output into the adjacent home theater. The space was running 70% relative humidity without any treatment; by running two portable units in adjacent rooms I could keep it at 50% for about $2/day in electricity. The DriEaz is maintaining 45% while running less often, so I'm hoping will be less costly to run. Since I've ducted it from the mechanical room the noise in the occupied space is much better. Time will tell but if the unit is reliable I will be very pleased.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

many reviews about condensate pump problems resulting in tray over filling and water damage, i took the pump out drilled a hole under where pump sat and ran a 3/8th plastic hose threw hole and sealed around the hole and hose with aqaurium silicon, now the machine gravity feeds real well, i dont have to worry about floods now, this machine should not have a pump and should be redesigned, much like i described, it was easy to do

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

I waited a bit to try and give you folks a fair, received, installed and operational review on the
Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier. This review is one week post installation. First impressions, a very good product. I have seen two other reviews where the buyer was dissatisfied with the crating/shipment configuration of this dehumidifier. I can say with extreme confidence that this was not a concern/issue for me AT ALL. The Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier came in a well-fitting crate..in a well-fitting box. My Fed-Ex guy is awesome but I'm pretty sure if he had dropped this "freight" it still would have been good-to-go.
OK, install…do the lousy leg work and SEAL your crawlspace. Materials will be less than $200 for a thick .mil barrier and your choice of securing that to seal off the ground vapors. Next de-crate the unit. Take your time here. One side (compressor end) is very heavy and the other end is simple to manage. I only used a knife to cut tape. The rest is packed in with an intelligent design.
After sealing the crawlspace… I mounted the unit 1' up on blocks because the directions state that the condensation pump can handle a 3' vertical push max. I have a 3.5' crawl space. I did not want to push it as my goal was to move the column of water up to the septic inlet exactly 3 feet from the ground. Long story short raising the unit up 1' on blocks proved to be a good idea. I leveled off the stack and placed the unit on top. The legs were only minimally adjustable but adjustable nonetheless. Pick up some plastic (no breakdown in humid conditions) shims before you start this leveling process.
The unit was level and set for power. You will need a grounded (3 prong) outlet for this unit. Do not step down with a 2 prong adapter. This is not recommended, and for a unit you would like to set-and-forget, use the right electrical connections. I powered the unit up and had a RH level of 72%. I am mid-Atlantic. It was early summer. For reference, those of you who are new to (RH) – relative humidity numbers …this is bad. For additional reference my living room was 63% at this time, If you are familiar with home airflow…the LR RH would have been about to go up even more if I did not install this.
OK the condensate pump. So far great job. It is pushing a ½" column of water up 2.2 feet. to my septic drain inlet. Now, why I gave it a great rating…within a day my RH was 58%! Two days later 47% and I set my goal RH (machine controlled) to 45%. Third day I was good (45%) and the unit shut down (like it should) until the RH increased later that week due to weather.
On the condensate drain, make sure you do not kink the ends before your dump point. If I made the machine I would add a "J" support to the package like you have on your washer drain. But just rig it well so there is no terminal kink. Good dehumidifier, great for set-it-and-forget-it applications.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

I like the size of the unit, very compact. The flexability to change your intake and exhaust vents are also a handy feature. Didn't think I would utilize such a feature but I did. Would have liked a little longer cord, maybe 10' instead of 6' to avoid using an extension cord.
Looking forward to the big test this summer when humidity is much higher. Unit is surprisingly quiter than units I've purchased from the big box stores.Based on first impressions, I would highly recommend this product.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

I just installed the CMC 100 yesterday. After sending one back due to a broken fan. It seems the shippers found it necessary to have box on it's side for the entire trip, as evidenced by the looks of the box. The back panel evidently flexed inward enough to press against the fan. Customer service was great and I had this one on the way back the same day. A new one was sent with emailed instructions to open and inspect prior to signing. Sylvane should instruct their carriers of the need for signature, as I did not sign for the first one and found the second one standing on end in my driveway when it arrived, unsigned for. I unpacked it and sat it on my workbench, waited about a half hour and started it up. It came right on fine with no excessive noises. I removed the pump panel and immediately poured a cup of water in to test it, it pumped fine. I let it run for a full day to ensure it was not going to quit after I get under my house.

I used foam insulation board to fit around my crawl space vents and seal them. Due to flood insurance requirements, we're required a rediculous amount of vents. For my 1700 sqf home, I have close to 40 vents. With that, we have to ensure the foam will "blow out" in the event of a flood...hence the foam. I made sure my moisture barrier was in place as well. With all the vents, it can freely blow around under there if the securing pins corrode away.

I sat the unit on two eight inch high concrete blocks and installed a 25 ft section of duct suspended from the floor joists. I plumbed my drain pump into 1/2 in PVC using a one foot section of the supplied drain hose as a flexible coupling. I then suspended the PVC drain from the floor joists to maintain a downward flow, and tapped and glued this into my existing kitchen sink drain line

After twelve hours, I am at 57rh, down from 73rh. I have two remote hygrometers under the house near opposite corners and am logging temp and humidity every hour or so as I remember to take a look. I will inspect the unit today to ensure everything is holding up.

Comments about Dri-Eaz CMC100 Crawlspace Dehumidifier:

This product is truly fantastic! It is all so simply to setup. The instructions are super easy to follow with photos for each step of the way. Our crawlspace had a Relative Humidity (RH) of 88% before using the dehumidifier. So we set it at 55% and just shy of two weeks our RH in the crawlspace came down to 55%! Believe or not! We have zero regrets so far and looking forward to many more years of worry free RH in our crawlspace. Nothing beats this dehumidifier for its small size. That's why we call it the "compact workhorse" dehumidifier. Buy and try it.