Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier Customer Reviews

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

We chose the Santa Fe Compact due to the excellent reviews it received and it's size. We have lived in our house for 24 years and have always used the same Kenmore dehumidifier in our basement. It lasted but I'm not sure it had any energy efficiency. Our basement bathroom has a shower that 4 people each use at least once a day. There is no fan or vent. The steam was causing mold and mildew on the ceiling of the bathroom and the shower walls. We determined that we needed a powerful dehumidifier. The Santa Fe Compact has done the trick. Our basement doesn't have that summer musty smell at all. I love the fact that it doesn't have a pan that needs to be drained. We put the hose into our laundry wash basin and it's taken care of. The only negative was the cost. Hopefully it will keep our basement from dampness, mold and mildew for many, many years to come.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

works great..

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

Finally got enough humidity in MN to get the unit working in the fishished basement of my 3,500 sq ft house. The Compact unit has been running on auto for the last few days and has already made a big difference in the mustiness and feel of our basement. Sure feels like a quality unit and for the price, I'm hoping to get many, many years out of it.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

First, the Sante Fe compact replaced a Santa Fe "classic" that only lasted 7 years before it blew and was faced with a $700 repair bill. I decided to downsize thinking I would save a few dollars and that the classic was oversized for my 1000 sq ft basement. I purchased because it was ductable like my previous classic and had the duct work installed. The airflow is less than half of the classic but seems to do a good job removing the humidity. It remains to be seen how long it will last for the $1100 cost. If this fails I will surely purchased a less expensive brand.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

Installed the Santa Fe Compact and saw immediate results. This unit was installed in a crawlspace that was extremely wet. Within minutes of running the machine I could see water streaming through the drain hose into my sump basin. It's expensive but well worth it.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

We operate a museum gallery in Florida (most humid place on Earth) and moisture is certain death to ancient objects. We are in a historic bank building with 3 operational walk-in vaults where priceless parts of the collection are stored when not exhibited.

Without a humidifier in these vaults, anything put in there would be destroyed by mold and moisture within a month. Despite sealing all internal surfaces, the moisture problem persists. We had been using a cheap residential unit with a plumbed drain pipe but we worried about the reliability of such a unit. The overall space is small so anything large is not needed. After much careful consideration, we opted to go with the Santa Fe Compact 2 unit and it is truly a huge difference in every way.

The heat output of this unit was much lower than a cheap residential unit. The noise was substantially lower. The fact that it ONLY turns on when the built-in humidistat detects it needs to is a very important power savings. Above all, the #1 plus was the keep it simple stupid design of this unit in that the company opted to go with an mechanical rheostat controller for the level of humidity control. What this means is that when the power is cut and then goes back on, there is NO chance that a digital controller will fail because the mechanical device is not reliant on electricity. EVERY time it will return to the exact setting you left it at because of this simple design feature.

Furthermore, because they use a mechanical controller rather than electronic, there is one less area of failure.

In our case, a dehumidifier failure would destroy millions of dollars of artifacts. We needed a rock-solid reliable system and this seems to be it. It is MADE IN AMERICA and absolutely has that quality feel, operation and finish to it. For anyone with any type of safe room or vault, this unit is a must. We installed a wired electronic humidity and temperature sensor with a readout display outside of the vault that has an alarm so we can monitor the internal environment. We still have the residential unit inside as well that is on a double a day 1 hour interval turn on and turn off setting as a backup but I don't think it will be needed. We are now looking to purchase a second identical unit of the Compact 2 to use as a back up, operating side by side for added insurance.

We also mounted this unit on the factory made hanging kit. I was unsure how good of a deal it was to get it rather than fabricate our own but trust me, the factory hang kit is worth every penny. It is made in a very high level of quality and looks 100% professional.

Overall, this is truly a supreme quality unit that we expect to last for a long time in guarding and protecting from moisture priceless objects. Sylvane's price was the best and their packing and delivery service and swiftness of order fulfillment was #1.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

I recently moved into a place which is over 100 years old and has a full basement. A good portion of the basement is below ground level and there is no sump pump. During heavy rain the basement leaks in multiple places. Without major improvements there would be no way to keep water from coming in.

Installing the unit in the basement was pretty easy, I just hung it up with cable and chain (probably would have been easier to get the hang kit) and ran the drain hose into an existing drain for the washing machine. I was able to do it myself, but with the weight of the unit I would suggest getting a friend to help. I could have very easily dropped it and ruined a $1000 piece of equipment and/or hurt myself.

After running it for a day or two the basement was pretty dry. All of the spots in corners where little water puddles would collect were dry, and it just felt much better down there. I noticed the house smells a little bit cleaner as well, since the musty air is no longer wafting up. Actually I've been a bit itchy lately and I think I have it turned up way too high, I think it's drying out my whole house. I think I'm going to need to turn it down.

The only minor drawback I can see now is that it is not completely silent. It is quiet, and most places it would probably not be a problem. I have it hung directly below my dining room, and I can hear when it kicks on. If it were that big of a problem I could move it to a part of the basement that is not directly below an area so often occupied. It's not really an issue though.

In conclusion, the unit is much stronger than I had imagined, and I would recommend it to anybody for similar purposes.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

This product was very much what others had written, small, compact and does a great job. Currently my basement humidity level is already at 42%. It's a little louder then I thought but based on the job it does and how small the unit is , it's worth the investment.

I used the optional hanger kit which works great. Keeps the unit out of the way and provides great drainage due to the height. So far after three weeks I am very happy with the product. AS for dealing with Sylvane, it was very easy to order and the shipment was prompt and came UPS. I would deal with them again.

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

Only had the unit for a few weeks, but it is working great. keeping my crawl space at 46 with a setting of medium. I installed a low profile pump to direct the water outside and it is pumping it out!!!

Had a Dri-Eaz and I liked that unit but had many problems with it. The folks at DriEaz were absolutely great in addressing the problems but there came a point where I threw in the towel.

Glad I got this unit

Comments about Santa Fe Compact 2 Dehumidifier:

Threw away 5 household dehumidifiers prior to this purchase because every few years they stop working due to loss of refrigerant and can't be repaired. Not so with the Santa Fe Compact. Their engineers say so. It also performs well at lower room temperatures than most and the filter feature is really great. It also removes more moisture than any others that I've owned. Although the cost is higher it will outlast many other units that don't perform nearly as well.