Santa Fe Dehumidifier (Classic)

Santa Fe Classic Dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Dale on 2010-03-15
I looked at all other products before selecting the Santa Fe Classic. It really works well. I started out with 60% humidity and the Classic dropped it to 35% in a couple of days. I would recommend this product to anyone.

Dehumidifier Review
Reviewed by: Roger on 2010-02-04
Found this to be a very reliable unit and our mold mildew problem has been solved by our ability to control the humidity in the affected area.

Worth the money
Reviewed by: Troy on 2009-11-23
We have purchased cheaper models from Sears and home depot. This is a far better product that can keep up with a full sized basement. The difference was immediate. Our basement also smelled like mildew in the summer (New Hampshire). The basement is free of any oder and the amount of moisture can be regulated. before you waste $400 to $500 on l lesser model spend the money once and get the best unit out there.

Effective basement dehumidification
Reviewed by: Rob on 2009-11-19
Easy installation, quick results. Brought the humidity of a 20x20x8' open basement down from 80%+ to 40% overnight, and kept it at the desired level. Effective customer service completed the package. Highly recommended.

Why did I wait so long?
Reviewed by: Gary on 2009-10-20

I agree with many of the other reviewers on here. I had gone through 3 small $300 type dehumidifiers in 3 years. ALL of them died. Due to the expense I had avoided purchasing the Sylvane Classic until now. My basement because of our unusually wet August-October season the mildew smell became unbearable. To heck with the expense I HAD to get the Syvane Classic. The reviews were just too good to ignore the purchase any longer.

The online ordering process, the phone call to have a question answered about the drain tube, the delivery, and the installation all went very smoothly. Excellent customer service, expert packaging and UPS freight delivery. The installation took every bit of 5 minutes after the unit was put in position in the basement. The humidity level was 72% and within 12 hours it dropped to 42%. After 3 days the mildew smell was completely gone and I have since readjusted the humidity level to 47-50%. The bottom line if this unit performs and lasts like I think it will it was well worth the expense. An outstanding piece of equipment. 5+ stars.

Simply the BEST
Reviewed by: Mike on 2009-10-12

Debated for several months on getting the Classic. I figured all dehumidifiers did the same thing. Not true. The Classic is simply the best dehumidifier I've used. It "wrings" the water from the air and only runs a fraction of the time compared to other plastic ones. My basement has never felt more comfortable or smelled fresher. I got a great deal from Sylvane and the salesman.

Great dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Marc on 2009-10-02

Great dehumidifier. I do recommend it. It does a great job! Installed unit June 2009 in 1,300 square foot basement... below ground level with concrete walls... living space above - usually not air conditioned. The unit is not ducted, water drains into an existing sump crock.

Basement started at around 79% humidity. In about 12-14 hours later the humidity was 51%. Unit ran constantly during this time. The humidity has stays at 48-50%; with the unit cycling on/off.

Ordering and delivery went without any problems. The 'musty smell' in the basement was pretty much eliminated within a few days. The moderate noise from the unit is not noticable from the living space above. I am very disappointed in digital humidity gauge. Very cheap for the price paid for the dehumidifier.

Santa Fe Dehumidifier (Classic)
Reviewed by: Dave on 2009-09-12

Great dehumidifier ! I do recommend it... although pricy... it does a great job! It only uses about the same electric power as my consumer grade 30-pint dehumidifier! I wish I researced dehumidifiers a few years ago... and bought this Santa Fe Classic!

Connecticut... installed unit 08/11/2009 in center of 1,300 square foot basement... below ground level with concrete walls... living space above - usually not air conditioned. The unit is not ducted... its water drains into an existing condensate pump.

Basement... Started at... 74 degrees... 79% humidity... like this most of the summer. 24 hours later... 74.5 degrees... 57% humidity... After 3 days... 75 degrees... 47% humidity... the humidistat set point. Unit ran constantly during this time.
It is now 30 days later 09/11/2009... the humidity has stayed at 45-48%... with the unit cycling on/off occasionaly... 68 degrees today.

Ordering and delivery went without a hitch. Virtually no setup required for the dehumidifier... Unpack... read directions... install filters... plug in... set humidity level. Easy to handle/move unit.

The 'musty smell' in the basement was pretty much eliminated within a few days. The moderate noise from the unit is not noticable from the living space above.

A vibrating sound from the unit started about 2 weeks after installation... easily fixed! Removed the side service panel (6 screws) to see inside... started unit... found the insulated copper pipe was causing the stainless steel drain pan to vibrate... the pipe passes through the pan. I wedged two small pieces of semi-rigid foam between the insulated pipe and drain pan where it passes through the pan.

I was pleased to see the quality and simplicity of the components used inside the dehumidifier!

Does the Job
Reviewed by: Robert on 2009-07-21

We own a country house, built around 1770. The basement has a stone foundation, hand-hewn wooden beams to support the floors above, and a dirt floor. Last fall, as part of my ongoing energy conservation projects, I installed fiberglass insulation in the basement ceiling to limit moisture transfer from the basement to the rest of the house, as well as to insulate from the cold. Summer has always left the basement damp, but this year the wet weather in the northeast has wreaked havoc. Rather than damp, this year we are dripping. The insulation is soaked, and condensation liberally drips off the insulated heating ducts. Between the disconcerting degree of condensation and providing a wonderful environment to grow mold, we needed remediation.

My home improvement center dehumidifier had ceased to be effective, and I was in the market for a new one. A friend showed me a brochure on industrial-strength units, which had me doing more research online. I saw the Santa Fe Classic, as well as others, and given the substantial cost versus the conventional dehumidifier, discussed the situation with my wife. After a particularly drenching few days of rain, and an even wetter environment in the basement, I put my research into high gear. I read positive reviews, spoke to the customer service folks at Therma-stor about my particular situation, and by the time my conversation was over, I was satisfied enough with them to call my supplier back to place an order.

The unit, made in the good old USA, was packaged extremely well on a skid and was placed outside my front door by the very accommodating shipping company. I removed the strapping and muscled it down into the basement. I purchased the optional condensate pump, which neatly attached via pre-drilled holes in the cabinet. Once the drain line was set, I plugged in the unit and let it go to work. Per Therma-stor’s recommendation, I put down tarps to cover portions of the dirt floor to limit moisture, something that should have been done long ago, anyway.

There is a humidistat on the unit to set the desired humidity level. Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for the electric company, the basement conditions are such that the unit seems to be running 24/7. I left the unit running and when we returned the following weekend, the situation was nothing short of amazing. The ceiling insulation was dry, the insulation around the heating ducts were dry, even the dirt floor looked drier. In the past, we would walk into the house and get hit with a musty smell. This time, the smell was gone. Even with a few rain storms, when the first floor of the house would feel especially sticky and humid, the humidity levels were minimal. The neighbor with a house of similar vintage who originally gave me the brochure was astonished that our house was so dry given the conditions. Now he is looking into a similar solution.

Despite the considerable investment, the unit appears to do a terrific job of removing moisture. Our conditions are harsh, making it even more impressive. While I am looking to buy stock in the power company to at least share in the profits from heightened power usage, the improvement in conditions makes us feel great, conquering a problem we have suffered with for decades. We heartily recommend the Santa Fe Classic.

Off to a good start
Reviewed by: Ulli on 2009-07-12

I received the Santa Fee Classic two days ago. After two years of research and debate I decided that it is time for a serious unit in the basement. Previously I had used small room dehumidifiers (two of them) and they didn't do anything - actually failing after a few years.

This is a 'first impression' and I plan to follow up with another description upon gathering more experience. Unit arrived via freight on a pallet well packed and free of any shipping damages. Installation was a breeze - I am using the ducting kit and the muffler kit - this keeps the living area of my basement uncluttered and it is very quiet to have this unit in the adjorning utility room.

The unit has been running non-stop for the last 48+ hours and it is noticable that the level of 'room comfort' has increased. Although our past visitors have never mentioned the impression of high humidity in the basement, it seems that this unit is actually working, i.e. getting the humidity out. I am curious about how long it will take until the set (non)humidity level has been reached and look forward to posting another review here.

Just The Best Money Can Buy
Reviewed by: John on 2009-03-11

If you're looking for something other than what others have written you won't find it here; this is another glowing review.

I purchased this unit after our basement flooded in the summer of 2007. We gutted the basement so the 1,100.00 price tag was a mere drop in the proverbial bucket with an inside/outside price tag for repair/upgrade coming in at around 60k. With the investment we had to make we wanted the best,(Reliability, performance, cost balance) unit we could find. This is it. We have it ducted and it has been running since September 2007 without so much as a hiccup.

I can't say enough about this unit and Sylvane. Top shelf all the way around.
Thanks!

Good commercial grade dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Chris on 2009-02-01
I bought this unit to install as part of a basement rehab in an area where we've always had trouble with high humidity for most of the year. After my third portable unit failed I finally went looking for a solid, commercial grade unit that I could ad ducts to.

Everything showed up exactly as ordered and very fast (two days!). I installed the unit in a closet that I had wired up specifically for this type of dehumidifier (it had a drain available) and mounted the controller on the outside of the wall. I then ran ducting into two rooms (a trick - buy flexible 10" ducting at your local Lowes or Home Depot and strip off the insulation...it works perfectly and is really easy to work with).

I insulated the walls of the closet to cut down on the noise but the unit is actually not that loud. You can definitely hear it but you need to be in the same room as where it is running or very close. It is about as loud as a forced air furnace when running.

So in summary - highly recommended. I plan on buying a second unit when I renovate another section of the house.

Awesome Dehumidification
Reviewed by: Gwyn on 2008-11-03
The Sante Fe Dehumidifier unit is very simple to operate and setup.

Once turned on, within a couple of hours dehumidification efforts were noticeable. We have only had the unit on for 24 hours and air quality has already improved. Sound baffling was not needed - the unit is no louder than a typical small air cleaning unit. The unit is installed in our basement which is about 2,000 sq ft and temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. One of the best things I like about this unit is that it is both an air cleaner and a dehumidifier. Within hours, no basement odors were detected and water was visibly draining through the house to our sump pump basin. The second thing I like about the unit is that it is on wheels and can be moved to another location if needed. The hardest thing to deal with was carrying the unit downstairs to the basement - due to weight and size, it took two of us to do this.

I would definitely purchase another unit if one was needed. A local basement waterproofing company recommended this unit because they said it was similar to the higher-priced Sani-Dry system which they sold. I believe we purchased the same quality, but with a lower cost. We are very happy with our purchase.

Best Dehumidifier for Basements
Reviewed by: Stephen on 2008-09-16
We have a 120 year old house with a cellar that was originally a dirt floor. It has been covered with concrete, but it still has water seeping up and has lots of moisture. We had a regular room dehumidifer (Kenmore/Sears) which never really got it dry and was not energy efficient.

The Santa Fe Classic was chosen after extensive reviews and looking at energy star ratings and the efficiency rating for it and others. It works. It was easy to set up. The delivery was by truck and the trucking company phoned to set up a delivery date and time. Delivery was pretty fast and convenient. All I had to do was take a handtruck to move the box from the truck and slide the box on boards into our cellar, plug it in, and put the drain hose into our sump pump basin. It's not too noisy, and the fan really pushes air through. The mold is gone. We had it growing on the floor in patches. It was disgusting. The air smells and feels fresher. The humidity has gone down. I don't know the energy savings, but I'm assuming it will be huge. The biggest plus is no mold.

I would strongly recommend this unit to anyone with a damp, or moldy basement if you really want to get the dampness and mold out of the cellar. Our 120 year old basement has probably never been in better shape since using the Santa Fe Classic. I highly recommend it. Don't even try a regular room dehumifier if you have serious problems like we had.

Great Product
Reviewed by: Rodney on 2008-09-11
After many hours of researching various dehumidifiers, I finally decided to pull the trigger and purchase the Santa Fe Classic. I purchased the Santa Fe Classic dehumidifier in August and I could not be happier since. For years, I struggled with the humidity battle with other dehumidifiers. Needless to say, it was always an uphill battle with mediocre results.

I have a finished basement used as a play area for my children. I also have a sectioned area of the basement for storage of clothing, blankets and other sensitive items. Throughout the years, I purchased several dehumidifiers and at times have used more than one at a time. Other dehumidifiers would never get the humidity level below 55%. To even think of maintaining a 55% humidity level, I would literally run the previous dehumidifiers 24 hours a day. The basement always had a mild musty smell just enough to remind you that you are in a basement. With my new Santa Fe Classic, within the first 3 days of use I was able to lower the humidity levels to a comfortable 38%. I know it can go lower if I choose, but I think that is more than sufficient.

Since then, I have noticed a major improvement in the air quality and the odor is completely removed. I am so glad I purchased this unit and I am looking for years of service from it. As far as appearance of the unit or sound levels, well it is what it is. Don’t get me wrong, it is not an eye sore, but it is something that you may want to place next to the furnace or water heater. The sound levels have surprised me since I was expecting it to be much louder from reading other customer comments.

The nice thing about the unit is that it is only on for a few hours throughout the day so I could definitely live with that. Also, shipping the unit from Sylvane was first class. I received my unit within a few days as they said.

Basement Dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Wayne on 2008-09-11
We've been in our house 22 years and the basement (about 1,050 sq. ft.) has always been quite damp. We initially bought a high capacity room dehumidifier and it helped but only dropped the humidity from mid-70% to around 60%. After about 12 years it died. We went a few years with nothing before buying another room dehumidifier. This one only dropped the humidity to mid-60%. It has gotten quite noisy lately an may be on its last legs.

Faced with buying a third dehumidifier I started searching the Internet. The Santa Fe certainly has the highest reviews I could find but I was put off by the price. I kept searching for something with good ratings but less expensive. I couldn't find anything. As we started to put a game room in the basement I knew I had to do something. Finally I ordered the Santa Fe.

Within 2 hours of installation it had dropped the humidity from 62% to 52% and within a couple more hours it was down below 40%. I've actually raised the humidity setting to get ~50%. The Santa Fe was shipped sooner than I expected, is quieter than my overworked room dehumidifier and works just as advertised. Although we've only had the Santa Fe a couple days, we're really happy with it so far. Since it only runs part time (as opposed to full time for our previous dehumidifiers), I don't see any reason it shouldn't keep our basement dry for many years to come. I’d definitely recommend it to my friends.

Why can't everything I order be so wonderful?
Reviewed by: Greg on 2008-08-03
I recently purchased a Santa-Fe dehumidifier for my home after many years of positive experience with the professional-grade version, the Hi-Edry100. The Santa-Fe is essentially the same unit minus the condensation pump. These dehumidifers beat anything I’ve ever used before, and dehumidification is important in my line of work. They not only wring the water out of the air efficiently, but they have the added bonus of having air filtering as well. My basement already began to smell better after a day or so of operation.

Some people say they are loud, but I’ve found it no louder than a consumer grade Whirlpool dehumidifier that I’ve had for a few years. Any the Whirlpool was running continuously! Not so for the Santa-Fe. Also, the fact that the Santa-Fe has a continuously variable humdistat setting is great. The Whirlpool had only about 5 settings and I always wanted to be somewhere between them.

As far as Sylvane, the customer service and efficiency could not be any better. Ordering online was as easy as could be. Then I had a question the person at Sylvane was very friendly and helpful. Meanwhile, delivery was as easy as could be and quick, despite the fact that this unit large enough to require truck shipping. I left word that I wanted it delivered inside my garage without being home and it actually happened on the day promised! Amazing!

I give the Santa-Fe and Sylvane an A+. Why can’t every order I make online be handled to smoothly?

Santa Fe Classic dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Leo on 2008-06-30
After months of procrastinating over a damp and musty smelling basement, the time had come to seriously consider purchasing a new dehumidifier. We had been using a small portable sized unit for our 1300+ square foot basement. Not only was it inadequate it required manual dumping and we were not comfortable leaving it running constantly when away from the house or during the night.

We began by doing extensive reading on the Internet about relative humidity, acceptable levels based on square footage and how to achieve this in our home. Energy consumption was another important factor to consider. We thought about using two small home sized units, but it became apparent that in order to meet our need and to be the most energy efficient, a larger unit would be more suitable.

We looked at several products and the Sante Fe Classic fit the size requirements and kept coming back up in our research as a well made, reliable dehumidifier. We contacted Sylvane and found their customer service representative to be extremely knowledgeable and responsive.

We ordered the SanteFe Classic on a Wednesday evening and it was delivered on Friday – 2 days later! Installation took less than ½ hour. Within 2.5 hours the humidity level had dropped to below 50%.

We are very pleased with this product. The “musty basement” smell is gone, we can now adjust the humidity level to where we want it to be, we no longer have to worry about turning it on and off, and it drains directly into the sump pump! We highly recommend this product and company!

What a difference!
Reviewed by: Eric on 2008-06-28
I recently ordered the Santa Fe dehumidifier (sa154) from sylvane for my basement which was finished last summer. My regular dehumidifier just couldn't keep up with the level of humidity present...the previous unit ran 24 hours a day never shutting off. Living in the midwest during the hot humid summers I thought that I would be stuck having a damp basement...not so.

I read many reviews and studied the specs of the Santa Fe product before buying. I made the right decision....what a difference in performance between this product and those other so called dehumidifiers. You set the level of relative humidity on the Santa Fe you want and walk away. The unit does the rest and restores a level of comfort you'd expect from the other rooms in your home. Buy it, you won't regret it.

Great dehumidifier
Reviewed by: Bryan on 2008-06-19
Sylvane was prompt with filling and delivering this item and courteous in keeping me informed of the progress of the order via email. The positive attributes of the Santa Fe are that it works very well at maintaining a desired humidity level, can drain directly into a sump pump, works over a large spatial area, and is energy efficient. I am using it in an 800 sq. ft. finished basement and the Santa Fe has kept the humidity levels below 50%, thus allowing us to use the space for a family room and guest room. In fact, we have now installed new wool carpet in the basement and have no problems with mold, mildew, or other moisture problems. The negative attributes of the Santa Fe are that it is fairly large and heavy and is moderately noisy without the sound muffler. The sound muffler greatly dampens the noise but the other negative attributes seem to be trade-offs for its effective and energy-efficient operation across a large area.

Santa Fe Classic is fantastic!
Reviewed by: Eric on 2008-05-30
Thank you for your prompt service with my Santa Fe classic dehumidifier. Delivery was flawless. The Classic Santa Fe dehumidifier has been working as billed. The unit has performed fantastic in my basement at a 64 degree temperature and has gotten rid of the musty odor. The entire family is now gravitating to the basement theater/game room again because the comfort and lack of "That Smell". The system has not frozen up like the others and is a God send!

Santa Fe Dehumidifier
Reviewed by: DW on 2008-04-26
I ordered two of these from Sylvane. I had a bad humidity problem and I was previously using Sears consumer dehumidifiers. For comparison, they could only keep the humidity at 60-62% and ran ALL the time. They also use MORE power and cost around 300 each. Some only lasted a year. They were decent units, but just could not pull the humidity down enough, or last long enough. After I ran the first one for a month, I bought a second. My brother bought three, and my friend bought one.

We've all been running ours 24-7 for the last six months and have not had ONE problem. They are relatively quite and don't vibrate. My humidity went from 60-62% to anywhere I want it! I keep it around 45% and the Santa Fe runs only intermittently once or twice and hour--and this is with outside air circulating in the room through and external intake and exhaust system. We've all finally fixed our horrible humidity problems and problems having to replace the consumer units.

You won't be sorry you bought this unit. Remember that these units DO NOT have water tanks. You MUST run the drain hose to a drain or other waste option. Shipping from Slyvane is VERY fast and the units are packaged well.

Best Basement Dehumidifier on the Market!
Reviewed by: Mike on 2008-04-04
I just wanted to say the Santa Fe dehumidifier completely dried my 2200 sq. ft. basement just as they said it would. It was easy to set up - it's really a plug and play solution. Runs only about 30% of the time during the summer and does a great job. Our "basement smell" has completely gone away. I highly recommend this product!

Santa Fe
Reviewed by: Mark on 2008-03-03
We were advised to get a Santa Fe dehumidifier from several people including a local HVAC contractor. ... I jumped on the internet and started researching different companies that sold the Santa Fe. I narrowed it down to Sylvane and another company, but after reviewing what each company had to offer we went with Sylvane. Doing business with Sylvane was a pleasure. We received our Santa Fe without a problem and it's now been running in our basement for about 2 weeks. Our basement has never been dryer and the re-circulating air from its' blower makes our basement just like any other room in our house. We completely recommend the Santa Fe and Sylvane, so will you.

santa-fe free-standing dehumidification
Reviewed by: james on 2008-02-21
Before purchasing the Santa Fe dehumidifier, we had used 6 different units. sometimes we would have two units running at the same time in the basement area and one on the main floor. They never brought the humidity level down, but would freeze up and would have to check them often to check the buckets. After buying the Santa Fe, we began to see a difference within hours (checking the humidity level with a humidity meter), and in less than two days we saw the humidity level drop from 70% to under 50% and maintain it. We've only had the unit for 5 days and are completely satisfied. We would recommend this unit to everyone that has dampness and mildew.

Keeps my basement dry
Reviewed by: Noah on 2008-02-16
I have about a 2300 square foot basement and previously owned a Sears Kenmore unit that froze up on me all the time. I chucked that unit and bought this one. It keeps my basement dry and when you go downstairs - you can smell and feel the difference. No more mustiness. Now I gotta figure out how to make it less dusty but I guess that is a whole different issue! I have the water dump out into a pump that is sitting next to my air handler already - so that is real easy.

Santa Fe Dehumidifier
Reviewed by: jeff on 2010-02-10
I received the dehumidifier fairly quickly, which was a pleasant surprise. There's not much to do to set it up - just put in the air filters and plug it in. I was concerned that it may be noisier than my old one, especially since it is much larger and more powerful. But it really doesn't make much more noise. It does a good job of removing moisture in my basement. It should last a lot longer since it is industrial grade. I went through two LG dehumidifiers from Home Depot in about three years, so decided to spend more money on a good large machine this time. Only slight problem I see is that the casing vibrates when running. I tried tightening the bolts on the outside, but some of them are stripped. I didn't like that seeing as it's a new machine, but it's not worth the hassle of a return. That's why I gave it four stars.

Very happy with Santa Fe
Reviewed by: Dan on 2010-01-21
I have had excessive moisture on my windows during the winter from the time I moved into this house. We unboxed the Santa Fe Dehumidifier, plugged it in, and turned it on. It has removed the excess humidity that I couldn't remove with a smaller homeowner model. My only complaint is that the unit is a little noisy. Overall, I am very happy.

Recommend product
Reviewed by: Jerry on 2009-12-06
Santa Fe dehumidifier controlled humidity in our 1,000+ square foot basement. Prior to installation we ran two small portable dehumidifiers in an unfinished basement in Pennsylvania. They barely kept up in summer and had to be emptied at least daily. We had condensation on insulated water pipes and items stored in basement were getting a musty smell.

We installed the Santa Fe dehumidifier after adding two finished rooms of about 800 square feet. Dehumidifier is in unfinished work/storage area and vented to finished rooms. Room comfort improved immediately. Water pipes are dry. No more emptying tanks with installation of optional condensation pump. Definitely worth the investment.

The fan is not quiet, so consider the muffler if installed in or near living space. However, fan can not be installed with condensation pump. We're pleased with trade off of hearing fan vs emptying unit daily in the summer.

Dryer basement
Reviewed by: Dean on 2008-03-24
I had two reasons for buying this dehumidifier:
1 - Lower my Electric bill.
2 - To get a dryer basement.

My basement temperature in the winter is around 60 F.
I used a kill-a-watt meter to determine water removal cost.

Old:
LG
Model: LHD65EL
Removed 4 quarts
Time 20.04 hours
Electric 13.21 KWH

New:
Santa-Fe
Removed 4 quarts
Time 23.44 hours
Electric 9.21 KWH

This experiment was not done in a control environment. It was done over a 48 hour time period. The weather outside went from not raining to pouring over the 48 hours. The Santa-Fe data was collected during the first 24 hours followed by the LG data. (So the LG should have had the advantage of more moisture being available.)

My average basement humidity with the LG is somewhere between 55-60%
With the Santa-Fe its somewhere between 50-55%.

So as you can see, I did achieve both of my objectives with this dehumidifier. The drawbacks are:
1 - it's a bit expensive.
2 - I was hoping to save more money on my electric bill.. it runs 24x7.

I've been running the unit for over a month now with no problems. I emailed sylvane once since receiving the unit and their response / response time was excellent.

It's a excellent product and they have excellent customer service. I'm hoping to get many , many years of service with this unit.

Item#: sa154

Availability: In Stock
Shipping: FREE Shipping
Usually leaves warehouse in 24 hours

Price: $1410.00