Eva-Dry Dehumidifier

[Kaiser Soze]

It's a long shot, but I thought I'd ask the question anyways in case someone knew...

In my curing fridge I have an Eva-Dry peltier dehumidifier like this one:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Eva-Dry-Petite-Dehumidifier-Thermo-Electric-Damp-Dry-Out-EDV-1100-/350779085065#vi-content

Recently, while I can hear that it's running and the light is on, there's no moisture collecting in the drip tray below. As such, the humidity in my curing fridge is getting out of control, generally around the 80% but sometimes up to 90% as I've now hung a breaola in there along with the salami that were drying.

As a temporary fix, I've cracked open the door on the fridge and I have a PC fan circulating the outside air, but I'd like to fix the problem with my dehumidifier, as it has worked well for the last few years.

Anyway, I've opened the dehumidifier up and checked that it's running. The front cooling fins are measuring 8.6C inside my house (where ambient is around 20C), so the thermopeltier side is working. It just doesn't seem to be condensing anything on the cooling fins! My curing chamber generally runs at around 12C. I couldn't see that any ice had formed on the cooling fins.

Has anyone had similar issues with any other dehumidifiers and have any tips or fixes?

[wheels]

I didn't think that Peltier dehumidifiers work at lower temps? I'm sure I read that the minimum operating temp for most is around 15°C?

HTH

Phil

[kimgary]

May be worth looking to see if there is any type of airfilter on the unit that is blocked? also make sure that the fan is working correctly, they can normally drop the ambient temp down by 15 - 20 degrees.
Regards Gary.

[wheels]

Is this true?

A peltier dehumidifier basically uses a cold metal surface to condensate the air on. These should not be used below 15°C. From: http://www.meaco.com/guide.asp

Phil

[Kaiser Soze]

Ah. I've never heard that before. The dehumidifier has worked in the past at 12C, so well that I have to empty the water reservoir every week or so due to the moisture collected. Still, that's pretty interesting, and I assume that it's because the cooling fins (which tend to drop the ambient temp by around 15C) start to ice up and become ineffective. It might have something to do with my situation - we're in the middle of a pretty cold (for us!) winter here, where the overnight low means that my curing chamber drops to around 9C some nights, so it is possible that there's ice forming. I'll have to check in the morning.

kimgary - I've pulled the whole unit apart, and cleaned everything. There's no airfilter, and the fan is working. The only fault I could find was a dodgy contact on the circuitboard (meaning it would only work intermittently), so I re-soldered it.

Thanks for both your responses. I might try running it for a day or so in a warm bathroom to see if anything condenses. That might at least prove that it works or doesn't.

[wheels]

Hopefully, that'll show that it's just a 'temporary hitch'.

Phil

[Kaiser Soze]

Folks - just an update on this. After pulling it apart and putting it back together, it now seems to be working. Monitored the humidity yesterday, and it wavered around 70%. The dehumidifier catch-tank is filling with water, so all good. Thanks everyone for your advice. All's well that end well!

[kimgary]

Many thanks for the update, happy its all working, remember it for next year if the ambient temp falls low again.
Regards Gary.