Soleus Air CFM-25E 25-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Soleus Air CFM-25E 25-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat
Customer Review: Dehumidifier-so far, so good
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the Soleus CFM-26E on 01/08/2008. So far, I have been pleased with the performance. Compared to the older dehumidifiers I've used in the past, the Soleus is much quieter, lighter, and takes up much less floor space. As far as dehumidifying, it has been perfectly adequate for my small studio apartment (about 230 ft sq) running at the lowest power setting. The unit housing is plastic, which may not be durable enough for some situations, but has been OK for mine.
The unit has a handle and can be carried or rolled on two small wheels (like a piece of luggage), though you don't want to do this with a full tank. Oops! Unfortunately, the wheels are so small that the floor must be perfectly smooth and flat for easy movement. The tank is an odd shape, so you have to be extra careful when emptying it to avoid splashing water on the floor.
You can set the unit for constant dehumidify, or three pre-set humidity levels, but these settings only control the compressor--the fan will run constantly as long as the unit is on. Because the dehumidified air is vented from the top through an adjustable-angle vent, the air flow can be obtrusive. Lowering the angle of the vent makes the air flow noisier.
In spite of the drawbacks mentioned, on the whole, I am pleased with this purchase--as I said, so far. This is the kind of appliance I would expect years of service from with proper maintenance. Only time will tell how durable it turns out to be.
Customer Review: Didn't function
Summary: 3 Stars
My unit arrived missing the guard in the water tank. This probably caused damage to the water tank and tank full switch during shipping. Therefore on receipt, the unit did not function. I did hold the switch in manually to listen to the unit and it does seem to operate very quietly. I can't comment on its use until I get the replacement. ON the upside, the return and replacement from Amazon was very easy. My replacement unit should arrive in a day or two.
**update** I recevied the replacement unit. It does function but still does not have a guard on the water tank like the manual indicates. Not sure if this guard is really supposed to be there or not since this is unit 2 without it. At least this unit functions though. I tried contacted Soleus Air 4 times in email now asking if the water guard should or shouldn't be there. No replies from them. I also emailed their Consumer Sales Office and received no reply. I had a 2nd question for them - the manual indicates you should use 15mm inside diameter tubing for the continuous drain. I can find no such 15mm tuning that exists anywhere - auto stores, hardware stores, Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, True Value, Tubing specialty manufacturers, US, UK, etc. I asked Soleus what they suggest or where they suggest getting this tubing. Also no replies.
The product is operating and it is indeed quite. I suppose if you never have problems or need anything from the manufacturer its an ok purchase.
** update ** 12/30/2005 I never did get a response from the manufacturer on the tank guard. I called 5 times and emailed about 50 times. At one point I did get a message from someone at Soleus that said he could easily help me. I never heard from him again though ever nor was I able to actually reach him. All I wanted to know was if the stinking guard was or was not supposed to be there.
More importantly, like several others have noted - my unit ran fine for a few months but then stopped collecting water. The fan still runs and it is still quiet but no water in the tank. Just to verify the changing seasons didn't dry out the basement I swapped in my old dehumdifier in the exact spot and it did collect water. Its located in my laundry room so I knew the area wasn't dry enough to not have some collected water. I put the Soleus back in for a period and still no water collection - tried all modes - one each week - continuous, moist, dry, mid - no water collection at all. So, I gave up and went back to my old unit and it is collecting water in that same spot ongoing.
****11-01-2006***** I'm giving my Soleus to the junk collector. What a shame and waste of money. After hundreds of emails and many, many, many calls to Soleus - I got not one single response to my unit failing to function after a short time. Not a single reply, call back, etc - ZERO. I'm frankly astonished that anyone is still giving this product and company any kind of good reviews. I've seen others with the exact same non-functional issue as me as well as the same poor Soleus response. Talking to other owners in local stores, my experience is nowhere near unique so I really have to question whether the reviews in here are by real people or sales reps. Something is quite fishy when I can't find a live person who reports their unit has operated for a year or more and they've gotten customer service out of Soleus. Just my thought. I replace the Soleus with a Maytag unit that has now run flawlessly for almost 1 year. What a treat - plug it in, turn it on, connect the drain and I haven't had to worry about it in 10 months. The Maytag is much louder though. However, what difference does that make if the Soleus is quiest and doesn't function.
Customer Review: Didn't work for me
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this dehumidifier in Oct 2005 after reading all the nice reviews. However, when I got mine, it didn't work. Not a single drop of water. If the humidity level was truely below the setting, the unit is designed to turn off. But it kept running for two days until I switched it off. Did troubleshooting with the manufacturer without any success. Amazon sent me a replacement but it had the same problem.
When I came back to Amazon I saw few other buyers had exact same problem in Nov & Dec 2005. Wondering if there was one defective batch. After this experience, I don't have the confidence to recommend this product to anyone.
Customer Review: Died 1 week after warranty ended
Summary: 1 Stars
Worked great for a year. A week after the warranty ran out it stopped collecting water. Compressor kicks on, fan runs but no water. Called the company 4 times and emailed 4 times before someone called me back. They said I could mail it in at my expense and then have their technician look at it for $45 an hour! I declined. I'm going to try and get Visa to cover it under their warranty extension program. Do not buy this product.
3/27/08 - Update
Brought it to Sears appliance repair (authorized Soleus repair facility). Repairman found the problem but could not get Soleus to respond to his phone calls or faxes so that he could order parts. Now, I'm back to making a claim with Visa.
Customer Review: Does NOT work
Summary: 1 Stars
Bought this item in September '07. Does not work, and the company has not helped at all. Still stuck with the dehumidifier that does not work. Basically lost out on $160.00. Do NOT recommend at all.