Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

We have an extremely damp and cool crawl space. It is about 900 square feet by 3 feet high in Plattsburgh NY. First we replaced and reinforced rotten joists and beams. Then we reinforced the cinder-block foundation. Then we sealed the foundation and vents. Then we installed a 4,000 watt forced air heater and the Santa Fe compact dehumidifier. We built a stand for the dehumidifier so it would gravity-drain it into an existing drain-pipe in the crawl-space.

At first, the dehumidifier was loud and it frequently went into defrost cycles. At first the RH came down to only about 60%.

After a few days, the dehumidifier quieted down. I slowly adjusted the temperature on the electric heater until the dehumidifier stopped going into defrost cycles. The minimum temperature to eliminate the defrost cycle was between 58 and 60 F. Now, both the heater and dehumidifier were cycling on and off with the dehumidifier set at "NORMAL". Within a week, the humidity came down to 45%.

If all remains the same, I will be very satisfied. I decided to spend the extra money for the Santa Fe because I am hoping that it will last much longer than the cheaper dehumidifiers at the box-stores. If it lasts 10 years, I will be happy. Time will tell.

I found out that the dehumidifiers that are sold in the box-stores were not honest about their ratings. The Santa Fe is rated at 65 pints per day at the industry standard of 60% RH and 80 F. The box store brands were rated at 70 pints per day at "saturation" (100% humidity). The Santa Fe actually removes 130 pints per day at saturation!. It is twice as effective as 70 pint dehumidifies sold in the box-stores. It turns out that they would have been too small for my application.

So far I am very happy about choosing the Santa-Fe Compact dehumidifier because it does a good job of removing moisture from the crawl-space. However, you will need a heater for it to work effectively if your crawl-space is colder than 58 F.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

The product (including pump kit) seems to be working fine. I had issues with an old mountain home with minimal crawlspace. However, I have only used it a month, and hope I get my moneys worth - it does seem very expensive.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

This was a replacement for another defective unit (different brand). It was easy to install in a 20x30' partially finished basement. The basement was very humid as the floor had been saturated with water from a broken central air conditioning unit. The moisture had encouraged mold to grow.
Before the unit was turned on the RH was 82.

Once turned on, this unit sucked the basement dry in two days.
The end RH was 60. If the control had been set for a lower RH, it would have had no trouble.

Very impressive for such a small unit.

Note that this unit drains its water using gravity, so a basement floor drain is required or a condensate pump to expel the water to a higher drain/outside.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

I had my partial basement and crawl space dug out. The contractors did a terrible job and we had water running down the walls. I then used Blue Max to seal it up and bought this machine to get rid of the humidity and smell. I can now walk into my house with out smelling a damp moldy basement. Very happy with the purchase.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Unit appears to be working - Terminx measured moisture level today and it ranged from 18-61 under my home -- one month ago 60 everywhere under house --the unit has been running full bore for three weeks. I also have a chicken Coop fan plus a actual vent fan in one vent. I am confounded with what to do - one company says seal all vents - the other says you must have a level of about 20 under the home.. HELP!!! Spent the money - can't get it under control

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

I live in South Carolina, and before installing this unit I had standing water on top of the plastic liner in my crawl space. The water was from condensation forming on the air handling unit and duct work. I sealed off the air vents to the crawl space, set the Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier to "normal" and within three days the standing water had dried up along with the musty smell.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

New construction crawl space was dripping wet. Rental unit had little effect after over a week of continuous operation. Replaced with new Santa Fe Compact and within 24 hours Santa Fe had removed gallons of water and within 48 hours the space was dry. Santa Fe will stay in crawl space to keep it that way.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Even though I knew the dimensions, I was surprised by how small the unit is. It is smaller than the old room dehimidifier that it is replacing. This unit works fast, and dries out the whole basement in no time. The noise level is fine if you don't intend to be right next to it, or sleep in the same room.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Used for crawl space that had very high humidity, dripping water off the HVAC ductwork. After two weeks the humidity is down to 60% from 90% and temp. down 10 degrees by covering the vents.The unit runs 100% of the time with setting at 50% humidity.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Works as advertised. Using it in a full basement wich has one side half finshed, and it dropped the humidity in one day and eliminated the musty odor. It is a little louder than I would like but overall I'm pleased.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Using this in the crawl space, need a few more weeks to make final decision, but seems to be pulling a lot of humidity out from under our house.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

I bought this compact dehumidifier for my crawlspace (appx. 1600sf), which had a 70% humidity level. My house is new and the ground-floor oak flooring was cupping due to the high humidity underneath the house. I closed off all my foundation vents and sealed cracks to the outside with foam and installed the Sante Fe. It took several days of continuous running but the humidity level is now 51% and is remaining there on "normal" setting. My flooring is slowly becoming flat again. I am hoping the boards will completely relax. The dehumidifier performs beautifully, drains well and appears to use little power when it is running. I have not yet received a power bill since installing the unit but the wheel on my meter does not spin rapidly when the unit is in operation. It now cycles off and on as it should. [...] The machine is light; I took it off the FedEx truck myself. I fixed a little raised platform for it to rest on under my floor and just plugged it in and routed a garden hose to drain it to the outside. It comes with a hose but it was not long enough for my application; I needed 20 feet of hose. I cut off the hose to accommodate the adapter on the unit. Just cutting the end of the garden hose off was the only modification I had to do to slip it onto the adapter. Easy. I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend this unit to anyone that needs an efficient dehumidifier. It does everything claimed on the documentation. I do not know whether the unit will re-start on its own due to power failure. That would be my only concern but I have not yet had to deal with that issue.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Test ran the dehumidifier and condensate pump for 24 hours, then installed in my 1500 sqft crawl space. Within two days the unit pumped over 10 gallons of water into my garden and the humidity as measured by three separate sensors went from the high 80s to the mid 60s where it has remained for several weeks.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

I purchased this unit for an approximately 800 square foot basement (100 sq. ft. of which is dirt/gravel) with a 7 foot ceiling = 5600 cubic feet after confirming with Thermastor that this unit wasn't too small. Starting from 88% relative humidity, this unit produced a significant drop into the low 70s within a couple hours, and into the 50s after a day or so of use. The unit stabilized the humidity at my set-point of 42% within a week. I'm very pleased so far. The unit is quieter than I expected and yet also louder than I would like as I can hear it running on the first floor. Noise level is about the same as my oil burner when it is running. Insulating the basement ceiling may improve the first floor noise level. Energy use has run around $20 or less per month for the two months it's been in use. My WattsUp power meter indicates duty cycle is just under 50%, typical operating watts is ~475, power factor is 0.86. Average monthly power use is 170 kWh since equilibrating. The first month it was closer to 300 kWh. Very neat little dehumidifier.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Our basement is less than 1000 sq.ft. It has not had a dehumidifier in it for over two years. We installed the Santa Fe Compact and within a day we noticed a difference; within two days it felt quite dry; within three days all "basement" smells were gone. An excellent product!

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

My basement had a smell and my house holds alot of humidity. This little machine is working almost all the time. I noticed a difference as soon as I received the product. I had just started getting mold on my clothes and my new finished basement in certain places. This little baby is making a difference at my property.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

My research for an efficient dehumidifier suggested this one for my home. After just a day, the dampness in the basement was dramatically reduced. It's perfect for my use.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

worked right out of the box. set up is quick and easy. many options for ducting. Replacement filters are a little expensive at $20 each. Very satisfied with product. I would purchase another one

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

This appears to be a solid unit (although I haven't used it very long).
It was a breeze to install, takes up very little space, and doesn't appear to have to work too hard to do the job. I am glad I did not go with a cheaper portable unit.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

The compact design of this unit at first look is deceiving. Only after first night that it has ran I can feel the change in moisture & air quality in my basement, it did not have that mildew smell any more. Great product I would recommend it to anybody that has moisture problem in their basement. 3 thumbs up!!

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

The Santa Fe Compact is a powerful dehumidifier which will work well in the most difficult moisture conditions to remove large amounts of water quickly. This unit's fan is louder than others and gives off more heat than other units as well. The size and power of the unit allow it to be placed just about anywhere in a larger basement with great drying results.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Great unit overall. Pulled the crawl down from 90% to 60% in a couple days.

I would recommend for 1600sqft crawls with 3ft of height or less. The unit is undersized for my 1600sqft hillside crawl that starts at 3ft and gently opens to 6ft near the downhill wall. Unit runs continuously at 80%-90% external RH. I will be adding some additional sealing fixes to the crawl this winter that will improve my setup.

I rated 4 out of 5 as I felt the capacity rating should be in cubic feet to avoid sizing situations.

Comments about Thermastor Santa Fe Compact Dehumidifier (4029900):

Have had unit for 1 month now-is doing a great job-has lowered humidity from 90+% to a steady 50%, and it only runs as needed part of the day. It is also quieter than I imagined it would be. This is an excellent product that I highly reccomend if you have a moisture, mold/mildew, or spider problem. Price wise this machine is truly a great value for what it does. No $200-$300 unit could even come close in performance. This machine is total quality---AND AMERICAN MADE !!!