Colzer CFT4.0D 232 Pint Commercial Dehumidifier
Pros
- Can Remove Up To Twenty-Nine Gallons of Water Per Day
- One of the Largest Dehumidifier Sizes Out There Today
- This Product Works in Rooms up to Eight-Thousand Square Feet
- Powerful Air Blower to Ensure Rooms Are Dried Out Fast!
- Product Comes With a Sixty Day Money Back Guarantee From Colzer
Cons
- Put Simply, the Price. This is a Very Expensive Dehumidifier
- You May be Better off Purchasing a Smaller Seventy Pint Unit Instead
- This Product Does Not Come With a Water Tank, Continuous Drainage is Your Only Option
- Reports of Failures Out of the Box
- Delivery Issues - Product Should Be Shipped Upright
It is amazing to me just how much damage water can do to your home or place of business. It could be from excess humidity in your room, or from water coming in from your windows, or water leaking into your home from your roof, or even a flood. Whatever the reason was one thing is certain: Having excess water or humidity in your home can cause a whole host of problems.
In the more mild case where the humidity levels are too high in your home or business then you could be looking at the possible build up of allergens throughout your home. You see the optimal humidity for us ranges between forty to sixty percent. Anything below forty percent and you risk dry and cracking skin along with increased rate of infections. Anything higher then that sixty percent threshold then you are looking at growth of dust mites, fungus, and even mold. If a room or home has high humidity that is unchecked for a long period of time you will begin to see mold growing on the floor, walls, and even on clothes or blankets. These allergens can cause havoc on people’s allergies and this is compounded even more if the affected person suffers from asthma as well.
These allergens are the side effects of excess humidity and also excess water. Remember folks, all humidity is just water vapor in the air. You can experience the same type of mold problems if you have a routinely damp area or an area that has standing water. A prime example of this would be a basement that has a crack in the foundation. The crack allows water to get in and this water sits there stagnant on your basement floor. This will significantly increase the humidity of the room and can cause mold growth.
So, not only can unwanted water in your home or business cause allergen growth they can also cause very direct effects to your home such as severe water damage to your furniture, walls, floors, and overall structure of your building. When something catastrophic like this happens you need a way to get rid of the water and get rid of that water fast. This folks is where the Colzer CFT4.0D comes in handy. In this article we are going to take a look at the commercial/industrial dehumidifier CFT4.0D from Colzer. Is it the right fit for you? Or, should you be looking at a different option? Let’s find out!
Sizing
Before we get into the features of this product I first want to discuss sizing your dehumidifier. I mentioned it just a bit ago, but I’ll bring it up again. This Colzer CFT4.0D is an industrial or commercial dehumidifier. In other words, this is meant to be used in larger buildings or in the event of a flood or other water event at the building. Now, there is nothing wrong with using this unit in your home. In fact, if you do use this in your basement or other area you can rest easy knowing that you’ll never have a humidity problem again. But, there is such a thing as overkill… and I don’t want you to spend your money on this unit if you could get away with a smaller sized dehumidifier.
This unit from Colzer is rated up to eight-thousand square feet. First let’s think about that for a moment. A typical home today is anywhere between fifteen-hundred to twenty-five-hundred square feet. So, this product is rated more triple the square footage of a standard home. Whatever you have in mind for this unit rather it be in your basement, a workshop, a small warehouse, an office, or even an IT server room… this will get the job done.
If you are still on the fence though if this unit is for you then there is one more consideration that needs to be weighed over. That is the overall dampness or wetness of the room or area that you are trying to dehumidify. Let’s say for example you have a very large area of three-thousand square feet that you need to treat. The seventy pint models from Colzer, and from other manufacturers, are rated to treat up to four-thousand square feet. So, it looks like this would work, right?
Well that depends on the room itself. Is there just a musty or damp smell coming from the room? Are there any signs of standing water? If it’s just a smell that you are experiencing then you most likely will be able to use the seventy pint model with success. However, if you have standing water in the room then this room can be considered wet or very wet. Wet rooms require far more power to dehumidify. So, even the seventy pint unit is rated for four-thousand square feet you have to realize that rating is based off of a damp and not a wet room.
If the room is wet then you will need to go up a size to ensure that the job gets done and that it gets done right. Now, I’m not sure if you would need the full two-hundred and thirty-two pint model, but perhaps the one-hundred and forty model would get the job done in the scenario we mentioned above. The ultimate decision if you purchase an industrial dehumidifier or a more standard one is up to you. In the case of the this CFT4.0D model from Terex it can remove up to two-hundred and thirty-two points per twenty-four hour period. That is the equivalent of twenty-nine gallons per day. This is the ‘big dog’ on the marketplace folks.
Product Features
Alright folks so now we can move onto the meat and potatoes of this article, the product features. In this section we will look at the various features and what you can expect if you purchase this product. The first, and obviously most important, is the humidity controls and display. When viewing the machine’s digital display you will see two main numbers. The first is the overall humidity in the room. The second is the current temperature of the room. Both of these will allow you to gauge the room that you are in.
Once you have determined the humidity you want the room to be at you can customize it using the up or down controls. The range of this dehumidifier humidity level is between ten to ninety-eight percent. Now, I don’t know if you know this folks but that ten percent number is very impressive. I’ve been writing articles on dehumidifiers for months now and that is the very first time I have seen a number that low. Just remember that for humans the best humidity level is between forty to sixty percent. The ten percent may be desirable though for certain business or storage requirements.
Something else remarkable about this product is the actual setting of your desired humidity. In most cases when you adjust the percent up or down they move in increments of five. With this product from Colzer you are able to set your desired humidity level by the exact percentage point. So, if you want a humidity of thirty-seven percent then you can set it.
The CFT4.0D will work in rooms with a temperature range of forty-one to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. That is between five to thirty-five Celsius for you folks across the pond. There is also what’s known as a ‘smart humidity setting.’ This will allow the dehumidifier to automatically turn off once the desired humidity level has been reached. Then, if the humidity rises in the room, the dehumidifier will kick back on until the desired level is reached again. This prevents the machine from running constantly and it will save you on energy costs.
Now that we’ve got the most important feature out of the way lets take a look at some of the smaller additions to this product. The first is what’s known as the auto-restart feature. If your power goes out due to a thunderstorm then you do not have to worry about resetting your dehumidifier once the power comes back on. Not only will the product turn back on when power is restored but it will actually remember the settings you had on it before the power loss occurred.
There is also a timer function on this dehumidifier. This timer will allow you to set a specific time that you want the unit to start or that you want the unit to turn off. This is great if you only want to run the unit at night or during the day. You can adjust the time by the hour all the way up to twenty-four hours.
Most smaller dehumidifiers come with what is known as a water tank. Water tanks are a reservoir to store the water in that the dehumidifier removes from the room. Once the water tank is full it can be pulled out from the dehumidifier and then emptied into a nearby sink or drain. Since this two-hundred plus pint unit is so large it does NOT have a water tank that comes with it. This is important to note as the only way you will be able to drain the water from this machine is with the drainage hose that comes with the appliance. This hose is just over three feet long and is gravity fed so you will not be able to route the water to upwards. This may be a deciding factor for a lot of folks when purchasing.
Did you know that dehumidifiers are just like air conditioners? In fact they are so alike that the only main difference between the two appliances is that there is a heater that comes with dehumidifiers. This heater warms the air back up after the refrigeration cycle has completed. Besides that, they are exactly the same. The product we are discussing today uses the HFC R-410A refrigerant. That is the same refrigerant that is most likely in your outside air conditioner.
Now, just like air conditioners, dehumidifiers can freeze up. This occurs when ice or frost begins to accumulate on the evaporator coils. If left unchecked this can cause the entire machine to shut down and no longer operate. Luckily, this Colzer appliance comes with what is known as ‘auto defrost.’ The auto defrost will recognize when frost begins to build up. When frost is found the machine will shut itself down and leave only the heater and the blower on. This will melt the frost and ice to prevent future issues. Once the ice has been melted the rest of the machine kicks back on and you are dehumidifying again.
Only a standard one-hundred and ten volt outlet will be required to operate this appliance. That is a good fact to know as most of the time with these larger models you can begin to run into the two-hundred and twenty volt outlets. Having the one-hundred ten on this large of a unit is great as it allows for maximum versatility. You are not limited by specialized outlets.
Transporting the product shouldn’t be too difficult either. While it is heavy at over one-hundred pounds it does come with two eight inch wheels on the back of it. There is also a handle on the top of the machine. Using the handle and the wheels the dehumidifier is almost treated like a dolly. You are able to walk it up or down the stairs without much trouble. When transporting though be sure that the machine is standing upright the entire time. Tipping or flipping dehumidifiers will result in machine failure. The last feature I want to mention is the metal housing. The entire unit is protected by metal to ensure that no damage is done to it during transport or use. This will ensure the longevity of your product.
Pros
As I mentioned earlier, this dehumidifier can work on rooms or spaces of up to eight-thousand square feet. Think about that for a second… that is a ton of square footage. My entire home is only twenty-three hundred square feet. When most people purchase a dehumidifier they are typically trying to remove excess moisture from their basement or a floor within their home. In these cases they can get away with using a seventy pint or even a thirty-five pint model.
This unit from Colzer is two-hundred and thirty-two pints… more then triple the size of the traditional seventy pint. You are getting a ton of power if you purchase this product. I could see this unit being used in a large open office or commercial building. Or, in an area that isn’t quite as large but that is extremely wet. Remember earlier how I had discussed how the dampness/wetness of the room can determine what size of unit you need? Let’s say for example you are trying to dehumidify a three-thousand square foot basement that is extremely wet. There is significant standing water. A seventy pint unit will most likely struggle with this job while a one-hundred and forty pint unit will do just fine.
Both the one-hundred and forty and the two-hundred and thirty-two pint options from Colzer are great products, you just need to make sure that a dehumidifier this large is right for you. I’d hate for you to waste your money on buying too much appliance.
The other big selling point here is the warranty on this product. When I visited Colzer’s site on I saw that they offered a two year warranty. Yes, two years. Now I have been reviewing dehumidifiers for the past four months now and I have to say that is one of the best warranties that I have seen on the marketplace. There isn’t much out there that can match it. And, on top of their warranty, Colzer offers a sixty day money back guarantee. So, if something goes wrong during delivery or if the product fails after the first month you can get your money back. I have heard nothing but good talk about their customer service. If you need to get a hold of them you can e-mail them at service@colzer.com
Cons
Overall this is a very high quality product. You are getting a premium dehumidifier if you purchase this unit from Colzer. That being said , with a premium product comes a premium price. This dehumidifier from Colzer is by far the one of the most expensive units I have seen on the marketplace. It is easily double the price of some of the smaller models. As I stated in our sizing section earlier in this article, I would only purchase this product if you are absolutely sure that you need a unit this large. Could the job get done with a seventy pint unit instead? If so, I’d opt for that and save yourself a few hundred dollars. But, if you really do need to dehumidify an area between four to six-thousand square feet then this is your product!
The other con is the so called ‘upside down’ con. Nearly all of the complaints that I read on this dehumidifier were towards the delivery of the product. Remember before how we stated that dehumidifiers are very similar to air conditioners and refrigerators? Well, just like with refrigerators you cannot turn or ship a dehumidifier upside down.
Earlier this year I was helping my father move a refrigerator and we were very careful not to tilt it too far. The reason for this is if the refrigerator or dehumidifier is upside down or tilted too far then the oil can drain out of the compressor. Without proper lubrication your compressor will fail and the compressor is by far one of the most important components of your air conditioner, refrigerator, or dehumidifier. Many folks have reported premature failures of their dehumidifiers… but this is most likely due to them turning on the product right away after it being upside down. If the product did arrive upside down then turn it right side up and then wait for quite a while, maybe even a day. Then, start your dehumidifier up and you shouldn’t have any issues.
It also may be best practice to wait a day or two before turning on your new dehumidifier. The product may come to your home right side up, but who is to know if it was like that earlier that day. Always better to be safe then sorry. The good news here though is that if your dehumidifier does end up not working after a few weeks or months Frigidaire offers a one year warranty. Through my research I had found cases where Colzer offered a complete replacement product. It’s good to know you’ll be protected here.
Conclusion
Alright ladies and gentlemen I believe we have covered nearly everything there is to review on this product from Colzer. We discussed the sizing requirements for dehumidifiers, the various features this unit has, and all of the pros and cons that you can expect. As I had mentioned earlier, this would be a product that I would recommend only IF you need that much power. I do not want you spending more money then you should if you could have saved a bundle and bought a smaller sized unit. The story is pretty much the same on Amazon.com. There are over fifty customer reviews on this product and they all have an average rating of four and a half stars out of five. That is the equivalent of a ninety percent approval rating. That’s pretty damn good if you ask me.
If you’d like to purchase this unit then please click here to be taken to our Amazon partner’s product page. Otherwise, if you find that you need to do additional reading or need a different dehumidifier entirely please check out our dehumidifier buyer’s guide. This guide will take you through everything you would ever need to know about dehumidifiers. We go into sizing requirements, what features to look for, and many other topics.