TOSOT Energy Star 30, 50, & 70 Pint Dehumidifier With Pump
Pros
- Comes In Three Different Sizes: 30, 50, & 70 Pint
- The 70 Pint Option Comes With A Pump Allowing You to Drain Water Anywhere You Please
- Ideal Dehumidifier for Basements or Other Large Open Rooms Such as Offices
- These Dehumidifiers are Energy Star Certified with the EPA
- Products Come With a One Year Manufacturer's Warranty
Cons
- Reports of Failures Out of the Box
- Mold Can Grow Inside The Dehumidifier It Not Cleaned
- Some Users Have Complained on the Operating Noise Level
- Delivery Issues - Product Should Be Shipped Upright
- The 70 Pint Option With Pump Can Get Expensive
Dehumidifiers are a great appliance to add to your home during the spring and summer months. They give your home that extra level of comfort and make walking into your home after a long day that much more enjoyable.
A dehumidifier does just what it sounds like. It removes the humidity from your home and gets it back to an acceptable level. You see the best humidity range for us is between fifty to sixty percent. If you go under fifty percent in your home then you risk cracking skin, coughs, and other respiratory issues.
The inverse of this, if your humidity levels are over sixty percent, then you can have problems with allergens within your home. A high humidity environment is a prime growing environment for dust mites, fungi, and even mold. In some extreme cases the mold can begin to grow on your walls, floors, curtains, and even on your blankets or clothes.
Whether you are having humidity issues in your basement, a specific room in your home, or your entire house adding a dehumidifier will help resolve your problems. The question though is what kind of dehumidifier you should get? Which ones are worth your money and which ones are duds?
In this article we’re going to take an in-depth look at TOSOT’s dehumidifier products. I say products as this appliance comes in three different sizes. There is a thirty pint, a fifty pint, and a seventy pint option. (Don’t worry, we’ll also get into what size is right for you.)
TOSOT
Before I ever purchase a product, especially a higher dollar one, I do my research on not only the product but also on the company and the brand behind that product. Company name and brand can play a huge part in consumer confidence. For example, when people hear the name Toyota they think of quality. Yes, there are Toyotas out there that have issues but for the most part when people buy a Toyota they know that it is going to last a long time. The same can be said if you look to buy a car from a company that has a bad reputation. These thoughts, rather positive or negative, are taken into consideration when purchasing a car.
This same logic can be applied to dehumidifiers. Obviously, the decision of buying a dehumidifier pales in comparison to buying a car… but research should still be done to ensure you’re buying a good product. In the case of these dehumidifiers we know that they are made by a company named TOSOT.
TOSOT stands for Technology, Outstanding, Style, Originality and Trust. They have been producing small house hold appliances for over thirty years. They are owned by a Chinese parent company known as Gree Electric Appliances out of Zhuhai, China. Gree is the largest air conditioner and home appliance manufacturer in the world. TOSOT is a brand name that was first introduced in the early 2000’s.
Since this is a Chinese company the products are not manufactured here in the Untied States. The good news though is that the brand name has the Gree reputation behind it. If anyone can make a dehumidifier I would say the largest manufacturer in the world can do it!
Product Features
In this section we are going to take a look at all of the various product features that these dehumidifiers have. This can range from the various controls and customization all the way to the overall weight of the appliance. I try to cover everything I possibly can here so that you get a good picture of what you’re getting into.
First things first though, before we start talking about the various features this product has we need to determine if this is the right dehumidifier for you. This product comes in three different sizes. We have the thirty pint, the fifty pint, and the seventy pint. There is a method when choosing the right sized dehumidifier for your home, I’m going to give you the quick summary but if there is also a long-form article on how to size your dehumidifier.
- GDN30AZ-A3EBA2C – This is the thirty pint model. In other words, it can remove up to thirty pints of water within a twenty-four hour period. This is the smallest size and while it will work for a moderately damp basement you will get better results if you move to the fifty pint. (If your basement is a thousand square feet or under you can get away with the thirty pint without an issue.) This unit also works great for a small room or bathroom that you are looking to dehumidify.
Ok, so now that we’ve got sizing understood let’s take a look at the various other features that these products have. When looking at features I first like to take an in-depth look at the display control panel. This is where all of your alerts and customization takes place.
When it comes to features available we find most of the standard options that you see with other dehumidifiers. These include a digital display that allows you to set your desired humidity level. The numbers can easily be changed by pressing up or down arrows that will allow you to set a range between thirty-five to eighty-five percent. (Remember that between fifty to sixty percent is ideal.) These dehumidifiers will work within the temperature range of forty-one degrees to ninety degrees Fahrenheit.
Along with the humidity controls you’re also able to set the fan speed which to high, medium, or low. There is a timer setting that will allow you to set the dehumidifier to run for two or four hours and then shut-off. This is helpful if you’re not looking to run the appliance constantly. It’s a set and forget feature. There is also the inverse of this that allows you to delay the start of the dehumidifier for two to four hours later.
Besides that, the last feature on this control panel, excluding the power button, is the clean filter alert. This isn’t necessarily a button, but a LED light will come up alerting you that you need to clean the filter of your machine.
Cleaning the filter is a relatively easy procedure. All you have to do is run it under warm water or a mild detergent. When done you can pop it right back into your dehumidifier and have it begin working again. Just make sure that the filter is dry before you insert it again.
All dehumidifiers have a drainage bucket. After all, the appliance is taking water out of your home and that water has to go somewhere, right? In the case of these appliances from TOSOT they can run continuously for up to five hours before the drainage bucket will need to be emptied. The bucket is easily emptied by just sliding it out and dumping it in a nearby bathtub or sink. The good news is that if you forget to empty it the machine will actually shut itself off in order to prevent an overflow.
If you find that you’re just not a fan of emptying the bucket again and again there is an easier way! This appliance comes with a drainage hole that will connect to your standard garden hose. You can then route this hose to a drain in the floor of your basement. This will cause the water to continuously drain and prevent the manual work of emptying the bucket again and again. Please note though that this drainage hose is gravity fed. So, you won’t be able to drain this to a sink if your dehumidifier is on the floor. (There is a pump option that will allow for this, but I’ll get into this later.)
A few more features folks and then we’ll get into the Pros and Cons section. Really quick, I did want to mention that this unit comes with an auto-defrost feature. For those of you who don’t know dehumidifiers work the same as air conditioners and air conditioners can sometimes accumulate frost on their evaporator coils. The same thing can happen with dehumidifiers. The good thing is that these models from TOSOT have an automatic defrost feature that will identify frost or ice when they build up and then take care of them. Speaking of automatic features, these units all comes with an automatic power restart function. So, if you lose power there is nothing to worry about as your dehumidifier will turn right back on once your power comes back.
Lastly, these units come caster wheels that make for easy transportation. But, if for whatever reason you aren’t able to use the wheels these dehumidifiers aren’t that heavy. The largest seventy pint model comes in at only fifty pounds. Most of us should be able to move this around when we need to.
Pros
Most of the Pros we covered in our product features section but I do have a few things to discuss here as well. The first is that you get three different sizes to choose from with these models. This will allow you to save money by not buying the largest option available. That being said, a lot of folks recommend purchasing a larger size then you would normally need. This ensures that your humidity problem is taken care of and that your dehumidifier is not being overworked. With these three models I would say that the fifty pint model is the best choice. It gives you a happy medium between the two and will most likely handle the demands of your home. If you do have a very large home then you should look at the seventy pint.
I mentioned this earlier in the Product Features section but this dehumidifier comes with something quite unique. Most dehumidifiers have the ability to drain through a gravity fed hose. The difference here with this TOSOT appliance is that it has an actual internal pump installed on the seventy pint model. This pump will allow you to drain the water at an upward angle. In other words, you could have your appliance on the ground in the basement and then have a hose connected and routed upwards to a nearby sink. This simple feature allows for a lot more versatility with your appliance. You’re not restricted by emptying the bucket time and time again or sending the water to a lower drainage area.
All three products are Energy Star certified with the Environmental Protection Agency. The Energy Star program is designed to evaluate various appliances and determine if they meet the EPA’s efficiency standards. An Energy Star appliances is on average about fifteen percent more efficient then a competing machine. Along with the Energy Star rating you also get a one year full warranty from the TOSOT/Gree manufacturer.
Cons
Every product, no matter who makes it, will have drawbacks. That’s just how it is. That being said, it was difficult to find specific cons on these products. Instead, nearly all of the complaints that I read through 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.
Just yesterday 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 Frigidaire offered a complete replacement product. It’s good to know you’ll be protected here.
The last con I want to mention is that internal pump I was gloating about earlier. Remember that? Well folks with extra features comes extra risk. This seems to be the case here. There are quite a few reports of the pump not working as it should, or not working at all. The best reports I saw was that the pump only drains the tank until it reaches fifty percent volume. After that the water sits there stagnant until it exceeds that volume only to be drained again. The other complaint I got was that installing the hose to the pump can be difficult as the hole isn’t drilled all the way through. These folks recommended purchasing the seventy pint unit without the pump. I’ve read both accounts though and many folks say the pump is worth it. I’ll leave this decision up to you as it’s a tough call.
Conclusion
Alrighty folks, we made it through! We have covered everything on this product that I can fathom. If you are still looking for more information please check out our ‘Important Links,’ section below for the official instruction manual. If you are interested in purchasing this unit then please click here to be taken to our Amazon.com partner where you can have the product shipped right to your door.