Crawlspace encapsulation

[vbu]

I neglected to mention that I ended up putting one of these Inkbird digital humidity controllers on my Santa Fe. I got the wifi version so I can keep an eye on it from my phone. They work well. I can't say the same for the Santa Fe, looks like it reached 3 years of life and retired.

INKBIRD Digital Humidity Controller Pre-Wired Outlet Dual Stage

INKBIRD IHC-200 series is an easy-to-use, safe and reliable digital humidity controller. The humidification and dehumidification equipment is controlled through dual relays and has an alarm function. This controller also supports humidity calibration and time-delay protection.

inkbird.com

If you are looking for a new dehumidifier, look at the vevor branded ones. I've had one running for a few months. Build quality seems really good. Heavy unit, 80+ lbs. Can't beat it for the price. I am currently in the process of encapsulating my crawl space and have bare dirt floor right now. It pulls out 10+ gallons a day. I can buy a fleet of Vevors for what one Santa Fe runs

 

[mellow]

If you are looking for a new dehumidifier, look at the vevor branded ones. I've had one running for a few months. Build quality seems really good. Heavy unit, 80+ lbs. Can't beat it for the price. I am currently in the process of encapsulating my crawl space and have bare dirt floor right now. It pulls out 10+ gallons a day. I can buy a fleet of Vevors for what one Santa Fe runs

Thanks, I will look into them.

 

[BigJ273]

Interestingly enough, one of mine “retired “ this year as well. Only two years old. Pretty disappointed but I filed a warranty claim. Alorair is the model. It did a fantastic job, when it was alive.

 

[mellow]

I picked up the Vevor 125 pint to try it replacing the Santa Fe. Will get it installed this weekend and test it out, hefty unit for sure.

 

[mellow]

Got the Vevor installed, will see how long this one lasts.

 

[BigJ273]

Does the height work well with that pump? Some people say they have to be really high to work well

 

[mellow]

I had to add an extra set of bricks to increase the height but it works.

 

[vbu]

I picked up the Vevor 125 pint to try it replacing the Santa Fe. Will get it installed this weekend and test it out, hefty unit for sure.

yeah wrestling that thing around in the crawl space is definitely no joke!
I've been reading this topic again and want to put mine on a smart plug too, to watch energy usage. I have found several, but none that seem to track the amount of cycles per day. Which plug do you use that supports this?

 

[gthomas785]

yeah wrestling that thing around in the crawl space is definitely no joke!
I've been reading this topic again and want to put mine on a smart plug too, to watch energy usage. I have found several, but none that seem to track the amount of cycles per day. Which plug do you use that supports this?

Not that you asked me, but if you have anything that can plot the energy usage, just count the number of spikes in say, a 60 minute period and that should give you an idea. I do it that way with my Emporia Vue energy monitor.

 

[vbu]

Not that you asked me, but if you have anything that can plot the energy usage, just count the number of spikes in say, a 60 minute period and that should give you an idea. I do it that way with my Emporia Vue energy monitor.

yeah I looked into those as well. Was looking for something that had the information available like in @mellow his screenshots. Thanks for chiming in though!

 

[mellow]

I use a TP Link HS110. I have a couple of them I use around the house, I have another one hooked up to my pellet stove.

I got those because back in the day that was what worked with my Sense energy monitor. They just keep working all these years, not looking forward to having to replace them.

 

[mellow]

One thing I have found out, this vevor dehumidifier is power hungry. I have been watching it for the last few months and it does use more power to do the same job as the santafe unit.

June 2024 using the Santafe unit:



June 2025 using the Vevor unit:

 

[DuaeGuttae]

One thing I have found out, this vevor dehumidifier is power hungry. I have been watching it for the last few months and it does use more power to do the same job as the santafe unit.

June 2024 using the Santafe unit:

View attachment 339591

June 2025 using the Vevor unit:

View attachment 339590

I don't know if there's a degree day equivalent for humidity that one can research, but it would be interesting to add into the equation the relative humidity or dewpoints of the two months being compared. I know that here in central Virginia last summer we were in drought, though the air could still be quite humid. This summer we're getting more rainfall and having some pretty oppressive dewpoints outside.

It could simply be a difference in the operation of the two units, of course. I'm not disputing that. It just caught my attention how much more time your new one has cycled on and run compared to the older one. I do wonder if some of that is just simply due to having more humidity to fight.

 

[mellow]

I thought that to, but it has been running for a few months now and the data is pointing towards more power use overall, I just picked last month as an easy comparison. I am seeing the same this month as well, overall run time is way up comparatively.

 

[gthomas785]

Product specs should list the efficiency in liters/kWh or something similar. Of course, manufacturer test data may not match up with real world conditions.