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Have only used this for a day, so this review does not address reliability.
Pros:
This unit excels at its primary function of removing water from the air. Was dropping my basement more than 1 point of humidity per hour (starting from 50% humidity and in conjunction with my old Whirlpool dehumidifier).
Amazingly quiet.
Nice set of controls including humidistat and self defrost. Humidistat setting goes down to 30%. Operation is limited to 41 degrees fahrenheit or warmer.
It has an internal electronic pump for self drain, or you can use passive gravity drain for continuous drain.
The instructions are written in clear english with some helpful tips.
Some cons:
Comes with castor wheels on the bottom and these wheels don't lock, so I have to block the tires to make the unit truly stationary (placing the wheels inside Gatorade bottle caps works well). Also, if you remove the wheels, the unit is not stable (there is a triangular piece of plastic that protrudes from the bottom, so the unit is very wobbly without the wheels).
The threading on the passive gravity drain was a bit off, so my garden hose would not attach as firmly as I would have liked. I used their included hose instead, which worked well.
No continuous run setting, so if the humidistat goes bad, unit won't work.
I gave it five stars because the cons were very minor in my book.
Also, for reference I comparison shopped this versus the Frigidaire FAD504DUD 50-Pint Dehumidifier and Amazon was selling the Friedrich at about the same price (a few $$ more). The Friedrich had two extra things going for it: 1) it has a built in pump to drain the water, 2) several reviewers reported problems with the Frigidaire gravity drain, which is a key feature for me. Seems comparable to the DeLonghi DD50P 50 Pt which was $50 more.
****** update *****
5-15-2013
Have run the unit for 10 months and it has been flawless. Air filter is also easier to access and clean relative to my old Whirlpool (which is not bad either). The drain system has also been working well. I continue to use the gravity drain attached to a Little Giant condensate pump (b/c I already had it set up for the basement drain), so have not been using the internal electric pump.
For reference, my basement stays around 59 degrees most of the year with a low of around 53 in a real cold snap. I have been pleased that this unit's humidistat seems to work very well, in that the unit shuts off and on as appropriate. I have a separate humidistat about 20 feet from the unit that confirms the unit's readings. All the more impressive because on some brands the humidistat is located in such as way that it is impacted by the operation of the de-humidifier and thus not as useful.
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I bought this dehumidifier to replace an aging one in my basement. I decided to get the Friedrich D50AP because it has a built-in pump. That feature freed me to locate it in an optimal location and run the supplied 15' clear hose to my sink, rather than be limited to locating the unit near my floor drain and using a gravity drain hose.There's an illuminated digital readout of the air's temp and humidity that's easy to read from several feet away so you can check the room's status at a glance. The unit will restart/resume if the power goes out.
The air moves in through the front of the unit and exhausts straight up from the top. There are no air vents on the rear or sides so you have lots of options where you can position the unit relative to walls and other things in the room.
I can't hear it running from the 1st floor when it's down in the basement. Standing next to the unit the compressor hum is barely audible, but the fan has two speeds... strong, and stronger, and both are very audible and may distract from a phone conversation or watching TV.
It heats the room quite a bit, so it would only be comfortable to use in living areas if the room is naturally cool or forcibly cooled.
As for its 50 pint performance, it has no problem handling a 1,500 square foot sump-pumped basement during rainy days and holds humidity below 50% (I have it set to 45%). As a test I put the drain hose into a bucket and it filled it up in less than a day.
Overall, I'm very happy with it. It appears to be a quality product. I will consider the Friedrich brand again. If you think the handy pump feature may be useful now or in the future, this model is a great choice. If you are planning to have it in your bedroom, office or where you watch TV, be aware that when it's busy dehumidifying, the powerful fan makes very audible air whoosh noise, even on the low setting.
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I bought 2 of these Friedrich D50AP in addition to a DeLonghi DD50P 50 Pt. Energy Star Dehumidifier with Patented Pump, to take care of a damp and musty basement problem at my mother's house.I think these are generally nicer than the DeLonghi model, due to the fact that the Delonghi has a "pump" button that needs to be set to make the pump work. I tested a power failure situation and the "pump" light was not illuminated/reset once power resumed. The Friedrich has an automatic switch when you connect the pump hose. No need to have the 'pump' button set.
In terms of aesthetics, I think the Friedrich looks nicer, considering both the drain hose, and the pump hose is in the back. The DeLonghi has the pump hose right in the front of the unit. Since I'm using the pump/drain hose instead of manually emptying the bucket, there is no need for me to see how much the bucket is filled (a feature of the DeLonghi).
I did order two of these units, and one of them was producing a very loud humming noise. If I put a little pressure on it, it would stop the insane rattling. Clearly the product should not have passed QC, so I did return one of them. The one that is working, works like a charm and I personally think is a little better than the Delonghi.
