Desiccant drum dehumidifier teardown

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A complete teardown of a desiccant drum dehumidifier, just in case you wondered what's inside one.
These are an interesting alternative to the classic compressor based units. They are much quieter and will perform very well at low temperature. They put out a continuous stream of warm dry air, which is useful in winter. I've never tested the efficiency of one of these next to a compressor one, but I use both. Compressor in the warmer part of the year and desiccant in the colder months.
Don't mix this unit up with the mini peltier based units. This type is massively more efficient.
The water sump is prone to gunking up in these due to the use of a slight water-trap to avoid loss of the hot air being circulated through the condenser. The other section of the sump I didn't mention is for a drip pipe from the hot air circulator fan housing.
This technology is still relatively young, and they have an early history of heater failures. They seem to be evolving with time though, and are much more reliable. I tend to operate mine at the low power setting (300W) which also has a noise and efficiency advantage.
It's worth mentioning an unusual quirk that these dehumidifiers have. The drum absorbs natural odours from the environment and when the unit starts up it can create a sudden amplified burst of the odour. Sometimes that can make a musty smell, but it's just a brief burst on each cycle.
The conspiracy Karens have done their usual thing and claimed that the zeolite drum is a form of asbestos. It's not. It's a different mineral completely and is not known to pose any risk.
Supporting the channel with a dollar or two on Patreon helps keep it independent of RU-vid's quirks, avoids intrusive mid-video adverts, gives early access, bonus footage and regular quiet Patreon live streams.
/ bigclive
#ElectronicsCreators

Опубликовано:

29 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 437

@theCodyReeder 2 года назад

This is such a clever little device! I love how it’s basically a heater that makes water from the air. I wonder if I could use a modified design for project Chickenhole. Perhaps concentrated sunlight instead of electricity?

@zoombahh 2 года назад

Since a compressor dehumidifier is just an AC running in a closed room, the simplest solution should be a peltier "cooler" (fans optional). For efficiency it will be hard to beat a compressor, so that leaves this device as a neat in-between for both complexity and power usage?

@IanDarley 2 года назад

Hey Cody 🙂

@Leroys_Stuff 2 года назад

Hi Cody

@frogz 2 года назад

hey cody, glad to see you following 1 of the best teardown channels on youtube :) also instead of direct solar, why not run a 30 watt panel to a pc fan and however much nichrome it can handle?

@Miata822 2 года назад

Requires humidity in the air for it to operate. Using direct solar heating is interesting but still not much water there to collect. Chickenhole looks pretty arid. TLDR: the difference between Can and Should.

@ahensley 2 года назад

Bought one of this type four of five years ago after I saw a previous video of yours on one and it still works great for drying clothes gently here in wet-ish Seattle. Maybe time to open mine up and see how bad it is on the slime front... Thanks for the reminder Clive!

@IceBergGeo 2 года назад

I thought he'd taken apart one of these before. Thank you for making me feel less crazy.

@cheyannei5983 2 года назад

@@IceBergGeo ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mR57FhytzFk.html Found the video!

@janami-dharmam 2 года назад

warmth + humidity = happiness.

@SueBobChicVid 2 года назад

I've worked on scaled-up versions of this at ice hockey arenas with 3 million BTU/Hr burners to supply the heat to dry the desiccant.

@morticus7650 2 года назад

Taking things to bits, is a good philosophy to live by.

@ianstobie Год назад

I've got a similar one bought on Amazon UK three years ago. Called "Ecoair DD1 simple desiccant dehumidifier", it cost 130ukp at the time. It's been very good. Though it's made in China it is ideally suited to the British climate in winter, that is damp cold air. I also live by the sea, adding to the humidity, and in a mid Victorian solid brick home which tends to get damp in winter. The Ecoair's stated operating range is 1 degree C to 35 degrees C. I also bought a Thermopro digital hygrometer at the same time. This measures air dampness accurately, so I can turn on the dehumidifier if relative humidity inside strays too high. The dehumidifier is also helpful if you are trying to dry clothes indoors, speeding things up considerably. However, it would not be suitable for a hot humid climate, as the Zeolite-based drying process heats the air. And in places with cold dry winters you're unlikely to need one, as you could probably get rid of internal condensation simply by better ventilation. UPDATE: just found a Big Clive video from two years ago taking this exact Ecoair model apart ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BUJqUapiNEc.html. It also goes into the interesting Zeolite desiccant air drying process some more, and the kind of things that can go wrong. But basically the Ecoair seems to be a cost effective, durable device if you live in the type of climate (cold, damp) where dessicant dehumidifiers beat the more widely available refrigerator-like compressor type (better in hot damp conditions).

@jonathanhendry9759 2 года назад

I used to do field service on a shipping container-sized desiccant wheel dehumidifier system sold to supermarkets. The wheel was about 5 feet wide, and there was a companion 5’ heat exchanger wheel. The pitch was that it would be more efficient and less expensive to run than using air conditioning to control humidity and frost buildup in the freezer section. They’re not around anymore, so I guess they couldn’t make it work.

@janami-dharmam 2 года назад

The dessicant must be regenerated periodically. Either with very hot air or simple replacement. But if you remove moisture below 50% RH level, it is very uncomfortable.

@jonathanhendry9759 2 года назад

@@janami-dharmam One side of the machine had a flow of hot air to dry out the wheel, the other had a flow of store air to be dried. The dessicant wheel turned slowly, picking up moisture on one half and being dried out on the other. The heat exchanger wheel turned more rapidly, and cooled the air back down (using air cooled by a swamp cooler) before it was dumped back in the store. The air would never get too dry because more-humid air from the other sections of the store, like produce, would mix in.

@WowIndescribable 2 года назад

Liking your analysis of physical things.

@htiekmahned8859 2 года назад

I'm a "big fan" of these kinds of tear down videos!

@BarnSt0rmer 8 месяцев назад

I've got a problem with mine. When the water in the tank gets to the point where it's full, as you mentioned in the video, there's float which rises and causes a magnet to be pulled away from a reed switch, prompting the electronics to shut down the machine and illuminate the tank full indicator LED. That has always worked fine until recently. What's started to happen is the tank gets full but the machine doesn't shut down as soon as it should, and eventually the tank overflows everywhere before it finally shuts off and leaves me with a puddle of water to deal with. I took the water tank apart and inspected the pivot between the float and the magnet in case it was getting gummed up with slime etc, and not moving freely, and it was indeed a bit messy so I cleaned all the parts thoroughly and put it back together. I thought that would have resolved the problem but it seems it hasn't. My theory is that over time the reeds inside the reed switch have become slightly magnetised, and as a result when the tank gets full and the magnet starts to pull away the reeds to not separate and the machine doesn't shut down. Is that possible? If so, I think just replacing the reed switch should do the job.

@bigclivedotcom 8 месяцев назад

Does the machine stop when the water collection tray is pulled out? That would indicate if the reed switch was sticking.

@lachlan1971 2 года назад

I think zeolite is also what's used in oxygen concentrators. From what i can gather, at a certain pressure, nitrogen gets absorbed into the zeolite, leaving behind air with a high level of oxygen in it which is sent to the output tube. The pressure is then released and the nitrogen leaves the zeolite and is vented to the ambient air. This happens over and over again and can actually give a decent flow of O2 gas. My brother had one at home when he needed medical oxygen, rather than have to have a replaceable tank.

@michael1 Год назад

I think zeolite is a bit of a generic name for a large group of minerals with these porous properties - I believe there's well over 200 discovered types in nature, but significantly more than that theoretically possible crystal arrangements that could have their own properties and maybe practical applications. i.e it's probably not the same material in the o2 application as in the dehumidifier.

@AfterDark33 2 года назад

I would say mechanically they are more fussy, since there’s more moving parts and little things to go wrong, but a compressor based one is more complicated, if that makes sense. Also, to be fair the compressor based ones also put out a flow of warm air equal to whatever the machine wattage is, but they likely run less since they’re more efficient at removing the moisture.

@Acamperfull 2 года назад

I think they even can put out more heat than the electric power input because of the heat of condensation of water (2257 J/g). So for example if the amount of water it produces is 0,1g/s that is a 225.7 watt bonus :)

@phil955i 2 года назад

The compressor based ones put out approx 10% heat of the machine wattage. The desiccant ones put out a little more. In my experience, with a desiccant one downstairs (on it's lower setting of 300 watts) & a compressor one upstairs (190 watts) the desiccant one runs a whole lot less, whilst collecting the same amount of water as the compressor one.

@knallpistol 2 года назад

Mine cost 600$. And when I opened it up I saw that it was the small geared motor that had died. I ordered another from the Chinese jungle site, used an angle grinder to flatten one side of the pin and hey presto, thing has lot of years left 👍🙏😉

@anthonydenn4345 2 года назад

Cool device, that smaller motor looks almost identical to the rotating plate motors used in microwaves,

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

It's a very common style of motor. The ones in microwaves usually have no specific direction, so the turntable will rotate in a random direction when started.

@culmalachie 2 года назад

Just fell over this one this morning - !! - that's ow it works? Great! pity about the slime blockages. Just done a kwik search.. seems like this is in all those "Cheaper" dehumidifiers for sale... Nope NOT all .. have to check out the specs or look in the box first. Doesn't Corries just like me coming in! ;-) Spot on, man!

@lightcapmath2777 2 года назад

Very cool to watch...Thanks DVD:)

@dragon940carp6 2 года назад

That small motor looked a lot like the "lazy susan" motor found in microwaves. They usually have the one flat side but a little filing will take care of the other flat side.

@n2n8sda 2 года назад

Some prefer them for the lack of noise. Being in Asia summers are hot and humid so compressor works fine.. Winters are dry and cold so not needed here but they are still sold as they are quiet.. Zeolite I think is what many use

@dino6627 2 года назад

I had a similar one. It was quite effective but I didn't like the smell it gave out. The same desiccant disc motor failed on mine and plastic parts near the heater melted. They are much more cheaply made than the compressor type and I wouldn't get one again.

@BillsCountrysideAdventures 2 года назад

Long time subscriber, love all your videos, show the beard more man, well impressive. Wow your nearly 1 million subs, wow o wow. Keep up the good work :)

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

There is another channel for live streams. Bigclivelive

@BillsCountrysideAdventures 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom Thanks Big man, your a star :)

@SiriusSolar 2 года назад

I'd be real curious to use an equal powered compressor unit side by side and see which one can collect more water for the power used.

@DrAHorn 2 года назад

It depends on the conditions. In hot and humid environments the compressor type dehumidifiers are better, but in colder, less humid conditions the dessicant type work better.

@SiriusSolar 2 года назад

@@DrAHorn here it's warm and humid, Hawaii. So I enjoy the cool air the compressor model creates.

@KeritechElectronics 2 года назад

A cool teardown of an Interesting device :)

@wherami 2 года назад

Thanks!

@ytrew9717 Год назад

Which device is it (or more precisely which device do you recommend, for efficiency, and ideally easy to repair)?

@devttyUSB0 2 года назад

Awesome video! Thanks!

@loukashareangas4420 2 года назад

Dunk the zeolite drum in a bucket of water! Saw it in a video once, the water was boiling due to the heat released. At least do a small piece!

@keithsquawk 2 года назад

Ah, fridge slime. Clogs the little drain hole at the back

@zenbudhism 2 года назад

Caused my fridge to leak. I thought it was the washing machine

@TrickyDickyP 2 года назад

Get the other synchronous motor (with 1 flat) and just grind another flat on the other side.. this is why they modify from standard so you have to buy one from the company that make the unit.. 😘

@freman 2 года назад

I put one of these in the shed on medium and it basically runs like a small spring, there's never not water coming out in a constant little stream...

@RedFathom 2 года назад

i remember something about putting a copper pot scrubber in your condensate drain to stop algae growth, but now i can't find anything about it. this would be if your drain isn't already made of copper.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

In some refrigeration systems they put scraps of copper pipe in the drain pans to keep them mold free.

@SlocketSeven 2 года назад

They are way more efficient in cold weather. not so much in warm weather

@twisted5576 2 года назад

Good video. Random question, do you have an opinion on spiral ratchet screwdrivers like the Stanley Yankee?

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I have several, but only from when they were popular in the past. Cordless lithium is the way to go.

@twisted5576 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom Thanks:)

@SinsBird 11 месяцев назад

My Meaco is leaking, water dripping out of the heater. I guess the heater blower is blowing so hard the gravity is not enough for the water to come down and drain through the drain hole on the blower? The drain hole is completely clear and does drip some but actually I feel like more water is coming out of the heater than the blower.

@SinsBird 11 месяцев назад

For now I've made a barrier and drilled a hole like it's done below the heater blower and another hole in the lid of the tank.

@bigclivedotcom 11 месяцев назад

They do often gunk up with slime inside in the water paths.

@plasmaburndeath 2 года назад

Do these non-compressor based dehumidifiers produce water that is safe to drink? or does it still have that issue where you need to purify treat water before consuming (or just use water produced for plants lol) Thanks for your time.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

In an emergency I'd still want to sterilise it before drinking it.

@channelsixtysix066 2 года назад

Fortunately, I don't need one of these. I'd hate the thought of sludge developing in the bowels of the unit.

@ErikOdinsvej 2 года назад

Hello, Can I ask a question outside the scope of this video ? - I have made a electric cat door so my cat can come and go whenever he want, I use two Pir motion sensor (HC - SR501) thru small pipe so detector is pointed at the cat door and it works very well - but now the neighbor cat found out how it works and come in at eat my cat's food - so I think I need to have a detector of some kind on my cat so only my cat can activate the door - I was thinking of a device to detect metal and put a small piece of metal on the collar - so I make a test - but because the metal is small (so it is not to heavy) the range is only 2 - 3 cm. ! - and I do not think my can can learn to go so near the door - you got my point. - Do you have another idea I can try ? maybe a coil of some kind that I can detect ? - I am not keen to the idea to have some electric on the cat - (when battery down then cat stay outside in the cold) I will appreciate your input because you know everything about electronics!!! Regards an old cat lover man from Denmark.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

There are versions that have an RFID tag on the cats collar, or even just a magnet that is detected by a hall effect sensor.

@johnpossum556 2 года назад

Come on, Clive. Don't you have some way you could grind or file those flats on that motorb?

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I think the diameter was also an issue.

@UrbExGear 2 года назад

I have the same dehumidifier, but the heating element (6:30) just went irrepairably bad, I tried to fiddle with it with no luck. Could you possibly sell that heating element to me? I tried to find a spare part but havent found anything even similar.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

It would have to be the exact same unit. There's variation between the modules. I've contemplated alternative heaters.

@thomasvlaskampiii6850 2 года назад

I wonder how well one of those would work in "take a deep breath and quench your thirst" Indiana

@AndyPate72 2 года назад

a dessicant dehumidifier can theoretically dry air down to about 4% WME humidity. So very well I expect. It does depend on ambient air temperature.

@thomasvlaskampiii6850 2 года назад

@@AndyPate72 The sheer volume of moisture in the air wouldn't overwhelm the desiccant?

@gordonborsboom7460 2 года назад

The desiccant is regenerated by heating it to drive off the absorbed moisture. As long as the heater is working the zeolite capacity is replenished as it rotates through. So in essence, the size of the heater determines the amount of moisture removal. Crazy

@AndyPate72 2 года назад

@@thomasvlaskampiii6850 I used to work in flood remediation. I have never worked in Indiana. However I am from England where it rains incessantly, a refrigerant dehumidifier in a closed room will easily and quickly dry it down to about 35% humidity ( 2-3 days) a dessicant will do it in one day as long as you can run it continuously. We had sump pumps fitted that automatically emptied condensed water and the dessicant just exhausted the water vapour outside.

@thomasvlaskampiii6850 2 года назад

@@AndyPate72 A normal summer day here in Indiana is sunny, 27C and 80% relative humidity. There's usually a haze in the air from the humidity

@shady0808 2 года назад

Clive how can I get in touch? I have taken apart a PS3 Sixaxis controller and removed the battery. The battery has this cool component inside and wanted to know if I could reuse it to charge my disposable vape batteries?

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

If it's a small PCB it may be for cell protection and may not limit the current.

@shady0808 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom Ah ok, thanks! Yeah it's a strip PCB with a jst connector. Says LIP1359.

@doogyscoot 11 месяцев назад

Would appreciate if anyone can advise. I have an ecoair dd1 simple I use in my workshop. It has run well for ~7 years, almost exclusively on the low power setting. It started leaking water onto the ground so I stopped using for a few weeks, took it apart, found the outlets of the condenser to be gunked up, cleaned it and the sump, vacuumed out accumulated dust, then started using again. I ran it on high power (to try and bring down the humidity) and it was working great. Checked it a few days later and it has stopped working. Plugged in, there are no lights showing up, no fans running, nothing. I hear a very faint click when I turn the humidistat dial up, but this may just be a microswitch which engages the humidistat from the off position. Any advice where to start in troubleshooting? Could a thermal fuse have blown if the heater gave up because I was running it on full power?

@bigclivedotcom 11 месяцев назад

It sounds like it has tripped a thermal cutout or maybe has a bad connection with the tilt switch (give it a bump and shake to test that.) Also make sure the magnet is in position on the water collection tanks float. 7 years is pretty good for this type of unit. It may be worth investing in a new one.

@doogyscoot 11 месяцев назад

@@bigclivedotcom Thanks Clive. I took it apart fully tonight. Found that the plastic condenser has slightly melted where the air is blown into it. The thermal fuse located beside the blower outlet has no continuity, so presumably blown. When I jumped over it I did start to get LEDs but no fans or disc motor running. The circuit with all the thermal switches inline also seems to have no continuity - possibly the one beside the blower is toasted, and I think these go back to the board to activate a relay for power elsewhere, so may be why the LEDs come on but no power goes to motors. The disc motor feels pretty dreadful. I put 240v across its terminals and it didn't run. I suspect it failed, causing the drum to stop turning, which allowed the output air to get too hot, melting small holes in the condenser and burning out the fuse. It maybe had this problem already but because I only ran it on the lower power setting it never got hot enough to cause the problems I have now had. I will try to fix it. The condenser can prob be patched (I hope...), eco air sell replacement motors (I live in Stirlingshire so easy enough to get UK parts) and I can buy some thermal switches and thermal fuses to match the original spec. A new unit will cost about £250 now, so if I can get it going for £30-40 it's worth it. I am glad to see how extensively the design uses thermal cut offs and fuses throughout, as mine could easily have started a fire if the fuse hadn't blown.

@doogyscoot 11 месяцев назад

Actually, it just occurred to me that while I had it apart, the tilt switch and the one for the container were probably both open. That's likely why I got the red led when jumping the thermal fuse, but no motors running. I'll have another look tomorrow. Daft of me not to think about that. Thanks again - if you hadn't mentioned the switches I prob would have gone round in circles a while before realising.

@rhodexa 2 года назад

Is it just me not knowing a thing about aerodynamics or the small fan's air path seem to be designed "backwards" flipped? AC motors (usually) spin counterclockwise, which correlates to the way the blades are made, pushing the air outwards counterclockwise, but the air path is designed to let the flow clockwise... hu...

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

AC motors can go in either direction - or some small ones are non-directional. (Your microwave turntable can go in either direction.)

@rhodexa 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom This particular mass produced style (typically) have a pair of copper loops to make it rotate counterclockwise usually, like a random industry standard, just like how DC motors usually run clockwise if you connect them in "the right" polarity. But still the blower seem to be designed to run "the wrong way" based on the air path design - just odd lol

@Loneman_OG 2 года назад

Am I having a pre-elderly, elderly moment, a déjà vu, the sim I'm currently living in is glitching (again), or... have you not already done one of these once, maybe twice before? 🤔🤨

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I have featured them before.

@Loneman_OG 2 года назад

At least I know I'm not going nuts... or sliding back and forth in time. I still watched and enjoyed the video, anyhow. 😄👍

@SupremeRuleroftheWorld 2 года назад

the compressor based ones produce less heat because they are about 4x times as efficent. but they do produce heat.

@TechnologyConnections 2 года назад

I've heard of these but am not sure I've seen them for sale in my area. I assume they're not very common in the US as compressor based models generally make more sense - the advantage of operating down to cold ambient temps really just doesn't matter outside of particular climates. Here in the Midwest our humidity levels in winter plummet, and I joke that the humidity here is consistently wrong - dehumidifiers in the summer, humidifiers in the winter! Right now is one of the few times of the year where I'm not bothering to fiddle with it. I would like to get a hold of one of thse and do some energy consumption comparisons. I like the idea of something quieter, but then again (and this might also have something to do with them apparently being rare here) I have a dehumidifier in the basement and use the HVAC fan to move air throughout the building. Since that's almost a given feature in US homes, we tend to like big, powerful units and put them somewhere the noise isn't a problem. Plus, air conditioning does its own moisture removal, too.

@wohnai 2 года назад

I've used similar units in the US for industrial type uses where complete control of the air temp and humidity is required. Ie clean room environments.

@andymouse 2 года назад

Whatcha Techno Boy ! love your work...cheers.

@andrewt9204 2 года назад

I live in MN and have one of these. There's an "Ivation" brand one for sale on Amazon. I actually use it in the garage in the winter time. I keep it lightly heated (~40F or so) and all the snow that drops off the car creates a ton of moisture in the garage that condenses everywhere. This works really well in those cold temps where a compressor based one will not operate, and as a bonus provides a little bit of heat to the garage.

@marionette5968 2 года назад

I bought one on amazon for not too much money. I use it in the basement during the winter when the compressor dehumidifier stops working because it gets too cold down there.

@TheChipmunk2008 2 года назад

@@andrewt9204 Good use case

@Miata822 2 года назад

There is at least one company using this desiccant+heat process to market a magic "water from air" product. The irony of all such products is that they only work in humid environments.

@demef758 2 года назад

My patented invention produces water for free but only if installed near a lake.

@cheyannei5983 2 года назад

Counterpoint: while those are obviously quack products, with global warming disrupting cloud formation, drought is becoming increasingly common in the Great Plains. Quite a lot of humid air simply floats over without condensing into rain. Condensing water on an industrial scale might become a necessity within my lifetime at this rate.

@nickryan3417 2 года назад

@@demef758 Can I interest you in the Peckham Spring Water company?

@Miata822 2 года назад

@@cheyannei5983 The heat of transformation needed to condense liquid frm vapor is exactly the same as the power used to boil that same amount of water. Consider the amount of water condensed by an air conditioner. It does make measurable liquid, but the energy cost per gallon is horrendous. Could it be done on an industrial scale? Yes, but you couldn't afford the water produced that way.

@rogerborg 2 года назад

@@cheyannei5983 OK, doomer.

@jasonnoteboom4489 2 года назад

Interesting. Never seen one of these as an ambient air dehumidifier, though, I’ve worked on quite a few that are compressed air dryers. Look up Atlas Copco’s MD Dryer operation. Same principle, but uses heat of compression from an oil free compressor (typically 75kw/100hp and up) for the regeneration process. When sized correctly, it’s an efficient way to dry the air and usually better (lower dew point) than a refrigerated dryer can achieve. Thanks for sharing

@culmalachie 2 года назад

Thanks for telling us this info ... we use hydrovanes without dehumidifiers - but on look out for one .... need to do some research here. Slàinte Mhath.

@janami-dharmam 2 года назад

If you heat a mass of cold air, you automatically dehumidify it. The actual amount of water vapor remains the same, but the RH value which is the direct measure of humidity decreases. However, if you cool a given mass of warm air, you must remove excess water because the air becomes saturated with water very quickly if you cool it.

@CyberlightFG 2 года назад

I don't get, why nobody combines it for a household dehumidifier. Is it too expensive to sell or too big?

@janami-dharmam 2 года назад

@@CyberlightFG all the moisture is trapped by the gel but the gel must be dehumidified periodically. That step is not done well. Without that it won't work well.

@CyberlightFG 2 года назад

@@janami-dharmam Preheat it with the warm air from the refrigeration system

@caseMasterxL 2 года назад

Zeolite can also be used for VOC extraction from air. Industrial VOC versions of the zeolite disc in this basic arrangement are commonly 3 meters dia by 50-100cm depth. The adsorption (gas phase to liquid phase) process concentrates VOCs from the air stream and are cleverly called rotary concentraters in the air pollution control industry. The captured and concentrated VOCs are commonly fed into a gas fired burner that provides the heat energy necessary for the heated desorption loop making them rather efficient.

@ytrew9717 Год назад

My English isn't very good, so I'm not sure if I understand correctly. Do the VOCs condense in the water taken from the air and are then burned at the end (so the zeolite is clean from VOCs)?

@ytrew9717 Год назад

I asked Bard: she says [you are ] describing a process called rotary zeolite adsorption for VOC extraction from air. This process uses a large rotating wheel (disc) made of zeolite, a porous material that can adsorb VOC molecules. The process works as follows: The air to be treated is passed through the zeolite wheel. The VOC molecules in the air are adsorbed by the zeolite, while the clean air exits the wheel. The zeolite wheel is then rotated to the desorption section. In this section, a hot gas stream is passed through the zeolite wheel, causing the VOC molecules to desorb from the zeolite and into the hot gas stream. The hot gas stream containing the concentrated VOCs is then passed to a thermal oxidizer, where the VOCs are destroyed. The zeolite wheel is then rotated back to the adsorption section, and the process starts again. This process is very efficient for VOC extraction from air, because it can concentrate the VOCs into a small volume of gas, which makes it easier and more efficient to destroy the VOCs in the thermal oxidizer. So, to answer your question, the VOCs are not condensed in the water taken from the air. Instead, they are concentrated in a hot gas stream and then destroyed in a thermal oxidizer. This process is a very effective way to remove VOCs from air emissions from industrial facilities. It is widely used in a variety of industries, including automotive manufacturing, printing, and electronics.

@RobWVideo 2 года назад

When my wife was at the end of her life, she used a zeolite-based home oxygen concentrator that worked in a similar way. Instead of using heat to drive out the humidity, it had two zeolite-filled pressure cylinders which were alternately pumped up to 2.5 atm to get the zeolite honeycomb to absorb nitrogen. The pressure was then released and the nitrogen-poor (and oxygen-rich) air was pumped through a face mask. It would then switch the cycle to the other cylinder and let the first cylinder return to atmospheric pressure, releasing its stored nitrogen and ready to start the cycle again.

@janami-dharmam 2 года назад

this is the idea used in common oxygen concentrators used in hospitals. They were in great demand during the Covid pandemic. But the actual zeolite used appears to be a trade secret.

@jawjuk 2 года назад

My grandfather has a machine by his bed that sound exactly like what you're describing - I think it helped with sleep apnoea near the end of his life. I never knew how it worked! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I've been tempted to buy one to explore.

@ianstobie Год назад

At the peak of the pandemic, India began to run short of oxygen for medical use. So there was a crash government programme to make more zeolite oxygen concentrators. Here a video on the operating principles of the two-cylinder type, used for both domestic and hospital units ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AE5QOq-HN3U.html

@RianQ 2 года назад

EBay version: low power saving dehumidifier magic fan heater safe uk plug. Features: 240v case, no earthing, only uses 5w, low power no heating element, magic fan, available colours blue, pink, black, random (colour may be different due to monitor) only available in green.

@jawjuk 2 года назад

TOP TIP for Meaco DD8 (possibly the model in the video) to lessen sludge-formation in the area Clive showed: after removing the bucket, tilt the dehumidifer over onto its righthand side (looking at from the bucket side). This will drain the silly little sump over toward the hole that drains into the bucket. (BONUS, if you happen to own an Ecoair DD1, which isn't the model in the video): For preventing sludge building up in a similar way: after removing the bucket, tilt up the dehumidifier toward the closed short edge (the end opposite where the bucket aperture is) and slightly to the left as you look down into the bucket-hole. This will overflow the collected water from where it collects and allow it to drain over the plastic plate above where the bucket goes; you'll see a stream of water trickling down to that now bottom corner. Jiggle the unit as you tilt it to maximise drainage. I soak up this water with a cloth and repeat until the stream stops. It is always a surprising amount. Edit: just to say, desiccant dehumidifiers are absolutely the way forward for clothes-drying indoors in damp winters. They may seemingly use a lot of energy, but their 'waste' product is heat, which nicely warms the room they're used in. Also, GREAT video, Clive!

@dcallan812 2 года назад

I got the same make dehumidifier you have and it works great.Handy to see the bits inside and where the sludge build up is going to be.

@piconano 2 года назад

What a fascinating device. Never knew they existed, let alone how they work. I learn something new with every one of your videos.

@WhatIsThisVid 2 года назад

Where I work we have several very large versions of this. The drums are about 6 foot in diameter. Got to see one of the drums get replaced due to 20 years or so of usage. It had been eaten away pretty badly and was very clogged. Still a very good and simple tech for what it does.

@brauchmernet 2 года назад

We call them Kyotowheels. Green Datacenter use them. Also saw them in Make-up air units

@robroysyd 2 года назад

I have 2 of each type. Had to replace several dodgy motor caps in the Delonghi compressor type. Another problem is the humidity sensors, probably due to a buildup of fluff around them. In general though I do prefer the desiccant dehumidifiers as they're quieter and have better air filtration and the ones we have incorporate a timer for 2,4 and 8 hours of operation. Regardless of the type it is remarkable how much water they can pull out of the air in a sealed room. One other tip, these are great for drying clothes.

@twocvbloke 2 года назад

One of them dejavu moments, cos I re-watched your earlier vid on one of these just the other day and thought for some reason it was re-uploaded, neat to see one at its EOL though, I guess the bearings couldn't bear to go on... :P

@MichaelSteeves 2 года назад

One thing about desiccant drums is that they are more scalable. We use one to dry ambient air before it goes in to a large reactor building. Of course it helps have a fixed unit and can separate the air path for the hot, humid air.

@woofgbruk5947 2 года назад

I used to repair these and they were a nightmare, not exactly reliable, the dessicant wheels used to go mouldy and absolutely stink, the regen and dessicant wheel motors used to fail with monotonous regularity. They tended to overheat a lot too.

@straightpipediesel 2 года назад

Was it a Bry-Air? That described our experience exactly: we had a 1200 CFM unit for a lab that ate 20 kW, and it worked maybe 1/4 of the time. From what I understood, it was like you said: motor failure, and the thing would regularly overheat and trip off.

@woofgbruk5947 2 года назад

@@straightpipediesel No, these were for domestic use but still got abuse by builders etc.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I think the technology is still in its infancy for home use.

@randomelectronicsanddispla1765 2 года назад

It you set it on top of the fridge so that the water output runs off into the evaporating dish on your fridge compressor, you'll never need to empty it. And Legionella will thank you

@davestech6357 2 года назад

You don't realize that if you do that your putting the moisture back into the air?

@MalagutiSpidermax Год назад

I tested a desiccant drum dehumidifier (Delonghi DNS65) against 2 simple compressor units. A 12 liter and a 16 liter. The 16l produced 9.5l in 24 hours and used 5.6kw/h The 12l produced 5.8l in 24 hours and used 5.5kw/h The DNS65 produced 5.3l in 24 hours and used 11.7kw/h In low noise mode 38db - 39db -34db they produced 0.32l - 0.24l - 0.14l in 2 hours and used 480w - 380w - 750w The desiccant drum dehumidifier is supposed to work best in low temperatures when the compressor models tend to ice up and need a defrost cycle. For normal room temperature the compressor models are the much more economic choice. The Delonghy had the loudest fan with 46db while the two compressors stayed around 41-42db. Thanks for taking it appart to give me a clearer idea how it works.

@Evergreen64 2 года назад

I'd say that the compressor based dehumidifiers have the downside of more noise, and you also have refrigerant that can leak. But these desiccant based ones seem to require much more monitoring and maintenance if you want them to last.

@webluke 2 года назад

I'm from the high deserts of Colorado, and we have low humidity year-round. My first work trip sent me to Texas / Louisiana border next to the Golf Coast, and the hotel room had a loud dehumidifier. After talking with my Sister, who lived in Texas and Florida, she said everyone just ran the AC all the time. Clive had a dehumidifier video out at the same time talking about warming up the room some to have better results. I raised the room temp, and the dehumidifier quieted down, and in one night, it pulled about a gallon of water out of the air in the hotel room. I also remember going out at 6:30. The sun was starting to come up, and it was already hot, and I felt like the air was so thick it was suffocating me. I was glad to return to the dry air from home, where we cool the air with swamp coolers, evaporating water over shaved aspen pads.

@kallan2255 Год назад

Protip if you can't fit a screwdriver in tight quarters, you can try fitting a 1/4" screwdriver bit onto a 1/4" spanner or ratchet socket.

@kyoudaiken Год назад

De-humidification has become mandatory in Central Europe. The hot summers are not only hot, but very humid as well.

@BooBaddyBig 2 года назад

If you can get a motor without the flats, you should be able to grind flats on it fairly easily and repair it.

@CanizaM 2 года назад

No doubt he just wanted an excuse to take the rest of it apart.

@scottwilcoxson2439 2 года назад

Taking things to bits. It's my favorite pastime. I would make videos of it, but the most intelligent thing I can find to say about it is "Wow that's a lot of bits!" Then I throw the bits in the can, except for the shiny ones.

@markhonea2461 2 года назад

I haven't ever heard of that device. I've seen plenty of compressor types, but this is the first time I've seen that passive magic material that collects the water. Will do some research on that right now!👍🤓 zeolite!?? Hmm

@rackbites 2 года назад

I have 2 of these ... solved all my winter mould problems ... just brilliant ... buy a meter that shows humidity once the house gets down to 45% no point running them any longer ...

@wdavem 2 года назад

Ok WOW now I get it! There's two air paths. Never heard that most important detail before now... no idea why, seriously! So thanks!

@hamiltonjames4 2 года назад

im a hvac tech really enjoyed this and always wondered how these work all though ive only ever seen a couple on site but good to know they are a alternitive in cool enviroments where evaporator coils dont dehumidifie well.

@ianetalbot 2 года назад

I once had to change a 9ft diameter desiccant drum at a plastic factory in Banbury. It used Gas burners as electric heaters weren't powerful enough. It was made by a company called Munters.

@ouch1011 2 года назад

I live in an area where humidifiers and dehumidifiers are not really necessary (aside from maybe a handful of days every year) so I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these before. I have a portable AC unit which has a dehumidifier function that I use occasionally during the short periods we have where it is mild temperatures and very humid.

@randycarter2001 2 года назад

To make life easier. Instead of a stubby screw driver, drill holes in the bottom of he case so a regular screw driver can be used. Once the collection bin is in place no one will know they're there. Very handy if you plan to service it often.

@swarfify Год назад

Good idea

@CyberlightFG 2 года назад

Thank you for the video on Dessicant air dryer adsorption moisture zeolite cold air honeycomb mesh absorber home quiet household dehumidifier machine. I've got storage in a unheated building. I put a very big bucket with road salt in. (Mesh bucket with salt in a coffee bag over a construction bucket underneath.) Thats effective and very cheap. But that's still not enough to keep it dry. Some people overfill it and it makes a huge mess of saltwater.

@bretthouser13 2 года назад

If the fan is stalled and you can push start it, it's the capacitor.

@RavenLuni 2 года назад

Can you say dessicant drum dehumidifier 10 times fast :p

@SoddingaboutSi 2 года назад

Mine had a motor go open due to a thermal fuse. That's because the previous owner covered it to dry some laundry.

@robinbrowne5419 2 года назад

They take Grandpa to the robot repair shop and Mother robot asks "Why is he dribbling down his leg?" "Well" replies the technician, quickly grabbing a mop out of the cupboard. "I would say his sump petcock is leaking." 8o] .... @:-) :-]

@davidroberts5090 2 года назад

I have had 2 dehumidifiers, the first was a desiccant and the latest is a compressor. In use the desiccant pulled out moisture much quicker than the compressor, although I haven’t checked the comparative energy use per litre...

@graemezimmer604 2 года назад

Fascinating. I've not seen one of these before as it's fairly dry where I live. Thanks Clive.

@W4BIN 2 года назад

Isn't the language differences between the British and America sometimes unusual? In GB they call it a drum, and in America we would call it a disk. Ron W4BIN

@tactileslut 2 года назад

Both blowers are shaped like drums.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I think both words work well for this.

@W4BIN 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom They may be similar or identical in GB, but in America a drum is only a cylinder, like a barrel and a disk is only a thin flat sheet that is round, like a CD and they are not in any way interchangeable. We are not discussing the blowers, we are discussing the descant. Ron W4BIN

@DUKE_of_RAMBLE 2 года назад

So either... this predates those sorta-novelty open air pizza cookers.... _OR_ after the pizza cookers didn't sell, they decided to repurpose most of the hardware, for a new product (still novelty? heh). So they replaced the pizza tray with a mesh disc packed with desiccant, then strapped on a _big ass fan_ to circulate air through it... There's *_probably_* no relation to each's creation, but honestly... that pizza cooker was immediately what I 'saw' once the circulator fan was removed! 😅

@kyoudaiken Год назад

My AEG AC unit can dehumidify 5 liters in 4 hours. It's so surreal to empty a bucket of water into the toilet every 4 hrs. Our summers in Germany are extremely humid and increasingly hot, which makes the air able to even store more humidity... Spanish plumes for 6+ months keep us nice and toasty. The landscape changes to a desert.

@phil955i 2 года назад

That desiccant drum has exactly the same honeycomb construction as a vehicle exhaust catalytic converter. We run a desiccant type downstairs in the living room & a compressor one upstairs. The desiccant one provides a little supplemental heat to the central heating during Winter with the living room doors closed & is reasonably quiet. In my experience the desiccant one runs a lot less than the compressor one for the same amount of water collected & with them both set to 50% RH.

@paulgrimshaw6301 2 года назад

I think these are easier to understand when you realise that they actually dehumidify using a room temperature condenser. For this to work they need to create hot humid air, and they do this using the combination of the desiccant to collect the water and the heater to circulate hot air over the wet desiccant. They're really intended for use in cold climates - they were invented by a Swede. Their main purpose in domestic use is usually to avoid mould occurring on the inside of outer walls due to condensation. The general consensus seems to be that they become more efficient (litres per kWh) than traditional refrigerated condenser dehumidifiers when operating at below around 20˚C at 60% humidity. This is usually the case in colder rooms overnight, which is where they're most needed. Also their quiet operation is a significant bonus overnight. It's worth pointing out that they contain a humidistat and so only run when required. I find that on the 300W setting mine runs at an average of under 100W, so that's roughly the same as an efficient fridge/freezer. Obviously in practice this depends on factors such as the number of people living in the house, the absolute humidity outside and how ventilated the house is. Most of the time in a UK winter the absolute humidity outside is lower than that inside, so the dehumidifier is really supplementing the ventilation. In theory the cost of running the dehumidifier is less than that of running more heating needed with increased ventilation.

@MrAsBBB 2 года назад

I love Clive wiping everything apart. My kind of guy. Me a LGBTQ+ sort of guy

@thomasnixon4440 2 года назад

I fixed one of these recently, where the regeneration fan motor bearings had stopped working properly. They are quite odd -- they hadn't worn out, but the self-alignment spring was a bit loose causing the actual bearing to wobble around. It looks a lot easier to get apart if you lop all the wires off first!

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

Yeah. They have quite a wiring loom in them.

@joshwalker5605 2 года назад

A space heater that’s ALSO a dehumidifier?!? Perfect for northern coastal California :-)

@John_Ridley 2 года назад

It would be easy to just put another flat on that motor shaft with a file. I've done it before. These days I'd use my mill but before I got it, a file worked OK.

@retireeelectronics2649 2 года назад

Live on the west coast of Canada and only run the dehumidifier in the winter. Helps heat the room and as a bonus drops the humidity levels and keeps the windows drier on the inside.

@reinekewf7987 3 месяца назад

i have such dehumidifier and i love it. it is fairly silent and works great and is really efficient compared to the tec based systems but yea the compressor type are more effective and efficient as this system but cost more but save money in the long run. for a small budget dehumidifier i think the drum dehumidifier is the best. also if the room is already warm they tend to use less power. i have one who clams it would use 200W but uses in 25C only 30W to 60W depending if it is on a heating or cooling cycle. they need to cool down from time to time. i have tracked my humidity and temperature in my room over time and calculated the moisture content in the air and i saw as the temperature climbs the system goes more effective but it was clearly a step. this step was alway on the same time as the system uses less power and it tries to hold a certain temperature in the room. it was interesting to see the plots i made and this tells me how and when it works best but i did not know how it does this. now i know thanks ^^

@faridsafazadeh1137 2 года назад

can you open up a smart Gas Valve preferably Honeywell ones and explain how it functions and talk about possible failures and causes....

@keithjurena9319 2 года назад

Ah, temperature swing adsorption dehumidification. Used extensively in large volume dehumidification like hockey rinks. The efficiency scales down too so these small room units are quite useful. Condensing surfaces grow slime with the cleanest air since bacteria only need water and a carbon source. With that warmth, several pathogens are possible including Legionella. The smaller blower motor is the typical shielded pole motor, I know it well as my 4 l water distiller uses a near identical copy. I've relubricated its bearings yearly for the past 10 years. From it, I get distilled water at pennies a liter and free, gentle heat for the bathroom. Far easier to clean the distiller than the water kettle, coffee maker and steam iron.

@Bobo-ox7fj 2 года назад

Would you please elaborate on the model of distiller you have?

@keithjurena9319 2 года назад

@@Bobo-ox7fj It is 20+ years old. I've seen the same design sold through Amazon. It was given to me.

@jaimeortega4940 2 года назад

Neat! Heard about these units but never seen one before today! Thanks!

@Maikeru_Dabittsu 2 года назад

Compressor based dehumidifiers don't seem to be particularly loud. I found that, at least on my meaco unit, it's mostly fan noise.

@benjharris 2 года назад

I seem to recall that the motor for the drum is same as the type of motor used for turning the glass plate in a microwave oven. The motor for the drum failed in my one and I managed to find a suitable replacement courtesy of AliExpress and get it working again.

@YTANDY100 2 года назад

use a micro wave turntable motor , if flat only one side then dremel 🙂

@osx86x Год назад

Compressor dehumidifiers should be banned from operating in certain conditions / countries. For me desiccant dehumidifiers are one of the few devices that I consider life changing.