Top 20 Frigidaire FDF50S Dehumidifier Questions & Answers

before you scrap it , me id plug it into a regular circuit an try it and if it still trips breaker then yes dump it, IVE seen this happen plenty of times , really you shouldn't plug devices into a gfci that have motors in them , they will most times false trip and shut the device off , this is especially bad when its a freezer in a basement or something motor driven appliances and gfci's don't play well together .

Hey friend, thanks for your post!

It sounds like your dehumidifier needs to be professionally cleaned. What could be causing the problem is a buildup on the inside of your dehumidifier where the water drains out and it is causing the water to not drain properly. Additionally, I would check to verify that the drain hole is tightly secured with the plug. I know you stated that the bucket is not leaking but have you removed it to verify? Please comment back if further assist is needed. -Matt

Good Afternoon Friend, I understand your Frigidaire dehumidifier, model# FDF50S, is not removing moisture from the air, and you are wondering how to recharge it with refrigerant. First, I suggest making sure that there is a minimum of 12 inches clearance around your dehumidifier. This will help for the air flow. Secondly, make sure that the temperature where your appliance is located is between 41 degrees F and 96 degrees F. If it comes down to you having to recharge your dehumidifier, this is typically not a do it yourself fix, as there are no step by step instruction manuals for this. I suggest contacting your local authorized technician for further assistance. Hope this is helpful. -Best Regards- WP

Good Afternoon Friend, I understand your Frigidaire dehumidifier, model# FDF50S, is freezing up. I see that the compressor does not shut off, causing ice to build up on the coils, rather than water draining off. What can cause this is your dehumidifier has been turned on recently. This is normal due to refrigerant rushing through the coil. Frost will usually disappear within 60 minutes. Another cause is if the room temperature is too low or too high. Your appliance is designed to operate between 41 degrees F and 96 degrees F. I suggest resetting your appliance, by either unplugging it or shutting the power off at your home's circuit breaker, for 3-5 minutes. Restore power and start any cycle. I ask that you please follow up with a comment on the post, at your convenience, to advise if further troubleshooting is needed or if your appliances status has changed successfully. Hope this is helpful. -Best Regards- WP

Hey Art Miner, thank you for your post!

I understand that your dehumidifier is not operating properly. You should put it on a continuous drain mode to see if it will continue to pull moisture. Could you please provide feedback to what your appliance is doing once set to a continuous drain? -Matt

Good Afternoon Friend, I understand that you are hearing a high pitched noise coming from your Frigidaire dehumidifier, model# FDF50S, and want to know what it is. There are several possibilities that could be causing this high pitched sound. I suggest contacting either the manufacturer or your local authorized technician for further assistance. The technician will be able to diagnose your dehumidifier and determine exactly what the cause is. Hope this is helpful. -Best Regards- WP

Good Afternoon Friend, I see that you are having trouble with your Frigidaire dehumidifier, model# FDF50S, collecting water. First, make sure that there is 12 inches clearance around your dehumidifier. Secondly, the dehumidifier could have been installed recently or restarted recently or possibly there was a power surge. Lastly, check the room temperature. Your appliance will not operate satisfactorily if the room temperature is below 41F (5C) or above 96 F (35 C) degrees. If you are still having trouble, try unplugging your dehumidifier for 3-5 minutes. After plugging it back in, if your dehumidifier is still not collecting water, I suggest contacting your local authorized technician for further assistance. Hope this is helpful. -Best Regards- WP

afternoon, I have the same model in my basement. it sticks. sometimes it sticks so much I have to whack the sides of the bucket to jar it loose.There are 2 places to grab the bucket at the top. using the palms of both hands, gently tap (or maybe more than tap!) these two latches. you may need to pry one side loose then the other will come out. you'll get the hand of it!!

There are 5 basic, but solvable reasons for what you described. Please pay particular attention to numbers 1 & 2..

1. The humidity extraction level is set to HIGH. Lower it to 32-35%. If you have an analog unit
set the humidity extraction knob on Maximum.

2. Air intake filter is dirty or clogged. Turn unit OFF, & Unplug the
Unit, before removing to inspect & clean it, if necessary. If washed,
allow filter to completely dry before reinstalling. DO NOT operate
the unit without the filter.

3. Obstructed air flow. Maintain a minimum of 12 to 18" of clear air
space around the entire unit.

4. Cooling coils are dirty and need to be cleaned. Use warm water & dish washing liquid to
clean the coils. Rinse and wipe dry. Apply a light coating of WD40 to the coils.

5. Ambient air temperature at floor level is between 40 - 60 degrees.
dehumidifiers do not work well between those temperatures
(Unless, you have a Low Temp Unit). This applies mainly to
where the air temperature at floor level is colder than at shoulder level
in basement applications. Raising the unit up off the floor,
onto a sturdy table, counter top, etc, that can handle the weight
of the unit, plus a full tank of water, will usually resolve this
problem.

If none of the above solves the problem, it may be a case of the compressor needs to be recharged with refrigerant gas or that the humid-i-stat has failed. These things usually occur in units that are 5 years old or older. It's rare in a unit younger than that. But, it can happen.

I hope this helps you to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Thanks for choosing FixYa.

I had the same problem....raised the unit 3 feet off floor, the drain hose is 4feet long... But the secret to getting unit to drain into hose if unit is set to Continous is...... TILT the unit back about 5 degrees with a half inch piece of wood under front wheels and She will drain into hose instead of bucket.... [email protected]

Hi,
There are many reasons why a dehumidifier willnot work or collect water.
Here is a tip that I wrote to help people to figure out what is going wrongwith their dehumidifier

Dehumidifier is running but no water is in bucket

heatman101

What is the setting? Your machine is controlled by a 'humi-stat'. It comes on when the machine detects the % moisture in the air is more than that number you selected on the machine ... usually a number between 45 and 100 %. If your machine turned itself on, there must be some humidity in the air (50% is the ideal, BTW). The machine works based on natural laws that cannot be violated. Think Dew Point - think hot air going over cold surface. Think a glass of ice water sitting in the sun on a hot humid day. Think cold can of soda on a hot day. ... and so forth.

The filter would have little effect on the actual operation. The filter is to keep the dirt off the cold, normally wet coils. Were it not for the filter, the coils would become clogged with dirt and there would be no air movement over them to remove the water. Still, the filter doesn't actually have a big impact on the mechanical operation of the device - You have done well, keep it clean and in place.

So, you know there is humidity in the air that exceeds the setting on your machine, right? If there is water in the air and the machine is operating normally, there will be water on the coil that drip into the bucket and into the hose, into the drain ... ultimately back to the sea, full circle.

If it is not wet, perhaps you have set the humistat to a number where there is little water to remove - it may be removing that tiny bit of water and because it is so dry in your space, the water may be going right back into the air. Air does want a certain amount of water in it. Too little and you will not be comfortable, furniture will dry out - crack. Your nose will dry out - you will be very uncomfortable - static electricity will be prevelant - you will get shocked as you move about the space. Think about cold dry winters when people actually put water back into the air for their comfort with a HUMIDIFIER. During such conditions, the water (in the tank of the device) just disappears into the air.

So what to do. I suggest you review the setting on your machine. Set it to 50%. Get a device to measure the humidity such as one found on this page: http://www.calright.com/products/gr_id/64/?gclid=COGVyqD14KoCFcl95QodTEOj6g. Of course, it would be nice if you purchased the device from a FixYa.com advertiser - look around this answer for their advertisement.

I would run a fan in the space to circulate the air so the dehumidifier has the best opportunity to measure all the air, and treat it. If the machine continues to not produce any results (water) you may have a faulty humi-stat or your device may have a leak - thus low or no freon or other agent inside - to make cool coils for the warmer, humidity laden air to flow over thus causing the humidity to give up its hold and condense on the coils, fall to the bucket, etc.

I hope this discussion helps you with your trouble. Thank you for your interest in FixYa.com

Apparently, someone in customer service was try to blow you off, with answer that is not even reasonable.

There are 5 basic reasons for what you have described. Not all may apply to yo, but they are worth knowing for future reference. Number 1 is the most prevalent and overlooked.

1. The humidity extraction level is set to HIGH. Lower it to 32-35%.

2. Air intake filter is dirty or clogged. Turn unit OFF, & Unplug the
Unit, before removing to inspect & clean it, if necessary. If washed,
allow filter to completely dry before reinstalling. DO NOT operate
the unit without the filter.

3. Obstructed air flow. Maintain a minimum of 12 to 18" of clear air
space around the entire unit.

4. Cooling coils are dirty and need to be cleaned. Use warm water & dish washing liquid to
clean the coils. Rinse and wipe dry. Apply a light coating of WD40 to the coils.

5. Ambient air temperature at floor level is between 40 - 60 degrees.
dehumidifiers do not work well between those temperatures
(Unless, you have a Low Temp Unit). This applies mainly to
where the air temperature at floor level is colder than at shoulder level
in basement application. Raising the unit up off the floor,
onto a sturdy table, counter top, etc, that can handle the weight
of the unit, plus a full tank of water, will usually resolve this
problem.

As I mentioned before, not all of the above may pertain to your application, but it's worth knowing for future reference and for the moment one or two of the things listed may help you now. If you continue to have problem with the unit, advise Frigidaire, that you would like to enter a warranty claim for repairs. Believe me, they will go out of their way to help you then.

No its supposed to be that way its a coil that could fit something else, a larger unit. If the back coil is cold its working.

Hi,
There are many reasons why a dehumidifier willnot work or collect water.
Here is a tip that I wrote to help people to figure out what is going wrongwith their dehumidifier

Dehumidifier is running but no water is in bucket

heatman101

'';;
[][

AS or ES is fault code for Humidity Sensor Failure. Contact Frigidaire Technical Service at
800-944-9044 for assistance. This part may be warranted for 2-5 years from date of purchase. You must have a Proof of Purchase for a warranty claim. If nothing else, they can tell you which sensor needs to be replaced and supply the part at your expense.

Hope this helped steer you in the right direction.

Either the hose is clogged or the hose connection and interior tubing is clogged. When this happens water is diverted to the bucket. Checking the hose is easy to do. If you find no clogs there, then the clog is in the hose connection on the unit and it's interior tubing.

Turn the unit OFF & unplug it.

Using an appropriately sized, 18" long, plastic Zip Tie, carefully insert the tip of Zip Tie into the hose connection & tubing. Continue to push it in until you reach a bend in the tubing. You will need to gingerly work the Zip Tie past this bend, until it either bottoms out or you run out of usable Zip Tie. Then slowly pull the Zip Tie back out while rotating (twisting) it. This will breakup any clogs. As you reach the inserted end of the Zip Tie, be prepared, as some water may follow.Reconnect the hose to the unit, plug the unit in and turn the Master ON/OFF Switch to ON. Set the humidity extraction level to 35% or Maximum if you have a manually controlled unit. Allow the unit to run, while you monitor the hose end for water flow. It mat take 10 to 15 minutes for water to start flowing.

NOTE: If you don't have a Zip Tie, you may use something similar ( i.e.a long pipe cleaner), but NO wire coat hangers.

I hope this information will solve the problem for you. Thanks for choosing FixYa.

The reason this occurs are as follows:

1. The hose is to long (should not be more than 5' in length) or does not slope down and run directly to a floor drain.
2. The hose is clogged or the hose connection on the unit and it's internal tubing is clogged.

First turn the unit OFF & unplug it.

The hose is easy to check by disconnecting it and blowing thru it. If the hose checks out, then it's the connector and internal tubing. Because when this happens, water is diverted to the bucket.

Using an appropriately sized, 18" long, plastic Zip Tie, carefully insert the tip of Zip Tie into the hole or tubing. Continue to push it in until you reach a bend in the tubing. You will need to gingerly work the Zip Tie past this bend, until it either bottoms out or you run out of usable Zip Tie. Then slowly pull the Zip Tie back out while rotating (twisting) it. This will breakup any clogs. As you reach the inserted end of the Zip Tie, be prepared, as some water may follow. Reconnect the hose, plug the unit in and turn the Master ON/OFF Switch to ON. Set the humidity extraction level to 35% or Maximum if you have a manually controlled unit. Allow the unit to run, while you monitor the hose for water flow.

NOTE: If you don't have a Zip Tie, you may use something similar ( i.e.a long pipe cleaner), but NO wire coat hangers.

Hope this helped you solve the problem. Please let me know and thanks for choosing FixYa.

I think what you're actually seeing is an AS error. It's looks like A5 on the LED screen.
AS error means their is a sensor failure. So, before calling Frigidaire Tech Service
(800-444-4944), turn the Master On/Off Switch to OFF. Unplug the unit for 12 - 15 minutes.
This should give the unit ample time to reset itself. Plug the unit back in and turn the Master ON/Off Switch to ON. Now, set your controls as you normally do. If the unit starts up and runs as it should, the problem for now is solved. If it keeps re-occurring, contact Frigidaire Tech Service.