The unit turns on however it does not pull out moisture. The compressor heats up but the heat only reaches the first part of the coil and does not seem to travel through the full coil area. On the cooling side you can visibly see the ice build up on the lines feeding the coild but not on/ in the coil. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance

exactly the same way an airconditioner does but in reverse and does not provide any air heat/cooling

a change in gas pressure(compressor) over an partial obstruction(oraface) changes it''s temperature simple physics results in pulling heat/moisture from surrounding air and condenses it drops water into bucket by force of gravity chilled moisture free air gets sent out of case thru slots

The fan has to run or the moisture will freeze on the coil, try to help the fan motor turn reach in and the blade a flick in any direction and then pull your long skinny helper out and watch the fan it may just run or give you a idea whats up. They get dirty and I'm sure that it worked last time. Nothing fancy but it might help.

Yes. Wet clothing would act to put Humidity in the air. think of the air as a sponge the more you heat the air the more the air will take moisture out of its surrondings. The more you cool the air the less moisture it can hold.
a Dehumidifier is a reverse refrigrator.. Air is forced over cool coils and the moisture forms and freezes on the coils (ice). The unit turns off and the coil and ice takes heat up from the surrounding area (makes room colder;Clothing takes longer to dry; The temperature in that room should be were people reside 70-80 degrees). the ice melts and water drips into a holding container which you dump periodically. Solution: 1. remove wet clothing or 2. raise temperature in room. 3. put a space heater in that room instead of Dehumidifier

A dehumidifier is a 'de-tuned' air conditioner. Its job is to remove some of the heat from the air, causing a temperature differential which in turn should make the warm air give up some of its moisture ... just like a AC unit.

To understand the operation, you must accept that you cannot cool anything ... you must remove the heat from it. The heat (energy) must go somewhere ... in the case of a dehumidifier, it goes back into the room. Oh yes, also contributing to the heat is the electric components you are running ... the control boards, the compressor and the fan ... all use power and thus, give off heat.

Should there be heat coming out of the unit? ... yes, if it is running. Don't get mad ... these are things you probably learned in 6th grade science class - relative humidity - heat differential - properties of energy - etc.

Thanks for your question at FixYa.com

Hi,
Yes the heat is a byproduct of the compressor running....there will be a slight overall heat gain...this is very normal and nothing to be concerned about....the dehumidifier passes the air over a cold coil to pull out the moisture but also discharges the heat into the room...so... the net result is heat gain in the amount of electrical energy the dehumidifier is using...

heatman101

A dehumidifier heats and cools the air to remove moisture. Most are like a small air cond. The Condenser coil is right in front of the evap.coil. So the compressor may not be coming on. Does it sound the same as before? It may be low on freon. You will have to get in there and listen and feel the lines at or near the compressor, Learn how to get down in there to the compressor. Run it for 10 Mins. unplug it, open it up, and feel the lines. Some lines should be or can be HOT to the touch. Some should be cool. The smaller the line the hotter it should be, and the compressor should be warm (to hot) to the touch. repost for more info.

Unless equipped with special equipment most dehumidifiers will produce little if any water under 65-70 degrees. Many state operation down to 50-60 degrees but this was under lab conditions and therefore a marketing tool. The best performance is gained when the air temperature is above 70 degrees. The water you are finding is from melting frost, if you have a humidity problem you should be adding heat to the area to be dried, warm air holds much more moisture than cold and drying is much more effective if you can heat the area to around 80 degrees.

Dehumidifiers have only a few components, and operate on the same principle as a refrigerator, freezer, or air-conditioner.
Components Residential dehumidifiers have a cooling system made up of these primary components:

• The compressor is the quiet motor (engine) of the cooling system. It's the black, football-size component at the bottom of your dehumidifier. The compressor runs as long as the dehumidifier humidistat (the humidity-sensor) calls for a reduction in the humidity.
  
  
• The condenser is a series of finned tubes, similar to a radiator. It's usually near the circulating fan.
  
  
• The evaporator is located near the back of the dehumidifier, right above the water-collection container. It also resembles a radiator or a coiled-up set of tubes. When the dehumidifier's humidistat senses increased humidity, it cycles on, which starts the compressor and circulating fan.
  
  
• The circulating fan circulates the air over the evaporator and condenser coils.
  
  

Principle When the unit runs, the circulating fan and compressor also run. The fan continually draws room air over the evaporator coils, which are cold, and then over the condenser coils, which are warm. Because the evaporator coils are cold, the moisture in the room collects on them--just as the outside of a glass of icy liquid "sweats" on a warm, humid day. When the moisture on the coils increases, it drips off of the coils into the collection container.

The air then flows over the warm condenser coils and out into the room. This process removes water from the air and, because of the heat from the fan motor and compressor motor, the exiting air is somewhat warmer, as well as dryer.

Dehumidifiers and how they work
Heat pump dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers use a heat pump (similar to an air conditioner's heat pump) or chemical adsorbents to remove moisture from the air without cooling the air.

A heat pump dehumidifier uses a fan to draw indoor air over a heat exchange coil. The coil is almost freezing. The water in the air condenses on the coil and is drained. A second heat exchange coil reheats the air, which the dehumidifier exhausts into the room.

A heat pump dehumidifier dumps heat lost from the compressor and fan motors into the air. It returns to the indoor air the heat generated by the dehumidifier turning water vapour to liquid. I got this off the internet

Additional heat from a dehumidifier should only be the electrical heat generated from the compressor. This is due to the fact that the cooling coil and condenser coil (hot bit) are normally located next to each other with a common airflow so the heat generated should be minimal. Hope this helps.