I often feel it's very early to review such purchases. But given I have a comparison to make [replacing the ridiculously noisy* Meaco 12L Low Energy Platinum Dehumidifier] immediately, I'll throw in my initial thoughts.
*Now 3+ years old and seemingly rattled itself to deaf [pun intended]!
Happily, the first thing I notice is the relatively blissful silent running. Of course, no condenser is actually Silent [despite the setting's name!], but it's considerably quieter than the Meaco - which even at its peak performance conspicuously lurched into life when it went from fan-->condenser and caused notable vibration through the floor to the room's below.
So, noise overall? Silent is pretty quiet. Even sitting right next to it [on the computer now] the whirl is okay - and in the bedroom 15ft away it's barely noticeable, with no vibration through the floor either [perhaps due to the castors lifting it from the floor?]. Medium setting picks up the noise level - but it's all fan noise rather than any motor/vibration. Similarly, Turbo gets pretty lively, but it's all fan noise again. And the fact that you can choose the settings makes all the difference ... sitting next to the unit/at night, flick it to Silent and all good. [In the living room you could always hear the Meaco running, when the Inventor is on Silent you can't.]
At all settings moisture extraction is exceptional. Again, finding moisture the tired Meaco is no longer removing, perhaps? Setting relative humidity manually to 55%, the Meaco would often fall silent, seemingly satiated. So far, the Inventor has rarely turned itself of at 55% setting - continually extracting moisture from the air. [Note: this might be down to setting the fan speed on Silent/Low the majority of the time, of course.]
One minor niggle, so far. Heat bioproduct. It might only be marginal, but it can noticeably affect the room temperature over time with it running continuously. [Put it this way, if I could turn the ancient radiator off in this room, I would!] To clarify ... this is a two-bed semi with upstairs bathroom between, a short landing and open staircase; the unit sits just inside the rear bedroom which has no door. Heat always rises - but with the Hive thermostat downstairs set to 20.5C - the temperature in this room can easily rise to almost 25C, which is pretty warm. [Note: it's always warmer in this room due to the open staircase/heat rising, though.]
I've only had the unit for a week, so still playing with the settings. I dare say, allowing it to be on Medium and/or Turbo for longer periods would presumably affect the machine's running time and, therefore, the warm air generation. Having said that, it's hard to imagine the Smart setting ever turning itself off in here, when it's looking for 45C-55C?!! [e.g. It's sat next to me and been on Turbo for a good fifteen minutes and the reading keeps dancing between 55C and 56C and has yet to turn off.]
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Dryer mode worked really impressively. In fact, overnight on Silent dried the adjacent damp clothes [hung from the door frame] really well, too.
Finally ... manoeuvrability is really good [the castors a welcome addition, as it's quite a heavy unit]. Detaching the tank is a wee bit fiddly - but you'd probably get used to it - although the handle is perfectly balanced, so even when full you shouldn't spill the contents. Wi-Fi connectivity. Is it really necessary? I haven't used it much - and probably won't in this relatively small space where you're always passing the unit. And, lastly, while nobody likely buys such a unit for appearance, it actually looks pretty good, too.
| Brand | Inventor |
|---|---|
| Model Number | EP-WiFi20LBS |
| Colour | White/Blue |
| Product Dimensions | 24.5 x 35 x 51 cm; 15.64 kg |
| Capacity | 20 litres |
| Power / Wattage | 260 watts |
| Number of Speeds | 3 |
| Special Features | Eco R290 refrigerant (75gr), Wi-Fi, Timer, Dryer, Continuous dehumidification |
| Item Weight | 15.6 kg |
