Best AusClimate Dehumidifiers

As with the Ausclimate medium 20L dehumidifier, the instruction manual for the large 35L Smart dehumidifier is poorly written and has conflicting… Read more

information. It tells you not to use the unit to dry clothes but has a ‘tshirt’ icon on it. It comes with a pre-set humidity level of 50%, which I found annoying as you need to click through up to 80% before it starts back at 30% (I run it to drop the humidity to 40%). Probably the worst thing about this unit is that the cord is so much shorter than the one for the 20L unit – there is literally only 2 power points in my house where I can use it and be compliant with the operating instructions of keeping it at least 1 metre from all objects (front and rear). It also only comes in one colour, black, while my other dehumidifier is white. Other than those annoyances, it does what it is supposed to do, remove moisture from the air.

Not all humidifiers are made equal. We never had a dehumidifier before and don't have multiple units to compared between them. But I have learnt much… Read more

researching before dropping money on this Ausclimate Cool Season 10L Smart Desiccant Dehumidifier, ACD200. Totally happy with it. Sharing everything I learned here, hoping they will help you. Do read about manual / website section that spells out errors.

Use case: For the bathroom or bedroom with an attached on-suite to remove moisture build-up, especially during cooler / winter months when humidity is high and risk of developing toxic and unsightly mould is highest.

I have a couple of Ausclimate appliances so I think I know what I am getting into when buying an Ausclimate dehumidifier. It is probably engineering focused (yes), smart (yes), quirky interface (yes), not over the top Dyson unboxing experience but purposeful egg carton packaging (yes) and extended warranty (2 additional years on top of 2 out-of-box years = 4 years in total) with online product registration.

There are three different types of dehumidifier - (1) Compressor / refrigerant, (2) Desiccant and (3) Thermoelectric / Peltier. The 3rd is usually tiny unit for little wardrobes so Ausclimate dehumidifiers are either compressor / refrigerant or desiccant type.

Things I like:

1. All weather efficiency. Compressor / refrigerant dehumidifier are any Ausclimate dehumidifier that do not have the word Desiccant in the name*. It makes a BIG difference! Compressor / refrigerant type dehumidifier are cheaper, quieter and use 1/2 or less power (265W for 12L Compact vs 610W for this unit). But their efficiency drops significantly as temperature drops. They cool down the air to cause water condensation. During winter months when temperature is already low, water freezes rather than condenses in the unit. Desiccant dehumidifier, otoh, uses desiccant to draw moisture from the air, then drys the desiccant with warm air to reactivate the desiccant. It works very well during winter / cold temperatures and efficiency is still good during warmer months. Well, I don't think dehumidifier is even needed during the summer / warm months and a little warm air is welcomed in winter! This unit works between 5c-35c**! While the name of this unit is a mouthful, I actually love it because every word carried some important useful information, it is cool season (works well at low temperatures), 10L (draws 10L at 20c/60%RH (relative humidity) in a day), smart (integrates with Siri / Alexa / Google Home), desiccant (as opposed to compressor / refrigerant type) dehumidifier. Great! One more trivial information is that new compressor / refrigerant dehumidifiers use R290 refrigerant because it is said to have very low GWP (global warming potential) and is basically propane, cheap, doesn't need high pressure, low charge required but it is highly flammable.

(*I did find an exception to this at the website manual section. Best to check the model number (ACD200) for certainty.)

(**While website and product description often states ACD200 operates between 0-40c. Manual states that thermal protection may cut out the unit outside 5c and 35c internal temp.)

2. Smart integration. Alexa / Google Home / Siri integrated with mobile app and all the functions are accessible regardless of platform which is fantastic! True to Ausclimate style, I do find the UI a little unrefined. All the functions apart from fan speed are in lower case. Fan speed is the only one that has an uppercase F in fan. Room humidity is displayed as a number, really tiny in Alexa, but humidity setting which are in 5c increments and count down timer, both are shown in alphabets rather than numbers. In Alexa alone, humidity levels are all leading with capital letter, except for eighty. And then in Google Home timer count down, 7h is the only one shown as Seven Hours, others are without unit of measure (h). Anyway, easily sorted in a mobile app update. Mobile app has the best looking and intuitive UI with current humidity in huge letters occupying 1/2 the width of the screen. Nice, after all humidity level is the biggest performance indicator and action decision criteria. Fan speeds are in low / middle (as opposed to medium)/ high. Unlike a heater which is often turned off as soon as you leave the room. Dehumidifier is at work after you leave the environment to dry the room which can take variable amount of time depending on moisture level in the room and humidity outside. Therefore, having a smart unit I can monitor, turn off anywhere, anytime is great in addition to the count time timer!

3. Smart dehumidification program. Where humidity is set to X%, the unit does not turn off at X% because it almost guarantees it needs to come back on if the outside humidity is higher. This unit slows down when the humidity is a couple of % below the required humidity and still stay on for 3 mins before stopping entirely. It wakes up again in 30mins to check humidity and would run dehumidifying cycle again as required. Setting humidity level other CO (continuous) does not mean the unit would turn off after the set humidity is reached. CO actually keeps the unit dehumidifier non-stop. You want to install the gravity feed drain tube in this case since the water tank is only 20% of the daily capacity. Thank God the unit shows water level and stops as soon as the water tank is full.

4. Side water tank. Some reported spillage when removing Ausclimate dehumidifier water tanks. This unit has the water tank sliding out on the thinner side and it has a lid. The design is very good. You have to really yank out the tank quickly and very carelessly to spill the collected water.

5. Looks. While not top priority in my books, this unit actually looks good with the striking black and white colours. Control panel display and buttons are big and clear with humidity % brightly lit. At 552mm x 353mm x 211mm, this unit is reasonably thin and narrow and able to fit in most places. Nice.

Things I wish were better:

1. 2L water tank capacity. There is a 10L premium desiccant dehumidifier model which has a 3L water tank. Adding 1L to the water tank capacity would increase the overall dimensions of the unit very little. After all, 552mm x 353mm x 211mm is about 41L in volume. Anyway, 2L is plenty enough for my use case. In fact, large 35L and 45L units only have 5L water tanks, smaller relative to this 10L unit.

2. Manual and website. There are several errors and I hope are errors. Manual suggests unplug the unit when not in use. I don't intend to use this product 24x7 and hope I don't have to unplug it each night. For placement, manual suggests 1m clearance front and back and 20cm on each sides. Read me first, otoh, recommends 1m on all sides. This unit sucks in air from behind and spits out warm dry air on top. While it does have a louvres to spread the dry air around, it most certainly should not required 1m clearance on all sides. NZ website wrongly stated this ACD200 has a dedicated laundry function, 3L water tank and possess the nano silver filter. An obvious editing error, because the premium and smart models shared the same page or page tree. Even the operating temp range is wrongly stated as 1-40c as per premium model. That said, manual states that outside 5c-35c, the unit will stop operating for its own protection.

3. Memory function. This unit can recall the previous settings as long as the unit is powered. ie, turn off the unit by the power button on the top control panel. This again is why I found the suggestion to unplug the unit after use does not make sense. On a funny note, manual says, "the unit will operate at default settings when the power plug is disconnected." This means the unit will return to default settings, not that it can run without power. 4. Product registration. I couldn't find this product when registering it for 2 extra years of warranty. Thank God it accepted it when I type in the model manually. Tried cool season, 10L smart desiccant, desiccant, acd200 and a few other combinations.

If I am not wrong, this product is actually an OEM product, the Wood's WDD90 has exactly the same look, dimensions, specifications but manuals are written specifically for each manufacturer. Have a look at https://woods.se/en/products/dehumidifiers/woods-wdd90/ for yourself. And if you need a manual in a different language, you would find the Wood's WDD90 manual in 18 languages. But do note, while largely the same, it is not identical to Ausclimate manual! Wood's WDD90 has some instructions about how to use it to dry clothes (high fan speed and direct air flow at laundry). Ausclimat online manual explicitly stated "Never use the appliance to dry clothes", not mentioned in the printed manual supplied with the unit. Wood's WDD90 manual's English section is about 4 pages long while Ausclimate's manual is a 20 pages book.

I am genuinely impressed by the amount of water it can extract. It is easy to operate, to empty; every feature is available across all platforms. Understand the pros and cons of each dehumidifier type. Resist the temptation to buy a cheaper, less power hungry model just because it is cheaper and less power hungry. It is apparently very popular. Out of stock at Ausclimate and no luck finding it in any stores so I bought it online with the additional $15 discount coupon Woolworth (and BigW) offered. I give this ACD200 unit a 5/5 rating!

PS don't drink the water in the water tank. Use it to water plants.

Well, the good: much easier than buying those damp rid things, which I used to do: They were awkward, constantly needing replacement and a pain in… Read more

the...the AusClimate DryPod seems to work well. We used it in my daughter's small bedroom. The moisture around the closed window, fogging up during winter and the wall above the frame had concerned me, so this product arrived at the perfect time. Once the beads turned green, we turned on the unit to bring them back to orange. Very quiet and auto shut have made it efficient and safe. Easy. The not so good: One thing that would have helped though: If it had idiot proof, simple instructions in the box. I had to look at the box and try to figure out how it actually worked. Dirrrr! I am having a quick start/quick set up card or flyer would have made it 5 stars. Because it didn't have one and I went: "How, where what?!" for 10mins, they only get 4.