50-pint versus 70-pint: check the test first

The three ways a unit can be called 70 pints

1. 1A pre-2020 DOE rating. Tested at 80F. ENERGY STAR's correlation maps it to 40 to 45 pints under the current procedure. If you are replacing a 70-pint machine bought in 2017, its modern equivalent is a 50-pint unit, and manufacturers themselves usually make that pairing.
2. 2A saturation rating. Measured at 95F and 90% RH, a condition no US basement reaches. This is how most crawl space and commercial units are marketed, and it is why one on this site is sold as 113 pints and certified at 36.33.
3. 3A genuine current DOE rating above 50. These exist but are rare in the household portable class - 50 pints is effectively the ceiling, with 164 of 527 certified portable models sitting there.

So what should you actually buy

For a normal damp US basement, a current 50-pint DOE-rated unit. It is the top of the household class, it draws a median 488 W, and it is what a 2018 buying guide meant when it said 70 pints.

If you have found a listing claiming 70 or 80 pints and it is priced like a 50-pint unit, look for the test condition. If the listing says 95F and 90% RH, it is a 50-pint machine wearing a bigger number. If it says nothing, treat it as a saturation figure - that is the convention when a maker omits the condition.

Quick picks

#	Product	Best for	Draw	Price
1	Midea Cube 50 Pint DehumidifierThe only unit here that solves the real basement problem, which is not capacity but where the water goes when you are not standing next to it.	A basement you visit once a month	487 W	Check price on Amazon #ad How we are funded
2	Waykar 80 Pint ENERGY STAR DehumidifierSold on an 80-pint headline that is a saturation figure; the DOE rating behind it is in the same 50-pint class as everything else on this page.	A large open basement or a shop floor	Not published	Check price on Amazon #ad How we are funded
3	AlorAir Sentinel HD55 Crawl Space DehumidifierThe clearest example on this site of why the number on the box is not the number that matters: sold as 113 pints, certified at 36.33.	A crawl space you cannot stand up in	344 W	Check price on Amazon #ad How we are funded

1

Midea

Midea Cube 50 Pint Dehumidifier

Best for: A basement you visit once a month

The only unit here that solves the real basement problem, which is not capacity but where the water goes when you are not standing next to it.

Average draw

487 W

Computed from the ENERGY STAR certified entry for Midea MAD50S1QWT-A, the 50 pt / 4,500 sq ft Cube without a pump: 49.67 pt/day at IEF 2.01 L/kWh. Midea's own US product page confirms MAD50S1QWT-A is this configuration. Midea publishes no wattage on the Amazon listing or on that page.

What is good

• +The body separates, so the tank half can sit lower than the compressor half and the hose gets a genuine downhill run
• +Certified at 49.67 pt/day, which is a real 50-pint machine rather than a saturation number
• +IEF 2.01 L/kWh puts it exactly on the median for the 50-pint class - neither a bargain nor a penalty
• +Wi-Fi that tells you it has stopped, which is the only smart feature that matters in a basement

What is not

• -No pump, so the drain has to run downhill the whole way
• -Midea publishes no wattage anywhere, so the 487 W above is computed rather than quoted
• -The 4,500 sq ft coverage claim is marketing, not a spec - see the sizing guide

Who it is for

Someone with a floor drain, a sump, or a window well lower than the machine, who wants to set it once and stop thinking about it.

Skip it if

Skip it if the only drain in the room is higher than the unit. Without a pump, gravity is the entire drainage system, and no setting fixes an uphill hose.

2

Waykar

Waykar 80 Pint ENERGY STAR Dehumidifier

Best for: A large open basement or a shop floor

Sold on an 80-pint headline that is a saturation figure; the DOE rating behind it is in the same 50-pint class as everything else on this page.

Average draw

Not published

No published wattage. Waykar's certified 50-pint entries - JD026CE-150, CHWA150A/B/E, CTH150A/B and the YD-150 family - compute to between 443 W and 488 W. The identity of the exact certified model behind this listing is not stated, so the band stands in for a number.

What is good

• +Sets to 30% RH, lower than most units will go
• +90-degree auto swing louvre, which genuinely helps in a long open basement
• +Continuous drainage support and a larger tank than Waykar's smaller units
• +Auto defrost for cold running

What is not

• -The 80-pint headline is not a DOE rating and should not be compared against one
• -No published wattage and no single certified model to map to
• -5,000 sq ft is the second-highest coverage claim in this registry

Who it is for

A large, open, genuinely wet basement or shop, where air movement matters as much as extraction.

Skip it if

Skip it if you are comparing it against a 50-pint unit on the strength of the 80. They are the same class of machine - the numbers are measured differently.

3

AlorAir

AlorAir Sentinel HD55 Crawl Space Dehumidifier

Best for: A crawl space you cannot stand up in

The clearest example on this site of why the number on the box is not the number that matters: sold as 113 pints, certified at 36.33.

Average draw

344 W

Computed from the ENERGY STAR certified entry ALORAIR Sentinel HD55S: 36.33 pt/day at IEF 2.08 L/kWh, 379 kWh a year. The retail listing is the HD55; the certified entry carries the S suffix. At IEF 2.08 it is more efficient than the median 50-pint portable while removing about three quarters as much water.

What is good

• +Built low and flat to fit between floor joists, which no portable unit does
• +Auto defrost and low-temperature operation, both essential in an unheated crawl space
• +IEF 2.08 is above the 50-pint class median of 2.01 despite the smaller capacity
• +No tank at all, so there is nothing to forget to empty

What is not

• -The 113-pint headline is a saturation figure at 95F and 90% RH; the DOE-condition rating is 36.33
• -1,200 sq ft coverage, less than most 50-pint portables claim, for considerably more money
• -Needs a drain or a condensate pump - there is no bucket fallback

Who it is for

Crawl spaces, low-clearance basements and unheated storage where a standing portable will not fit or will freeze.

Skip it if

Skip it for a normal basement. A 50-pint portable removes more water at the DOE condition for less money; you are paying for the form factor and the temperature range.

When you genuinely need more than 50 DOE pints

There are real cases: a large open basement over about 2,500 square feet that stays above 70% humidity, a space being dried after a flood, or a whole house where individual room units are not practical. Two options, both of which leave the portable class:

• Two portable units in different parts of the space. Cheaper, redundant when one fails, and each can be sited near its own drain. Less efficient per pint than one large machine, but far more practical.
• A ducted whole-home dehumidifier. The certified ones run 65 to 105 DOE pints at 461 to 1,088 W and IEF around 2.35, which is better than any portable. They are installed into ductwork rather than plugged in, are dealer-distributed rather than sold on Amazon, and cost several times a portable.

What is not a solution is buying a crawl space unit on the strength of its saturation rating and putting it in a basement. On the DOE scale, the 113-pint AlorAir is a 36-pint machine - less capacity than a 50-pint portable, for considerably more money. It earns its price on form factor and cold-weather operation, neither of which a normal basement needs.