Keystone KSTAD70B Review
Humid air makes it easy for allergens to spread inside your home. What’s worse is the horrible odors that it causes at times.
Luckily, you can get a dehumidifier to make the air around you fresher, like the Keystone KSTAD70B. Let’s find out how it performs in our in-depth review.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Dehumidifier
Before we dive into our review, it’s essential to consider that there several factors go into selecting a dehumidifier. The Keystone KSTAD70B is a great dehumidifier, but it may not be the perfect choice for everyone.
After all, the purpose of a dehumidifier is to keep the air fresh and minimize indoor pollution. If you get the wrong one, it’ll have little to no effect on the air’s humidity levels.
For example, you could get a slightly smaller dehumidifier if you have a smaller room. Keep that in mind while reading this review.
Before deciding whether a certain dehumidifier would be a good choice for you or not, you need to consider 2 crucial factors: room size and temperature.
Some dehumidifiers work best in room sizes that don’t exceed 4500 sq.ft, including the Keystone KSTAD70B. It would be risky to use it in much larger rooms. As for temperature range, consider getting a dehumidifier that can operate low temperatures. The Keystone KSTAD70B can work at temperatures that range from 41°F and up to 95°F, which is pretty good.
It’s also important to ensure that the dehumidifier comes with a reliable warranty certificate to ensure that you can fix the dehumidifier for free if something goes wrong in the warranty period.
At a Glance
The Keystone KSTAD70B is definitely a worthy dehumidifier that comes at a much more affordable price than other 70-pint models on the market. It also has many features that you’d find in higher-end models like electronic controls, defrosting, and auto shut-off.
You can use it in large rooms that require a powerful dehumidifier that can dehumidify the air as quickly and efficiently as possible. Considering the price point, the Keystone KSTAD70B is undoubtedly a smart choice.
Pros:
- Suitable for large rooms
- Settings auto-restore
- 24-hour timer
- Auto shut-off
- Full bucket indicator
Cons:
- Noisy operation
- Unreliable drainage system
- Limited tank capacity (1.3 gallons)
Keystone KSTAD70B: Features
Modes
The Keystone KSTAD70B allows you to set the humidity level, ranging from 35% and up to 85%, depending on how humid and hot your room is. You can either increase or decrease the humidity level by 5% increments.
It has 3 operating modes: normal, turbo, and auto-defrost. The normal mode is suitable for regular, day-to-day operations at moderate humidity, while turbo mode works best on days with high peak humidity levels. Both normal and turbo modes are used to control the fan speed.
The auto-defrost mode is perfect for use in cold rooms because it prevents the coils from freezing up.
Controls
The Keystone is quite easy to control thanks to the electronic controls, and the intuitive LED display. You don’t have to go through a ton of settings to operate this dehumidifier since the LED display makes this easy for you.
What’s even more interesting is that there’s a check filter light that notifies you when the filter needs maintenance. It also has a full bucket alert, in addition to a transparent water level indicator.
Drainage System
The dehumidifier supports gravity drainage, but you need an adapter to use it. The adapter must be screwed tightly, or the drainage system won’t work as desired. This can be a problem for some, especially that many other dehumidifiers don’t require an adapter for gravity drainage, or at least come with a standard garden hose attachment.
Even if you managed to connect your garden hose, you can’t guarantee that it’ll drain as intended. The adapter screws can get loose over time, leaving puddles of water around the dehumidifier.
If you want to drain the water to the top floor, you have to buy a pump separately, considering that this is a budget dehumidifier, and it doesn’t have a built-in pump.
Design
The dehumidifier features a square design with a glossy finish that attracts dust particles, but you can easily clean it with a slightly damp cloth, and it’ll shine like new.
While the Keystone is made of plastic, the build quality is excellent and can take a few hits. At dimensions of 15.5L x 11.25W x 23.25H inches, the unit is by no means bulky, and you can definitely fit it into any room.
Energy Consumption
This Keystone dehumidifier is one of the most energy-efficient dehumidifiers out there. The manufacturer rates it at 720 watts, but it all depends on the room’s actual air humidity. Thus, the 720-watt rating is considered the maximum energy usage when used in very humid places.
Extra Functionalities
The Keystone dehumidifier is also equipped with a 24-hour timer that allows you to set the dehumidifier to work at peak hours. This means that you won’t have to keep draining the tank unnecessarily.
Additionally, you can delay both the start and stop time simultaneously. This works best when you need the dehumidifier to turn on, work for a specific duration, and automatically turn off if you’ll be gone for a while.
This is a very cool feature considering that most other dehumidifiers on the market allow you to either set a delayed start, or a delayed stop, but not both at the same time.
Moreover, the slide-out filter makes it easy for you to remove and clean. The last thing you want is to dehumidify a room with a highly contaminated filter.
Warranty
The Keystone KSTAD70B comes with a 1-year warranty on the unit and 2-5 years for the sealed system that includes the condenser and compressor. The product is relatively new, so we can’t judge its warranty just yet, but it’s good to have.
Portability
At 40 lbs, the Keystone KSTAD70B is pretty lightweight compared to other models in the same category. It also has 4 caster wheels, making it super easy for you to move around and dehumidify several rooms.
Alternatives
hOmeLabs Energy Star Dehumidifier
The hOmeLabs Energy Star dehumidifier runs more quietly than the Keystone KSTAD70B, and the drainage system is much more convenient. There are several configurations you can choose from, depending on your room size.
However, unlike the Keystone KSTAD70B, this dehumidifier isn’t equipped with a timer. This means that you can’t set the dehumidifier to work for a specified time when you’re away, translating to higher energy consumption.
This model offers:
- Quiet operation vs. high noise
- Adapter-less vs. adapter-based drainage system
Vremi Energy Star Dehumidifier
What we love about the Vremi Energy Star dehumidifier is that the water tank is removable, making it super easy for you to drain it manually. There are several models for different room sizes.
However, it’s limited to 50 pints of moisture only, 20 pints of moisture lower than the Keystone KSTAD70B. If your room is too humid, it’d be a good idea to stick to the Keystone KSTAD70B.
This model offers:
- Removable, larger water bucket
- Convenient vs. complicated drainage system
- Auto-defrost indicator
Inofia 30-Pint Dehumidifier
One of the most significant advantages of the Inofia dehumidifier is its user-friendly drainage system. Just connect your garden hose, and you’re good to go. It’s also much smaller and lighter than the Keystone KSTAD70B.
Unlike the Keystone KSTAD70B, the Inofia dehumidifier can dehumidify the surrounding air at a rate of 30 pints of moisture/day, much slower than the KSTAD70B’s 70 pints/day rate. It’s suitable for rooms with a maximum size of 1056 sq.ft compared to the Keystone’s 4500 sq.ft room size.
This model offers:
- 24.9 lbs vs. 40 lbs
- Easy hose attachment vs. adapter drainage system
- Intelligent humidity control
Final Thoughts
The Keystone KSTAD70B is definitely a good dehumidifier that ticks many of our boxes. It can be used in large rooms, has a timer, and can be controlled quite easily. Not to mention how energy-efficient it is.
Our only complaint is probably the unnecessarily complicated drainage system. You’re better off draining this dehumidifier manually. Other than that, the KeyStone KSTAD70B delivers great performance for its price.
