Thanks for taking the time to give all that detailed info.
The original dehumidifier label said 7.25 oz of r22. I don't have a digital scale but ordered one today on Amazon.
Her's what I did today
I replaced the evaporator with one from a 5000 btu ac and set a fan next to it. I recharged and got it working fairly well in spite of the sloppy workmanship. After about 15 min I got these measurements.
Plow--20psi Phi-145psi T into condenser-140F T out of evap-58F amb-61F
T into evap was so frosty that I couldn't get good temp reading
T of water in bucket 60-70F
All temps taken by pressing thermocouple to bare copper tube with insulation between my finger and thermocouple.
The temps don't jive with the pressures. The tubes are bare so that might be an issue. I don't have confidence in the pressures. Maybe my propane is contaminated.
So I learned that a coil of bare copper tube submerged in 4 gal of water won't be good enough for the evaporator. I was pleased with how well this worked with a real evaporator even though I don't trust the pressures.
I have another dehumidifier that I will use for my water heater--I will improve my workmanship when I start the actual project. So far this is for practice and learning.