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Thread Number: 31152
Do condenser dryers really get clothes dry? |
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Post# 470375 10/19/2010 at 19:22 (4,929 days old) by Supersuds  (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm in the market for an unvented dryer. I've never known anybody who had one, so I've been reading some reviews and some people complain that clothes never really get dry, while others indicate it isn't a problem.
Any thoughts from users? I don't mind shirts and trousers coming out damp, but I don't want to put towels away unless they're REALLY dry, for obvious reasons. BTW, the dryer I'm thinking of is a Bosch like the one at the link. A combo like a Duomatic would be even better, but I doubt if any daily drivers are out there! CLICK HERE TO GO TO Supersuds's LINK | ||
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Post# 470379 , Reply# 2 10/19/2010 at 20:04 (4,929 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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AIR COOLED CONDENSER DRYERS
They do work but they are slower and use at least 25% more electricity than vented electric dryers. They are also much more complex and trouble prone with out even considering the fact they are made by Bosch, one of my very least favorite dryers in terms of durably and performance. I don't think there are any heat-pump dryers available in the US yet? but if you really have to have a no vent dryer this would be the way to go in terms of efficiency and speed, these will even give gas dryers a real run for the money when they are widely available.
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Post# 470383 , Reply# 3 10/19/2010 at 20:16 (4,929 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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It's a compromise, I guess. I just don't care for the option of using a regular dryer and having lint everywhere. The only other condenser dryers that I can see being readily available are LG, which a lot of people here seem to disfavor, and Miele -- really out of my price range.
I do live in an area with low electric rates, at least. | ||
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Post# 470503 , Reply# 6 10/20/2010 at 10:40 (4,929 days old) by logixx (Germany) |
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| Post# 470528 , Reply# 7 10/20/2010 at 13:28 (4,929 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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Post# 470538 , Reply# 10 10/20/2010 at 14:53 (4,929 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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My Miele T420C (at that time a BOL condenser dryer) does a very good job. Yes, it is a bit slower than a vented dryer but it does a much better job than the vented Zanker I had before this one. My Miele is around 13 years old now and it still works flawlessly. I have cleaned out the condensor now and then but it doesn't seem to collect much dust.
The advantage over a quality condenser dryer is that they are better sealed than the ones from cheaper brands. So no humidity leaks out of the dryer with my Miele. A friend of mine I called a friend of mine who has a Bosch Softstar, also a condenser dryer, about the same age as mine. That machine has gotten a lot of use because he refused to line dry anything for many years. It's still working great and he is still very happy with it. | ||
| Post# 470568 , Reply# 11 10/20/2010 at 17:05 (4,929 days old) by zodawash (Lincolnshire,United Kingdom) | ||
to condense
I've recently switched to a Condensor dryer (AEG) and its much better than other vented dryers i've had. I think they do vary alot though in how good they are. My Hoover condensor dryer of about 2002 was hopeless at drying quickly and steamed the windows up in my kitchen. The AEG dries quickly and does not steam up any windows.
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Post# 470622 , Reply# 12 10/21/2010 at 00:31 (4,928 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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Thnaks for all the replies!
Just a few specific responses, but I appreciate all the comments. :)
Jon, saving money by using the condensed water for ironing is possibly THE stingiest idea ever. (I love it!) Nathan, the summer heat consideration is something I hadn't thought of. It can get fairly hot and steamy here. Mine would have to be in an un-air conditioned garage (that is unless I opened a connecting door to the kitchen). I guess the air conditioning unit is then drying the clothes, indirectly! Louis, glad to hear from someone with specific experience with a Bosch. Though I'm sure John Lefever knows what he's talking about. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. | ||
| Post# 470629 , Reply# 13 10/21/2010 at 02:55 (4,928 days old) by dj-gabriele () | ||
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Why would you use a dryer in the summer? That's not essential and wasteful and as many have already pointed out it takes longer for the machine to do its job if it's a condenser model. | ||
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Post# 470652 , Reply# 16 10/21/2010 at 06:54 (4,928 days old) by logixx (Germany) |
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Post# 470655 , Reply# 17 10/21/2010 at 07:15 (4,928 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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DRYER VENTING
US dryers and others with powerful blowers will work quite well with up to 20 or 30 feet of flexible vent hose draped out a door or window as a temporary vent. The trick is moving the vent hose between uses which keeps lint from building up inside, plus you wouldn't have a restrictive vent hood on the end of the hose. I have customers who have done this for years with no problems, when laundry day is over they roll it back up and stash it in a corner. With a long vent hose just avoid the really tight bends which are what really restrict air flow the most.
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| Post# 470662 , Reply# 18 10/21/2010 at 08:25 (4,928 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia) | ||
The southern states of Australia have Hot dry summers, we | ||
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Post# 470755 , Reply# 20 10/21/2010 at 17:07 (4,928 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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If lint is our only concern, try this or something like it!
DO NOT USE WITH A GAS DRYER! ELECTRIC ONLY PLEASE! CLICK HERE TO GO TO Toggleswitch's LINK | ||
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Post# 470759 , Reply# 21 10/21/2010 at 17:20 (4,927 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Steve | ||
| Post# 470782 , Reply# 22 10/21/2010 at 19:54 (4,927 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia) | ||
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Do they sell Blomberg down in OZ?
Unfortunately not.
I had a Blomberg washer in the UK (1301 fuzzy digitronic) from 2001 to 2004...loved it and very nearly brought it back to Oz with us..... We do get some aspects of Blomberg though given they are now owned by Arcelik whose main brand is BEKO where the Blomberg technology has spread through the range... BEKO machines are sold here as Fisher and Paykel.... | ||
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Post# 470798 , Reply# 23 10/21/2010 at 22:27 (4,927 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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WATER BUCKET VENT KITS
These do not work and only make the humidify problem worst from an unvented dryer. Further these vent buckets are not recommended by any appliance manufacturer for there dryers and I drought these would pass many building codes world wide. Its much better to build a vent box that uses at least a 20" by 20" high quality pleated filter on one side. This type of vent can be used on any vented dryer in a large well ventilated area Gas or electric. Remember gas dryers only produce a fraction of the pollutants that a gas oven or cook-tops do to say nothing of using candles or smoking in your house.
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Post# 470852 , Reply# 24 10/22/2010 at 10:30 (4,927 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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LOL Agreed John to so many of your points.
A gas oven has a burner of 12,000 to about 18,000 BTU/h. Stove-top burners run in approximately the same range of heat outputs. A gas dryer (full-sized) typically has a 22,000 BTU/h burner. If both run for the same amount of time a dryer is probably slightly worse than an oven in terms of pollutants such as carbon-dioxide, carbon-monoxide, sulfuric -oxides and nitrous-oxides just based on the heat output alone! And even the combustion process itself of natural gas (methane, CH4) generates water vapor which may lead to mold and mildew, without even drying clothes! CH4 + (2)O2 => Co2 + (2) H20 I am a huge opponent of UNVENTED gas appliances (including stoves) which are the No. 1 source of indoor air pollution. Sad that such pollution is so easily avoidable, yet exists. Vent your stove, open a window or don't cook with gas! a gas oven at 350*f (175*C) running for even just ONE hour produces and releases into the home harmful levels of pollutants Studies in the UK has shown that children that grew up with gas cooking have TWICE the allergies and asthma, and respiratory ailments (for life) that those who grew up with electric cooking do. And to all my friends who say, "but my granny had unvented gas heaters for 50 years and survived just fine" to that I say "Yes, but there are healthier options!" And yes candles, unless they are bee's-wax or soya are petroleum-based paraffin which is nasty! Any light one sees is CARBON from incomplete combustion which coats ever surface in the room and house. NASTY! So while candles are comforting and like having company with you, THINK about it! Electrons can be broken down into photons which is a big fancy word for LIGHT waves/particles. In theory we are all made of LIGHT and candles/flames/ (controlled) fires are a huge comfort to us. But I digress, don't I ? LOL Always great to see you posting, John! This post was last edited 10/22/2010 at 14:18 | ||
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Post# 471062 , Reply# 27 10/23/2010 at 22:18 (4,925 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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UNVENTED GAS DRYERS AND RANGES
Gas ranges are among the dirtiest of gas burning appliances and the one that is most often used unvented. This is because the flame is often in contact with colder metal, the metal pot on the stove top or the steel plate above the oven burner. This contact with the flame causes combustion temperatures to be reduced which causes much more carbon monoxide to be produced. A gas clothes dryer does not have this problem and produces a fraction of the carbon monoxide that preheating an oven does or boiling a pot of water does. Steve great points about burning candles in the house, any time you burn a solid fuel it will normally produce far more pollutants than burning a gasses fuel.
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Post# 471141 , Reply# 28 10/24/2010 at 11:19 (4,925 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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ooooh I stand corrected and educated! TYVM
I didn't know that about hot flames hitting cold steel! See boys and girls and girly-boys, THIS is how it is done. (I am not tooting my own horn; Lawd knows If I could I'd never leave home! LOL) I said my stupidity, (based on limited logic and experience). I got gently corrected and everyone is the wiser. The logic was explained to me and now all is well. Was that so hard? Thanks John! | ||
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Post# 471258 , Reply# 29 10/25/2010 at 01:19 (4,924 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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I'll have to think about the long vent hose. I've seen someone do this but it seems gawky and inconvenient. Also, in my case, it would involve opening a garage door (no other way outside) and leaves and other trash tend to blow in during winter months. The advantage would be having a normal dryer when I eventually move elsewhere. But thanks for the suggestion!
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Post# 471285 , Reply# 30 10/25/2010 at 09:28 (4,924 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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| Post# 471352 , Reply# 31 10/25/2010 at 14:34 (4,924 days old) by coldspot () | ||
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If you got a window get one of these. I use one for mine works great and cheap. CLICK HERE TO GO TO coldspot's LINK | ||
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Post# 471366 , Reply# 32 10/25/2010 at 15:20 (4,924 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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FEH!
I made one of those out of plywood and contact paper and a 4 inch (102 mm) hole-cutter attached to my drill. The most difficult thing was thinking about which way to layer the contact paper (self-adhesive plastic coating in rolls -like shelf-paper) so rain doesn't get in between it and the wood. Works like a charm and no damage to the landlord's property. This post was last edited 10/25/2010 at 20:04 | ||
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Post# 472091 , Reply# 37 10/29/2010 at 00:02 (4,920 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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"How about just letting it vent in the garage?"
I've seen the garage of a neighbor who did that and everything -- shelves, walls -- is covered in lint. He had some sort of device (maybe the water thing, didn't ask) but it built up anyway.
And there's no window for a vent, so other than running the flex vent out the garage door or using the filter box idea, a condenser is the only option I can live with. | ||
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Post# 472109 , Reply# 38 10/29/2010 at 02:56 (4,920 days old) by logixx (Germany) |
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Sheets and duvet covers
Newer AEG/Electrolux dryers have a cycle dedicated to bulkier items. It does reverse longer - I haven't timed it, though. Our regular Electrolux - without that cycle - has no problem with tangling things. The Bosch dryer I am using at another house is bad for tangling sheets into a ball. I does not reverse - it just tumbles clockwise, stops, tumbles clockwise for a second, stops, and continues clockwise tumbling. I though the intermittent tumbles were reverse tumbling but not so. This is an older model with the square door. The newer ones with the round door apparently never stop tumbling but they do have this thing in the back of the drum to keep items separated. | ||
| Post# 472128 , Reply# 39 10/29/2010 at 09:30 (4,920 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY) | ||
Ariston AWD-120
My limited experience with condenser dryers is the 110v Ariston AWD-120 washer/dryer that I used to have. I like the dryer feature on the machine. My issue was with capacity and vibration of the overall unit. It rated at a 13lb for wash only, but only 8lbs for dry and that was a very true number. Basically you filled the drum 2/3 or less with clothes VERY loosely and it performed well. The machine was only a 24" machine and the drum was fairly small. You also could not run this thing on a wood floor due to vibrations from an off-balance spin cycle.
The dryer aspect though, it made some of the fluffiest towels and sweaters I've yet to experience and it would wash like nothing else I've owned. I could take the dingiest gray socks and they would come out white without even using bleach. Cycle and dry time were long, but for 1 person, it was a reasonable little machine. I hear they are (have?) discontinuing them in the states though. -Tim | ||
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Post# 472145 , Reply# 40 10/29/2010 at 10:49 (4,920 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY) |
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Quote: I've seen the garage of a neighbor who did that and everything -- shelves, walls -- is covered in lint.
Yes but at least one can clean it (the garage) every three months instead of having to dust ones' home every week should the dryer vent into living space! Did they have the customary/obligatory pair of pantyhose as a filter over the end of the vent hose? | ||
| Post# 472654 , Reply# 41 10/31/2010 at 19:45 (4,917 days old) by robliverpool (england Liverpool) | ||
From my experience I would use a vented dryer if possible. I have a condensor dryer that I use daily and it is noisy, heats the clothes really hot, when you open the door hot steam comes out. You have to rinse the condensor every few weeks plus empty the water container after 2-3 loads
Time wise I have not noticed much difference the only good thing is when i wash my bedding i dont mind washing it on 40 degrees because i know the steam that builds up inside the dryer will kill off any bacteria etc so i suppose it does have pros and cons | ||
| Post# 472658 , Reply# 42 10/31/2010 at 19:58 (4,917 days old) by kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.) | ||
I had just one condenser dryer in my life, And NO MORE!!!!
I threw it away after 1 month! I Was exasperated by! More than 2 hours to dry a small load, a lot of lint attached to the condenser having to flush it under water after every load, smell of burnt on clothes, and incomplete drying of big loads (more than 3 hours)...... My suggestion: Do not buy one! | ||
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Post# 472839 , Reply# 43 11/1/2010 at 14:58 (4,917 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Frederico | ||
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Post# 472926 , Reply# 44 11/1/2010 at 23:22 (4,916 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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Yes, I'm wondering if there may not be a wide variation between brands. This is the kind of divergence of opinion that led me to post the question originally.
I recall Jon Jetcone saying that Duomatics dry clothes wonderfully soft but I'm not sure if modern dryers work the same way. By the way, where is Ariston made? Frankly, I've never heard of them. I don't think I can buy one locally. | ||
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