Thread Number: 39830
Would you have a spin dryer? 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 589846   4/16/2012 at 01:10 (4,392 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)        

American and canadian guys, I have something to ask you.

Considering the use of a standard top loader (650 rpm) or any modern top or front loader (1000/1200 rpm) would you consider buying a spin dryer to help drying clothes faster in the dryer and save energy?

A machine made of high impact unbreakable and unrustable and recyclable plastic, silent, easy to use, that spends less than 50W and runs a cycle in 2 minutes for normal clothes and 5 minutes for jeans and can cut drying times in half. Aproximate retail price is 100 dollars and the machine is made to last between 15 and 20 years.

Well, almost everybody here knows a portable spin dryer, but I have seen that almost nobody really has one. Why that? Is that a matter of local habits or simply because they can't be easily found on market or because the few models available are too expensive?

Can a device like that, with that price, be successfully inserted into the american/canadian market?

Obs. The model shown is different from what we're thinking for north american market. The Brazilian version has slower spin speed because of some kind of trauma that another manufacturer created on our local market with their spin dryers exploding at much higher speeds.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO thomasortega's LINK



Post# 589879 , Reply# 1   4/16/2012 at 06:58 (4,391 days old) by cycla-fabric (New Jersey (Northern))        
The Laundry Alternative Spin Dryer

 cycla-fabric's profile picture
Well I will say that I bought a spin dryer and think it is great. It spins out the excess water from the really heavy fabrics and cuts dryer time by 10 to 15 minutes. I find myself putting everything but shirts in the machine to lighten the dryer load and it spins at 1300 rpms. I think it works really well, glad I have it.

Doug

CLICK HERE TO GO TO cycla-fabric's LINK
Post# 589888 , Reply# 2   4/16/2012 at 08:02 (4,391 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

People in the US have never been too concerned about water extraction. As long as the laundry was not dripping when they unloaded the washer, they were satisfied. The new HE machines spin better than anything since the Frigidaire Unimatics, but there was no outcry when Frigidaire dropped the spin speed to 850. Millions of Kenmore users were satisfied with mediocre spinning for decades so the US does not seem like a hot market for spinners.

Post# 589925 , Reply# 3   4/16/2012 at 11:07 (4,391 days old) by westie2 ()        

our toggleswitch had one and it blew up on him.  i think there are others that have them.
Post# 589927 , Reply# 4   4/16/2012 at 11:11 (4,391 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
I have a Miele. A pity Miele doesn't make them anymore.







Post# 589933 , Reply# 5   4/16/2012 at 11:29 (4,391 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

We bought one of the earlier models that The Laundry Alternative carried. We still have it and use it. Toggles had the same model and I think someone else here had one two and they both blew up. These are the Pakistani made models. Ours is still functioning.

It's not quiet at all! If you have the clothing just a little bit off kilter it's even louder. When we use ours it's in the bathroom adjacent to the laundry room and when we use it we load it up, set the timer and get out of the room closing the door behind us. We're not taking any chances with it.

It does remove a lot of moisture and more importantly soap residue from your laundered articles. A surprising amount. So clothes dry quicker. But I have found that towels we spin in the spin dryer seem to be more stiff when finished up in the regular tumble dryer.

After we had ours about two years the plastic piece that you put over the clothes fell apart. We sent an e-mail to The Laundry Alternative asking if we could buy a new one. They sent us a replacement totally free of charge. That was nice of them to do that.

Post# 589940 , Reply# 6   4/16/2012 at 11:53 (4,391 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)        
@Loius

 Hi Louis!

Is that the normal noise of your spin dryer?

It sounds scary like the noise on the previous version of Mueller's spin dryer that hat steel drum and steel cabinet.

The new version is very silent and it's also easier to load because the user don't have to find a way to load it milimetrically balanced. The machine has a suspension system that deal with minor unbalancing issues.



Post# 589942 , Reply# 7   4/16/2012 at 12:11 (4,391 days old) by logixx (Germany)        

logixx's profile picture
I used to use a spin dryer at my previous place and really liked it. It removed quite a bit of water even after a 1000 rpm spin. What I didn't like was that I obviously had to split the loads up in order to fit a full wash load. In the end, the time it saved in the dryer, I spent loading, spinning and unloading the spinner. A large capacity unit would be nice. Is the 10 kg rating for wet or dry laundry?

Post# 589943 , Reply# 8   4/16/2012 at 12:26 (4,391 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        
@Thomas

 foraloysius's profile picture
The noise in the video is louder than in reality. Normally you mainly hear the air move, the motor is not very loud. I bought that spin dryer in 1986 and it still sounds like it is new.

Post# 589955 , Reply# 9   4/16/2012 at 13:17 (4,391 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)        

jamiel's profile picture
i was in Argentina last year and in looking at the department store saw the Koh-i-Noor spin dryer and it was quite attractive...I'd be interested in one to reduce drying time. Wonder whether they could export to the US?

Post# 590072 , Reply# 10   4/16/2012 at 21:37 (4,391 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

aeoliandave's profile picture
I would so love to have a stainless steel BOCK centrifugal extractor in my basement. I've been looking for one of these for 8 years, ever since they disappeared from the 3 local laundromats. In fact they seem to have disappeared across the nation; I simply never see them anymore.
Certainly never heard of one of these 'exploding'.
These were made by BOCK and were a common sight in any coin laundry - at least two.

Surely you guys know these machines?

Put in your 2 quarters, close the lid which locks, pops open when the drum stops and it extracts the water to the point you can hang to line-dry or just leave it over a chair back overnight.

10 minutes in the coin dryer was all that was needed for towels, sheets and clothes to be bone-dry.

I guess that's why they were removed...

Dave

Yes, a BOCK really is quiet.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO aeoliandave's LINK
Post# 590073 , Reply# 11   4/16/2012 at 21:55 (4,391 days old) by coldspot ()        

I got a danby twin tub so I sue one weekly. I love it to death. Over my old front loader cloths are almost dry. So I now just hang them around the house and there dry in under a hour.

Post# 590075 , Reply# 12   4/16/2012 at 21:57 (4,391 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Spin Dryers

 launderess's profile picture
Are already sold in the United States.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK
Post# 590076 , Reply# 13   4/16/2012 at 21:58 (4,391 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Post# 590096 , Reply# 14   4/16/2012 at 23:59 (4,391 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
I have used dedicated spinners in Easy Spindry and Panasonic twintub. In a warm climate, shirts come out dry enough to wear and towels dry enough to use. Sheets line dry in minutes. Neither of those units had any problem balancing if loaded correctly or any history of "exploding", but OTOH both were made before the era of junk appliances. I'm not sure I'd trust anything made today running 3000rpm except a commercial machine.

Post# 590143 , Reply# 15   4/17/2012 at 04:08 (4,390 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

I have a Charming Spin Dryer, which was cheaper than a Spin-X.

It's got a plastic top but it has a metal outer tub, so I feel a bit safe around it.

Depending on how I load it, it can make a racket, but it spins up to 3200 RPM, so I can forgive that.

The inner tub looks identical to the ones on 2800 RPM European Frigidaires.

Also depending on the clothing, I can get up to another 4 cups of additional water out of my clothing, because my Huebsch only spins at 1000 RPM for final spin.

I find that it typically knocks about 15 minutes off the drying time.

What does mildly annoy me is that this spinner holds about half the amount of clothing which my Huebsch holds. Another thing is that it spins for a fixed three minutes and turns off. I wish there was a way to make that longer.

They do work, but I find they really only work well on clothing which can absorb a lot of water, like towels, cotton sweaters and jeans. Other clothing doesn't really produce that much water.

My wife is a scared of it, but I think it's pretty safe to use.

Probably the hardest thing to do is, if you don't load it perfectly with heavy clothing like jeans, the inner tub will bash against the outer tub until it picks up enough speed, then it tends to calm down a bit.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO qualin's LINK
Post# 590167 , Reply# 16   4/17/2012 at 06:37 (4,390 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        
spin three min and shut off.

 Couldn't you just repeat the spin cycle if you wanted more time?

Post# 590218 , Reply# 17   4/17/2012 at 09:34 (4,390 days old) by dirtybuck (Springfield, MO)        
Hoover Washers

 I know they have (had for the ones that used to be sold here in the US, as they're now extinct) a separate compartment for spinning water out of the clothes. What was the standard RPM on those?

Post# 590224 , Reply# 18   4/17/2012 at 09:43 (4,390 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Charming

 mrb627's profile picture
That Charming Spin Dryer looks like a very nice unit.

I may order one.

Malcolm

Post# 590242 , Reply# 19   4/17/2012 at 10:31 (4,390 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)        
@Malcolm

 If I were you, I'd wait a little bit more...

;)

Post# 590249 , Reply# 20   4/17/2012 at 10:55 (4,390 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)        

... Mueller is waiting for the UL certificate to start selling their products in the US and Canada.

Maybe even this year they will get clearance to sell their products over there, then I want to see the fight. Their products are very dependable, they still making them to last for many and many years (considering a standard "toss n'go" dumb user) and as cheap as a chinese crap.

I just don't know how will they get their perfect rinsing on front loaders with the ridiculous "2 tablespoons of water" american standards but anyway, why spend 2 thousand dollars on a front loader that can't rinse well if people can pay 500 dollars for a front loader that will last at least 3 times more and will never have mold or smell issues?



I'm not sure, but following the theory of the obvious, the first product to be launched in the U.S. is the spin dryer. After that the static clothes dryer (drying cabinet) because it's too cheap and excellent for some specific uses (like drying shoes and items that can't be tumbled), then the front loader washers and washer/dryer.

Not sure if there should be any market for the semi-automatic washers because of the american habits. But it could be a great idea to wash using lots of water and at the same time reuse it and save water and detergent. (Ok, among us of course it would be nice, but i'm talking about the standard consumers).By the way, the definition o semi automatic in Brazil is much different. here semi automatic means the machine has only a countdown timer to shut it off, like a kitchen timer. The machine doesn't spin at all, to fill it the user must open the tap and manually close it after reaching the desired water level and they a gravity drain. Almost like a Maytag wringer, without the wringer and the pump.

Post# 590285 , Reply# 21   4/17/2012 at 14:07 (4,390 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Drying Cabinets

 launderess's profile picture
Asko amoung a few others sell them in the United States, not sure of how many units they move. Tall things, designed to hold boots, wet rain gear and what not.

Hoover Spin Dryers:

IIRC the spinner was about 2000rpms, would have to look it up. Am sure someone has the exact number.



Post# 590450 , Reply# 22   4/18/2012 at 00:26 (4,390 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
The Panasonic was direct drive from a 60Hz capacitor motor so its speed should have been 1750.

Post# 590459 , Reply# 23   4/18/2012 at 01:28 (4,390 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

Malcolm,

So far I'm happy with my Charming.. seems to be a better value than a Spin-X.

It is a little expensive for what you get, but beggars can't be choosers.

In some ways, it's almost criminal as to what they charge for these things. If they were much more common, they'd probably be around half the price.

To Tolivac,

I have done that before in the past, but I have to wait for it to spin down first, then brake it and start it back up again. It doesn't make happy noises if you try and open the lid while it's spinning at around 3000 RPM.. If I let it spin down to around 1000-600 RPM first, it sounds better and is probably easier on the brake.

Hmm... I should make a video... I just don't have a decent videocamera.

Post# 591511 , Reply# 24   4/23/2012 at 01:39 (4,385 days old) by mikeklondon (London)        
Miele Spinner

 Hi Not had mine for very long but would hate to be without it now, most light things shirts bedding ect, don't need to go in the dryer they come out ready to iron

Post# 591526 , Reply# 25   4/23/2012 at 04:14 (4,384 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

Where I really see the biggest difference in drying times is when I spin things which can hold a lot of water, like towels, denim and cotton sweaters.

Amazing how 3 seconds of fast spinning can shave off at least 15 minutes of drying time.


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