*
Hello – it’s me again with yet another question….
I’m was a quandry in dealing with clothes dryer venting from the basement until the idea of a condensing clothes dryer came along. Instead of the dryer vent, it has a drain line ?
Would love to get some feedback on the European dryers, which I already know cost a lot more then conventional ones.
Still using the jury rigged setup from the previous owner – one of the glass panes removed from the hopper style steel basement windw and the exhaust vent mounted on a piece of plywood and mounted in place of the glass.
The exhaust is leaving the window well, up to the 2′ wide vented soffit, then into the attic….I hate that.
(I mount a box fan in the kitechen sink window just above the well to blow the dryer air away from the soffit.)
I would love to do away with the vent and seal up the basement.
Thanks,
Alan
Replies
*
My wife really like the Universal Evaporative clothes dryer. It is the least expensive dryer on the market. If you like, I could work up some specs for you.
*Thanks, Ralph -Do they have a web site ?Is this a U.S. company ?Alan
*Alan: Ralph's messing with you. He's referring to a clothesline. What I've seen in the Netherlands aren't condensing dryers but, at least in laundromats, are centrifuges. Sure, our clothes washers spin, but not like these, which are a separate machine. The clothes come out barely moist. Very energy efficient. Still leaves you with Ralph's solution, but not for as long.If I wanted a condensing clothes dryer, I'd make a box on the outlet of a standard US dryer. You can do all kinds of heat exchangers, but that leaves you with surfaces to clean. A direct contacting spray chamber could be made from a garbage can and a hose nozzle (I have unmetered sity water - add a fountain pump with spray head if you don't, to cut the water consumption).Really big cavaet: We're talking electric here, right? A gas dryer HAS TO vent outside. Always. -David
*Thanks, Dave -One can be fairly gullible when caught up in something.Yes, I do understand the condensing dryers use a separate refrigerant coil that the heated dryer air condenses on.Anyway, I'll go back to getting information without posting questions.Was hoping to get some feedback from owners.And, yes, these are electric dryers.
*Miele sells a couple of models. The ones I used in Europe had a container for the water that had to be emptied every cycle.
*Alan, I would have told you but David spilled the beans. I hope you at least got a chuckle out of the deception. I could still work up the specs for you.There will be some straight answers for you soon. There are plenty of knowledgeable people out there who have yet to read this thread and who have first hand info you can use.
*Hi, Ralph -Yes, I did get a chuckle, thanks to you.I had a serious case of tunnel vision and was clueless at first.Anyway, I am familiar with the Miele, Asko, Bosch models and the workings behind condensing dryers and the power requirements, etc.Perhaps there are some other brands out there ?I see that Bosch makes their version at about 2/3 the cost of the Scandinavian models. Bosch units are produced in their U.S. plants, thus the lower cost.Would love to hear from owners of any brands.Thanks,Alan
*Here's a question for you Alan.How hot do these dryers get?The reason I ask is that we are coming off our evaporative drying season here and we get reminded of something every year. If we don't run these clothes (especially towels) through the (gas) dryer every month or so they develop quite a funk!We have started letting them dry on the line, and throwing them in the dryer to heat/fluff and dewrinkle. Unless it's the sheets, love the fresh air smell on the bedsheets!So will your clothes smell or what?-Rob
*I bought ASKO for the dream home, and I can't really say enough about them. I don't know about those dryers you were asking about, but this ASKO washer spins so hard it really throws the water out- something like 1000 RPM. Clothes are far less damp than with anything else I've used, so the dryer doesn't have near as much to do. What ever happened to microwave clothes dryers I read about once?
*Hi, Rob - As lonecat pointed out, the washers do spin out quite a bit of the water, more so then the spin cycle in conventional washers.I also read somewhere it is a good idea to remove the clothes from condensing dryers soon after the dry cycle is over.If left in the dryer the clothes can pick up moisture.The clothes come out not completely dry and then finishes the drying after they are removed. Evidently it does not take long for this.Perhaps this would help prevent wrinkles compared to being scorch dried in the conventional dryer ?
*A bit off the subject here, but does anyone have any idea how many gallons of water the average kenmore heavy duty washer uses to wash one load ?
*Its enough to make your head spin, 20, 30, 40 gallons or so. Consumer Reports can tell you.
*Ours has an 18gal (US) tub; count 1 wash cycle and 2 rinse cyles on "extra-large load"
*Here's a web address for a distributor of a condensing dryer that I bought for a client a couple of years ago: http://quietline.com/faqs.html. My client was very happy with the machine, but her circumstances were quite unique. The machine is actually a washer and dryer in a single unit. She is disabled and couldn't lift wet laundry into a dryer, and had very limited space for side by side units, and couldn't reach for a stackable. For her, the washer/dryer in one was a great solution because she can put the dirty laundry in (dry and light), and take it out clean. It's a small unit, requires no venting, so it solved the space issues. Now the down sides. It is small, so it is probably not a good option for a large family. It takes quite a long time to go through its cycle. When the clothes are done, they are mostly dry, but not warm and dry like a standard dryer. If you don't get the clothes out quickly, they wrinkle like crazy. Bottom line: great product for certain applications, but I'd prefer a standard dryer when possible.
*Thanks guys. I searched wherever I could think of on the net, but couldn't find anything. I hadn't thought of consumer reports, so I'll go check them out when I finish this. Thanks for the responses.I was afraid of that being the answer. I am using captured rainwater out here. Catching it in 55 gal plastic barrels. At this point I don't have much capacity or recoup ability. Will have a much better capture system set up once I have a large roof to catch the rain from. Point is, it looks like it's going to take a whole barrel of water to do one load. Wash will have to wait for heavy rains, or I'll have to find onna dem washboard thingies and wash the clothes in the tub...Thanks again.b : )P.S. Finding and buying a low water consumption washer is not an option here. I can't afford it. I have to deal with what I can find for free that doesn't require much fixing, and that means standard washers that someone else doesn't want anymore...
*I think you want a wringer washer, it actually hasn't been all that long ago since I saw a brand new one- maybe 15 years.
*Where ???I've actualy been asking around about an old wringer washer. No luck.
*Leaman's, (Leamans.com), has them.
*Thank you, Francis.Lehmans does indeed. They have a few other things I could make use of as well...http://www.lehmans.com/
*If your still looking for a decent washer/dryer, then you could do worse than the Bosch. I had a Neff W/D for years, Still going strong as far as I know.The machine took about 15lbs dry on wash only, about 12lbs wash and dry. It didnt get hot, about 50deg C.Ireally miss it, we sold it to our landlord when we moved. They are designed for the smaller European house's where a washer and a dryer would eat all the spare space in most kitchens.As for water consumption my new Hoover does a full wash with only 11 litres (3 gal) and the clothes are spotless