Can Anyone Recommend A Good Quality Condensing Tumble Dryer?

mleonard79

Hi Everyone,

Well our old tumble dryer has packed in again (this always happens to us at christmas - last year it was the fridge and all the christmas food was ruined!) We got it fixed earlier this year and have had it fixed a few times before too so it's time to get a new one this time. The one we have at the moment is just one of the really small ones - not sure they even make those anymore! It'd be great to have a larger one and I'd like a really good quality condensing one (we can't have the vented one as I can't get the tube out the window.) Any recommendations? Also where to get it cheapest? Thanks.

Regards

Michelle

mleonard79

Just bumping this up in case anyone who can help has missed it! Thanks.

Regards

Michelle

tawnyowls

You would be far better off with a vented one. They're not usually vented out the window, but rather through a hole in the wall. Any chance you could do this?

As condenser dryers are more complicated, you'd be best off going for a better brand, like Bosch.

nickyc_2

hi, recently brought a new tumble dryer and went for a Bosch as everything else in the house seems to be a Bosch and I haven't been disappointed yet. It's a condenser dryer, can't report on noise levels as it's in the garage but it dryers well & the condenser system works well.

and this is how found cheapest....
checked Bosch website to work out which model I needed.http://www.boschappliances.co.uk/products-wm.aspx
logged in Quidco, did a kelkoo search for prices. didn't go with cheapest option as it had poor customer reviews, next best was Sainsbury Kitchen applicances online (didn't know it existed before!).
Logged onto SKA through quidco, brought tumble dryer and got nectar points (and cash back has come through as well)
.

Really pleased with service I got, they phoned & texted to confirm delivery etc. They also took away my old dryer....at a cost, but most places seem to charge & they were similar to cost to others and it meant less agro for me.

mleonard79

Hi Tawnyowls and Nickyc,

Thanks for the replies - it does seem that bosch and miele get the best reviews. I'm trying to keep the price down to under £300 but would really like to get a bosch as I've got a bosch fridge and had other bosch appliances and have never had any problems with them.

You would be far better off with a vented one. They're not usually vented out the window, but rather through a hole in the wall. Any chance you could do this?

I'm not sure how I could do this - if it would mean we would have to make a hole in our wall I would be very wary of doing this as it's a 100 year old tenement flat with very sturdy walls and I wouldn't want to put any kind of holes in it. Also my DIY skills are pretty non-existent! My friend says she has a vented one and all it consists of is a hose which she just sits at the back of her dryer and hot air blows out of it - is this what you're supposed to do with it?!

I'll have a look at the bosch website and some price comparison sites to see what the cheapest I can find is - thanks for the tips.

Regards

Michelle

mleonard79

From looking around I think I'll go for a bosch - now to decide which model! It looks like I can get the WTE 84102 Classixx Condenser dryer or the WTE86304 Exxcel Condenser dryer both around £300. So which one should I go for? Thanks.

Regards

Michelle

nickyc_2

The Classixx is the basic model, the exxcel has more programme and can take an extra kg of washing. So if the prices are similar & you do lots of drying go for the exxcel I guess. Otherwise the Classixx has a lower power consumption so I assume this means it cheaper to run.

mleonard79

Hi Nicky,

Yeah I'd noticed the lower power consumption too which is why I'm still a little undecided - we do a lot of drying (it's on every day) so obviously the lower power consumption would save us money but at the same time I would probably like the extra features of the Excel! Decisions eh?! I also saw on one product spec for the Excel that it doesn't have a reverse function but have seem it listed elsewhere that it does and I know that a reverse function is a good thing for it to have - was it the excel you got? If so do you know if it does have the reverse function? Thanks.

Regards

Michelle

tawnyowls

mleonard79 wrote:

I'm not sure how I could do this - if it would mean we would have to make a hole in our wall I would be very wary of doing this as it's a 100 year old tenement flat with very sturdy walls and I wouldn't want to put any kind of holes in it.

OK, you might have a problem doing that then.

My friend says she has a vented one and all it consists of is a hose which she just sits at the back of her dryer and hot air blows out of it - is this what you're supposed to do with it?!

When she says she just she just sits [it] at the back of her dryer and hot air blows out of it, does she mean she just vents it out into her kitchen or something? If so, her kitchen must be like a sauna, because that water is carrying all the water vapour from the TD. Don't think you want to have that blowing round your kitchen, really.

My TD's the Classixx vented and I find it dries very well.

mleonard79

Hi Tawnyowls,

When she says she just she just sits [it] at the back of her dryer and hot air blows out of it, does she mean she just vents it out into her kitchen or something? If so, her kitchen must be like a sauna, because that water is carrying all the water vapour from the TD. Don't think you want to have that blowing round your kitchen, really.

Yeah that's exactly what she does and it is a bit like a sauna when she's doing drying!! She seems to think it's fine. To put it into context though she's a single person living on her own who only has the dryer on once or twice a week at most so that simply wouldn't be practical in this house when we use the dryer every day!! So yeah condensing is definitely the way to go for me then. Thanks for the help.

Regards

Michelle

nickyc_2

hi,not sure what the reverse function is (although I mine has it!) I think it's something that means it reduces creasing so less ironing but I may have made that up (sorry)- I only iron work clothes, most other stuff comes out fine.