Upgrading old Tumble Drier

Cardew

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Also, surely the duct and the vent are big thermal bypasses! Unless the duct is insulated, and the connection into and through the dryer are airtight.

That gives rise to something I never really considered.


If a condensing dryer uses, say, 1kWh, on a cycle, that heat stays in the house. The utility room, in which my dryer lives, gets really warm .


A vented dryer blasts most of the heat outside.

Pincher

Cardew wrote: »

In the past vented dryers were always considered to be more efficient than condenser models. However I have read a couple of articles that state the situation has been completely reversed.

Paradigm shifting stuff.

So, they have decided to recover the heat from the steam, using a heat pump, and re-use the heat, as opposed to venting the hot air into the atmosphere. Obviously, the extra complexity is subject to higher probability of failure, as well as extra cost to buy.

I did put in a Miele WT2780 washer/dryer maybe seven years ago, reluctantly for a flat, to replace a Siemens washer/dryer, which was OK, but the Miele was better. Otherwise, condensers were a joke, in those days. No mention of heat pump technology on the Miele WT2780, so I must have just missed out.

Oh well, too late for the T260, which will probably still be around when I die, but there is every likelihood that the tenants will get a heat pump washer/dryer next time. Miele gives 5 year warranty maximum on washer/dryers, 10 years on washing machines, so I was expecting to replace it in another three years anyway. It's tax deductible, after all.

Cardew

I have used several, but never owned, washer dryers - albeit not a Miele - and they were all awful.


Even the latest Miele washer-dryer will only cope with a 3kg drying load, and still no heat pump. At £1,600 and only a 5 year warranty I can only think that they would be bought if there was limitation on space.

Pincher

Cardew wrote: »

Even the latest Miele washer-dryer will only cope with a 3kg drying load, and still no heat pump. At £1,600 and only a 5 year warranty I can only think that they would be bought if there was limitation on space.

Two sets of tenants have expressed their happiness with the WT2780.

I used a Hotpoint washer/dryer self-catering, they are beyond a joke. Fortunately there was a clothes rack.

The master bedroom has a walk-in closet. Since a condenser dryer with a tray doesn't need a drain connection....... It's a backup plan.

shammyjack

Make a large tent with 2 clothes airers and a plastic sheet and place a dehumidifier in it . Much cheaper than a tumble dryer and snuff dry in a couple of hours. No moisture released into the house and the dehumidifier can be used elsewhere when needed !

Pincher

shammyjack wrote: »

Make a large tent with 2 clothes airers and a plastic sheet and place a dehumidifier in it . Much cheaper than a tumble dryer and snuff dry in a couple of hours. No moisture released into the house and the dehumidifier can be used elsewhere when needed !

Some Miele dryers come with a rack thing that mounts inside the drum. This is for delicates that do not want to tumble. in this mode, the Miele dryer still circulates warm air, but the drum does not turn.


My Dish Washer vents into the kitchen during the drying cycle, anyway, so I have always thought it should be possible to use it like an airing cupboard somehow. Obviously a mode that heats the air with the heating element, with the fan blowing, and no water spraying.

vickyanne_2

shammyjack wrote: »

Make a large tent with 2 clothes airers and a plastic sheet and place a dehumidifier in it . Much cheaper than a tumble dryer and snuff dry in a couple of hours. No moisture released into the house and the dehumidifier can be used elsewhere when needed !

We did that last winter, bought a desiccant dehumidifier and it warmed upstairs and dried the washing a treat, lower energy bills too!

km1423

Thank you all very much for your comments. Thanks to Cardew re my choice or idea of a choice.

When weather is good I dry laundry outdoors, which is most of the time. Our older Miele dryer is still working, and I gave it to a larger family, via Freecycle, who desperately needed one, and delivered it as their dryer went Kaput.

I have replaced my dryer mainly because of a new addition to family. Plenty of Winter outdoor activities and daughter in Cadets, plus a raft of business shirts and school shirts/uniforms. It was a struggle this time last year, as it was so wet all of the time.

New machine is quieter, very efficient, and yes have lost the hole in the wall from the venting, and I use the water in the iron.