Heat pump tumble dryer - do they create condensation and how long is a typical program for fully dry

Weave

Hi All

We have a condensing tumble dryer that is about 17 years old, it has been very faithful and still works but is now creating a lot of condensation in our new utility room (and is probably expensive to run). It does not matter if we keep the utility door to the outside open or closed, everything gets covered in condensation. I am therefore considering a heat pump tumble but have two questions I would like help with from those that own one:

1) Do they generally still give off heat into the room and cause some condensation?

2) To get a full load of 8 to 9kg dry how long would a typical program run for?

The other option is a vented tumble but I would need to make a hole for the vent which is not ideal and I understand these are less energy efficient.

Many thanks for your help.

macman

No, the heat pump means that far less heat is released during operation, as it's recovered. There should be near zero condensation, it's either captured in the waste tank, or they can be plumbed into a sink waste.
The programme run time is typically longer than a vented or condensing machine, as they operate at lower temps. But the running cost is still about 50% lower, as they draw less power for the heater.
If your condensing machine is emitting that much condensation then I suspect that the condensate filter is blocked full of fluff-have you cleaned it (not the door filter)?

SnakePlissken

Weave said:

Hi All

We have a condensing tumble dryer that is about 17 years old, it has been very faithful and still works but is now creating a lot of condensation in our new utility room (and is probably expensive to run). It does not matter if we keep the utility door to the outside open or closed, everything gets covered in condensation. I am therefore considering a heat pump tumble but have two questions I would like help with from those that own one:

1) Do they generally still give off heat into the room and cause some condensation?

2) To get a full load of 8 to 9kg dry how long would a typical program run for?

The other option is a vented tumble but I would need to make a hole for the vent which is not ideal and I understand these are less energy efficient.

Many thanks for your help.

No you should not have codensation, I have one  have no issues with condensation.


Yes there will be some heat, but they never heat up like a vented dryer does and with that are probably better for your clothes. The heat given off is radiant heat from the dryer.

My dryer is a bosch serie 8 and has sensors, so will not always take the same time to run as it checks clothes for dryness and adjusts to suit.
But a full load of towels will maybe 1 to 2 hours. Timer does say 2 hours 17  on it when it starts, but it never takes that long.
Cotyon says 3 hours, but usually 1.5 to 2 hours.
Mixed load is 1.5, but again can be less
Shirts 45 for iron dry. But generally they can be hung up on hangers as they are dry. (I rarely use an iron)
 All of above isusing 1400 spin speed.

You do need to regularly clean the sensor with a sponge, otherwise clothes may not always be dry when cycle finishes.

I think a vented tumble dry is a bad idea as they are highly inefficent energywise and will likely cause condensation.

They are expensive, but very energy efficient.

Cirrus1

I have one of the Miele T1 heat pump dryers. No condensation, very quiet. Absolutely brilliant, lots of sensor programmes, ranging from mixed fibres, cottons, woollens, more than A rating (which is saying a lot in the world of tumble dryers). You can see energy stats for the drying, but I tend to put it on in the evening and miss it.

I had an AEG heat pump once. It was awful and had condensation issues. I had AEG engineers out to look at it. In my experience not all heat pumps are the same.

Weave

macman said:

If your condensing machine is emitting that much condensation then I suspect that the condensate filter is blocked full of fluff-have you cleaned it (not the door filter)?

Thanks @macman for your advice and info. I did clean the condensing filter a couple of days ago but still lots of condensation. It may be the colder weather making the hard surfaces in the utility cold when the outside door is left open but it seems very bad at the moment.

Is the water tank emptying occasional from your experience with a heat pump dryer? We currently only have to do it once a month with our old condenser but that is possibly because most of the water seems to be expelled out the vent!

InvertedVee

Interesting thread. I usually don't replace devices until they stop working but my 13 year-old Siemens condenser dryer shows no sign of dying.

I'm hoping to upgrade to a heat pump dryer in the January sales. Probably Samsung. We don't do much tumble drying but I think a new dryer will pay for itself in under 5 years.

[Deleted User]

Having just finished a full load partially dried outside today (temps only 7-8C max but helpfully breezy) this is quite topical.

1. Little condenstion given off by my Beko heat pump but even heat pumps need both filters cleaning.  The door filter is an obvious one but the other one might require getting down on all fours to get at it (at the very bottom of the appliance) - no different to the condensor tumble dryer in this respect.  The only time I got condensation was through my own laziness - not cleaning out this bottom filter!
2. Re the full load, without any outside air drying and spinning at 1400rpm, the cycle I generally use on can take about 2 hours to get it dry enough to put away and maybe uses in the region of 1.5kWh.  Today it took only 40 mins (could have been a little less) because of outside drying so was only about 0.5kWh.  At least 50% less to run than the previous condensor that it replaced.  Just pleased that this was the first day in a long while that there was a decent wind/temperature combination to get the bulk of the drying done via Mother Nature. 

DeeQS

InvertedVee said:

I'm hoping to upgrade to a heat pump dryer in the January sales. Probably Samsung. We don't do much tumble drying but I think a new dryer will pay for itself in under 5 years.

I have a Samsung heat pump dryer. I've had it a year and it's good. No condensation, clothes never feel that warm but they dry. I attribute this to a heat pump having a cold side so they condensate to extract the moisture far better than my old condensing drum which was just a big turning drum of steam most of the time.
Today I washed and dried 4 bath towels, 1x bath mat, 5 hand towels. It took about 90 minutes to dry and used 700watts.

DeeQS

DeeQS said:

InvertedVee said:

I'm hoping to upgrade to a heat pump dryer in the January sales. Probably Samsung. We don't do much tumble drying but I think a new dryer will pay for itself in under 5 years.

I have a Samsung heat pump dryer. I've had it a year and it's good. No condensation, clothes never feel that warm but they dry. I attribute this to a heat pump having a cold side so they condensate to extract the moisture far better than my old condensing drum which was just a big turning drum of steam most of the time.
Today I washed and dried 4 bath towels, 1x bath mat, 5 hand towels. It took about 90 minutes to dry and used 700watts.

I should add. my only pet hate is bedding. No matter what I try it turns into a tight ball and needs shaking out every 10 minutes, then the dry cycle is more like 3 hours of faffing.

SnakePlissken

[Deleted User] said:

Having just finished a full load partially dried outside today (temps only 7-8C max but helpfully breezy) this is quite topical.

1. Little condenstion given off by my Beko heat pump but even heat pumps need both filters cleaning.  The door filter is an obvious one but the other one might require getting down on all fours to get at it (at the very bottom of the appliance) - no different to the condensor tumble dryer in this respect.  The only time I got condensation was through my own laziness - not cleaning out this bottom filter!
2. Re the full load, without any outside air drying and spinning at 1400rpm, the cycle I generally use on can take about 2 hours to get it dry enough to put away and maybe uses in the region of 1.5kWh.  Today it took only 40 mins (could have been a little less) because of outside drying so was only about 0.5kWh.  At least 50% less to run than the previous condensor that it replaced.  Just pleased that this was the first day in a long while that there was a decent wind/temperature combination to get the bulk of the drying done via Mother Nature. 

Some dryers have self cleaning filter, my Bosch has that. I only need to clean the dust filter inside machine at door , usually after each load, as if that is clogged doesnt seem to dry as well.

macman

Weave said:

macman said:

If your condensing machine is emitting that much condensation then I suspect that the condensate filter is blocked full of fluff-have you cleaned it (not the door filter)?

Thanks @macman for your advice and info. I did clean the condensing filter a couple of days ago but still lots of condensation. It may be the colder weather making the hard surfaces in the utility cold when the outside door is left open but it seems very bad at the moment.

Is the water tank emptying occasional from your experience with a heat pump dryer? We currently only have to do it once a month with our old condenser but that is possibly because most of the water seems to be expelled out the vent!

Water tank emptying will depend on usage, but ours maybe once a fortnight.T he dryer is next to the sink anyway, so it takes only seconds .
If you don't want that minor inconvenience, plumb it in.