Would you replace a working tumble dryer?

NorthernMonkey1

Right now, our B rated tumble dryer works. It was the cheapest one I could find 2 or 3 years ago, and has needed a couple of repairs. It runs every day, thanks to having to live through potty training 2 toddlers, and now looks after one toddler who goes to forrest school, and another who is a dirt magnet,

With it running every night, I'm wondering if i should just bite the bullet and buy an A+++ rated machine, in the hope it will put a dent in our £150 a month electric bill

diveunderthebonnet

You might as well run it into the ground then buy another one ,i do not think an A+++ will make that much difference but buying a new machine will make a hole in your wallet 

saajan_12

Just do a test.. how much elec does the current one draw?
You can get meters at the plug level for £10 or so. Pop that between the plug and the outlet for your dryer, and see how much it draws in a week. Or if you have a smart meter, then monitor how much elec is used in an hour overnight with little else on, and then in an hour when the dryer is running, and take the difference. 

Either way, calculate the difference and hence how long of use before you end up spending the money for a new dryer just in electricity. 
If you spend another 2 months with this dryer and then replace it, you have almost the same cost of a new one but 2 extra months of high elec. If it lasts for another 5 years, you might end up paying for a whole new dryer and then some without realising. Or it might just be a relatively small part and you're overthinking. 

Tucosalamanca

Your tumble dryer might last for another 10 years or more. There's not much to go wrong with them.
It's the oldest appliance in my house, 20yrs and still running great.

If you're looking at buying a heat pump tumble dryer, it might be worthwhile as they're reported to be far more efficient.

Otherwise, I would stick with the current machine the cost of a new one would buy a lot of electricity.

beckstar1975

I know this isn't the point but have you considered a heated dryer? We got the Lakeland one with cover from their eBay outlet and it's been a miracle. Family of 5, it will dry two loads of reading overnight. Barely use our tumble dryer, either for emergencies (forgot to wash uniform, bedding or lots of underwear). It is really cheap to run and as a bonus slightly hearts the room it's in.

Largs

My bezzy told me "people with money" don't run out an replace things willy nilly and instead keep them until the end of their working life really and I have tried to keep that in my mind as I was guilty of replacing things often (usually because I saw an offer)

grumpy_codger

Would you replace a working tumble dryer?

No. My boiler is 30 y.o., less efficient then modern ones, but I don't think about replacing it. New boilers are less reliable and will take many years, if not decades, to pay back - if they don't brake down first.

beckstar1975 said:

I know this isn't the point but have you considered a heated dryer? We got the Lakeland one with cover from their eBay outlet and it's been a miracle. Family of 5, it will dry two loads of reading overnight. Barely use our tumble dryer, either for emergencies (forgot to wash uniform, bedding or lots of underwear). It is really cheap to run and as a bonus slightly hearts the room it's in.

And in winter all the moisture remains in the house? Also, 300W power overnight makes about 2kWh. Not a big win (if any) compared to a tumble drier.

In our (small family) we do have a (condensing) drier, but I don't remember when was the last time we used it. All washing is dried outside all year round - in a passage with a plastic roof.

moneysaver1978

Do you have a space like a closet for a dehumidifier? With a laundry mode, you only need to run it for however long you need so you have more flexibility and another win is making sure the house is nice and dry! You could just use the tumble dryer for big laundry once a while.

daveyjp

Voluntarily changing a B rated dryer for an A+++ (no doubt a heat pump) is not the MSE way.  We tried that when our condenser dryer failed (after ten plus years use) and impact on electricity use was minimal, impact on wallet when heat pump dryer failed after just 4 years and replaced with a new condenser dryer was more significant.

Look into other reasons why your electricity bill is £150 a month.

Albermarle

saajan_12 said:

Just do a test.. how much elec does the current one draw?
You can get meters at the plug level for £10 or so. Pop that between the plug and the outlet for your dryer, and see how much it draws in a week. Or if you have a smart meter, then monitor how much elec is used in an hour overnight with little else on, and then in an hour when the dryer is running, and take the difference. 

Either way, calculate the difference and hence how long of use before you end up spending the money for a new dryer just in electricity. 
If you spend another 2 months with this dryer and then replace it, you have almost the same cost of a new one but 2 extra months of high elec. If it lasts for another 5 years, you might end up paying for a whole new dryer and then some without realising. Or it might just be a relatively small part and you're overthinking. 

As above, until you actually know how much electricity it is using, you can not make any kind of sensible calculation about whether a new one would save much money. or not.
Take into account that in the warmer months you will probably dry more clothes outside, and not use the tumble dryer much.

quoia

Replace it with a GAS one.
We always dry washing outside whenever possible, even at this time of year.
However unless it's a really nice warm and sunny day it usually needs a few minutes to finish it off.
So during later autumn, winter and early spring it's used most days.
We never worry about using it at all because it is so cheap to run.

Not checked to see if they still do them but ours is a WHITE KNIGHT.
We've actually got 2 of them to be honest.
Probably got the 1st one at least 30 years ago which we put into "storage" (and have kept as a spare just in case) when we found a 2nd one about 25 years ago, a superior model with a 2 speed drying setting, for sale at a very good price.
Been GAS drying since the early 90's