Register 10-year parts guarantee on a tumble dryer

Alderbank

There are 3 different technologies for tumble dryers.

Basic vented dryers are the simplest. A fan draws air in, heats it up, blows it through the moving clothes then exhausts that expensively heated air plus any moisture it has picked up away to outside. The only control it has is that thermostat. Fastest but very wasteful and expensive to run.

Condenser dryers are an improvement. The hot moist exhaust air passes through a heat exchanger where it gives up some of its heat to the incoming cold dry air. The waste heat warms the room the dryer is in and condenses some moisture as water which is collected so a vent is not required.

Those two types have been around for decades. The latest type contains an additional air-to-air heat pump rather like a compact air conditioning unit. These have gradually appeared over the last 10 years. They are highly efficient therefore much cheaper to run, but the heat pump technology is slower and much more complex, especially in the miniaturised form needed to fit it into a standard sized home appliance, and there is lots more to go wrong.

The types differ so much that it is not really fair to compare models without knowing the technology employed.

born_again

Ours is a cheap sub £100 basic vented one, no idea how old. Still works a treat, dries most washing in under 2 hours.

Of course this is all subject to how wet the washing is that goes in. Just like any other dryer.

Alderbank

…Of course this is all subject to how wet the washing is that goes in. Just like any other dryer.

Absolutely. Testing sites like Which? seem to agree that 1400 rpm is the 'sweet spot'.

Lower speeds, even 1200 rpm, remove significantly less water. Faster speeds are available but they cost more and place more strain on the drum bearings, but don't remove much more water.

SiliconChip

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891285#Comment_81891285

Surely that's referring to the spin cycle in a washing machine? I've certainly never seen a tumble dryer that would rotate at anything like 1400 rpm, I think mine would fall to pieces if it tried!

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891901#Comment_81891901

Yes, as we are talking about how wet the clothes are going into the dryer which in most cases will be a function of how wet they are coming out of the washer. Doubt too many dont have a washer and so hare hand washing but do have a tumble dryer

Sterlingtimes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81887067#Comment_81887067

Thank you. I asked about the thermostat and was told that it is not a target for component replacement in a heat pump dryer. I run a Hoover heat pump dryer alongside the Beko. The Hoover takes approximately 2 hours 30 minutes to dry a full cotton load. The Beko now take 4 hours to dry the same load before the sensor cuts out, after which the laundry is still wet, and it then takes up to 4 hours more on the timed settings to fully dry.

Sterlingtimes

Thank you, all. I telephoned D&G to cancel, which put me through to the retentions team. Retentions urged me to speak to repairs again. So, I have booked a seventh technician visit. Retention have how escaled the matter.

My theory is that components that are not user accessible are blocking circulation within the machine. It will be interesting to see which component they change next.

b4u2

I would never recommend Hoover to anyone. We had nothing but trouble with ours.

SiliconChip

"I asked about the thermostat and was told that it is not a target for component replacement in a heat pump dryer."

I don't really understand this comment, the Beko isn't a heat pump dryer is it? Presumably it's either a vented or condenser, in which case thermostat ought to be one of the potential trouble sources.

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891285#Comment_81891285

I understood 800-1000rpm to be the best compromise between drying and reducing wear on the mechanical parts of the machine (and to the fabrics themselves). Any gains in moisture reduction from speeds over 1200rpm are very small. Interesting that Which? place things much higher.

I run mine at 900rpm unless I know for sure the load is going to have to go in the dryer, then I use the next setting, which is 1200rpm. As we move through spring and summer, I dial it down to 700rpm and even 500rpm on very warm or windy days. It seems to work. My current machine does 6 loads a week and is seven years old, and that last one lasted ten years before that. Neither is an expensive machine. The first was a cheapo Lamona the previous occupants installed, and the current one is a John Lewis branded unit.