Help me decide

[securitybearuk]

Hi Guys I am back after a long silence (HAIRYBIGMANUK), now I need your help in deciding. My tumble drier died yesterday after a good ten years of daily use, not long I know but most modern electricals are like that these days. Are vented tumbledriers the best or condenser driers the best, I have not bought one yet but, I have my eye on a brand new hotpoint condenser tumble drier. Whats your thoughts any help sugestions

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[westie2]

Welcome Back Kevin

I am across the pond in the states but I think overall if you can get a vented dryer you will be happier with it. Do you still have your topload Hotpoint? You did have some nice videos and pictures of it of it at one time.

 

[fl1012]

Avoid Hotpoint Dryers

I don't have much info on the very latest Hotpoint dryers, but pretty much any laundry equipment made by them since about 2002 has been very hit & miss. The link below shows a 2 year old Hotpoint Condensor on eBay for spares, and a quick hunt around on eBay always seems to reveal quite a few more broken ones of this era. For some reason it seems like Hotpoints fair worse than the equivilent Indesits, even though theyre extremely similar. Electronic failure & heater failure seem common. Vented Hotpoints/Indesits seem to suffer from an early death aswell, although belt/drum issues seem more common on these.

Personally i'd go for a vented dryer. Some condensors are fine but they add a complexity which isn't worth bothering with unless you REALLY need to place the dryer somewhere it can't be vented.

The best makes for longevity seem to be:

*White Knight - vented only, condensors don't seem to work too well - very good value yet much better than many more expensive brands. Made in the UK.

*Zanussi - vented & condensor - cheap to mid-price - not what they were but arguably the best dryer short of buying a Miele.

*AEG - vented & condensor - mid-high price - not really worth the extra price over Zanussi, which they share parts with, but may be offered with 5yr warranty. Only buy on account of the warranty.

*Miele - vented & condensor - high price - probably the only new dryer that'll last 10 years, but it'll cost you. Probably not worth the spend unless you use the dryer everyday of the year. Miele makes more sence for washers & dishwashers.

The make i most strongly recommend avoiding is Hoover/Candy. Short-lived, unreliable & don't seem to dry well even when they're working correctly. Hotpoint/Indesit work fine when they're working, but don't seem to last long.

The jury is out on Beko & Whirlpool. Ive read several reports that say Beko tend to tangle clothes into a ball quite alot & they don't seem upto the build standard of their other appliances. Whirlpool seems fairly decent for dryers but i've seen alot with early heater element failure & i'd only buy one if it was priced lower than Zanussi.

Failing that, why not go for a slightly older machine? Supply of vented White Knights & Zanussis are fairly plentiful on eBay & could last just as long as a brand new machine.

Liam.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[glamwales]

White knight

I bought one 10 months ago and sadly its awful too worst out of the last 3. Its as loud as a jet engine and I had to take the grill off to stop it vibrating.

 

[fl1012]

glamwales......

....is that a condensor or a vented? I've been reading the owners reviews on Comets website & many comment at the noise of the White Knight condensors, but less so with the vented ones.

When you say worst of 3, is it your third White Knight dryer? Many people seem very satisfied on the reviews & although the reviews are often written too early to comment on longevity, several mention that they're replacing another White Knight Dryer that's exceeded expectations.

Obviously though it's long-term experiences with current products that really count with things like these so your observations over 10 months are more valuable than that of someone who's only owned the dryer a couple of weeks.

Liam

 

[haxisfan]

A bit of my experience...

I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend and on the availability of an outside source for venting... I feel like saying that vented dryers are more efficient at doing the job but I can't as I've never experienced a condenser directly... although I've seen my friends using theirs and they seem taking longer to do the job compared to my vented dryer.

My Hotpoint vented dryer is from 2003 and it has always been reliable albeit its above average use... it has only a slight issue with the door closing mechanism which requires a special knack... but that problem developed only after a few years of use and it hasn't gotten any worse throughout the years or broken up to now. I remember that the Indesit vented dryers around that era shared the exact same internal components... but I don't know whether I'd trust both Indesit and Hotpoint since they introduced those 2 paddle drums… I think around 2004/2005.

I have no experience whatsoever with Candy/Hoover dryers... however given the fact that I'm utterly satisfied with their 3 double shift working appliances I have in my kitchen, I'd probably be willing in future to give their dryers a go... hoping for the best naturally… I’ve heard more than one person advising against one of these models.

I saw a compact white knight vented tumble dryer a few days ago in a store and the 1st thought that came to mind was... surely even the cheapest and nastiest affair sold on market stalls' got to be better than this! I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying this, and I'd like to apologise should this be the case, yet, I was absolutely appalled by the poor and flimsy built of this appliance, the door felt even lighter than half a feather... and the paddles consisted in some extremely thin plastic blades: yet, they seem to work within reason as far as I've heard.

Whatever your choice… good luck ;-)

 

[samsungfl]

A little more experience to add.....

I also think Vented dryers are more efficient, just naturally due to their design (excluding the HeatPump technology of course). A friend of mine has an Indesit Condenser Dryer ( IDCE 845 ) which is only a few months old. I've used it a few times and to be honest the results are OK.

The dryer itself is fairly quiet but seems to depend very highly on the heat so therefore gets very hot, and isnt particularly quick at drying despite getting so hot, but nevertheless it gets the job done at the end of the day. I'm yet to experiment with the cooler cycles to see how they fair, but given the time it takes to dry on its highest setting, I'd be a bit reluctant extending the time even more by using a cooler option, esspecially considering that the washer beside it spins at 1400rpm, so hardly a slow spin

I've also some recent experience with a Zanussi ZDC47100 condenser dryer, this esspecially in comparision to the Indesit works alot better in my opinion, it dosnt seem to get quite as hot, drys faster and is even quieter than the Indesit, the parts also have a nice weight about them too, nothing is really too flimsy. Though it does get quite a bit hotter than most other vented dryers I've used, maybe thats just how condensers typically are ?

Ive also had two White Knight dryers, albeit compact versions but they both proved to be total workhorses They may not boast the most up to date features but their design really is tried and tested, may not be the best of the best but they sure do last My first was roughly 12 years or so old before the belt snapped, and the second dryer was just under two years old and was sold on as I wanted a full size dryer .

As Haxisfan menntioned above, on the first look they do seem very flimsy, the doors are very light and do seem like they would literally snap off easily, but suprisingly they seem stronger than they look, enough for simply opening and closing on a daily basis anyway

Hope this helps

Rich

 

[cfz2882]

asko condenser

so far i have been very pleased with the asko t712c 24" dryer i recently got
(bought it brand new with some cosmetic shipping damage)
These 24"european machines are very rare in the u.s.,but there is a company
in texas that distributes asko here.