American vs. European Washers and Dryers

[stainfighter]

back to discussion topic...

anyone own a Danby? I've read these are manufactured by Gorenje. If my Fridgidaire F/L ever goes beyond the point of no return I might be tempted. The capacity would be enough for the two of us as we don't really fill the Fridg now...

 

[Cybrvanr]

I've got a Danby...quite a nice little washer! I like the directly accessable controls. Instead of pre-sets for different fabrics and such, like the traditional American washers, you set everything manually, like spin-speed, water temprature, etc. I like that method better, because I can customize the way it washes. The built-in water heater will kick up the temprature to 190 degrees from a 140 degree input...THAT'S HOT!!! It does take a strong 12 amperes off the line when the water heater has kicked in. Capacity is a little more than half at 2.0 cu/ft, of the fridgemore style front loaders, which is 3.5 cu/ft...fine for me, since not only am I a small guy, I am single, and don't really dirty up stuff that quickly.

 

[kenmore1978]

rental property power

"I don't know how safe my wiring is where I live (rental property), so I don't leave anything high-wattage plugged in unattended (aside from the fridge), and I also don't run two or more things with heating elements at the same time. Heck I don't even use the toaster if the microwave is on, or the vacuum and washer at the same time. It's not hard to keep track of the high-wattage things and use only one at a time."

Just because a property is a rental doesn't mean the electrical situation shouldn't be inpsected. I've always checked out the electrical situation in any place where I've lived or where I've helped friends move into, making sure outlets were modernized with grounded outlets, fuses sized correctly if so equipped, and all the circuits mapped out and described in the fuse/circuit breaker panel so people would know what controlled what.

 

[toggleswitch]

Going way back in the thread/conversation.

"Now can someone explain to me Kilo-watts as a unit of cooling capacity? "

MrX?

ALOS:

And please excuse my ignorance, I am a prooduct of my zip (postal) code. LOL

If I wanted to bring a water-hog US washer (aside from the electrical issues) to metric system lands, would the threads on the water intake valve be the same size as is used there?

Here is why I ask. Lighbulbs for use in the US that are imported don't fit well. They go in sorta OK, but usually break while being removed (unscrewed) that .5mm probably makes all the difference. I am assuming that the translation of a US? /Imperial?/ English system? size in inches into metrics is the minor malfuntion?

 

[Cybrvanr]

Kilo-watts can vary greatly as far as cooling capacity goes, depending on the efficiency ratio of the air conditioner. The way efficiency EFFICIENCY RATIO = BTU PER HOUR / WATTAGE CONSUMED. This information is published on the "energyguide" sticker on the unit, but if not avaliable, look for the power consumption plaque, and calculate it against the cooling power of the unit.

The wattage consumed by an air conditioner can vary greatly depending on how efficienct it is. At the bottom of the scale are window units in the 8.0 efficiciency range. For each watt the unit consumes, it produces 8 BTU/HR of cooling. A 5000 BTU/hr air conditioner with this efficiency ratio would consume 625 watts doing it. Window units can sometimes get as high as 12 efficicency ratio, but it is rare, the average is about 10 or so.

Central and installed air conditioners are mandated for a minimum efficiency ratio of 10. Most though are in the 13-15 range, and a few are even as high as 17. Installed systems can be more efficient than window units because they can be built larger with bigger coils, and larger fan units than their window unit counterparts.

The same efficiency calculation applies to heat pumps too, since they are just air conditioners running in reverse. It does NOT however apply to electric resistance heating. The amount of heat you get out of a resistive electric heater is pretty much set in stone. Don't let the advertising fool you! If it consumes the same power, it puts out the same amount of heat!

 

[toggleswitch]

Killo-Watts

Gotcha, thank you.

I was more intrigued by places outside the US (probably all counties.. LOL) that do not use or recognize BTU/h but rate the capacity (as well as the draw/load) in kilo-watts. I think there is sometimes a spread between the two (load and capacity Kilo-watts) which may be "THEIR" way of determining efficiency.

International friends..What say you?

 

[Designgeek]

Broom handle in the fuse box: So did the idiot who did that ever get arrested and charged with a crime? BTW, when the original transformer was glowing red hot, it was probably also leaking transformer oil... you guessed it... PCBs... dioxin... "Camping," heh.

Re. air conditioning: Something I've noticed in a lot of offices lately: when the AC cycles to Off, the ambient humidity suddenly seems to increase. This is truly weird. I've taken to carrying a small desk-stand fan around to jobsites to put on the ground in the PBX room & keep me reasonably comfortable during those instances. So, am I correct that the humidity is actually going up when the AC is off, and what causes that? (I know that airconditioned air is lower humidity, but the increase of humidity seems like "more than" just the effect of the AC turning off.)

It surprises me that more houses aren't built with geothermal systems: a network of pipes buried under the basement slab, conducting a heat-transfer fluid to & from some kind of thermal or forced-air transfer system in the house. The earth under the slab is at a constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit in most places, which would keep the house at that temp as a baseline, thus significantly lowering the heating & cooling bills.

 

[MrX]

Measuring Air Conditioner outputs

Watts are a measure of power.

A european air conditioner would have a power output in watts of refridgeration. It would have its power consumption in watts too.

Just like the way microwaves are sold by their watts of microwave output rather than their rated power consumption. e.g. an 850W microwave would use considerably more than that in terms of power consumption.

Also, vaccum cleaners are (or should be) rated in AirWatts of suction produced, not by the wattage of the motor! An inefficient machine will use more power and produce poor suction.

Put simply, one British Thermal Unit [Btu] is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound [ lb.] of water 1 degree Fahrenheit. (About as non metric and awkward a unit as you can get!)

BTUs are no longer official units in the UK/Ireland anymore despite their name. So, A/C and heating units here are sold in KW output thesedays, not BTU/Hour.

 

[toggleswitch]

Thanks for the info

A per my usual style a novel ensues:

A/C off-cycle humidity:

Yes, as the evaporator coil warms up during the comrpessor "off" cycle the air also warms up increasing its capacity to hold moisture. Therefore any remaining moisture on that coil (that has not yet fallen to the condensate pan)get picked up by the air. So I agree with you... the air does get more humid.

Try using the "power-saver" switch such that the fan cycles with the compressor. (Works best in hot climates.) In some areas like mine we tend not to use it because as the outside air cools at night and the house is still hot, without the fan running constantly to pull indoor air over the thermostat the unit would not sufficiently cool the room. Now with remote controls as soon as one actually monitors the room temperature, this may all change.

Often cooling systems/units here are oversized and won't properly dehumidify. Solution: get a dehumidifier, or a small A/C to run constantly as a supplement which will serve to dehumidify.

In my ideal world, if home refrigerator were by an outside wall, I'd put a powerful a/c over it. To be used when cooking, when the house is full of people, for fast cooling when getting home from work, etc. This would allow for the main cooling unit/system to be properly (or slightly under-) sized. of course a supplemental unit is not limited to the kitchen.

BTU's

I figured this was a dinosaur of a unit.
One pound of water? What a pain that is!!!!

A US gallon weighs 7.7 US pounds.
I believe 8.0 pounds is used (rouned off?)
(maybe an imperial gallon is 8.0 lbs (pounds)?

gallon= 4 quarts 16 cups
quart = 2 pints (4cups) (comparable to a litre)
pint = 2 cups
cup= 8.0 fluid ounces

A cup = 8 fluid ounces
because 8lbs/16 cups = 1/2 pound or 8 oz per cup.

Looks like fluid measure and sold (weight) measure are inter-linked. For solid/weight measure there are 16 ounces per pound.

OK, SIGH maybe the metric system does have SOME advantages. LOL

So how many Kw of cooling capacity (not power draw) would be needed for an average bedroom ?

 

[MrX]

Natural a/c

Toggleswitch,

I don't actually know as the climate in Ireland's pretty much naturally air conditioned. It's extremely rare to have any form of air conditioning in a residential setting. Although, you do occasionally see split units in conservatories / sun rooms (glass room on the back of a house)

Air conditioning is often installed in large buildings and in some stores etc

The typical temprature outdoors here is between 10C (50F) and 27C (80F).