Beko Heat Pump Dryer

[vacbear58]

As the weather has been so wet over the last few months and there are now two of us in "Cassa Kerr" creating laundry, I read recent threads about heat pump dryers with interest, thinking maybe it was time to consider replacing my 10 year old and not particularly efficient Hotpoint condensor dryer.

If I can, I prefer to line dry my laundry, so I did not feel that I wanted to lay out circa £1,000 for a Miele dryer even though both my washer and dishwasher are Miele. As my dryer does not get that much useage I went for an ecomony option, although it my not be the cheapest to run, at £328 it was one third the price of a Miele

 

[vacbear58]

And here it is

DPU 8360W

 

[vacbear58]

Money shot

There are only two paddles in the drum

 

[vacbear58]

Plenty of programmes

Being used to a simple timer and a High/Low temperature selection these are far more than I will ever need

 

[vacbear58]

Lint filter

never seen one like this before, as it is hinged along the bottom and opens up - the lint is mostly collected on the inside

 

[vacbear58]

Secondary filter

This needs to be cleaned every five loads.

It is accessed behind the door at the bottom of the machine

 

[vacbear58]

Inside

..

 

[vacbear58]

Opened up

..

 

[vacbear58]

And after five loads

Shows how much gets past the primary filter, its like fine dust

 

[vacbear58]

Water tank

Top left hand side, it looks rather like a powder drawer from outside. There is also a hose option (supplied) which saves using the tank if you have the appropriate drain

 

[vacbear58]

And the verdict?

The build quality seems good for the price, maybe not up to the standard of a Miele, but pretty good. I do not care particularly for the large door but that seems to be the trend at the moment. It closes firmly and opens almost all the way back and looks easily reversible if necessary.

It also has a time delay setting on it so that I can take advantage of low cost off-peak electricity rates although I have not used that yet.

I have read reviews saying this machine is noisy but I have not found it particularly so. The motor and blower seem to be about the same as my old Hotpoint although there is an overlay of condensor noise which sounds a bit like a fridge.

I have also read complaints of how long it takes but having used both the Cottons amd Mix programmes it does not seem to me to take that much longer - I mainly used the old Hotpoint on low to avoid baking the clothes and hopefully minamise shrinkage. I do like the ability to select different drying levels and the ability to input the spin speed of the washing machine which reduces the drying time.

It takes an 8kg load which I have a job utilising as the washer capacity is 5.5kg so it takes a guts of a couple of loads to fill it up, which means that overall the drying time can be less than with the old dryer with its smaller capacity.

Overall I am pleased with the performance of the dryer, the clothes are neither as wrinkled nor as tangled as in the Hotpoint. Even with a cool down phase in the old drier the clothes do not seem so hot when the load is finished, and there seems to be a great deal less static cling as well.

Two loads have included king size duvet cover, king size bottom sheets, mixed T shirts, underwear and socks and everything came out evenly dried. I did a load of towels yesterday - 2 bath sheets (very large), 3 large bath towels and about 10 assorted tea towels (this lot filled the washing machine) and again all was dried well at the "cupboard dry" cotton setting in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

It will be interesting to see how it holds up on the reliabality side as it is so much more sophisticated than the old one, although the Hotpoint had to be repaired about four years ago.

 

[chris74]

Why didn't they spent...

...a glass door? Would've been nice...

 

[vacbear58]

And finally ...

Out with the old

 

[vacbear58]

And in with the new

It does not fit quite as well as the old Hotpoint which has a bit of a gap behind it (the worktop was 60x60cm but the actual machine did not go back that far) where the Beko uses all of its 60x60 footprint - but there may be a cable connector behind it (not for the dryer) which may be holding it out - but thats a job for another day.

Al

PS The washer and dryer live in my bathroom

 

[seamusuk]

Nice

Hey Al

Welcome to the Heat Pump club I must admit I could never have justified the proper price for my Miele but as I got it for less than the equivalent standard condenser I cant complain!.
It actually creases less than the Electrolux condenser it replaced which I was surprised at after looking at reviews and knowing Mikes experience with the Zug,also its pretty quiet but as you say its odd hearing a compressor on a dryer!.
Seamus

 

[bajaespuma]

Very Happy to read this thread

This might herald a heat-pump dryer in our near future! I wonder which brand will introduce it to the US market.

 

[ronhic]

I've looked at these

here in David Jones and have been waiting for someone to actually jump in and get one before I even consider it....partly because they are still b***dy expensive here at GBP1000....and the Miele, Bosch, Siemans and Electrolux ones are dearer again!

 

[washer111]

Heat Pump Dryer?

A machine that is still struggling to dry your clothes as the next load finishes out of the HE FL machine! {Even on the 3hr Cottons cycle ;-) }

If they were available here, I would probably consider a Gas dryer for myself, as that would offer better efficiency than an electric dryer, but still be cheaper upfront than the heat pump. The dryer could heat the house in the winter too!

 

[seamusuk]

Heat settings?

Hey Al

One thing that I initially found odd on the Miele is a lack of temp settings- according to the instructions it heats to the low heat setting on all programmes so it dosen't need it. Is the Beko the same?

Seamus