Combo unit

[oldhouseman]

Does anyone here know anything about the quality/preformance of the washer/dryer machines? A washer that is also a dryer would be a real space saver. I am a bit skeptical of the drying ability. Does anyone here have such a machine? Haier makes one that caught my eye and I was wondering about these units.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Seem to be that the dryer's capacity in units of this type is usually HALF that of the washer.

Vented versus condenser dryers are two totally different animals. Water condensers keep the house cool. Air as the condensing medium realases hot (but dry) air into the room.

110v dryers are S-L-O-W-E-R than molasses.

In a nut-shell combo units have their benefits and quite a few drawbacks, or they'd have dominated the market decades ago.

 

[oldhouseman]

Thank you

Toggle, that's what I needed to know.

 

[peteski50]

Combo!

I want to buy another combo - but what ever you do be smart and don't buy LG. Worst service track record.
Peter

 

[jaxsunst]

I have a friend who just bought a condo with a LG combo in it. His biggest complaint is that it takes 4-5 hours to wash and dry a load.

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Re: Compact LG Combo:

I have a Compact LG Combo and my "drawback" with it as mentioned is the length of time it takes for a complete Cycle, no matter how heavy of light the Fabric's are. If I run a full Cycle, Wash, Dry and Cool-Down, mine takes approx 7-hours. It is "BTW" the Condenser Model-Type Combo, not a Vented Model and it also runs only on 110-volts.

I've placed a 110-volt Compact Kenmore Dryer on top of my LG Combo and after I run only a Wash without a Dry Cycle, I run a separate 1400-rpm Spin, to Extract as much Water out as possible.

I've been able to actually day a Load of Underware and Socks in approx 1-hour and a Load of Towels {Bath and Kitchen} in approx the same lenght of time. My Perm-Press Clothing Dries in approx 45-minutes.

I placed a Meat Thermometer in the Exhaust and it went to 145-Degrees/F, so for a smaller Dryer, it gets plenty Hot to Dry I believe fairly fast.

If your still interested in looking into a Combo, maybe you could alternately ask around about a Vintage Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE or Maytag Model...

Peace and Good Laundry Times, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[oldhouseman]

Thanks Steve

I appreciate the email. Lots of good information! I think I am going to pass on the combo for now. I was offered an LG unit and was suspect there was a problem -the drying time and heat put into the room. I am in the south where hot and humid are just a part of life here. July and August are killer months with near 100 degress everyday and 90% humidity -or more! I would do better with a clothes line than the combo drying it appears. I wonder about the vintage units. There must have been similar reasons they were discontinued.

 

[passatdoc]

A bit off topic, but....

Have you considered the stacked laundry center combinations? Frigidaire makes one with their 3.2 cu ft front loader and your choice of gas or electric 5.7 cu ft dryer. 27 x 27 inch footprint. Maytag used to make a Neptune stacked unit but no longer.

Frigidaire separate washers and dryers can also be stacked with a bracket from Frigidaire for like $25. Because they are the "standard" US height of 36 inches, the top of a stack is only 72". Stacking the larger Whirlpool Duets becomes problematic because they are nearly 40 inches tall, resulting in a stack 6ft 8 inches off the ground, plus they are 3-5 inches deeper than the Frigidaires.

I believe the footprint of the combo units is the same as the separate units. However, the combo doesn't have the thick drim door ring that adds a couple of inches to the depth. The 3.2 cu ft washer has been around for nearly ten years and apparently is very durable and reliable.

 

[passatdoc]

Link....

http://www.universal-akb.com/frlacegdrgl1.html

 

[tomturbomatic]

That 145 degree temperature was no doubt at the end of the cycle when the clothes were dry. The evaporation of the water holds the air temperature down during most of the cycle. You would need a gas dryer or a 230 volt electric dryer to approach operating temperatures like that during drying; otherwise 115 volt operation of an electric dryer would not take so long. The Perma-Press setting on Maytag's electronic control dryers could be used to give an extra degree of dryness because after the load was sensed to be "dry," the machine operated long enough to raise the exhaust temp to around 155 or 160F to make sure the fabrics released the wrinkles and set the creases. Because the 115 volt dryers will heat the load to the higher temperatures once the fabrics are dry, they can provide satisfactory results when drying no-iron items. This temperature situation is why the Whirlpool compact electric dryers for 115 volt operation use an electronic dry control to comply with the government mandate that all dryers now have to provide a cycle that has automatic dry termination. The operating temperatures do not rise high enough to make the less expensive time/temperature auto dry work dependably like it does on the 230 volt model of the compact dryer.

 

[easyspindry]

Bendix

Bendix was the only company that made a successful combo unit -- in my humble opinion, of course. They spun fast enough to remove water so that the dryer cycle worked. But, it still would take an hour to an hour and a half or 2 hours to wash a load of clothes. If you could find one of those Duomatics, it might be worth it.

One of the drawbacks to the combo units was that if you had a problem with the machine, you were without both washer and dryer until the repair could be made.

Also, their downfall was the time it took to wash a load. But, bear in mind that that was when women were used to doing a week's worth of laundry in one day -- usually on Monday. Doing a load a day or so would be a viable option.

Good luck.

Jerry Gay