Vynny, let me reply here, so it can also help some other brazillian with the same question.
Import from Europe is virtually impossible due to the frequency difference. Here in Brazil we have 127V 60hz or 220V 60 hz made with two 127v wires.
Second you should consider price. you say the Brastemp Duet is expensive, but it's not all Whirlpool's fault. there are the taxes. gas dryers, due to the environmental legislation have higher taxes. the brazilian government DO NOT WANT this kind of dryer in our country for ecological reasons. (plus, most of the power companies belongs to the government, so of course they want to sell more electrocity, the same way the government will never allow hibrid (gas x electricity) cars like Chevrolet Volt in Brazil to protect Petrobras interests.
You can import, for example a Frigidaire Affinity from the U.S. It's exactly the same machine I have, but gas instead of electricity. But forget the price you see on retailer's websites. you must include freight (more than 1000 dollars), import taxes (now it becomes a huge problem and be ready to pay 300% of the invoice total). there are the import tax, IPI, ICMS, plus dozens of fees you must pay to register all the cargo documents and finally get a custom clearance.
Used items can't be imported to Brazil unless you lived outside the country for more than 2 years and in quantity compatible to your reality (of course if you come back to brazil with 10 dryers they won't believe you're a laundrymaniac like all of us) NO WAY! That's what the law says!
So, the "cheap" dryer you dream will cost much more than running an electric dryer.
You must look for the best options we have in our country now.
The european models are for smaller loads as europeans are smart enough to use dryers only when really needed, saving electricity and protecting the environment.
American models are made to dry big loads and fast. Americans dry almost everything in a dryer, no matter if it's raining or not. some americans believe using a clothes line is ridiculous, obsolete, almost offensive and some cities don't allow hanging clothes!
An electric american dryer, like the Electrolux ecoturbo, is made to dry big loads fast, even on the worst american winter. That's why they dry much faster in our weather. it won't work the same way your continental dryer does. it will dry 4x more clothes at once and as the blower is huge, it will dry much faster. so there's where you save electricity and the operation cost becomes really low.
In your case, you should think about a bigger dryer instead of blaming everybody because you don't have a gas dryer. You're so paranoid about gas dryers that you didn't realized gas is much more expensive now and will cost more because whirlpool is stupid enough to sell it much more expensive than a commercial gas dryer.
Vinny, you live in a house... if you have space enough, why don't you buy a commercial gas dryer? Those from Suzuki are great and 2x cheaper than a Brastemp or importing. best of all, you'll have a dryer built to last forever and your clothes (specially duvets and blankets) will dry much faster than any household dryer.
You could also use it to get some easy money drying for your neighbors during the winter.
