Miele T8966WP Heat Pump dryer or Bosch WTP86560?

[niania]

Hello,
We live in the Gulf region and have a Miele dishwasher which has worked beautifully for last 5 years. We love the brand and really want to invest in the heat pump dryer but we are a bit scared to splash out $2500 without being sure that this machine will be what we are looking for. I will be so grateful if someone could please tell me their experience with this machine. Noise levels, performance, issues.

We are also looking at Bosch 7kg A rated dryer WTW 86560 which is at half the price of Miele. Please, could you help me make a choice? Is there any overriding reason why I should go for Miele other than the name? Any issues anyone has had with either?

Very grateful for your help!

Regards
Nia

 

[mikeklondon]

Check out the running cost 1st

I looked at a Miele heat pump dryer and looking at the savings in running cost here in the UK it would have to last longer than the average 25 years for a Miele machine to pay for its self, I cant comment on Bosch as I'm not a big fan

 

[niania]

Thanks Mikelondon. Sorry I'm a bit confused so can't quite understand, no fault of yours. To get this right, are you saying that savings are not enough with this machine?

I also found this while researching, this list puts Miele way down the list in energy savings, and Bosch above it.

http://www.sust-it.net/energy_saving.php?id=41

Thoughts?

 

[chris74]

The BOSCH Ecologixx 7...

...I own is not that well. Had some problems with the lint filter system and now the sensors aren't working so one load takes over 4h to be done. By the way, it is non-reversing which results in heavy tangling when drying bedcloths...

 

[mikeklondon]

Running cost

HI Yes even with the very high cost of power in the UK there is very little saving by using a heat pump dryer give the outlay to buy it.

 

[mikeklondon]

How many loads a week do you dry

Hi, you don't say how much use you give the dryer or what the spin speed is of your washer there are a number of ways to cut the cost of drying down. we wash around 3/4 loads a day the washer spins at 1600 rpm but we still use a small spin dryer for very heavy loads like dog bedding ect and bedding shirts ect come out of the spinner ready to iron, in the summer we part line dry and finish in the dryer and in the winter leave the washing hanging on an airer for an hour or so before drying. I have just spun a large load of towels left for an hour and put in the dryer on low temp to finish and they are taking 28 minutes 10 of that is the cool down time so the dryer is only using high power for 18 minutes.

 

[logixx]

Hi niania!

I see you have found my link from the Laundry Room Forum!

Well, Chris74 seems to one of those who have an earlier version of the Bosch dryers. These had problems with the selfCleaning Condenser clogging with lint. Bosch has done several revisions of the system (stronger pump, an extra filter, a seal around the filter etc.) and one should hope they have worked it all out. I have to agree with Chris on the tangling: I have a regular Bosch dryer and it also knots sheets into a ball. If I put in a large load of sheets it's not a problem but then you'll get wrinkles like crazy - my experience. The Miele dryer changes direction as the drum turns so that should eliminate the problem altogether. I went for the Bosh because, like you, the Miele was a little bit too much money for what it is. Otherwise, the Bosch does an excellent job drying.

The first couple of videos are my Bosch/Siemens dryer.

 

[chris74]

Yeah

Just bought it when it was a novelty from the fair. The repairman inserted a second filter but we own four cats so there is always an issue with their hair. The sensors may easily be cleaned as BOSCH stated in an eMail.

 

[niania]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.

Thanks Chris for your input. And thanks Logixx for yours as well. I will have a dekko at the videos, I have tried opening them but for some reason they won't.

MikeKLondon, we are in a rented acco at the moment which comes with appliances so at the moment we have a siemens washer/dryer 1200RPM. It is a 6kg machine so the dryer was useless anyway as it would take only half the washing load.

The dryer part packed up a month back so we have to line dry clothes which is possible only indoors as this being desert area it's dusy outside. So we decided to buy our own which we had been planning to anyway. I will be buying a washer as well but that would be later, so for now this dryer is for the present Siemens machine.

I wash clothes about 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I'll wait and do 4 loads in a day. I need a dryer that will bring out wrinklefree laundry with every use with no blips. My inclination was to buy the best existing model, with large capacity (8kg) that is A rated in Miele which is what the heat pump dryer is. The step down model available here is 7 kgs, B rated and half the price of the heat pump one. Then there is the Bosch which is 7 kgs but A rated. But if my clothes come out tangled and wrinkled I'd be devastated!

I have used a Kelvinator 10 kgs dryer which was fabulous! Clothes were perfectly dry, not roasting, never wrinkled or tangled and were very well preserved. But that was a vented model which we cannot have in our apartment. I am hoping for the same performance from my new dryer.

How big is the difference in capacity between a 7kg drum and an 8 kg one?

Thank you so much!

 

[niania]

Logixx, the difference in price between the Miele 7 kgs dryer and the Bosch 7 kgs is not significant. But the 8 kgs Miele heat pump dryer is staggeringly expensive. It is even 500 GBP more here than in the UK.

For me, both performance and energy savings are important, but if I had to choose between the 2, I'd choose performance. Maybe then I should go for the 7kgs Miele?

 

[logixx]

The drum in all those dryer you have listed is the same size: all Bosch/Siemens dryers have a drum of 112 liters and the Miele ones are 111 liters - practically no difference. The larger the capacity, the longer the initial time displayed. For example: a six kilo dryer will display 90 minutes on Cupboard Dry and a seven kilo dryer will say 100 minutes.

A heat-pump dryer will save you about 50% in electricity. The more expensive the dryer, the longer it will take before you actually start saving money. A dryer that'll cost you 500GBP to buy plus 500GBP to operate over ten years will cost you 1,000GBP after ten years. Now, if you go for an expensive models that'll cost you 1,000GBP to purchase and only 250GBP to run over the course of ten years... that's still more money than the cheap dryer. Bottom line is that you'd better get a dryer that last so you can recoup the higher initial costs.

About performance: well, with my Siemens (or Bosch) dryer, I can dry one set of covers*) with no problem but that would be too time and energy consuming. Two sets - no chance. I loaded them at random and even folded but everything still came out damp and knotted up. Three and more set will do fine but I get wrinkles like crazy. Cotton is worse than poly-something and microfibre sheets actually dry wonderfully. One time, I even line-dried my sheets and put them in the dryer for a little softening -> the dryer put wrinkles into my previously wrinkle-free sheets. *d'uh*

BUT all other loads actually do fine. It's only sheets that the dryer hates. Best avoid drying just bedding in one load. I have a big washer, as you can see in my profile pic, so I collect all the bedding and wash it in one load, thus not mixing them with other items.

Alex

*) duvet cover is 135 x 200 cm and pillow cover is 80 x 80 cm

 

[niania]

Hi Logixx,

Thanks for taking the time for a detailed response. Appreciate it!

So there is no difference in capacity of a 7kg dryer and an 8kg one?

 

[logixx]

Yes, usually dryer manufacturers only have one drum size for the entire line-up. Drum sizes, in Europe, range from about 100 to 120 liter - from what I remember. 20 liters of drum volume are appropriate to dry one kilo of clothes. That means Bosch/Siemens and Miele dryers have a true laundry capacity of 5.5 kilos (approx. 110 liter drum volume devided by 20 liters per kilo = 5.5 kg capacity). Higher capacity is, firstly, a marketing strategy and secondly... Well, it's mostly marketing. Yes, some condenser dryers have larger water reservoirs to hold the larger amount of water removed from a big load... but essentially there is little if any difference between a small or large capacity dryer.

If you are looking for sheer drum volume, Whirlpool makes one of the largest drums at 121 liters, which translates into a true six kilo drum. But the quality of Whirlpool dryers over here is so-so from what I read online.

Alex

 

[combo52]

Automatic Clothes Drying

You guys should get a gas heated dryer if you have natural gas in your home if you are serious about drying clothing. I can not understand why the Europeans are so far behind on this, you guys are usually ahead of us on energy consumption.

 

[chris74]

It is because...

...only few people have a gas access.

 

[niania]

Big thank you!!

Thank you Logixx!!

Your very informative responses have really helped me understand what I need. We have now decided on the Miele 7 kg dryer 8422C.

Thank you so very very much for all your generous help!

One last question, how many clothes and/or sheets could I fit in a Miele 7 kg dryer?

Warm regards
Nia

 

[logixx]

@ combo

Miele had a gas residential dryer bit it sold so few units they stopped making it.

 

[chris74]

Just do not overload

The clothes should tumble more or less free... And possibly do not use fabric softeners and/or dryer sheets. I think Míele is a good choice.

 

[foraloysius]

Overhere in the Netherlands we have huge resources of natural gas, so you would think gas dryers would be popular here. But most people have their washer and dryer in a bathroom. And you certainly don't want a gas appliance in a bathroom!